ALL nine councillors were joined by six members of the public and Councillor Peter Hare-Scott (Mid Devon District Council) and Councillor, Mrs Margaret Squires (Devon County Council) for the meeting of Newton St Cyres Parish Council on April 5.

Public session. Matters raised included the number of advertising signs that had appeared at Half Moon lay-by: the speed of cars coming from the village and over the brow of the hill by the school; the replacement of a bus timetable at Half Moon; the condition of the road from the school to the village and the number of potholes that were appearing; the parking situation at Half Moon lay-by. All these points were noted and action to be taken was agreed.

Planning Applications and Decisions. No comment was registered for the following planning applications: Variation of conditions to allow the demolition of the existing house and construction of the boiler/bat house and to allow demolition during the period of March to September at Woodley Farm; The re-thatching of front elevation and roof ridge at Mount Pleasant, Pump Street; Erection of two storey extension at Winscott Barton. Planning decisions included: The siting of a building for use as a pre-school at Newton St Cyres Primary School in Station Road.

MDDC Report. Cllr Hare-Scott reported that the fine for dropping litter had been increased to £150 and parishioners were asked to report any instances with details of car numbers etc.

Maintenance matters etc. The council agreed to check whether a salt bin could be placed by New Estate and also agreed a quotation for the maintenance of Half Moon bus shelter and four wooden seats in the parish. Cllr Barnell reported that he was short of volunteer litter pickers and would welcome anyone who is willing to help with this.

"Next Door". Concern was expressed about the articles placed on the Next Door website and it was emphasised that while this was an excellent platform for information sharing, great care should be taken to check the information for accuracy before it is posted on the site.

Parish Surgeries. A timetable for councillors attending the Coffee Mornings to answer queries at the Parish Council table was agreed and the following councillors will be in attendance: May – Cllr Jim Enright; June – Cllr Gina Quicke; July – Cllr Chris Southcott (in conjunction with the Revels); August – Cllr Paul Taylor; September – Cllr Adam Reeves; October – Cllr Graeme Barnell; November – Cllr Jim Enright; December – Cllrs D and J Baker.

Annual Parish Meeting. It was confirmed that the Annual Parish Meeting would be held on Thursday, May 3 at 7pm in the Clubroom of the Parish Hall. The agenda would include the chairman’s report for the past year and the accounts plus time for questions from members of the public. This would be followed by the Annual Parish Council meeting at 7.30pm.

Highways. It was agreed that Cllr Barnell should lead on the issue of the problems faced on the A377 in respect of increased traffic due to the amount of new housing planned in Crediton and district and the safety of pedestrians crossing the road in the village and by Tytheing Close. Cllr Squires agreed to press for action on the potholes on school hill and the council agreed to make contact with the contractor again about the problem of the flooding at the bottom of Sand Down Lane.

The next meeting of the Parish Council will be held on Thursday, May 3, commencing with the Annual Parish Meeting at 7pm in the Clubroom of the Parish Hall. The next Parish Surgery will be held in conjunction with the Church Coffee Morning on Saturday, May 5. Please come along and meet your councillors and bring your queries and questions.

Cllr Jill Baker

Press Officer