CAMELFORD Town Council was ready to talk about the proposed bypass as well as all the projects that have been taking place within the town over the last year.

Despite the soggy conditions, councillors and staff were on hand to speak to members of the community about what the council has been up to recently — with one ongoing project at the centre of discussions.

Sheltering from the bleak drizzle in the blue town council tent, mayor Claire Hewlett said: “Today we’re showing people what we have done in the last 12 months. It’s been a really good year and we’ve got more planned, so there will be more coming up for the next year.”

Within the tent were displays showing all the achievements made by the town council so far. These include the recent Four Days of Fun, the improvements to Enfield Park’s play park, OCM Skatepark, as well as the bird hide and barbecue area in Enfield Park.

Cllr Hewlett continued: “We’re representing the library, who are going from strength to strength. More and more people are going in and the footfall of the library has increased, which is excellent.

“The biggest thing today, though, is the bypass — we are canvassing people’s opinions on it. We’ve had no negative comments so far, which is brilliant. The town council is also running the show bus, so we’re supporting the bus as ever. It’s a lovely bus actually, I went on it this morning to get here.

“But the bypass is the real biggy today. We just want to find out what people’s opinions are — all the while trying to dodge the rain! We should be uber optimistic about what’s to come.”

Deputy mayor Cllr Rob Rotchell added: “We have no reason not to be! Everyone we have spoken to today has been really positive. There have been some questions but once we’ve answered them they have been on board. We can’t do any more now [with the bypass plans] — it’s up to the Department for Transport.

“But what we need people to think about is, what does Camelford look like afterwards? What does Camelford want to be? It needs to be a place that people want to come to, not just a place that they drive through. So one of the main questions we’re asking people today is, what do we want Camelford to look like after 2023?”

It is hoped work on the bypass will start in 2021, with completion some time in 2023.