Truro City Council’s town clerk Roger Gazzard will be stepping down from his role at the end of February after 37 years of working on behalf of the city.  

Roger joined the city council in October 1986 in the part-time role of treasurer, which continued until his appointment as town clerk in 2011.  

Since then, there has been a significant increase in the size and breadth of services provided by the city council, which currently employs 65 members of staff.  

It is responsible for delivering cemeteries, parks and gardens, allotments, the community library, visitor information, destination marketing, public toilets, CCTV provision and community development initiatives, and is a statutory consultee on planning matters.  

The council also part funds the city’s anti-social behaviour officer, and in 2013 took the decision to again employ its own community development officer. This team now supports 10 local communities (around 6,810 residents) across the city by organising events, helping communities grow the use of their centres and open areas, and encouraging open community groups to deliver positive neighbourhood action.  

Some services have come to the city council as a result of devolution from Cornwall Council. These include the city library and public toilets, Hendra Hall and Zebs.  

The council has also completed a number of exciting new projects, the most recent of which are the tennis court refurbishment and new café and pavilion at Boscawen.   

The council works alongside Cornwall Council - as well as partner organisations including the Truro & Newham BIDs, the Hall for Cornwall, the Royal Cornwall Museum – to deliver its mission “to make Truro a great place to live, work and visit”. 

One of the city council’s key priorities is to regenerate the city. 

Roger has been involved in working with public and private sector partners to deliver many large and influential projects including the Truro Town Deal programme.  

Since the city successfully secured £23.6-million of Town Deal funding in 2021, the council has been leading on the projects to re-develop Boscawen Park and the “New Life for City Buildings” scheme, which aims to bring empty space above town centre shops back into residential use and return buildings in poor condition back into use.  

The council has also been involved in shaping key projects, such as Pydar and Langarth Garden Village, to ensure that they will meet the needs of local residents and businesses, both now and in the future.    

Truro mayor Cllr Carol Swain said: “During Roger’s tenure there have been many huge achievements and changes that we hope he looks back on with pride. 

“We would like to put on record our thanks to Roger for all he has done in his time at the city council. We hope we can continue to build on this positive legacy and wish him all the best for the future.”