YOUNG people in Marlborough are to have a bigger say in the way their town is run if an idea mooted by town councillors germinates.

For several years, Marlborough Town Council has been discussing the possibility of launching a young people's council and Mayor Margaret Boulton has named it as a project she wants to see launched during her year in office.

Tonight, town councillors will be meeting members of the Marlborough Young People's Forum, consisting of town youth groups' representatives, to discuss setting up a shadow council of young people.

Coun Boulton told the town council finance and general purposes committee on Monday that she was committed to seeing a young people's council formed before her year in office ends next May. She said: "I do hope to get something going by September and have a meeting with the young people themselves."

Coun David Watson said a young people's town council had been operating successfully for years in Calne and he could see no reason why one should not take off in Marlborough.

Coun Ian Perryman said: "It would be nice to have a shadow young people's council and I would like to see one in Marlborough."

Marlborough councillors are planning to get in touch with Calne town councillors to see how the YPTC works and to benefit from their ideas on it.