THE December 3 meeting of Newton St Cyres Parish Council was held on Zoom and was attended by nine Councillors, the Parish Clerk, the Devon County Councillor Mrs Margaret Squires and two members of the public.

FINANCE

The main business of the meeting was the setting of a budget for the financial year 2021/22. The projected budget is similar to that for 2020/21.

There was a small increase to allow for one-off extra support to the Parish Hall and the Recreation Ground, both of which have suffered badly during the pandemic.

Therefore, the precept (the amount of money required to be raised from council tax) for 2021/22 is similar to that of 2020/21 with perhaps an increase of a few pence per household.

A quote for the replacement of the depth markers at Langford bridge was accepted but it was decided to postpone refurbishment of the emergency sheds until the better weather next year.

The council applied for, and was granted, a sum of £500 for COVID support. It was decided to investigate buying PPE for the Parish Hall and Recreation Ground to be used in emergencies.

The bench on the village green beside West Town road is partly rotten. The Devon County Councillor, Margaret Squires, suggested that her locality fund could help pay for repairs or replacement of the bench.

MDDC AND DCC

There were no planning issues to be discussed at this meeting.

Graeme Barnell was unable to attend the meeting, but he sent in a full report, including details of a recent walk around the MDDC Housing Estates in Newton St Cyres with the Locality Housing Officer. As a result, several areas around the village have been identified as needing leaf debris and grass cleared.

The problems of social isolation with older tenants were also discussed.

Two parish councillors will attend a Zoom meeting with Devon County Council to discuss the setting of the Devon budget.

Mid Devon is launching a consultation on the Interim Devon Carbon Plan. This runs until February 2021.

If you wish to get involved, you can sign up for the webinar series on: www.devonclimateemergency.org.uk/interim-carbon-plan-webinar-series/ .

ROAD AND TRAFIC ISSUES

The grit bin beside the old school is now in an inappropriate location. It was decided to see if it could be sited at the entrance to Tything Close.

The Parish Council decided to wait until the full report on the recent speeding survey before taking further action. It was also decided that it would ask again for double white lines in the village when the crossing was being installed next year.

BT has yet to take any action on the sunken manhole cover on the A377. The Parish Clerk was asked to chase this.

At present there are no school crossing patrol officer due to sickness. Margaret Squires reminded the council that volunteers can be trained as back-up if required, although this may be on hold at the moment due to the pandemic.

BROADBAND

A broadband survey was devised and trialled by a sub-committee of the Parish Council. Those that responded to the trial were largely dissatisfied with their service. It was decided to go ahead with a full parish survey in the new year, with questionnaires delivered by the Post Office.

OTHER PARISH ISSUES

Dog fouling in Court Orchard has become a problem. The Parish Clerk has some notices to put up reminding dog owners that they should "pick up" after their dog.

The possibility of an informal foodbank in the village was discussed. It was decided to investigate suitable sites for a donation point.

The next meeting of the Parish Council will be by Zoom on Thursday, February 4 at 7pm.

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