Great Torrington Town Council

In a ceremony held today at the Great Torrington Town & Community Hall, Cllr Margaret Brown was awarded the title of Honorary Freewoman of the Town and Parish of Great Torrington.

During the ceremony, speeches were made to honour Cllr Brown’s long and eminent service as both a Town and District Councillor and she was presented a framed certificate by the Mayor. Following which, our Town Crier “Big Al” gave a talk about the Battle of Torrington and sang the “Torrington Song” which was enjoyed by the many invited guests.

Councillor Brown has dedicated herself to representing many causes in the interest of Great Torrington and its’ residents for many years. She became a Town Councillor in 1997, a District Councillor in 1999 and during her time serving on both the town and district councils, Councillor Brown has been Mayor of Great Torrington four times and Chair of Torridge District Council four times.

As you may know 2023 is an election year for the district and town councils with local elections taking place this year on Thursday 4th May. Our Town Council needs more members of the community to join the Council and represent local people.

Could this be you?

BECOMING A LOCAL COUNCILLOR

As a local councillor you can become a voice for your community and help make

real change. Local councillors are champions of their communities who

invest time in local projects and issues for the benefit of residents and the

neighbourhood.

Local councillors discuss local needs, work with local groups and businesses, collaborate with district and county councils to meet local needs, and progress vital projects to invest in the future of the community.

CAN I STAND FOR ELECTION?

To stand for election as a town councillor you must be:

• A UK or Commonwealth citizen; or be a citizen of the Republic of Ireland; or

be a citizen of another Member State of the European Union

• At least 18 years old

• An elector of the local council; or in the past 12 months occupied land or

other premises in the area the local council serves (as owner or tenant);

or work in the area the local council serves (as your principal or only place of

work); or live within three miles of the local council boundary

For more information contact Great Torrington Town Council Offices on 01805 626135 or [email protected]                   

The Town Council is excited to report that after the success of last year’s event, the Craft, Food and Drink Fair – A Taste of Torrington is happening again on Saturday March 4th.

The event has been commissioned to South West Event Management to organise and will see Great Torrington Town Hall, Pannier Market and Castle Hill Community Centre filled with lots of local traders’ craft, food and drink offerings from around Great Torrington and surrounding area.  The event last year brought a lot of visitors into the town and we hope that this year’s event will be equally successful and attract customers to the local shops, pubs and cafés as well as to the fair itself.  

As a taster, there will be offerings of watercolours, home-made candles, cakes, fudge, burgers, Indian cuisine, vegan offerings, stained glass, honey, candy floss, handmade soap, handmade baby clothes, vintage stoves, bags, handmade jewellery, locally produced cider, real ales, spirits, and cheeses with spaces for 70 traders! We are encouraging local charities to get in touch and take up the offer of a free charity space at the event. 

There will be a bar, serving local drinks and mulled wine.  Local shops and traders are being invited to offer special discounts/treats to shoppers on the day, any shops doing so, can contact Lucy to have the information shared on the event’s social media page. There will be activities for people of all ages throughout the town during the day. Some of the activities include taster therapy sessions, fitness activities, demonstrations, face painting, crazy golf and a bouncy castle. 

The Facebook event page is titled ‘A Taste of Torrington – sponsored by Great Torrington Town Council’, if you search for the page and give it a like you will be able to keep up to date with what is happening with the event and which businesses will be attending.

We hope this will be a great day with something for everyone and encourage all local people as well as visitors to pop into the town on the 4th March and pick up some local goodies.

For more information, please contact Lucy on 07518 066623 or email [email protected]

The Rural Services Network in partnership with the Citizens Advice Rural Issues Group has launched a Rural Cost of Living Household Survey  

Independent research commissioned by the RSN in summer last year shows rural areas are suffering more acutely from the cost of living crisis compared to urban areas.

To lend more weight to the argument for more funding for rural areas the RSN is calling on as many rural residents as possible to complete a Rural Cost of Living Household Survey. 

The purpose of the survey is to understand more about rural household budgets at, what is, a very difficult time for many.

Research has shown that those living in rural areas face extra costs and we now want to explore the impacts for households.

But we need your help and want to receive as many survey responses as possible, whatever your household’s income or financial position. This will help us to engage more effectively with Government Departments, MPs and other policy makers.

Please click here to complete the survey

We understand if you are unable, or indeed unwilling, to give answers to some of the questions, complete those you can.

Please forward the survey link to all your contacts, networks, family and friends living in rural areas – the greater the response the better.

The survey closes on 31 March 2023.

Devon County Council has a dedicated website with lots of useful information and advice for residents, families and businesses who maybe struggling with the cost of living or energy bills – here is the link: https://www.devon.gov.uk/cost-of-living/

In addition there are still a number of grants/funds available that people may want to access. A lot of this information is online but the schemes include:

• Household Support Fund

This fund is to support households that are struggling to pay for food, energy, water bills and other related essentials; especially those who may not be eligible for other Government support.

• Free School Meals and Free school meals holiday voucher scheme

All children up to year two at state schools in England automatically get free school meals. From year 3 onwards, you may continue to qualify. You can check eligibility and apply on our Free School Meals  page. Additionally, families in Devon on low incomes, whose children receive free school meals, also receive school meals holiday vouchers which are funded by the Household Support Fund.  To see if your child is eligible for free school meals, or to apply, please visit our website or call our Education Helpline on 0345 155 1019

• Growing Communities Fund

Devon County Council can award grants of £500 – £3,000 to groups or projects that address hardship such as food or fuel insecurity, offering warm safe spaces, something to eat and drink, and a place to work, learn or socialise. Or help to build community resilience – e.g., guidance on budgeting, cooking low-cost nutritional meals. They will also support projects tackling loneliness and isolation

• Citizens Advice Devon

Devon County Council continues to provide funding to Citizens Advice Devon to provide independent and impartial support and advice.

• The Holiday Activity and Food Programme

This programme supports children to eat more healthily, be more active over the school holidays and have a greater knowledge of health and nutrition as well as be more engaged with school and other local services.