AT the January meeting of Todmorden's University of the Third Age, chairman Mr Peter Gibson announced that the 200th member had just signed up.
He also reported on the year's successful fundraising activities, which had raised more than £750.
This, added to the generous grant from Todmorden Town Council, had enabled U3A to buy all the equipment requested by the various interest groups. It w
as also possible now to set up an equipment maintenance fund.
The speakers were Catherine Emberson, clerk to Todmorden Town Council, and Hazel Stobbs, the town council's development officer.
Catherine gave a brief history of the role of Town Clerk, starting with a first mention in Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19. She went on to the development and functions of the present Todmorden Town Council, and her role in advising it and carrying out its decisions.
The council contributed to the communal life of the town by refunding room-hire charges for some organisations and supporting arts and entertainment. It had also been responsible for the Christmas Lights design competition, which had involved local schoolchildren, and had contributed to the provision of Police Community Support Officers and CCTV within the town centre.
Hazel told the meeting that she had lived in Todmorden most of her life, but was still surprised by the wealth of organisations in the town.
The position of development officer had only been established the previous year. Her role was to work at the remit of the town council, in projects which would support residents, community and voluntary groups.
These had so far included the refurbishment of the town's boundary signs, with improvement of the community noticeboards to follow. An audit of empty shops had been carried out, with the owners now identified and orders going out for the properties to be tidied up where necessary.
She was also involved in the Todmorden in Bloom and Totally Locally projects, the proposed Linear Park project and the attempt to make Todmorden into a Fair Trade Town.
The speakers were thanked by Mr John McNair, and they were followed by a short talk from the Rev Robbie Bowen on the recent refurbishment of Central Methodist Church and its provision for community activities.
- The next meeting will take place at 1.45pm on February 18, when Richard Pomfret, convenor of the U3A Music Group, will be giving a talk entitled "Music Hath Charm…?"
