SEVEN councillors were joined by five members of the pubic for the November meeting of Newton St Cyres Parish Council.

Cllr Peter Hare-Scott also attended for the first part of the meeting.

Members of the public raised the problem of the choked drain near to Ford Farm, the ongoing problems of parking at the school and in the entrance to Tytheing Close and the fact that the bus stop at Half Moon had been demolished in a vehicle accident.

GRASS CUTTING

Mid Devon District Council had asked the Parish Council to decide about the future of grass cutting in the parish.

We were given the option of either letting MDDC cut the relevant verges and being charged for the service or taking on responsibility for the cutting ourselves.

The council unanimously decided to take on the responsibility and to seek sponsorship for some of the areas to be cut.

Some areas could be cut by volunteers and some could be put out for tender.

Cllr Hare-Scott reported that the new waste collection system appeared to be working well.

A new CEO has been appointed to replace Kevin Finan who is retiring in early 2016.

MDDC have repaired the bent railing in Court Orchard and a sign warning about children playing is on order for New Estate.

LENGTHSMAN

The Raddon Hills group of Parish Councils is considering the possibility of employing a Lengthsman to undertake maintenance work in all the 11 parishes and is asking councils to put forward suggestions of the type of work and frequency required.

The allotments had been checked and Cllr Anstey had tidied up some of the fallen posts and replaced the numbers.

Surveys had been undertaken in West Town and Smallbrook to check on the water flow and some work would need to be done to alleviate the risk of flooding in these areas.

A meeting had taken place with the new Highways Officer for our area and he had taken away a list of outstanding jobs that needed attention.

The next meeting of the Parish Council will be held on Thursday, December 10, in the Clubroom of the Parish Hall, starting at 7.30pm. Please note that this is the SECOND Thursday in the month for this month only.

The Parish Surgery will be held in conjunction with the Village Market on Saturday, December 19, in the Parish Hall.

Please come along and meet your councillors and raise any queries you may have. If you then come along to a Parish Council meeting you will hear your issues raised and the answers.

Cllr Jill Baker

Press Officer