The youth of Marlow will be given the chance to have their say in the community, as the town mayor has put steps in motion to establish a youth council.

When he was elected, Cllr Johnson vowed he would provide a platform to give young people a voice in the community, and hopes to hold a preliminary meeting with initial representatives as early as next month.

Schools and external bodies such as Guides, Scouts and Cadets will be approached to select young people for the initial representation of youth councillors.

Cllr Johnson said: “Young people are in a large amount of the Marlow population. It seemed to me that we ought to be examining what the youth want in the town and the extent to which we can give them a platform for a voice.

“At the moment they don’t have a formal voice; they only have it through their parents.”

Both Sir William Borlase Grammar School and Great Marlow have been approached with the proposal and Cllr Johnson has said they are ‘very supportive’ of the idea.

The next stage of the plan, which is due to go ahead next month is asking various schools and to select initial representatives for the youth council.

Cllr Johnson said: “It’s very important we get a balanced view rather than those who come from the most affluent part of town, or just the head boys and girls at the schools.”

Once this is established the council want to encourage the youth to bring their own initiatives to the table and see their development through.

Cllr Johnson said: “It’s also in our Marlow town vision to examine the development of initiatives for the young people in Marlow.

“They are the ones with the natural innovation and creativity – asking them what issues they would like to have dealt with, and any suggestions for change will give them ideas, and we will help them to identify the obstacles they would have to overcome to get them implemented.”

Deputy Mayor, Cllr Jocelyn Towns, stressed that nothing would be dictated to the young people, and the final decision as to whether or not the youth council goes ahead would be up to them.

Cllr Towns said: “I spoke to the head at Great Marlow and she immediately introduced me to the head girl and head boy.”

“They thought it was a brilliant idea, and they are going to talk to their counterparts at Borlase who we are waiting to hear back from.”

“I would like to stress though, that we are not going to dictate anything to them. We are going to put it in their hands and will give them the opportunity to have their say.”