THE Thursday, October 1 meeting of Newton St Cyres Parish Council was held by Zoom.

It was attended by all nine parish councillors, the Parish Clerk and a member of the public.

Planning

Councillors Jim Enright and Roger Cashmore attended an online meeting describing the government’s white paper entitled "Planning for the Future".

Local councils have been asked to comment on this paper and Councillor Enright agreed to respond on behalf of Newton St Cyres Parish Council.

It was decided to express concern about the extremely limited control local populations would have over developments in their area.

Coronavirus Pandemic

At the time of writing this, the level of infection in Mid Devon remains low. However, the county of Devon has seen a sharp increase in the level of infection and nationally the level of threat has been raised from three to four.

Devon County Council (DCC) has issued a bulletin encouraging us to abide by the new tighter restrictions in the hope we can avoid the more severe restrictions that are in place elsewhere.

We are also reminded that the NHS Covid-19 app can now be downloaded free onto compatible mobile telephones and will help to trace contacts of infected people quickly.

Currently flu vaccines are being offered to adults aged over 65, those with long-term health conditions, pregnant women and all health and social care workers.

They should be available from your GP or at a pharmacy.

Later this year, the flu vaccines will be made available to 50 to 65 year-olds. We are all encouraged to take part in this vaccination campaign.

The village support group is still available but currently there is little demand for their help.

Traffic on the A377

• The Parish Clerk has written to three companies whose lorries were reported by parishioners as speeding through the village. Two of the companies have responded positively to the letter. Parishioners are encouraged to continue to report vehicles to the Parish Clerk. It will be helpful if some detail could be included beside the company concerned. The date and time of the incident will help the company identify the driver.

• Graeme Barnell, the Mid Devon District Councillor, has proposed that a petition be submitted to Mid Devon District Council and Devon County Council from the parishes bisected by the A377. It will request a thorough review of transport policy and the impact of the new housing developments around Crediton and will lead to a plan to mitigate the effects of increased traffic on the A377. The Parish Council decided to lend its support to the petition.

• The Parish Council has received a reply to its request for the results of a recent speed survey through the centre of Newton St Cyres. We received a summary of the results. From the summary it is clear 15 per cent of the traffic on the A377 (about one in seven vehicles) exceeded the speed limit by at least 10 per cent during the survey period, The Parish Council was concerned that this was very unsafe and has written again requesting the full set of data.

Reports from Councillors’ areas of responsibility

• Boniface Trail - Recently two parish councillors and a representative from the Boniface Trail met a senior engineer and the senior highway development manager from Devon County Council to walk part of the agreed route of the Boniface Trail around Newton St Cyres. Issues on the suitability of the route, obtaining planning permission and construction were discussed. None of the existing housing developments around Crediton have money set aside to support this project. However, it should be possible to include the Boniface Trail in future S106 requirements from developers.

• Allotments - Several allotments have recently been let. The remaining plots are currently very overgrown and rather off-putting to prospective allotment holders. It was decided not to clear further plots immediately but to consider how best to prepare a plot when a prospective tenant comes forward.

• Risk Assessments - The annual risk assessment of areas under parish responsibility was conducted. No areas required urgent action to be made safe. Regular maintenance will be continued to ensure this remains the case.

Broadband

Following a recent complaint from a parishioner about the quality of broadband service in their area, it was decided by the Parish Council to see if a survey could be conducted for the entire parish. If the survey gains a good level of response and the quality of the service is poor, central government money may be available to improve the situation.

Graveyard

The church graveyard will become full at some time in the next few years. An adjacent field has been made available as an extension, but the access is poor. After a meeting with the churchwarden, a new footpath running down one side of the existing graveyard was identified as the best solution.

The next meeting of the Parish Council will be on Thursday, November 5, at 7pm.

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