TOWN councillors and Sidmouth Vision Group members will join forces to discuss key issues affecting Sidmouth. The decision to hold a special meeting came after Dr Brian Golding and Vision Group chairman Robert Crick addressed the town council at its June

TOWN councillors and Sidmouth Vision Group members will join forces to discuss key issues affecting Sidmouth.The decision to hold a special meeting came after Dr Brian Golding and Vision Group chairman Robert Crick addressed the town council at its June meeting.Dr Golding recapped on the group's Vision document, submitted to East Devon District Council two years ago, while Mr Crick offered a progress report, suggesting the next steps would be to form a parish action plan based on its consultations, an Eastern Town regeneration brief, new focuses for consultation and forming a constitutional establishment.The latter will be considered at the group's first annual meeting at Sidmouth Arts Centre from 7pm on Wednesday, June 25.Mr Crick favours the pooling of local talents for problem solving through a think tank. "There is a lot of local expertise, we try to make things happen," he said, adding it needed to work with the town council to push forward a parish plan.With council support, town council chairman Councillor Tom Cox proposed holding a special full council meeting "to look at the issues".He said: "There are going to be times we disagree. It will get tough, but at the end of it all we will have something very solid."Now is the time to do it, to do things together and focus our intentions and objectives."Councillor John Dyson said the town council would almost certainly take on more responsibilities if a unitary council was formed through local government reorgan-isation. This is going to mean we have got to change our thinking as well."Saying links between the council and Vision Group would be beneficial, he added: "You need us more than you did a year ago. You have more strength on the research side. Together, understanding strengths and weaknesses, we can move forward effectively."He said the group needed to "focus on key issues", such as Port Royal regeneration, transport, pedestrianisation and planning, rather than fringe areas.