Sidmouth residents who want to raise any concerns about local issues with the town council have their chance to do so on Monday.

The annual Town Assembly takes place via Zoom at 6.30pm on April 19 and all the town councillors will be present.

Town council chairman Ian Barlow said: "It's open to everyone to come along, listen in to what we do and what we say, and also have their say if they've got any problems.

"We didn't have a Town Assembly last year because we weren't allowed to conduct meetings via Zoom at this time last year, but this year it is going ahead.

"People can speak at any of our meetings, but the Town Assembly is a chance to chat with us."

Before the public session, there will be reports from Sidmouth Police, the councillor with special responsibility for finance, Chris Lockyear, and the chairs of the planning, tourism and economy and environment committees: Kelvin Dent, Louise Cole and Denise Bickley.

The public session will be followed by short presentations from three organisations who've received funding from the town council in this year's budget. Tim Bridger is chief executive of Citizens Advice East Devon, which received a grant of £2,000; Dave Alexander is a director of the Norman Lockyer Observatory which received a conditional grant of £2,200, and Dave Rafferty is from the Chit Rocks Beach Access Project, which received a conditional allocation of £5,000. Conditional funding requires the recipient to match the amount given with their own fundraising.

Anyone who wants to join the meeting and/or speak during the public session should register by emailing [email protected] at least 24 hours in advance, and they will be sent the Zoom link. Questions that are submitted before the meeting will be given priority.