NEWTON Abbot’s Annual Town Meeting (ATM) on Saturday May 17 proved so successful that another opportunity to meet with councillors and officers is being planned for October.
All communities are obliged to stage ATMs but they are usually held in council offices at unpopular times so are poorly attended.
Since 2011 Newton Abbot’s ATM has been held in the town centre on a Saturday morning and this year scores of people stopped to comment, ask questions, and complete a questionnaire.
Mayor Cllr Colin Parker, whose idea it was to take the ATM outdoors during his first term of office 14 years ago, was delighted with the level of engagement.
He said: ‘I think it’s been tremendously busy today. We’ve had lots of people here, lots of positive remarks, liking what we’re doing as a Town Council.
‘Yes, there have been a few comments asking for improvements but some things are a little out of our control.
‘But people like our events, particularly the music and they’d like more of that.’
Passers by were asked about their knowledge of the Local Government review and its possible impact on services if district and county councils are scrapped.
‘Quite a few people weren’t aware of the review and I think there has been a bit of confusion about who is responsible for what, and some people asked that we take on duties we already cover.
‘But one thing was clear, that they want us to work even harder to maintain the town’s appearance and for us to look after assets better and that’s certainly something we would want to do if it’s affordable.
‘Overall, I think people would like a bit more to come back under our control and that would be good.
One resident who stopped to take part, Stuart Frisby, said moves to end the ‘closed club’ of local authority decision-making was welcome
‘Trying to engage people in local democracy is always a good thing,’ he said.
‘Anything that demonstrates people are not only invested in the outcome but are able to invest in the process… has to be a good thing.’
Cllr Parker confirmed that a second Town Meeting would take place in October.
‘Like they say in the song, it’s so good we’re going to do it twice and that will be great,’ he said.
Details will be published in due course.
