ALL nine councillors attended the February meeting of Newton St Cyres Parish Council and were joined by Cllr Peter Hare-Scott, Mid Devon District Council (MDDC) and five members of the public.

Police Report. The following calls were logged during December 2016 and the end of January 2017. Children playing chicken in the traffic; Pony in road; Drunk male in road; two reports of suspicious males possibly cattle rustling; Dangerous driving; Suspicious activity; Abandoned 999 call; Suspected drunk in charge; Road traffic collision, hit and run and Sheep on road.

Crimes reported in the same period: One assault causing actual bodily harm.

Parishioners are reminded that urgent calls to the Police should be made on 999, non-urgent incidents should be made on 101 to receive a log number and non-urgent contact can be made by email: [email protected] .

General Power of Competency. The Parish Clerk’s recently acquired qualification has given the Parish Council new powers, mainly financial powers, and which will benefit the residents of Newton St Cyres and these powers could enable the council to financially support more projects including those put forward by individuals.

The council resolved to apply for the next level of qualification which again will prove the efficiency of the council and, if successful, will mean that Newton St Cyres will be the first Parish Council in Devon to hold this qualification.

The only two other councils with this qualification are both Town Councils – Crediton and Tiverton.

Planning. The Parish Council supported the removal of a Douglas Fir and Leylandii hedges at Hunters Lodge and made no comment about the use of a dwelling at No 1 Smallbrook Cottages as two dwellings or the removal of the payphone from the telephone box in the village.

Mid Devon District Council report. Cllr Hare-Scott reported that the budget had been agreed by the Cabinet and that an increase in Council Tax was inevitable. The Council had agreed to house five Syrian refugees in private accommodation.

Annual Parish Meeting – (Thursday, April 27). The council agreed to invite speakers about the provision of Broadband in the area to come to the APM.

Councillors’ Areas of Responsibility. It was agreed that the tree on the village green nearest to Pump Street should be pruned as a safety issue.

The problem of notices on the notice board being pinned on top of other notices was raised and it was emphasised that this should not be happening, especially if the notice covered over was the agenda for the Parish Council meeting.

Councillors were asked to keep an eye on this and to remove old posters and move posters around so that all current ones can be clearly seen. It was agreed to put a larger notice board at Sand Down Lane as this board was very well used and is one of the smaller ones in the parish.

It was also agreed to take up the offer by Peter Hawksley to run workshops for computer and iPad users who wished to learn the basics in a simple manner. the Parish Council offered to pay for the hire of the Clubroom for these sessions if Peter wished to use this facility.

Red Telephone Boxes. The Parish Council now own the telephone box at the railway station and will soon own the one in the village so the following usage was agreed.

The box near the railway station would become a Book Swap location and Cllr Southcott would fit shelves and signs and generally maintain this facility.

The box in the middle of the village would house the defibrillator which is at present attached to the wall of the Crown and Sceptre. It was felt the telephone box location would be more centralised and visible. It would also be possible for this box to have a Book Swap space as well.

Advertising signs along the A377. The council had been offered the option of Zero Tolerance for signs placed along the highway. This means that advertising signs can only be displayed on land owned by the advertiser or on land where they have permission from the landowner.

These signs will be subject to the usual planning restrictions covering display signs. All other signs erected will be removed by Devon County Council who will monitor the situation on a regular basis.

Highways issues. The chairman reported on a very constructive meeting with the Neighbourhood Highways Manager when most of the outstanding issues had been covered and resolved.

The road closure dates for work in Station Road and flood relief at Smallbrook will not clash. The school is to be asked to request a pedestrian crossing on the village once the new school is built as a safety measure for the children and the crossing patrol.

The “SLOW” sign on School Hill will be moved as it is hidden by a telegraph pole in its present position.

The layby at Half Moon had been designated as a Bus Stop and therefore any cars parked there would be subject to an enforcement order and receive a parking ticket, as is the case for all bus laybys on the A377.

The hole in the wall of Shuttern Brook in West Town had been repaired.

The next meeting of the Parish Council will be held on Thursday, March 2 at 7.30pm in the Clubroom of the Parish Hall. Please come along and bring any queries or questions you may have.

The Parish Surgery will be held in conjunction with the Coffee Morning on Saturday, March 4 in the Parish Hall. Please come and meet your councillors while enjoying the stalls and coffee on offer.

Cllr Jill Baker

Press Officer