THE November 5 meeting of Newton St Cyres Parish Council, held by Zoom, was attended by nine councillors, the parish clerk, the Mid Devon District Councillor (Graeme Barnell), the Devon County Councillor (Margaret Squires) and three members of the public.

PLANNING

Planning applications have been submitted for small developments of housing at Bidwell Barton and Bodley Farm. The Parish Council decided it was not necessary to comment on either application.

A planning application was made for the development of a 50-bedroom nursing home at Langford Park Nursing Home. The Parish Council decided to support this application.

However, because of its size, the District Councillor may ask for this to be brought before the whole Planning Committee.

JENNER HOMES

The old school site has been sold to Jenner Homes, who have started to clear the site. They have removed part of the hedgerow on Sand Down Lane. However, they have not sought permission to do this. This entrance to the site should only be used for access to the electricity substation and Mid Devon District Council will seek an enforcement action if it is used for other purposes.

Local residents should contact Mid Devon District Council if they are concerned. As yet, no planning application has been submitted for the site.

A new lagoon for the storage of the products of a digestor (digestate) has been proposed at Upton Pyne.

Nominally this is outside the remit of Newton St Cyres Parish Council, but we have been asked to comment as trucks or tractors accessing the site would come through Langford.

The application has already been resubmitted as the Devon County Council Highways Department objected to the size of trucks that would transport the digestate.

The new application proposes using tractors and trailers to transport the digestate, but this was not felt to be an improvement by the Parish Council. It was decided that the Parish Council would object to the application and ask for an independent transport assessment.

HIGHWAY ISSUES

The Mid Devon District Councillor reported on the progress of his petition for an assessment of the increased use of the A377 because of housing developments in Crediton and beyond.

The hedgerow at Half Moon has been cut back so it is now easier to walk along the verge from the layby to the bus shelter. However, a proper footpath along this verge is still the only safe way for residents of Half Moon to access cars parked in the layby. The Parish Council will continue to press for it.

The overgrown bank on School Hill in the centre of the village has been trimmed back but substantial work is still required to reclaim the overgrown sections. The Devon County Councillor was requested to raise this issue with the Highways department again.

The Parish Council is still dissatisfied with the responses concerning the speeding survey and the removal of double white lines in the village and will continue to talk to the Highways department about these issues.

PEDESTRIAN CROSSING

The County Councillor informed the Parish Council that she has been given a projected date of June 2021 for the construction of a pedestrian-controlled crossing in the village.

The flood depth gauge at Langford is broken. This is a Parish responsibility, and it was decided to get a quote for a replacement. Devon County Council recommends that it is unsafe to drive through any water, however shallow.

The wall on the Arboretum/Church side of the cutting by Newton House is deteriorating and may be unsafe. The Devon County Councillor was asked to raise this with the Highways Department.

BROADBAND COVERAGE

The poor broadband speed in outlying areas of the parish was discussed. The County Councillor suggested she could get the County Council’s expert to provide us with advice. However, the scale of the problem needs to be assessed first. It was decided to carry out a survey to assess the problem. This may be difficult during the Covid pandemic and so a sub-committee was set up to find the best way to carry this out.

Although government support is available, it will need interested individuals to come together before action can be taken.

OTHER COUNCIL BUSINESS

A parishioner has written to suggest that there is no longer a requirement for a village shop as, after a year, people will have made other provision. It was decided to respond that no final decision has been made on this project, which has been badly disrupted by the pandemic.

CYCLISTS

Cyclists and motorcyclists have been using footpaths in the woods again. They are not permitted on footpaths, although they are permitted on bridle paths. The paths are being damaged by this use and the traffic is a hazard to walkers. Those responsible appear to be visitors from outside the parish. It was suggested that if parishioners are affected by this issue, they should contact the police using the 111 line.

With the resurgence of Covid, the Parish Council would like to remind people that it still has a support group and that it can be contacted through Councillor Damien Hodge on 01392 851111 or at: [email protected] .

The next meeting of the Parish Council will be by Zoom on Thursday, December 3 at 7pm. Should any member of the public wish to attend, they should contact the Chairman of the council, Jim Enright at: [email protected] before 6pm on the day of the meeting. Alternatively, if members of the public wish issues to be raised in council meetings, they can contact councillors in the usual way.

Liz Ouldridge