Dartmouth's Mayor's Sunday parade tradition could be back – only without the parade.

Last year the annual parade – which has been part of Dartmouth civic calendar for more than 40 years – was cancelled because of health and safety issues involving road closures.

This year the councillors want the event to go ahead – only without the traditional parade along the town's roads.

Instead, the councillors will have to start their Mayor's Sunday get-together at Royal Avenue Gardens rather than the Guildhall.

And they will have to walk along the pavements instead of the roads to get to St Saviour's Church for the traditional civic service.

In the past, the parades have involved Royal Marine Bands; parties of Britannia Royal Naval College young officers; contingents from local organisations, including youth groups; and even a bagpiper.

If it goes ahead this year, it is likely to just be town councillors and any members of the public who show up and want to attend the service.

Dartmouth Town Council's general purposes committee met last week and recommended that the Mayor's Sunday event should go ahead again this year.

The final decision will be made on Monday when the town council meets at the Guildhall.

The future of the traditional event – which in past years used to bring large numbers of residents out onto the streets to watch – was put in doubt after the police withdrew support when it came to supervising the road closures which were necessary for the parade to go ahead.

Last year there was no one qualified to do that job which involves closing main roads and a number of side roads through the town and supervising to make sure no traffic interferes with the parade.

So far just town clerk Chris Horan, deputy town clerk Tracy Rowe and mayor Paul Allen have gone through the necessary training scheme to become qualified to do the job – and the mayor would have to be counted out because he would be taking part in the parade anyway.

At least five qualified people are needed for the main roads – and more for the side roads – to enable the parade in its traditional form to go ahead.

So the councillors scrapped it altogether last year and are now looking at simply meeting up in the Royal Avenue Gardens and walking on pavements – rather than the road – to the town centre parish church for the service.

The Mayor's Sunday event usually goes ahead in May.

If councillors agree to hold it this year, they have still to fix a time and date.