Okehampton Hamlets Parish Council unanimously voted to support a future Community Governance Review, which could mean changes are made to the governing of the council.

The resolution was passed last Tuesday (July 12) when councillors agreed to support a governance into the whole of West Devon but agreed that now was not the time to undertake such a review due to the current financial difficulties faced by people across the UK.

A review could see alterations to parish boundaries and could bring to the fore long-standing arguments over the boundaries of the two Okehampton councils.

Traditionally, Okehampton Hamlets has dealt with the rural areas surrounding Okehampton but as the town has continued to grow and encroach into the Okehampton Hamlets parish, some have voiced the possibility that the boundaries are altered to reflect this.

However, Okehampton Hamlets Parish Council has rejected such a possibility stating that Okehampton was no different to any other town and that boundaries could not be reviewed in isolation.

Jane Gillard, parish council clerk, said: ‘Okehampton is no different to many other towns all over the country, housing developments are happening nationally, just because towns are expanding it does not necessarily mean historical parish boundaries need to be reviewed particularly in isolation.

‘As the resolution states it would support a review covering the whole of West Devon however it feels that at this time it would be an unnecessary burden on public funds and resources and should be avoided until there is a more stable financial environment.’

Yet, the council remains open to such a possibility if the future situation changed enough to warrant such a boundary review and has also said that it is happy to work with its neighbouring councils.

Mrs Gillard added: ‘The resolution also states: “The council would willingly support and work with any of its adjoining parishes on projects or initiatives for the mutual benefit of its residents.”

The decision follows on from a resolution passed in 2017, when West Devon Borough Council agreed to look into a proposal over whether the number of Okehampton Hamlets councillors should be increased by two. It agreed to consider changes to parish boundaries requested by Okehampton Town Council.

The council concluded that the number of parish councillors should remain at its current eight and that no changes to the Okehampton Town and Okehampton Hamlets parish boundaries be made.

A community governance review will take into account the views of parishioners and councils to determine whether the structure of the parish needs to be changed.

This could include creating, merging, altering or abolishing parishes, renaming or restyling parishes, changing the ordinary year of election, changing council size and number of councillors, and grouping or ungrouping parishes under a common parish council.