A LEDBURY town councillor is calling for a new policy to handle mail sent to the town council by members of the public.

Cllr Maria Mackness said she was concerned that "the council does not currently have a policy stating how councillors and staff will handle council correspondence received."

She fears that, under the present system, some mail, both electronic and otherwise, may not actually get to be seen by the councillors.

Cllr Mackness tabled a motion calling for the Democratic Working Party to research and prepare a policy on the handling of all council correspondence.

But this was defeated with a vote a last week's full town council meeting.

Under council rules, the motion cannot come before councillors for another six months, but Cllr Mackness plans to re-present the idea.

Speaking after the meeting, she said: "It is not just doing the right thing; it is being seen to do the right thing."

Cllr Tony Bradford, who voted against the motion, said he trusted office staff to make the right decisions concerning correspondence received at the office.

He said: "If I can't trust the clerk of Ledbury Town Council to scrutinise the hundreds and hundreds of letters each week, what is it all about?"

He added: "If you lose a resolution, you should accept it."