Crediton Town Council is made up of 12 councillors who can stand for election every four years. Sadly in the present climate of apathy it is not always the case that we have more candidates than positions. This was the case at the last election when just 10 candidates stood, so the town council co-opted two councillors.

As a body the town council meets twice a month, the first meeting is the General Purposes Committee followed two weeks later by the full town council meeting. The town council has a responsibility for the war memorial, bus shelters, St. Boniface statue, band stand, Upper Deck, the Millennium Cross, other monuments, People's Park, Stoney Park and several public footpaths and the town council's allotments, which it runs in conjunction with the Boniface Allotments Association.

Other councils are responsible for many of the services provided for the town such as refuse disposal, education and the highways, the responsibility of Devon County Council. Leisure facilities, refuse collection and some housing are the responsibility of Mid Devon District Council. Four town councillors are also members of Mid Devon District Council and one is on Devon County Council. Your town councillors are not paid anything for serving on the council. Although on national issues councillors may have very different views as town councillors it is our duty to put politics aside and to put the interests of Crediton first. Even at local level we do not always see eye to eye but discussion and reasoning usually wins the day and decisions made are for the general benefit of the whole town.

One of the town council's important duties is to act as a sounding board for local opinion and so we are consulted on the number of matters not least of all planning. The council also arranges for public consultation meetings for larger projects such as the proposed link road, major planning applications and local government reorganization. Councillors represent wards in the town and local people should know who their councillor is and if they have any issues they can ask their ward councillor to approach the appropriate agency to solve their problems such as housing, state of the streets and pavements and other issues in the town.

The town council has to set a budget with which to pay for the services it has to carry out and to support local agencies, charities and groups who enhance and lives of Kirtonians. The Council's budget, or precept, forms part of every household's Council Tax, albeit just a small part. Councillors try to keep the burden of taxation as low as possible and to spend wisely because we realise we are spending your money and you expect good value.

The Town Clerk, Assistant Town Clerk and members of the Town Council are here to serve you, so if you have any complaints or ideas how to improve the town get in touch with one of us and even if your suggestion or comment is rightly the responsibility of another authority we will ensure your comment is passed on.

Frank Letch- Chairman, Crediton Town Council 2008-9

Photo: Alan Quick, Crediton Country Courier