THE December meeting of Newton St Cyres Parish Council, held on Thursday, December 2, was attended by eight Councillors, the Parish Clerk, the Mid Devon District Councillor, Graeme Barnell, the Climate Change Officer, Sue Rowell, and three members of the public.

Environmental Issues

• In the public section of the meeting, Andrew Broadhead, of the NSC Environmental Wellbeing group, spoke about the recent work of the group. This included plans to set up a community forum in Newton St Cyres in 2022.

• Andrew Broadhead and Dave Harris also spoke about the importance of wildflower meadows in restoring insect biodiversity. They suggested that the village green could be a suitable site. Councillors agreed that wildflower meadows were important. In fact, the church graveyard and parts of the arboretum are being developed with this in mind. However, before any changes to the village green can take place, NSC residents will need to be consulted, with special focus upon those residents that face onto the green. A question will be included in the Housing Needs Survey planned for next year.

• Our recent follow-up zoom meeting with the Mid Devon Climate Change Officer was discussed. Sue Rowell agreed to chase up his response to the poster we had prepared some time ago.

Tytheing Close and New Estate

Recently, Graeme conducted his regular tour of the estates in Newton St Cyres that are (at least partly) maintained by Mid Devon. As a result of this tour, he was able to report the following action points.

• There are some very large potholes in Tytheing Close which Mid Devon Council has agreed to repair.

• Resident parking in Tytheing Close is blocking the access of waste collection and emergency service vehicles. Residents are asked to be aware of this problem when parking their vehicle.

• A footpath that runs from the middle of New Estate to the lane below is overgrown and dangerous. Mid Devon has agreed to clear the path.

• The bank running along the bottom of the New Estate gardens will be cut by Mid Devon early in the new year and will be added to its regular maintenance schedule. However, the trees on top of the bank are the responsibility of the landowners. Some trees are leaning out over the road and pose a potential hazard to traffic. Landowners must take action to ensure that the trees are safe.

Planning

• A revised planning application has been submitted for the old school site. Many of the issues previously raised by the Parish Council have been addressed, although the Council expressed concern that these may be later "forgotten".

A letter from a member of the public raised the issue of sufficient parking on the development. The plans indicate that there are at least three places per house (if garages are included).

This was deemed sufficient by the Council. There is a small strip of land, not allocated to an individual property. The best way to maintain this was discussed. Finally, it was decided to request that any S106 money from the development be put towards a crossing at the top of the hill near this site and Tytheing Close.

• An application for an extension to an existing property, Priestcombe, has been submitted. The Council felt there was no significant issue with this application and decided to make no comment on the development.

Dog Poo – Again!

The council received a complaint about the amount of dog poo left on Sandown Lane by thoughtless owners. There is a dog waste bin provided at the end of Sandown Lane and on Pump Street. Dog owners need to use the facilities provided. Unfortunately, dog poo is a problem on other village streets including West Town Road and Pump Street. Please, please pick up after your dog no matter where it does its business.

Other Council Business

• The budget for 2022/23 was approved. The Council has chosen to ensure that there is very little increase to the budget as we all appreciate times are difficult for many people.

• Devon County Council Highways Department has allocated funds for an initial survey of the Tarka Trail cycle/pedestrian way. This is an important step in getting the support of DCC for the project.

• Two big fallen trees have washed up against the footbridge over the Creedy on the footpath from Half Moon to Langford. The Environmental Agency will be contacted as the trees need to be removed before the bridge is damaged.

• The grit bin has been relocated from the old school site to Tytheing Close.

• More trains now stop at Newton St Cyres Station, although many of these are in the evening, you can now catch a train to Exeter at about 2pm as well as in the morning.

The next meeting of the Parish Council will be held in the Parish Hall on Thursday, February 3, 2022 at 7pm.

Members of the public are welcome.

However, Covid guidelines mean that the number of attendees will be limited.

Alternatively, if members of the public wish issues to be raised in council meetings, they can contact councillors in the usual way. There will also be a Parish Surgery at the Coffee Morning to be held on the first Saturday of the month in the Parish Hall.

Liz Ouldridge