THE May 5 meeting of Newton St Cyres Parish Council was attended by nine Councillors, the Parish Clerk, the Devon County Councillor (Margaret Squires) and the Climate Officer (Sue Rowell).

Environmental Issues

• Wildflower areas have been planted on the village green and near the school.

• The Climate Officer, Sue Rowell, is hoping to encourage some action as a result of the water quality monitoring report. It was hoped that a Catchment Steering Group could attract some funding to try and take action to improve the water quality.

This would require support from all parties including South West Water and Devon County Council. Of particular concern is the impact of the large number of proposed developments relative to the capacity of the local sewage works.

• Sue has also been working with the Parish Hall Committee to see how it could reduce carbon emissions from the Parish Hall.

• The 2021 report on Nitrogen Dioxide pollution was presented. This pollutant is a consequence of vehicle emissions, mainly from the A377.

The annual target is less than 40 µg/m3 when averaged over the year. In previous years, we have come very close to this level. Unsurprisingly, however, 2021 levels were much lower because of Covid regulations reducing the volume of traffic.

Nationwide traffic levels have since returned to normal, and the amount of traffic on the A377 is also increasing, so this pollutant will continue to be monitored.

Council Administration

• This is the time of year that the Parish Council must re-appoint Councillors to the various positions within the Council and re-examine our various policies and assets.

All the Councillors were prepared to continue with their existing roles. However, it should be noted that, next year, all Councillors must stand down and seek re-election.

At that time, some Councillors will be leaving the Council and we very much look forward to seeing new faces on our team. Please consider if this is a role you can fill.

• Cllr Jim Enright was confirmed as Chairman for the coming year but he advised that he would not be standing for re-election as a Parish Councillor at the 2023 election.

• Cllr Roger Cashmore was confirmed as Vice Chairman.

• All the Parish Council’s policies can be viewed on the Parish Council website. A few minor changes have been made. The policies were passed by the Council. We have also adopted the updated Mid Devon District Council code of conduct for Councillors.

• The list of Parish Council assets and dates for Council meetings in 2023 was agreed. Again, these can be found on the Council website.

Other Council News

• Train services from Newton St Cyres are increasing. From May 15, there will be 10 trains a day to Exeter and seven trains a day leaving Exeter, each stopping at Newton St Cyres.

• The footpath from Oldway, that was closed due to bird ‘flu, has now re-opened as restrictions have now been lifted.

• Plans progress for the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations. We hope many villagers join in with our picnic on June 5 at the Recreation Ground, and that a good day is had by all. The packets of wildflower seeds will soon be presented to the junior school pupils.

• Various road issues were noted including missing stones in the wall on the church side of the cutting by Newton House and the continued lack of response from Devon Highways preventing the road wardens from filling potholes.

Councillor Squires agreed to take these up with Devon Highways for us.

The next meeting of the Parish Council will be held in the Parish Hall on Thursday, June 2, at 7pm. Members of the public are welcome. Alternatively, if members of the public wish issues to be raised in Council meetings, they can contact Councillors in the usual way.

There will also be a Parish Surgery at the Coffee Morning to be held on the second Saturday of the month in the Parish Hall.

Liz Ouldridge