A LATE night event planned for next week to unite the town's businesses and community has been postponed.

A new monthly event aiming to unite the town's pubs and eateries, shops and residents once a month with an evening of entertainment, good food, shopping and socialising was due to launch on Friday, February 28. However, organisers have had to postpone the event due to a lack of time to organise everything.

The inaugural event is being organised by Okehampton and District Chamber of Trade. With a new committee having taken over the responsibilities of the chamber in January, they have not found the time to organise the event alongside getting to grips with their new committee roles.

Chairman of Okehampton Chamber of Trade Donna Tombs said: 'There are a few factors. Firstly, the weather has been so dire recently we don't want the first event to be a complete washout.

'We also just haven't had enough time to organise the event.

'We want to generate enough interest to ensure that this becomes a long term event that people in the wider area are interested in.

'Therefore we are planning to start with something slightly smaller, like pancake races in Red Lion Yard on March 1.

'We really want to get an evening event planned for March.

'Mark and I have found that there is a bit more to running the Chamber of Trade than we first realised, and we want to make sure we do a good job and get initiatives like this right.

'We will push to start them in March, but we might wait for better weather.

'Some traders and people we have spoken to will be disappointed.

'There is definite enthusiasm for the event and people we have spoken to say it is a great idea. But we want to make sure we are doing the right things.

'For the first one, it has to be right, and if that means putting it back a few weeks, so be it.

'We have to try new things, and we are excited to do so, we just need to give them the best chance of succeeding.'

The chamber is still appealing for support for the event from businesses and street vendors, and is welcoming any suggestions.

As well as welcoming people to get involved in the new monthly evening events, organisers are welcoming new businesses and individuals to join the Okehampton and District Chamber of Trade.

If you would like to get involved or have any suggestions, you can call Mark Turner at Donald's Menswear on 01837 52596, Donna Tombs at Rockin' Beads on 01837 657614, or Boomerang on 01837 52368, or e-mail [email protected]">[email protected]