IT is important for different organisations in Okehampton to come together for the good of the community, the town mayor said last week. Cllr Tony Leech, speaking at the annual town assembly, stressed the importance of bringing together the different organisations, such as the North Okehampton Residents' Association and the Devon Heartlands Community Forum, to work with the town council for the good of the community. He said: 'It's really important we try and bring these different organisations together to take different ideas forward. 'It's how we bring all these things together to one hub. We must start to try and get more information through the council and we must start working together for the community as a whole.' Cllr Leech said it had been a 'great privilege' to be mayor of Okehampton. 'I've tried very hard to work for the good of the community as has the rest of the council. 'Whatever I do, I do as part of my own conscience and for the good of the community.' The meeting also saw town councillors elect a new mayor and deputy mayor to take up the positions in May. Okehampton's new mayor will be Cllr Kay Bickley, who is the current deputy mayor, and Cllr David Weekes will take up the role of deputy. They will take up their posts in May. The meeting, held in the Charter Hall, was also attended by the town's West Devon Borough councillors and the Devon County councillor, who gave reports and took questions from the public. The meeting heard how this is the last year the town will benefit from substantial sums of money given annually to the town council from Waitrose — since Waitrose was built it has given a proportion of its profit to the town and borough councils, known as 'The Waitrose Recepit'. Chairman of the parks committee Christine Marsh, who is also a borough and county cllr, praised Simmons Park as the town's 'beautiful asset.' The park is continuing to move from strength to strength and has played host to the Battle of the Bands, the Devon Youth Games and Sport Relief in the last year. Meetings of Okehampton Town Council are held on Monday evenings and are open to the public.
