ALL nine councillors attended the November meeting of Newton St Cyres Parish Council and were joined by Councillor Peter Hare-Scott (Mid Devon District Council) and one member of the public.

Three other members of the public joined the meeting for the public session and then left at 7.40pm.

Police report. Calls during September 2016: one concern for welfare; one traffic; one hit and run in Newton St Cyres; two burglaries; one incident of cows in the road (A377); one drugs related; three of males walking in the road (A377); one vehicle left running; one alarm. Crimes in September 2016: three burglaries.

Public session. Concern was raised about vehicles parking on the grass verge opposite the school at the entrance to Tytheing Close which were obstructing the view towards Exeter. It was agreed that this should be reported to both the Police and to the school for action.

Red telephone boxes. The council is in the process of purchasing the two telephone boxes in the village (one by the Beer Engine and one by the Crown and Sceptre) and is inviting NSC residents to come up with ideas for their use.

One suggestion is for books which can be borrowed and swapped but any other suggestions will certainly be looked at.

Parish Hall and car park etc. It was reported that the drainage work in the car park had been completed and had worked well during a recent heavy rainfall.

The antique light at the far end of the hall is in need of repainting and maintenance so the council agreed to seek a price for this work to be carried out.

Allotments. Following a meeting of the allotment holders it had been agreed to raise the rent of an allotment to £20 per plot per year in an attempt to break even on the costs involved. These would be reviewed again next spring.

Parish Plan and Housing Survey. A new development group has been formed and has held its first meeting to discuss the issues raised in the Parish Plan.

Groups will be contacted in the near future to follow up some of the ideas and suggestions raised in the Plan.

A Housing Survey form will have been delivered to all households in the parish and the council hope that as many as possible will be completed and returned so that a true picture of the housing needs in the parish can be formed.

Parish Surgery. Among items raised at the surgery in October was a request for a light by the garages in Court Orchard, a concern about a step from the car park into the lane behind Shuttern Close, and a query about the installation of a barrier against the road outside No 2 The Village. All these points will be raised by the council to the appropriate department.

The date of the next parish council meeting has been changed as the school panto is booked for the usual date of the first Thursday in the month.

The parish council meeting will now be held on Friday, December 2 at 7.30pm in the Clubroom of the Parish Hall.

The next Parish Surgery will be held in conjunction with the Village Market on Saturday, December 17, at 10.30am, in the Parish Hall. Please come along and meet your councillors and raise any concerns you may have.

Cllr Jill Baker

Press Officer