A TOWN council needs to "think long and hard" about how it operates after failing to complete projects, according to the town clerk.

Members of Lyme Regis Town Council discussed a report by Cllr Steve Miller about how council officers and councillors can work better together.

At last week's strategy and finance committee, Cllr Miller, said: "This is about the way in which officers and members interact.

"We have missed delivering projects this year. If we were sharper, if members of committees had volunteered to stay close to these matters, it could be that we would not get in a position that we miss items."

In his report, Cllr Miller highlighted a "lack of an active priority system" which ties up officers' time. He also suggested that members work with officers on specific council projects.

Cllr Daryl Turner said he thought the council should "do less, do it better" - while Lyme Regis Mayor, Cllr Owen Lovell, hit out at the amount of time spent in working groups - labelling them "major obstacles".

Cllr Lovell said: "Once we have set the budget, people in the office need to chases these things - I think we need some more direct and prompt action.

"When I joined the council, a working group was almost unheard of. If working groups are causing a problem, my suggestion would be that they go. Do we need a working group to discuss things?

"If you have not got the background of Lyme Regis Town Council by now, something is wrong."

Cllr Brian Larcombe told members he felt working groups "have a place" while Cllr Sean Larcombe said he felt like "a bit of a spare part" for not taking part in working group meetings.

Cllr Lovell also spoke out about the amount of time officers spent dealing with the Marine Theatre rotunda campaign last month.

He added: "The rotunda has given the town clerk a lot of grief.

"It went through quite heavily supported to be removed, and one or two have persisted."

Town clerk John Wright, said: "The rotunda put us into a position where not a lot of work could be done - it took a lot of time.

"We are struggling. There are too many things. Collectively, we need to think long and hard with how we do business.

"This council has set a number of objectives with timescales against them. We have got to refocus ourselves."