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Mayor’s November Crier Article

This year is certainly running away with us! I do hope you are continuing to keep well and are adjusting to the changing rules and the situation we find ourselves in. So far, we have been extremely lucky in Great Torrington, but we must continue to be vigilant; I want to thank everyone who is keeping us safe and to our local traders who are doing all they can to ensure we can continue to shop in safety.

On the 16th of September, I was thrilled to finally be able to hand over my Mayor’s Good Citizen Award to the “Knit and Natter” Group. I met with Rose and Marg, who received the award on behalf of the group. I thanked them both for setting up and being a part of such a fantastic group. We all remember the brilliant display of Poppies that donned the Town Hall last November for Remembrance, of which I was very humbled to unveil. The group has brought lots of people from both the town and the outskirts together and has created strong friendships; something I think everyone values, even more so in these strange times.

Whilst times are uncertain, I have been very pleased to see two new shops open in our lovely town. Firstly, I visited Deborah at Lilian Rose Interiors on the 24th September and took a look around her beautiful shop. Definitely worth a visit, especially if you enjoy lovely interior design.

In early October a new business “Polish me Pretty” opened in the Pannier Market. Sarah and Anna are offering something very different which adds to the great variety of choice available. I wish them both all the very best for their new venture!

It is just over a year now since I launched my Mayor’s Challenge to, “love your town and shop local”. I have been excited to see people taking part and realising how much we really do have to offer here in Great Torrington. I am continuing with this challenge and I recommend that everyone visits our town centre at least once a week and visit our shops, businesses, cafes and Pannier Market. We can play a part in keeping our local economy strong by supporting “local” as much as we can. I always love the saying “when you buy from a small business, the owner does a little happy dance” – lets create more happy dances!

Finally, I want to thank everyone who joined our Torrington Town Tidy over the weekend of 26th and 27th September. It was slightly different to our usual event but I felt sure that you would all do your bit and help to keep our town beautiful! I was especially delighted to see some young people joining in; they are our future and it’s amazing to see how much they care about their community at such a young age. My thanks also to Cllr Clayton who helped me organise the event and started a week early by cleaning the outside of the Great Torrington Heritage Museum – we are one team at the Town Council and I am very proud of how well we all work together.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact me if you need anything.
Cllr Keeley Allin – Mayor of Great Torrington
cllr.allin@great-torringtontowncouncil.gov.uk