Town Clerk Chronicles: A busy year and looking forward to the next

This is my first opportunity to communicate with you all in 2024.  Belated greetings to everyone for the new year.

I’d like to start with a little reflection on what was a very busy December, indeed a busy end of year in general.

Following on from the successful Christmas Lights Switch On at the end of November, we had several events during December, including a major exhibition at The Guildhall.

Focussing on the history of rail transport in our area, more than a thousand people attended during the four-day period. This was most pleasing to see, and testament to the hard work put into making the event a success. I’d like to thank our Heritage team and all those who contributed in a variety of ways.

We had some very positive feedback from attendees and the consensus is that our Guildhall exhibitions are very well received.

That is encouraging to hear and we are always open to ideas for exhibitions and activities for the future.

Both the Railway and Maritime exhibitions in 2023 have shown that our community are keen to engage with their local heritage. Indeed, many came forward to share their own stories and provide mementoes and artefacts for display.

When our community gets involved like this, it gives a real sense of purpose to our commitment to work with, and for, the people of Barnstaple.

So much was achieved in 2023, with the funding of various projects and events spanning across our Community, Heritage and Estate teams.

I am very much hoping that 2024 will see further constructive and positive projects come to fruition.

On a general note, we are about to set the budget for 2024/25. I will be able to provide more details on that in our February Newsletter, but it’s fair to say that in considering the budget, it is always a delicate balance between aspirations and hopes on the one hand and realism and pragmatism on the other.

It’s a balance we take very seriously and aim to achieve for the benefit of our whole community.

One decision we have been able to make recently concerns repairs to, and restoration of The Guildhall. A few have commented that the public façade of this vital and precious asset has been looking a little forlorn in recent times.

So, I am glad to be able to report that a contract has just been awarded for a full programme of external works. This will allow us to restore the building by repairing the damage and regenerating its overall appearance.

We received a grant from Historic England as well as funds via North Devon Council from its Future High Street funding scheme. Work starts in February and is scheduled to last for between 16 and 20 weeks.

I am always happy to hear that our Town Ranger Team are receiving positive support from residents and visitors, which they did in the run up to the festive period.

Their efforts to keep the town, and areas such as Rock Park, clean and tidy, don’t go unnoticed, and despite some very unfavourable weather conditions recently, they have been able to carry on the good work.

Finally for this month, we have a couple of vacancies which have recently arisen, giving opportunities to work with us at Barnstaple Town Council.

One is for the position of heritage and cultural assistant, where you will be helping to deliver the Town Council’s heritage programme.

The other is for a part-time finance assistant, to support the finance manager with the computerised sales and purchase ledgers and other subsidiary financial matters.

Please visit the website at www.barnstapletowncouncil.gov.uk for further details and how to apply.

I will catch up with you all again in February.