LOSS of one of Crediton's two town-centre late night pharmacies to the new Tesco store, on the Exeter road, outside the town dismayed members of Crediton Town Council.

At their February meeting councillors agreed to make this an agenda item for their next meeting.

Cllr Liz Brookes-Hocking commented: "This is a bad decision. No-one has been consulted about this."

Cllr Joyce Harris brought it to their attention saying she did not know if they were aware that Crediton Pharmacy had lost its out of hours service to Tesco.

This left only Boots the Chemist giving a service in the town until 6.30pm. Boots and Crediton Pharmacy gave the service on alternate weeks. Its late nights would close from March 1.

Cllr Harris felt the change to Tesco had been "a little unfair" because a lot of people could find it difficult to get there for an evening prescription.

Councillors felt it was "a great loss to the town" and wondered who gave authority for the move? They hoped other groups in the town would take this matter up, too.

The notice in Crediton Pharmacy on Tuesday this week still gave their late night times of opening into March.

SALT AND GRIT BINS

Three councillors will look at suggestions from the public for places in the town that need grit and salt bins and make a priority list to send to Devon County Council.

It was reported that suggestions so far include Deep Lane and Tower Gardens, Okefield Avenue and Okefield Road, Chapel Downs Road and Queen Elizabeth Drive, with councillors adding the top of Searle Street, George Hill and Murley Close, and Barnfield.

There has been a grit bin on Winswood for many years.

Chairman Cllr Frank Letch reported that on one part of Winswood a car had been abandoned for 36 hours during the icy weather because it could not be moved.

Cllr David Nation repeated the suggestion made by Cllr Richard Adams at a previous meeting that, in some places, bags of grit and salt were made available to the public at strategic spots.

It was agreed that Cllrs Letch, Adams and Nick Way meet to see where else grit and salt bins might be handy and to draw up a priority list.

Still with the icy weather, Cllr Letch reported that the town council had received a reply to its comment at a previous meeting about the unsatisfactory refuse collection arrangements in icy weather.

He said the town council had been told that Viridor had closed its waste site at Uffculme because the access was difficult to operate safely.

Hoping this would be sorted out before next winter, the town council is to ask the county council what representations it will be making to Viridor to make sure service continues despite bad weather.

SECOND TERM

Cllr Letch was chosen as the Mayor Elect which will give him a second year in office. There were no other nominations.

Cllr Letch reported that the annual town meeting, when townspeople can raise any comments with councillors, would be held on April 20, probably at the Boniface Centre.

The Mayor's Reception would be on May 18. Cllr Letch asked for ideas for townspeople who deserved recognition.

He had presented a £500 cheque from the town council to the new group for young carers. Cllr Letch said it had been "quite moving" to meet those aged nine, 10 and 11 who were caring for a parent or other member of their family. "This is such a worthwhile project," he said.

He had also been at the celebration for the first year of the Polish School in Exeter that he opened last year.

WILL THEY OR WON'T THEY?

Before the big new Tesco store opened, councillors had understood the company would give them £5,000, not to go into a "pot" towards a big project, but for one project.

But there is now doubt about this.

Cllr David Nation said he had been talking to the store's community champion, Kim Wood, who had "been very helpful" and he had hoped someone from Tesco would get back to him before the town council meeting.

However, Cllr Nation said Kim's job was to help local groups raise money. She was going to find out if the £5,000 was still available.

Cllr Liz Brookes-Hocking said the town council had "wonderful ideas" for how to spend this money but Tesco had wanted it spent on one project. Councillors had decided a teen shelter would be useful and would come within the £5,000 budget.

Cllr Nation said he was "very vague" about the funding because he had no information from Tesco, although the town council had thought the money was "ring-fenced" for Crediton.

"If we are not going to get a contribution from Tesco, the whole thing will have to be rethought. However, if we pursue something that is a good idea, we shall try to make it happen, won't we?" he asked.

He added that he had arranged to go out with youth workers in the town to talk with young people to see if they thought a teen shelter would be useful.

When Cllr Peter Finnegan said the town council should co-ordinate fundraising with the Chamber of Commerce, he was told the town council did not do fundraising.

The town council had been offered the money in the early days of Tesco, who had asked for various ideas, of which a teen shelter was one.

Whatever happened, it was stated there would have to be consultation with the people of the town about a teen shelter and where it might go before a planning application could be made, if there was a chance of it becoming a possibility.

NO SURPRISES

Looking at the five potential development sites put forward by developers or landowners to the district council, the town council agreed to object to them all on the grounds they were environmentally unsuitable, less suitable than the sites currently in the district council's Local Development Framework.

Some councillors said they had not had chance to look at the proposals but were told these had been available at Crediton Library for at least a fortnight. (These can also be seen at the Crediton council offices).

The sites are off Higher Road beside Forches Cottage, at Landscore between new homes where the reservoir had been and The Parks, Fordton alongside the railway line opposite Kirton Motor Spares' yard, Chapeldowns, and west of the Wellparks site at the back of Exeter Road from Station Cross towards Fairpark.

It was thought planning permission had been given for industrial use of the Fordton site but Cllr Nation explained that although this had been refused by the district council, it was approved when it went to appeal, it had been overturned by a judicial review.

Cllr Walter Brown said that if the town council made no comment, this could be seen as approval; for the five sites.

He added that while Pedlarspool site was objectionable in many ways, none of the non-allocated sites were suitable for development either and even four or five together would not replace the number of homes that could be built at Pedlarspool Lane, which was still a contingency site.

Cllr Nation said the public inquiry into the district council's LDF would be in mid-April in Tiverton.

SCHOOL TRANSPORT

Looking at consultation papers on the county council's Schools Admissions and Transport agenda, it was agreed to ask that the current travel subsidy enjoyed by Crediton students on a low income above the age of 16 to East Devon College should remain. Its removal would be prejudicial to their education.

Councillors felt the document was "unwieldy".

PEOPLES PARK

Crediton Scouts were praised for their work on the Scout Memorial Garden on Peoples Park.

Cllr Bob Wright, one of the sub committee of four town councillors looking at the Park, situation would check the state of the trees and it was hoped the town council would be able to work in partnership when the district council's tree officer was appointed.

Cllr Nation reminded the council that Crediton Climate Action's Tree Group was interested in planting trees on the Park. It had already planted three trees at the entrance to Queen Elizabeth Drive.

REPORTS

Cllr Connell has joined Cllrs Brookes-Hocking, Anne Hughes, John Downes and David Nation on the town council's town plan working group.

Reporting that this month the district council had taken over recycling collections from Mid Devon Community Recycling, Cllr Wright said it was now collecting from primary schools which, in the past, had to pay for that service and he hoped the senior schools would be included.

Cllr Nation said town councillors would be concerned that the district council would be cutting its budget for street sweeping, but councillors had been assured the standard of service would not deteriorate. "Some of us find it difficult to square that circle," he said.

Cllr Letch commented there were "rumblings in the town" over the street sweeping service. The town council needed to keep a watch.

Cllr Nation reported that for the past 18 months or so he had been working hard to try to ensure that at least half the services that had been given by the town's Tourist Information Service were continued by a group in Crediton.

He had hoped for confirmation from the district council of a financial contribution but more obstacles had been put in front of Crediton Community Transport Association, which had since come back with "a very good business plan".

"I hope, in a few days, a sensible contribution will be made by the district council," he said. "If not, I shall be making a great deal of noise. The district council has been most unhelpful in its dealings with the Community Transport Association."

Cllr Connell reported that Crediton Chamber of Commerce had been relaunched at a meeting the previous week and been attended by about 40 very enthusiastic people.

"If they do half of what they say they will, we shall have a very vibrant Chamber over the next year or so. They would like to work with the town council and district council," he said.

POTHOLES

Cllr Way reported that a group of councillors had walked around the town, listing more than 50 of the bigger potholes in road surfaces.

Some had since been filled in, others had appeared. He said the county council had 26 emergency gangs all over the county filling potholes as priority work. Each pothole cost about £170 to repair.

He asked people who found potholes to telephone the county council, or him (01363 777903). Cllr Wright added that http://www.fixmystreet.com">www.fixmystreet.com was another way to report these potholes.

Cllr Way reported that repairs were likely to be made to the road at the top of Barnfield, but he had asked the county council to liaise with the school as to when this could best be done.,

PLANNING

Approval was recommended to the district council, (which makes the final decisions), on both planning applications:

The first was to extend the time limit for the existing planning permission to convert a barn to a dwelling at 27 Exeter Road and the second for variation of a planning condition to allow natural clay tiles to be used for a garage roof at Stoney Park, Westwood Road, Westwood.