THE June meeting of Sandford Parish Council meeting was held face-to-face with the necessary Covid safety restrictions in place at Sandford Parish Hall.

The Clerk reported that during the last month the main issue raised had been the continuing issues concerning dog mess and this had been especially bad of late in the Meadowside area.

He said that regrettably Mid Devon District Council no longer had a dog warden and it was felt the best option was to record owners allowing their dogs to fowl the footpath and report these incidents to MDDC for enforcement.

It was recalled that when a resident at Meadowside had previously been reported to MDDC, and fined for allowing their dog to foul the footpath, for some time after there had been no other incidents for a long period of time.

Coincidentally MDDC had sent a Consultation Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) regarding “Proposed Dog Controls”.

This included a proposal to exclude ALL dogs from Sandford Play Areas (Not owned by MDDC) – It was agreed to support the Consultation being circulated by the District Council.

This would include addressing the issue of dog fouling in all public spaces, the exclusion of dogs in all enclosed play areas, dogs to be kept on leads in public parks, cemeteries and churchyards.

Owners will be required to “carry appropriate means for the disposal of dog faeces”.

There is also a limit on the number of dogs that a person can control in a public space. A breach of the PCSO would be a criminal offence with a fine up to £1,000.

Parish Unlocking Celebration Walks and Cream Tea (June 26, 2021) – Plans were coming together well with lots of offers of help, draw prizes etc. However it may be necessary to postpone this date dependent on the latest unlocking announcement on June 14. Volume One of the 2020 Sandford Scrapbook was nearing completion and would be launched at the final Celebration event. Volume Two (2021) was ready in the planning. (This event has since been postponed).

John Neave had sent an email raising concerns over parking issues on Rose and Crown Hill causing congestion to traffic using the hill.

“Yet again in recent days while driving up Rose and Crown hill to enter the Square I have been held up, along with other traffic trying to head down, due to inconsiderate parking of vehicles on the junction of Rose and Crown hill/The Square on double yellow lines while making deliveries to Summerhayes residential home.

“While I appreciate that deliveries need to be made, would it really be too much trouble for the owners of the home to advise all delivery drivers to park further into the Square to avoid this delay and disruption to traffic flow or is it just too much trouble for the drivers to have to walk a few yards further?.”

He added: “The amount of times I have witnessed refuse lorries, buses and cars held up due to the inconsiderate parking of these drivers, which by the way greatly increases pollution levels etc in that area, is becoming very frequent.”

It was agreed to pass these comments on to the owners of “Summerhayes”, the Police and the Highway Authority.

Much of the rest of the meeting was taken up by formulating the Parish Council’s comments to the proposal to build 13 new homes on land behind Creedy View for submission to the MDDC Planning Office.?It was agreed to submit the following comments:

1) Whilst the Parish Council do not oppose the application we, and a high percentage of parishioners attending the Public Meeting, do wonder whether the right type of homes are being proposed??Does Sandford really need more Executive-type homes?

There is clearly an absence of “affordable” properties in Sandford. This means many younger residents, as well as older residents who want to downsize, are forced to move into Crediton to find “affordable” properties.?Any attempts for moving back to their home village are thwarted by the lack of “affordable” homes.?Many residents have told us they were wanting the number of dwellings reduced to the eight described in the local plan. Whilst MDDC say “they” must make best use of the land available, the need in Sandford is for cheaper dwellings rather than more executive style houses.

2) There is a huge concern, from the residents of Meadowside, that back on to the site, that their properties will be flooded due to the location of the proposed attenuation tanks/ponds. We feel that these are NOT acceptable in the location currently shown on the plans.?If the ponds do become the preferred option we would request that a trench is dug (filled with aggregate) with a drain pipe to take away the excess water in the direction of the sewage works.

3) The consensus from the Parish is that Zinc roofs are not suitable and they should match the current Creedy View development roofs.

4) We are concerned that the present Creedy View One attenuation tanks have yet to be adopted and feel that this is necessary before any Construction works begins on Creedy View Two.

5) Any conveyance of surplus land to a Sandford organisation needs to be at no legal cost to the recipient.?6) The future care of the Ha Ha needs to be attended to by the Management Committee, and not Sandford Parish Council or Sandford Millennium Green. Alternatively the responsibility lies with the owner of the property whose land this falls on. The Management Committee will need to have access for repairs etc.

7) No soil or spoil should be deposited below the Furlongs footpath as this could in time cause a potential hazard of it slipping down the bank onto the homes in Meadowside.

8) The Management Committee needs to be set up and running within six months of the first properties being occupied.

9) The monies allocated to the Clean Air Fund should be used toward the creation of the proposed Footpath and Cycle Way connecting Sandford with Pedlarspool. Also with the path leading to Meadowside and Snows.

10) The impact of additional traffic on the already busy Fanny’s Lane needs to be addressed and resolved. All construction vehicles need to access the site from the Upton Hellions end of Fanny’s Lane rather than travelling through the centre of the village. Conditions also need to be put in place that deliveries do not take place at busy times of the day including when children are arriving at and leaving Sandford School.

11) It is recommended that sufficient fast electric car re-charging points are included within the development as this need will become more and more a priority in future. We also suggest a car recharging point connected to the current Creedy View One car park.

Date of next Meeting, July 1, 2021, 7.30pm at Sandford Community Sports Pavilion.

MJV