Penrith Mayor Tricia Hitchen revealed her priorities as history is made

The new mayor of Penrith has outlined her priorities and explained how her son’s cerebral palsy has motivated her to improve access for those with disabilities.

The new Penrith mayor has vowed to fight for better disability access and an off-leash dog park in North St Marys.

Councillor Tricia Hitchen was setting out her stall for her mayoral term.

For the first time in Penrith’s 150-year history, an outgoing female Mayor has passed the baton to another woman in 2022.

Mayor Hitchen was elected on January 10, continuing on from councillor Karen McKeown.

Having served as Mayor till last year, Karen McKeown handed over the Mayorship to Tricia Hitchen.

Mayor Hitchen, will serve a two-year term alongside councillor John Thain, who has been elected Deputy Mayor.

She is a familiar face around Penrith, having first been elected to council in 2012.

She is a retired police officer, ex-deputy Mayor and director of Nepean Women’s Shelter.

“I spend an hour every night before bed on Facebook answering questions and putting people in touch with council. I think I’m in every community group across Penrith, there’s about 27,” she said.

Having been elected unopposed, Mayor Hitchen said she is excited to see what the future holds for Penrith’s new housing estates.

“Given the success of these projects in Penrith, we now have the opportunity to expand similar projects into St Marys and the eastern part of our LGA, to synchronise with the Western Sydney International Airport,” Mayor Hitchen said.

Councillor Tricia Hitchen has been elected Mayor of Penrith City with Councillor John Thain appointed Deputy Mayor.

She said she will also continue to advocate for people with disabilities.

“My son, who has cerebral palsy, opened my eyes to the word of access and inequity.

“A lot of people think access is about wheelchairs but it’s not. It’s also about people with low vision and low hearing and other sensory issues.”

She said she was behind the push for accessible changing spaces leading to the rooms at Triangle Park.

“If your family goes to the movies and one of the children needs the toilet, you duck out. If that was my family, we’d have to go home,” she said.

“For a long time, Kmart was the only local accessible changing space but with the action council has taken, and will continue to take, it’ll be a gamechanger for many families.”

Tricia Hitchen is pictured, as Deputy Mayor in 2017, after adult change rooms with hoists were installed off High Street.

She said she will also keep pushing for an off-leash dog park in North St Marys after Penrith locals found themselves unable to go to the Tregear Park during lockdown because it fell under Blacktown’s jurisdiction.

“Having a space to go to where there’s seating and water became increasingly important in the pandemic,” she said.

New Deputy Mayor John Thain was also elected unopposed on January 10.

John Thain has been elected as Penrith’s Deputy Mayor for 2022.

He has been a Penrith Councillor since 1999, first served as Deputy Mayor in 2004 and has been Mayor twice, in 2005-2006 and again from 2016-2018.

He said: “I’m really keen on making sure that Penrith Lakes is actually master planned.

“The community has been waiting a long time. It was going to be the jewel in the crown for Penrith and I want to make sure that gets underway.”