During Local Council Clerk Week we would like to recognise our Town Clerk, Jennie Smithson, who has recently completed her Certificate in Local Council Administration Qualification (CiLCA) and is now a qualified Clerk.
Many congratulations Jennie!
This year’s “Young Person’s Award” was presented to Freddie Ware, well known for her work at Miles of Smiles in Great Torrington, an alternative learning space providing Animal Therapy for young people and adults across North Devon.
Alongside this, Freddie consistently goes above and beyond – volunteering her time to create inclusive outdoor learning opportunities for children, offering pet therapy to local care homes, and organising fundraising events to support both a local family and Little John’s House.
This year, the Town Council awarded the “Howe Plate” to Rose Purcell for her dedication to making the Town Hall an inclusive community space.
Rose has been central to creating and running activities such as Knit & Natter, The Friendly Brew, Christmas lunches, the Town Tavern bar, tea dances, community awards and many other events.
Her commitment, creativity, and hard work have helped the Town Hall thrive as a vibrant hub for the whole community.
Retiring Mayor Cllr Phil Cloke presented this year’s “Good Citizen Award” to Martyn Butler in recognition of his outstanding service to the town.
His dedicated work with the Torrington Rotary Club has raised significant funds for local groups, and his recent efforts led to the installation of a memorial plaque in St. Michael’s and All Angels churchyard honouring those who died in the 1646 church explosion during the Battle of Torrington.
Martyn is a consistent supporter of community events, and his dedication is valued across the town.
The retiring cadet, Corporal Imogen Pascoe, was presented with a certificate of thanks by Cllr Phil Cloke in recognition of the duties she carried out throughout the year.
The Mayor organised several events throughout the year and the proceeds from these were split between the charities. TRFC organised a lot of fundraising events themselves and these funds went to TRFC only.
At the Mayoral Introduction Ceremony on 20th May 2026, Cllr Dave Parish was sworn in as Mayor for the coming year and Cllr Bruce Ashley-Martin as Deputy Mayor, we wish them every success for the coming year.
Cllr Parish was delighted to present the past mayor’s badge to Cllr Phil Cloke and to thank him for all that he has done during the last two years.
As administrator for the Commons Allotments Charity, Great Torrington Town Council has allocated a total of £5,489.99 Grant Funding to local community groups for the 2026 – 2027 financial year. Members also allocated grant funding totalling £27,650 from the precept for 2026/27. A full list of grant recipients can be viewed on the Town Council’s website.
As per last year, Members decided to keep a pot of reserve grant funding to be made available during the period 1st April 2026 – 31st March 2027 for adhoc or urgent requests for funding throughout the year.
Great Torrington Town Council – 2026/2027 Budget
At the January Town Council Meeting Members agreed the budget and the precept for the 2026/27 financial year. This year there is an increase of 9.92% on the Town Council element of council tax bills for the period 1st April 2026 – 31st March 2027.
The increase of 9.92% equates to an increase of £9.32 per year for a Band A property, £10.88 per year for a Band B, £12.43 per year for Band C, and £13.99 per year for a Band D property compared to last year. These figures relate to the Great Torrington Town Council element of your overall council tax bill only.
The Town Council element of the council tax is the smallest element of the bill, so although the percentage increase is higher than previous years the amount of money it will cost per household for the whole year remains low. The increase reflects a general increase of costs to the council for all services including staffing, health & safety, fuel, rent, IT, buildings maintenance and events. The town council is also incorporating additional spending in this financial year, including CCTV installation & monitoring and the need to move to a new maintenance unit.
Councillors strive to keep the increase as low as possible each year and during financial year 25/26 spent/committed a considerable sum from general reserves to support local organisations and maintain or improve services available to the community. The impact of Local Government Reorganisation is likely to mean that the scope of Town & Parish Councils will change significantly over the next couple of years, and this will mean that costs will increase further, and therefore the current level of reserves needs to be maintained going into the 26/27 financial year to enable the council to prepare for the potential expansion of its service.
Many households in Great Torrington are Band A or B and for those properties the increase is around £10 for the year: this is less than the average takeaway portion for one person and around the same price as a chain-brand takeaway coffee and a sandwich. For a Band D property, the increase is less than £15 for the 12 months, which is around the same price as a single portion of a hotel carvery, a new hardback book or three pints of beer.
Full details of increases for all bands will be available on the Council’s website in due course.
The Mayor, Cllr Phil Cloke was delighted to attend Doreen Turner’s 100th birthday celebrations at Woodland Vale on Friday 19th December during which he presented her with flowers and enjoyed spending some time talking with her – he honestly couldn’t believe that she was 100 years old!
He would like to thank the staff at Woodland Vale and Doreen’s family and friends for making him feel so welcome.
