IF you live in Okehampton or one of the surrounding parishes, come and meet councillors from your area and ask them questions or put your views forward at a special Councils Together in Okehampton — Promoting Local Democracy event next month.

On Saturday, May 19 in the Charter Hall there will be an opportunity to talk to your councillors and meet some of the community groups that parish and town councils support.

The event will take the form of a coffee morning from 10am to 12.30pm.

Parish and town councils work to improve community wellbeing and to provide better services at a local level. They are the tier of local government below the levels of district and county councils and are the grass roots tier closest to the people.

They work together with neighbouring councils and other agencies on issues affecting everyone such as traffic issues, the hospital and local planning.

Their work falls into three main categories: representing their local community, delivering services to meet local needs and striving to improve quality of life in the parish or town.

The list of councillors are published locally and on websites but this event is about meeting them and finding out how other parishes manage services and achieve improvements for their communities.

Could they do better? That’s one of the questions you could ask them, you could make suggestions or you could get involved.

For more information contact [email protected] or Derek Moore on 07721 056826.