Paul Bishop, of Avonwick, South Brent, writes:

In response to no one standing to be a Dartmouth Town Council member in one ward and only one person in another ward, Cllr David Cawley is quoted as saying: 'It's about time the people of Dartmouth got off their backsides and did something.'

Dartmouth folk seem to me to be very active doing lots of things. I suspect they may feel there is little purpose in being active as a town councillor.

Urban areas seem to manage quite happily without parish/ town counils and I think rural areas would manage equally well without them.

At a time of significant cuts in public expenditure, the axing of parish/town councils seems to be something we could lose with little consequence.