North Tawton Town Council has voted to suspend the right of the public to speak out at its monthly meetings – apparently to silence one particularly vocal critic.

The council voted at its meeting on February 4 by four votes for with two against to suspend the public forum, which gives the public the right to speak for two minutes.

This was despite opposition from Cllr Noah Smith, who said: “I would strongly disagree. I feel it is a vital part of how the public can make their views known and it is a very short period of the meeting as a whole and the thing that anyone wants to say is over in two minutes so I don’t see the reason for it.”

Town council chairman Sarah McKnight told the meeting that the move was necessary to prevent disruption of council meetings. “It doesn’t stop people contacting the council, they can still do that. What it does mean is that it eliminates the disruption and means we can focus on the council meeting or council business in hand.”

She said it would be for six months as a trial “to give the council a reprieve”.

Cllr Smith said he felt councillors were ‘grown up enough’ to cope with what was said in the two-minute slot allocated.

North Tawton resident Christian Martin, a vocal critic of the council who resigned as a councillor last April, is believed to be the focus of the move.

He said he had made a formal complaint to the standards committee of West Devon Borough Council because he believes the decision was ‘predetermined” as well as wrong.

“This decision needs to be reversed immediately,” he said. “You can’t stop the public, who pay for the council, from having their say. We live in a democracy.”

He used his last ‘public participation’ to question the council on its recently ratified budget for the year from the start of April 2025.

“In what was to be sadly the last public participation, a resident (myself) exemplified the importance of variegated public opinion. In my review of the published accounts and bank statements the council reserves showed a total of £204,000 and bank balances of £191,000 producing a hole with seemingly £13,000 missing – “where had it gone?” was the question. Answer there came none from the councillors who appeared to show little or no concern.”

North Tawton Town Council issued a statement saying: “The public participation time was allowing members of the public to ask questions and to make representations regarding items on the agenda. Unfortunately, at recent meetings the level of hostility and aggression from a member of the public has increased and the council have a duty of care to councillors and the public.

“The clerk received a letter signed by four councillors requesting the public participation time be revoked temporarily for six months. This was ratified at the meeting on February 4, four in favour, two against, it was resolved to agree to amend the Standing Orders. The public are welcome to contact the clerk regarding issues and are still welcome to attend council meetings.”

The council’s meetings will be live streamed for the public to watch from now on, a decision made at the same meeting.