A Tamar Valley village ward’s newly-elected parish councillors have pledged to put aside their political differences and to work together to help local people – including holding a monthly surgery on the first Wednesday evening of each month.

The first such surgery for Calstock will therefore take place this evening (June 2).

Fresh from their election as councillors in the Calstock Ward of Calstock Parish Council, Alex Polglase and Alastair Tinto, Labour, and Sophie Westwood, Green, have pledged to work together for the people of the picturesque riverside village. Alex said, “In the elections we wanted people to know where we stood but when it comes to working on the Parish Council, party politics don’t really matter.”

All three parish councillors say they are committed to publicising what they do on the Council. Alastair said: “We should encourage participation and public debate and make it easy to give feedback. Involving the public makes us stronger and more accountable.”

Their first step in engaging with their constituents is the monthly surgery that they are going to hold on the first Wednesday of each month from 6pm to 7 pm in Calstock Village Hall, starting from this evening.

“We’d like people to bring along their ideas for how to make Calstock better. We’re also here to help and offer advice,” said Sophie.

If possible, they are asking for a brief email to be sent beforehand to [email protected] to let them know what people want to talk about. However, Sophie Westwood said: “Just turning up is fine too.”