A 21-year-old politician says he is aiming for his party to run the council one day after he was elected as its new leader.

Ciaran Reed has filled the vacant role in the Three Rivers district Conservative party after former leader Alex Hayward decided not to re-stand as a councillor at the May local elections.

Cllr Reed believes he might be the youngest Conservative group leader in the country.

The district councillor for Chorleywood North & Sarratt has lived in Three Rivers his whole life and says he is looking forward to “standing up” for residents.

The Conservatives, with its 12 councillors, serve as the main opposition to the council in Three Rivers, which is currently controlled by the Liberal Democrats.

He says his main focus is campaigning to protect the green belt amid a number of sites threatened by development to meet Government housing targets.

Cllr Reed says he disagrees with the council’s decision to delay adopting a new local plan until 2025, instead believing it should be adopted “as soon as possible”.

“Residents tell us development is what they are most concerned about”, he said.

Watford Observer: Cllr Ciaran ReedCllr Ciaran Reed

On his appointment as leader of his group, Cllr Reed said: “It’s always an honour to represent Three Rivers. It is a beautiful area. I am delighted to be given the opportunity.

“A lot of people in their early 20s maybe go off to uni or travel. I don’t have a degree but I am up for the challenge and standing up for the local area.”

Cllr Reed praised his predecessor Alex Hayward for being a “stalwart defender of the area” and says he hopes to continue her work.

He said: “We are a fresh-look team – six of our members have joined within the last year. We have Reena Ranger and Debbie Morris who are long-standing hard-working councillors but we do have new energy coming through.

“Ultimately our aim is to be the administration in Three Rivers but unfortunately a lot of local politics can be affected by national politics.

“However we have had much better results because of the local campaigns we run and the aim is to be picking up seats in wards that we don’t think are being represented properly.”