TWO Camelford Town Councillors, who joined the authority through co-option, have resigned in the hope of becoming elected members to allow the authority to function better.

The move follows a recent meeting of the council, which discussed the future of the town’s library and One Stop Shop.

Mayor Cllr Rob Rotchell told councillors that Cornwall Council funding is only secured until March 31, 2017, adding: “We’ve no guarantees of anything after that.”

He said that if the town council was in a position to take over the running of the library and the One Stop Shop after that date, Cornwall Council would view it favourably.

Cllr Rotchell had been in conversation with Anne McSeveney, Cornwall Council’s head of customers and communities, about the situation and at present, the town council is not in a position to take the service over.

This is due to it not being able to fulfill one of two required criteria. Although it meets one criteria in having a qualified town clerk, the second piece of criteria, that two thirds of the council members are elected and not co-opted, is not met — the town council is currently two short of the number of required elected members.

Cllr Rotchell said if the council waits until after the elections in May 2017, there is no guarantee of the library staying open after the end of March, although there is no indication that the library will close, it is just a possibility.

He said: “There’s a risk that if it’s gone and the funding is taken away, to start something after it’s closed might be a challenge.”

Cllr Andy Shaw suggested that the council gets the paperwork sorted, subject to having a fully elected council at the time.

Some questions were raised by Cllr Claire Hewlett as to who would run the facility, where funding would come from and would the council employ staff or use volunteers.

She said:?“Is that something that the people of this parish are prepared to have their precept put up to cover it? It’s a hugely important issue.”

But Cllr Alan Burgis said: “Is it not a possibility that we will have the required number of councillors by the end of this year?”

Cllr Louise Dean asked members to think about the situation before coming to a resolution: “I think there’s a lot to think about and people shouldn’t make too hasty a decision.”

Cllr Rotchell said: “The whole point of this was that everybody needed to understand if we want to do it [take the library service over], we would be a prime candidate but we need to meet the criteria.”

The matter was left on the table.

Since the meeting, two councillors — Kirsty Ferguson and Shirley Goodman — both members of the Events Working Group, have resigned.

In a post on a Camelford social media site, Cllr Hewlett said the councillors, who were both co-opted, have stood down so they can re-stand to become elected town council members.

She added: “This is being done for technical reasons to enable Camelford Town Council to function better.”

Ms Ferguson told the Post: “It’s been a huge decision for us both, however, in order for us to move Camelford forward, have more power, we need to be a competent council.

“We have stood down now and asked for an election. Obviously, there are no guarantees, but we both hope to be elected unopposed in March.

“I love this town with every bone in my body. I just want to be able to help make changes to restore its community spirit.”

The deadline for candidate applications is February 10.