THE April 6 meeting of Newton St Cyres Parish Council was attended by seven Councillors, the Parish Clerk, the Mid Devon District Councillor Graeme Barnell, the Climate Officer Sue Rowell and three members of the public. 

This was the last meeting for the present Parish Councillors before the elections in May.

Three of the existing Councillors have stood again and four new candidates have put their names forward.

This means that we have a potential of seven Councillors, and as the full Council consists of nine members, the election for the Parish Council was “uncontested”.

All seven candidates have been automatically “elected” and two more Councillors will be co-opted at the next meeting. Anyone interested simply needs to turn up at next month’s Parish Council meeting on Thursday, May 18 or contact the Parish Clerk for more information.

Jim Enright, the retiring Chairman of the Council, thanked all the Councillors for their hard work and commitment.

Many of the Councillors have served for a long time and have made a great contribution to the village.

We also thank Jim for his service: he has worked tirelessly for the community over his 10 years on the Parish Council. 

Annual Parish Meeting

This meeting took place immediately before the Council meeting.

The Chairman, Jim Enright, presented his report. You can read the full report on the Parish Council website and we will publish it in our annual newsletter, due out soon.

To summarise, Jim highlighted the activities of the Parish Council. This included a successful picnic to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Funds raised there paid for a bench for the Arboretum and were also donated to NEW (Newton Environmental Wellbeing Group) to fund environmental projects.

Other activities included initiating development of the Neighbourhood Plan, and campaigning on several fronts including for more social housing.

Jim spoke about the great contribution from volunteers to the community.

This year we awarded “Community Person of the Year” to Jocelyne Whittaker, who runs the Adonai Community Kitchen.

He also mentioned the excellent work of the environmental group NEW, and the Road Warden Scheme, as well as those who run the many and varied activities in the village. 

Jim described the structure and function of the Parish Council. He praised the work of Jane Hole, the Parish Clerk, without whom the Council could not function.

The annual accounts were also presented at the meeting. Again, the full details of these will be on the website and published in the annual newsletter. Despite no increase in funds, the Parish Council was able to maintain its expenditure without serious inroads into its reserves. 

Highway and Traffic Orders Committee (HATOC)

The District Councillor, Graeme Barnell, reported on the latest HATOC meeting.

The issues of traffic near the school, speed limits on the A377, a crossing at Tytheing Close and the Boniface Trail were all discussed.

Graeme emphasised the importance of maintaining pressure on HATOC if these issues are to make progress.

Probably the most promising outcome was the agreement to investigate the traffic problems near the school. Its entrance is often concealed by parked cars at school arrival and departure times, and this is a real safety issue. 

Neighbourhood Plan

The working party for the Neighbourhood Plan is now sifting through the information gathered at the recent open meeting. They will then bring forth a draft plan for further consultation.

There is a real need to involve younger people and, to this end, the working party is working with the primary school, to gather the views of the children and their families. 

Mast on the Church tower

For those of you waiting for better phone reception from the new masts on the Church tower, there is no need to panic that it’s not working for you. BT has yet to complete its part of the installation and so they are not switched on yet.

Road Warden Scheme 

This continues to flourish and Devon County Council has agreed to fund training for another volunteer. The Parish Council agreed to apply for a grant to provide simple Stop-Go signs.

Permissive Footpath

The path (near the old school site) needs new fencing and some resurfacing. The repairs to the fencing are in-hand.

Planning

• The installation of solar panels at Home Farm has been approved, as have alterations to Elmshurst, Church Lane.

• The developer of the old school site has applied for a minor alteration to the plan for plot five. 

Environmental Issues

• The community orchard in Court Orchard was formally opened last month. Wildflowers will be planted between the trees to encourage pollinators.

• The crayfish in the river Creedy are in danger of decline. A captive breeding programme by Bristol Zoo and Wildwood Escot hopes to increase the number of crayfish in the river to consolidate the population.

• The Community Allotment goes from strength-to-strength. The group now has a greenhouse. All volunteers are very welcome to join. Contact Sue Rowell, the Climate Officer, via the Parish Clerk if you would like to know more. 

The next meeting of the Parish Council will be held in the Parish Hall on Thursday, May 18 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 is also a Parish Surgery at the Coffee Mornings held on the second Saturday of the month in the Parish Hall.

Liz Ouldridge