Youth Mayor

Youth Mayor for 2025/26

Charlotte Gregory is the fourteenth Youth Mayor of Stevenage. She is currently studying History, Art, and English at Barnwell Upper School and is a passionate, creative, and community-minded young leader.

Charlotte brings a strong sense of purpose to the role, with a focus on making sure the voices of young people across Stevenage are heard and represented. Through her long-standing involvement with Girlguiding and her love for dance and arts, she is committed to helping others grow in confidence and feel part of a supportive community.

Charlotte is passionate about making sure young people's ideas, concerns, and needs are taken seriously. She is dedicated to listening, taking action, and creating positive change. Her experiences in Girlguiding and volunteering have shown her the value of support, inclusion, and strong leadership. To her, being Youth Mayor is more than just a title – it's a responsibility and a privilege. It gives her the opportunity to represent young people, ensure they are respected, and make sure they’re involved in decisions that affect them.

She is honoured to be trusted with this role and is committed to being approachable, proactive, and passionate about making a real difference in Stevenage.

As Youth Mayor, Charlotte wants to build stronger connections between young people and the council. She plans to launch life skills programmes to help young people gain confidence and independence, create safe and inclusive spaces to connect and get support, and promote awareness around education, the environment, and diversity in schools.

Deputy Youth Mayor

Lilly-Mai Bennett-Gutteridge, is the third Deputy Youth Mayor of Stevenage. As well as supporting Charlotte during her year, Lilly wants to focus on giving young people a voice, ensuring all young people feel heard and that their opinion is valued. Furthermore, Lilly believes Stevenage offers a wide range of opportunities for young people and wants to help promote these to young people.

Charlotte and Lilly will formally represent the young people of the town in the role of ambassador and will work with Stevenage Youth Council to help promote the interests of younger members of the community, regardless of ability, gender, religion, sexuality, ethnicity, and class. 

What does the Youth Mayor do?

The first Youth Mayor of Stevenage was elected by Stevenage Youth Council and was inaugurated at Annual Council on 23 May 2012.

The Youth Mayor attends council meetings and civic events, and accompanies the Mayor/Deputy Mayor at some youth-orientated engagements. The Youth Mayor also holds a non-voting seat at Stevenage Borough Council meetings.

The Youth Mayor directs the expenditure of a Local Youth Budget of £2,000 to support a youth related community project, organisation, charity or local group with a recognised legal status or an unincorporated association with its own bank account. If the organisation does not have a bank account, the application will not be considered.

Who can become the Youth Mayor for Stevenage?

Any young person who lives in Stevenage aged 11 to 19 years, or up to 25 if they have a learning difficulty or disability, can nominate themselves as a Youth Mayor candidate. The Youth Mayor is elected by young people from across the Borough and they will take up the role for one year.

For information on the role of Stevenage Youth Mayor, Stevenage Youth Council or the Local Youth Budget, please call Community Development on 01438 242446 or email, Youth.Mayor@stevenage.gov.uk.