It has been a historic day for local democracy with representatives voted onto the new Lowestoft Town Council for the first time.

The results of three out of the seven wards for Lowestoft were announced this afternoon (Friday) following the results of the Suffolk County Council election in Waveney.

Four wards were uncontested – Normanston, Gunton, Pakefield and St Margaret's – meaning many automatically secured a seat.

However residents were still asked to vote for the Elmtree, Harbour and Kirkley wards.

Councillors elected for the Elmtree parish ward were: Peter Lang (Green) 588, Bill Mountford (Independent) 997 and Nick Webb (Independent) 875.

Elected for the Harbour parish ward were: Nasima Begum (Labour) 629, Ian Graham (Labour) 657 and Peter Knight (Independent) 563.

And elected for the Kirkley parish ward were: Desmond Baldry (Independent) 716, June Ford (Labour) 557 and Alice Taylor (Independent) 699.

Other representatives who gained a seat in the uncontested wards were: Alan Green (Labour) for Pakefield, Graham Parker (Independent) for Gunton, Allyson Barron (Labour) and Baz Bemment (Independent) for St Margaret's, and Neil Coleby (Labour), Tracey Eastwood and Keith Patience (Labour) for Normanston.

Nick Webb, outgoing Lowestoft mayor and a new town councillor, said: 'I'm incredibly proud and it is a historic day for the town. We all want to make it work for the people of Lowestoft.

'Whether or not we still have a mayor is up for discussion at our first meeting.

'But without a shadow of a doubt I think it should continue. As outgoing mayor I have had a fantastic year, and speaking to the people of Lowestoft I think they think it is important.

'We've got some incredible people in our town and I think we should be proud.'

The vote for the new Oulton Broad Parish Council was also due to take place yesterday, however all the seats were uncontested.

Councillors representing Oulton Broad are: Christine Ashdown, Ben Falat (Independent), William Harding (Independent), Sandra Keller, Andrew Page, Steve Sturgess (Impendent.)

The new councils will represent local people on local issues and will be responsible for some services and assets in the area like play areas, parks and gardens. Some of the larger assets due to be transferred include Lowestoft Town Hall, the Marina Theatre and Nicholas Everitt Park.

The first meeting of Oulton Broad Parish Council will take place on May 15 at Riverside in Lowestoft, with future meetings likely to be held at St Mark's Church in Oulton Broad. Lowestoft Town Council will meet for the first time on May 16, also at Riverside. It will then be for the new council to decide where they will hold their meetings.