HOLSWORTHY Town Council is looking into the possibility of holding a civic event for the annual town meeting, with the annual council meeting taking place the following week.

The suggested plans are for the annual town meeting to be held on Thursday, April 27, with a full annual council meeting being held the following week on Wednesday, April 3, with ‘part two’ on Wednesday, April 10.

The annual meeting of the council would become more of a civic event and would incorporate a ‘mayor choosing’ type ceremony, with the usual cheque presentations — there has also been a suggestion for the local town band as entertainment.

The meeting would then be adjourned to the following week where the usual format of a monthly town council meeting will be carried out, what councillors deemed the ‘boring bits’ the public may not want to sit through.

Mayor Jon Hutchings was keen to create a more ‘coherent’ event that the public and dignitaries from surrounding towns can attend. He said: “Obviously I took over as mayor in May last year and paid a visit to other towns like Launceston and Barnstaple and saw things I have never seen before.

“They hold an annual civic occasion for their mayor choosing — Holsworthy doesn’t have a single event like this. I guess we have the town’s civic carol service at the church during St Peter’s Fair week but other than that, not a lot.

“I suggested to Vanessa [town clerk] that we should have one event incorporating the annual meeting and invite other dignitaries from other towns, like they do.”

He said: “Legally we have to have an annual town meeting — you’ve all been before, they aren’t exactly the most enthralling events.

“We want, in a roundabout way, to have a big occasion. In the past we have held an event but now it’s just a bit naff with the simple cheque presentations.”

Cllr Hutchings added that these ideas were ‘not set in stone’ but were just ideas they had initially put together to be worked on.

Town clerk Vanessa Saunders explained the legality behind the idea. She said: “Our idea is to have the town meeting and do the business side needed at the meeting with questions from the floor.

“After Section 12 we would have to adjourn for the ‘boring bits’ that you wouldn’t, as the public, want to sit through — we would adjourn the meeting to the following Wednesday.”

Ms Saunders added an extra idea. She said: “We also thought it would be good to incorporate a ‘town project ideas’ section into one of the meetings to see if people have any ideas we can look into — we wouldn’t be promising to take on all the projects but would be good to hear what the people of Holsworthy want.”

Deputy mayor Pat Smith agreed the event was a ‘good idea’ but raised a number of concerns. She said: “I think it is a good idea, but, does the town meeting have to be in April?”

Ms Saunders confirmed that by law the meeting has to occur in April.

Cllr Smith, continued: “If it can’t be altered it can’t be altered, but I’d like the meetings to be on the same night.”

Ms Saunders said that this was not allowed and the annual council meeting and town meeting had to be on separate days.

Discussions were held as to whether the council meeting could be held all in one night, but Ms Saunders said that they would have to allow ‘time after the meeting for people’s questions’. She added: “No one might speak, but we have to allow time for any eventuality — that is why we suggest having part two of the meeting, that the public aren’t allowed to anyway, on a different day.”

Another suggestion for the annual meeting, put forward by the town clerk and mayor, was whether ‘it would be a nice idea for the deputy mayor to sign the declaration?’

Cllr Smith said: “It’s never been done before and there is a score of thought that says the mayor speaks for the council, I just think it would detract and take away from the mayor.”

Ms Saunders said that the new deputy could decide at a later date if they wanted to sign the declaration or not.

Cllr John Sanders agreed that it was a ‘good proposal’ and Cllr Joanne Heaven added: “It will be nice for the town to have a proper ‘do do’ that we can invite people to.”