material was used in road surface repairs

TRANSPORT, both road and rail, was part of the discussion for members of Crediton Town Council's finance and general purposes committee on Tuesday.

The state of local roads was raised by council chairman, Cllr Frank Letch, who said he had found areas where it was "not just potholes but areas four or five metres wide and 20 to 30 centimetres" where the surface was bad.

"It is sad," he said. "These roads were resurfaced not long ago. Does Devon County Council's highways department keep any record of the durability of its resurfacing because I do wonder whether second-rate materials might be used in some places?"

The roads will be an agenda item for a future town council meeting, as will the possibility of the rail line to Plymouth being restored via Okehampton and Tavistock.

Cllr Nick Way, also district and council council member, thought the town council should think about "the likelihood of the main railway line coming through Crediton" and about recent delays on the A377, which had "caused obvious concern to a lot of people."

He added that he understood that the county council's road contractors had been dealing with safety issues because of the bad weather, concentrating on the A and B roads plus some C class roads. Routine work not being done was to be reviewed in April.

ST LAWRENCE CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE?

A suggestion that the county council uses some of its £11.2 million dementia budget to make St Lawrence Care Home at Crediton a Dementia Centre of Excellence and a motion to stress that the town council was not in favour of the county's proposed cuts was approved.

The Mayor said he understood that two such centres, at Torrington and Newton Abbot, were being kept open. "Can you imagine the travelling that would mean for families?" he asked.

Cllr Letch said St Lawrence had originally been allocated 52 residents but now had 29 because its top floor was currently closed for refurbishment.

He understood that if a commercial home, a privately-run home, accepted a resident from the county council, the council would pay an enhanced rate of more than £400 a week.

It would not accept such a person until there had been an assessment and if there were extra needs, that cost would not be met by the county council.

A member of the public told the town council about a meeting held in the town in February for the relatives of people at St Lawrence.

She said it had been "standing room only", when a lot of concern was expressed about the future for people now being looked after at St Lawrence.

They had been told it cost the county council £984,000 a year to run the home, of which 90 per cent was spent on staff costs. On February 19 she had asked the county council for a break-down of the costs but so far had not had a reply.

Cllr Liz Brookes-Hocking commented that the county council had been making cuts over the last few years with little financial information about how the services were managed.

She cited Ilfracombe, where funds were being merged with the community saying where the money should be spent.

"Perhaps we need to sharpen our thinking about how these services can continue," she said.

Councillors were responding to the item to consider the county council's budget cuts for the coming financial year, including its reviews of residential care services, youth services, adult social care day services and meals service.

Cllr Anne Hughes said she had found little information on the county council website about youth services, except to encourage people to take part in consultations.

Town Clerk, Mrs Clare Dalley, commented that the implications for the future of taking away services, especially for young people, needed to be considered. This could be reflected six months or two or three years later. Youth services were "more than about taking young people off the street."

WILDLIFE AREA

Reviewing the People's Park wildlife area, the Town Clerk reported that a group of Young Farmers would like to get involved in its creation, a local vineyard planting lots of herbs had offered some to the town council, plus three volunteers from the town as well as members of the Incredible Edible Garden had offered help, all offers were gratefully accepted.

Some work has been done by a Community Payback team who are clearing the site and laying a hopefully weed proof membrane.

The original plan had been to remove the corrugated iron fence and replace it with a faux cob wall, but there had been objections.

At Tuesday's meeting, Cllr Letch suggested treating the fence and planting evergreen jasminoide with honeysuckle, both of which attract bees and would eventually mask the fence.

Members felt this could look "gorgeous". Cllr Letch had agreed to head the project "to keep things moving" and two others joined him.

Earlier Cllr Richard Adams said that the willow tree, which had previously been suggested to plant there, was probably not a good idea because it needed damp ground.

He had wondered whether laurel would be better as there was already some growing further down the area. However, it was felt as this was to be a wildlife garden, planting more laurel might not fit with the concept.

Cllr Letch added that, while he was on the town council stand at the Farmers' Market, someone had congratulated the Community Payback team for their work.

BITS AND PIECES

Under any other business, not agenda items but when councillors raise issues, it was noted that a fairly new business did not seem to have received information from Mid Devon District Council about refuse collection dates because bags had been put out on the High Street too early, meaning they would be there for almost a week before collection.

It was also suggested that a district council planning officer takes a tour around the town to check home frontages that hads been turned into parking possibly without planning permission or without a dropped kerb which was illegal if it crossed a pavement.

Three councillors were appointed to do random checks each month under the new document, Safeguarding Public Money.

The Town Clerk explained that this was a case of checking the checkers, such as following one invoice through, and double checking that the system worked.