THE July 2 meeting of Newton St Cyres Parish Council was held via Zoom.

It was attended by nine Councillors, the Mid Devon District Councillor (Graeme Barnell), the Devon County Councillor (Mrs Margaret Squires) and five members of the public.

Greater Exeter Strategic Plan

Questions were raised concerning the recently published Greater Exeter Strategic Plan that proposes a large development of housing around the Sweetham area.

There will be a six month consultation period from September with the plans due to be adopted in 2023.

Cllr Enright explained that the plan will be available on the Parish Council website as soon as possible, together with maps and explanations pertinent to the Newton St Cyres area.

He is also organising a public meeting in early September so that responses can be co-ordinated. This may still be via Zoom.

Cllr Barnell explained the context of the development. He cautioned that for any objections to carry weight they should be well-reasoned, for example, a large tranche of the land included in the plan is clearly within the flood plain.

The plan has not yet been approved by Mid Devon District Council and will be discussed at a future cabinet meeting. Members of the public can attend, details of these can be found on the Mid Devon website.

Report from Mid Devon District Council (MDDC)

The District Council is continuing to support both businesses and individuals through the Covid-19 crisis.

Currently the council is supporting High Streets as they re-open. The council budget is under extreme pressure but Mid Devon is by no means one of the councils worst affected.

There has been a seriously worrying increase in the need for debt counselling and food bank use as the economic effect of the crisis starts to be really significant.

Report from Devon County Council (DCC)

Devon County Council is developing a Local Outbreak Management Plan which will outline how it will interact with the NHS Trace and Test Service in the event of a local outbreak.

Devon County Council is continuing to support Care Homes in the infection control.

The recycling centres continue only to be open to householders. Concern was expressed at the meeting that businesses would resort to fly-tipping if no appropriate course of action was made available.

Other Parish Issues

• The A377 continues to see excessive speeding through the village. Cllr D Hodge has made a complaint about speeding on the Devon County Council website. A parishioner has written in to suggest that if the names of speeding hauliers (and preferably date and time seen and, if possible, number plate) were recorded then the owner of the fleet could be contacted and a complaint made. Should members of the public wish to do that, then by emailing the details to the parish clerk an official letter of complaint will be sent from the Parish Council.

• The flashing speeding sign attached to the bridge between Newton House and the Church above the A377 has either been switched off or is faulty. Motorists do take notice of it and it urgently needs to be put in good order. The parish clerk will write to DCC to see if it can be reactivated.

• The footpath up school hill is very overgrown and a danger to pedestrians, as in places it forces them into the road. This is now especially dangerous with the increased incidence of speeding. This problem is being pursued with some urgency with DCC.

• A meeting between several Parish Councillors and Devon Highways to push for support for the Boniface Trail project. It was felt quite strongly, that both MDDC and DCC were treating this project as certain outcome, when in fact it is still at an early stage and cannot progress without proper funding.

• Bus shelters – the bus shelters in the village are very overgrown, DCC is being asked to clean out the verges.

• Rural footpaths – Cllr S Parker is continuing to cut back some overgrown paths. There has been some use of mountain bikes on the paths through the woods. This is illegal and DCC is sending some "no cycling" signs for the Parish Council to erect.

• The Council is still waiting to hear the outcome of the negotiations on the old school site.

The next meeting of the Parish Council will be held on Thursday, September 3 at 7pm, via zoom.

Should any member of the public wish to attend, they should contact the chairman of the council, Jim Enright, by email on: [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