THE future of town twinning in Northallerton is in doubt after the chairman and secretary of the organising committee indicated their desire to retire.

Northallerton has been twinned with Ormesson-Sur-Marne, a Paris suburb, since 1993 and residents from both towns have enjoyed exchange visits, which are organised by committees on each side.

For the last 16 years the Northallerton organising committee, Bienvenue Ormesson, has been headed by Alan Shaw and his wife Lesley, both of Brompton, who acted as chairman and secretary respectively.

The pair announced their retirement from their roles last year but so far have had no luck in finding anyone to fill the positions.

At a meeting of Northallerton town council on Monday, Mr Shaw appealed to councillors for their help in finding a new chairman and secretary.

He also suggested that if replacements could not be found that the town council could take over the administrative functions of the committee and allow it to keep operating..

The two towns take it in turns each year to welcome visitors from the other side of the Channel and the organising committees run events and day trips to entertain guests Anyone taking part in an exchange arranges and pays for their own transport, while those hosting guests are expected to provide food.

The town councillors agreed that while the council has a responsibility to keep the twinning going, it was a matter that needed discussion before any agreement was made.

The Bienvenue Ormesson committee will meet with councillors to work out how an arrangement would work and how much pressure it would put on officials.

Speaking at the meeting Mr Shaw said: "The committee is still in one piece and is up and running but we just need someone to take responsibility for it.

"The twinning is a great opportunity for people in Northallerton and the surrounding area to go to France and take in some of the way of life over there.

"If the town council could step in to help that would mean the exchanges can carry on – the committee would still do most of the organising, we just need someone to take the lead."