What does the Council do?
Buckfastleigh has a dynamic and active Council – we see our role as champions for the parish of Buckfastleigh (which includes Buckfast!).
We seek to…
- represent and advocate for our community in its relations with central & regional government and other authorities
- support & work in partnership with community groups and local initiatives for benefit of the community
- provide what limited services we can directly.
We have a fairly limited amount of money available and limited powers, but also some influence, lots of energy and enthusiasm and endless opportunities & possibilities!
How can you get involved?
Whether or not you are already engaged with working with local groups or projects, we welcome you to join us to think and plan the direction and future of our town and work with other local people to build and improve our community. We live in busy times and it is often hard to imagine where we could find an extra hour or two per week but it can be immensely rewarding and inspiring to work together for something close to our hearts…
Engaging our Community Workshop (with Cake!)
We are very pleased to welcome and support anyone who wants to get involved in the activities of the council and one of the existing councillors will be happy to talk with you and explain how it all works and how you might take the opportunity to involve yourself. Here are some of the things you can do…
Join our activities
We regularly hold events where residents are invited to come and contribute to discussions or take part – from the ‘Heart of Buckfastleigh’ community celebration, to open ‘Engaging our Community’ workshops , where we ask for your input on priorities and spending for the next year.
Meetings of the full council, where most decisions are made, are held every month and meetings of the sub-committees meet regularly. These are always open to the public and we are working to make them as informal as we are legally allowed, so you will get a chance to contribute to the discussions. Here are dates of upcoming meetings and their agendas.
Join a committee
We have recently opened up Town Council sub-Committees to non-councillors, so if you work or live in the parish and have an interest in joining either the Environment & Transport committee – which deals with everything from parking to pesticides, planning and dog poo, or the Tourism, Recreation & Economic Development committee – which deals with festivals and events, the Town Guide, sports and trade. These committees meet from once a month to once a quarter and make recommendations to full council, so you can have an influence on decisions and get a taste of the council’s work.
Join the Council
We are keen to encourage people from all walks of life and all ages (though you have to be over 18), to get involved and to think about putting themselves forward as councillors. Please don’t assume that you don’t have anything to offer or that you are not ‘the right sort of person’ – we would like to get all sorts of people involved and coax out those who might not immediately think of themselves as councillors, to ensure that the parish benefits from different perspectives and the council represents a broad section of the population. Read more about how to be considered for the council.
If you would like to find out more, one of the councillors will be happy to talk with you and help – just get in touch.
I look forward to meeting you…
Andy Stokes,