Ross Town Councillors presented a united front at the Town Council meeting on Monday, June 10th, when they voted unanimously to support a Notice of Motion proposed by Councillor John Edwards and seconded by Councillor David Ravenscroft.

The Notice asked the Council to resolve that it would:?"Talk to and engage with residents, community groups, Ross?Rural Parish Council and Herefordshire Council to consider and explore all options for the delivery of Herefordshire Council services in Ross-on-Wye."

An original Notice of Motion proposed by Councillor Andrew Atkinson at the last Town Council meeting, written as the size of the cuts to Herefordshire Council budgets were revealed, was withdrawn.

Counillor Atkinson said that as there had been the benefit of time to compose the second notice of motion he was happy to stand his down.

Councillor Chris Bartrum had referred to the various informal meetings he had organised since June 6th for Councillors with Herefordshire officers in his Mayor's report. He said that he would organise more meetings so Councillors could discuss the potential options.

Councillor Ravenscroft said that the meetings, some of which had taken place earlier that day, had been a good start to the process. He thought it was very important to talk to other groups such as Ross Rural Parish Council.

Councillor Ian Henderson explained that Herefordshire Council is proposing the decentralisation of assets and equipment, and Ross Town Council needs to get a true indication of the costs of the assets and the liability the Town Council would face if it took on the assets.

For the full story please see this week's Ross Gazette.