OKEHAMPTON Town Council has handed in a petition to West Devon Borough Council calling for a review of the town boundaries.

Town clerk Emma James handed in the bundle of documents containing signatures from 570 people backing the town council’s request at the borough council’s full meeting on Tuesday afternoon.

She told councillors that the the petitions had been signed by the ‘required number of electors’ for a boundary review to be considered by WDBC. The town council is asking for the the town council boundaries to be extended to bring the new housing estates on the east of the town. These areas are currently part of neighbouring Okehampton Hamlets parish.The town council points out that the the town has grown so much in recent years, the new residents in housing estates to the east of the town assume they are part of the town.

The council wants the new residents to contribute towards facilities maintained by the town council in the town centre for the use of all – Simmons Park, the public loos, the skate park and BMX track, the cemetery and the new CCTV system aimed at curbing vandalism.

The town council also believes that an increase in the size of the parish council would have more clout to apply for grant funding ‘The town council feels strongly that residents of greater Okehampton should be able to feel part of the urban area and have a democratic voice to the community they believe they are part of bringing a sense of community inclusion and identity,’ said the council,, appealing for support from residents in their quest.

The request for a boundary review must now be considered by West Devon Borough Council, with a decision needing to be made within 12 months.

While the Okehampton Hamlets Parish Council has stated recently that it would only back a Community Governance Review as part of one for West Devon, Okehampton Town Council is in favour of a review of its boundaries with its neighbour as early as possible – with a view to immediate change.

The town council wants to keep the number of councillors at 14 – the current number – but increase the area to take in areas on the eastern side of the town and the new schools and A30 BC business centre on the edge of the town.

The proposal is to remove the ward boundaries so councillors would simply serve the whole of the Okehampton area. The move would increase the population of the town, allowing Okehampton Town Council to raise a higher income on its precept which it says will allow it to better finance projects in the town, both existing commitments and future plans.

Mayor of Okehampton Cllr Bob Tolley, who chairs Okehampton Town Council, said: ‘I am delighted we were able to achieve the requisite number of responses in support of our boundary review. It does not mean the job is done, it obliges the authority to review our proposal and provide a decision within 12 months of receipt.

‘It does not have to support our recommendation to extend Okehampton’s boundaries to the urban edges of the town, they may, through their review consider other solutions. The only thing I would ask is doing nothing should not be one of them.’