SOMETIME after the elections to county a local resident asked me what a County councillor does.

I replied it was very much the same as for a district councillor or even town or parish councillor.

In the first instance we have to attend meetings, until recently these were all on Zoom but now fortunately they are face-to-face.

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, we receive the complaints, problems and comments of local residents and do our best to deal with them.

These I receive as emails, telephone calls or even face-to-face. The advantage of an email is that I have a written record and something that I can forward to the relevant officer.

One of the advantages of being a councillor is that you have easy access to the relevant officer. I am not a magician, I do not have a magic wand but the fact that I can contact by telephone or email officers in Mid Devon District Council and Devon County Council means that problems are more likely to be resolved.

As those of you who read my news will realise I give up two hours or so every Saturday to hold a surgery in one of the five parishes that are in my division.

I finished a complete cycle in July and August but now need to make a few changes in order to improve customer contact. Crediton will remain on the town square on the first Saturday, on September 11, I shall be in Cheriton Bishop outside the Young Farmers’ building at 9.30am and then move on to the Community Hall in Yeoford for 11.15am.

September 18 will see me as usual in Sunnymead play area, Copplestone and the fourth Saturday I shall be in the Methodist Church Hall in Bow and not in the Bow Aquatics Centre. I feel the church is more central and there is parking in the village hall car park opposite.

The new query from several residents concerns the number of people parking on the street and taking up residents’ places. They have asked me to look into resident parking permits.

I have approached Devon County Council and it seems that the best route is to apply with some information to your parish or town council.

I have to say that this is not a free service and there is no guarantee that even if you pay you will have a car park space in your street. Because of lack of personnel police enforcement is virtually impossible. I shall pass the information to parish clerks.

The last thing to appear in my inbox was a rumour that Devon County Council is thinking of changing the status of disabled parking bays, not those on the highways but the concessionary parking spaces on estate roads.

It seems that the council is looking at making these mandatory so that you can only park in them if you have a blue badge and the right to park in a particular parking bay.

When I have more information I will make this clearer because it is a dramatic change.

Cllr Frank Letch MBE

County Councillor for Crediton