Dartmouth's Mayor's Sunday traditional civic parade is so far past its sell-by date that it should finally be axed, town councillors have been told.

The tradition where the mayor and councillors parade through the town centre to St Saviour's Church is no longer the spectacle it once was – when the Band of the Royal Marines and a contingent of dozens of naval college cadets in full uniform used to take part.

The town is no longer interested in the event and many of the town councillors themselves don't even take part any more, town clerk Chris Horan said.

On top of that, the police are no longer prepared to dedicate officers to the parade – and the council is going to have to find almost a dozen stewards to 'police' the road closures, Mr Horan revealed.

In a report to the council he told councillors: 'Being brutally honest the event no longer attracts any interest and the church service is normally poorly attended by councillors.'

And the report added: 'Now would be the appropriate moment to reflect and consider whether this event should continue.'

But the report brought protests from councillors as Felicity Smith declared: 'It is a town tradition and it is important for the town. A lot of people do turn out for it.'

And mayor Paul Allen added: 'From a public perspective we work as hard as possible to promote this town. To lose Mayor's Sunday I think would be foolhardy.'

They were adamant the town should keep the parade and they now want to investigate whether the town's Rotary Club members could step in to steward the event – as they do the Candlelit Dartmouth parade.

Mr Horan's report suggested that the Mayor's Sunday parade should be cut and the council should also axe the Guildhall ballroom mayor- making reception this year because it would be Cllr Allen's second term as civic head of the town.

His report said: 'It had been suggested when previously reviewed that a Mayor's Sunday would only be held for a newly elected mayor, ie his/her first year of office.

'Prior to the disbanding of the Band of her Majesty's Royal Marines, Britannia Royal Naval College, Mayor's Sunday was very much an event which emanated from the borough days and the community welcomed the opportunity to see the band parade down the street.

'It must now be acknowledged that we are now only a town council, the distinction between that and a parish simply by the fact of a mayor.'

It added: 'With regard to the mayor-making evening it had previously been suggested that on the election of a new mayor there would be a full reception (refreshments upstairs in the ballroom) but in the event of an existing mayor undertaking a second term of office, then there would simply be a mayor- making evening with guests invited, but no reception.'

Mr Horan pointed out to councillors that in past years the spectacle of the military band and some 50 to 60 BRNC cadets marching through the town attracted people to the event – but that has now all gone.

He said that while councillors say they are going to attend many do not. 'Last year there were about seven,' he said.

Cllr David Gent said that while a few Mayor's Sunday parades had been 'washed out', when the weather was good 'there were lots of people out there'.

However, Cllrr Les Barnes asked: 'Why do we need to parade through the town? It's one of those things that should be lost in the past.'

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