I WOULD like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has contributed to, and supported my column over the past five years.

During this time I have covered a variety of topics:

October 2013 - In my first column I looked at the result of a pilot parking scheme which allowed people to pay £1 to park for five hours at the Mid Devon District Council run St Saviours car park, in a bid to encourage more shoppers to the town. Figures showed that an extra 4,100 tickets were issued in that financial year compared to the previous year.

Mr Micawber, who lived in Crediton at the time, said: "I think it is extremely good value for that amount of time. When I used to drive in I would have to go and put another ticket on for the afternoon!"

New parking charges were later introduced (see June 2017).

April 2014 - It was agreed that Crediton Town Council should seek a meeting with the county council about proposed closures. The proposed cuts threatened the Youth Centre and St Lawrence Residential Home. Mid Devon District Council was also looking at closing the public toilets at The Green.

In March 2015 Crediton Town Council granted funding to Crediton Methodist Church to support the running of a Youth Cafe, in the wake of the closure of the Devon County Council run Youth Centre, and still continue to provide funding.

Plans to convert the former St Lawrence Care Home have now been submitted (see March 2018).

October 2014 - A consultation was held into the future of Library Services in Devon, which explored alternative ways to retain a professionally managed library service. In response Crediton Library set up a friends group to fundraise and support the library.

January 2015 - A petition was launched in response to Devon County Council’s proposed cuts to local bus services, including the Crediton Town Service 607 and the evening Route 5 between Crediton and Exeter.

The Route 5’s continue with some changes and the 607 continues with a limited service.

May 2015 - Hustings held at Queen Elizabeth’s School were organised by the school together with Sustainable Crediton. All six of the Central Devon Parliamentary constituency candidates gave their views to the 160 members of the audience who attended the Hustings. The evening was organised in the format of the BBC’s Question Time with questions from members of the public submitted beforehand and read out during the evening. A few questions were also taken from the audience on the night.

July 2015 - A meeting at Crediton Hospital, called by Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust, marked the beginning of a four-month long process of talks with organisations and the public to decide the fate of the hospital beds.

We asked our online readers: Do you think community hospitals should have inpatient beds? - 97% said Yes and 7% said No.

The hospital beds were closed in July 2015.

June 2016 - Readers commented on plans for Devon Air Ambulance to start flying every day up to midnight who were looking for suitable landing sites that could be used at night and would have good access for pedestrians and vehicles. It was suggested that a helipad would be a good community asset, in that it would be managed and funded by the community.

November 2016 - Devon County Council announced emergency budget cuts because it was facing a budget black hole running into millions as spending continued to spiral and promised savings were not made. The Liberal Democrat group at DCC said the spending embargo and jobs freeze were just two immediate steps revealed at County Hall in Exeter in a surprise announcement. Care services for children and adults were forecast to be overspent to the tune of £7 million.

December 2016 - About 2,000 people either took part or watched as the Christmas parade made its way from St Lawrence Green to the Town Square where the Christmas lights and Christmas tree lights were switched on. Many shops and businesses entered into the spirit of Christmas and took part by staying open later, dressing-up and decorating their shop fronts in the Santa’s Toy Shop theme.

At the time Tim Harris commented: "It’s a lovely atmosphere in the shops and it’s great that there were musicians. It’s also lovely that the individual shops joined in and worked together, making it a lovely place to shop, much more inspiring than the supermarket!

January 2017 - Traffic wardens were branded as "over zealous" on Bank Holiday Monday (January 2) when they issued parking tickets along Crediton High Street. Local residents, who parked on the High Street were ticketed by traffic wardens for parking for more than the authorised 45 minutes. Devon County Councillor Nick Way raised the issue with Devon County Council and explained that in his opinion, although the traffic wardens acted within the law, it was deemed unnecessary as all the shops were shut and there were no, or very few deliveries taking place.

February 2017 - Alison Hernandez, Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner pledged an additional £24 million to enable Chief Constable, Shaun Sawyer, to put more police officers on the streets in both counties, by 2020.

February 2016 - Liberal Democrat councillors campaigning to protect Devon’s threatened “lollipop” school crossing patrols said they should be a top priority in the county council budget.

The following month lollipop men and women were given a reprieve when DCC admitted they had made the wrong decision.

April 2017 - A Newton St Cyres Parish Council meeting raised concerns over the extra traffic that would be generated on the A377 if plans for 326 houses were built at Pedlarspool (Creedy Bridge) on the northern side of Crediton in the parish of Sandford. The council was especially concerned about the volume of traffic that might be passing through the village and the likely increase in pollution levels.

June 2017 - Since the £2 minimum charge for up to 10 hours of parking in the Mid Devon District Council run car park at St Saviours Way was introduced the number of people parking there has dropped dramatically.

March 2018 - An application was submitted for the conversion of the former council-run St Lawrence Residential Care Home at Churchill Drive into 22 units comprising one, two and three bedroomed homes.

The property has been empty for four years and MDDC has been paying for the upkeep and maintenance of the site from general funds, which include taxpayers money!

April 2017 - The planning application for 326 houses at Creedy Bridge (Pedlarspool) was reduced to 257. At the "consultation" for the Creedy Bridge (Pedlarspool) proposal Mrs Stephens of Crediton said: "I am disgusted with what little information was provided by Gleeson’s Developments at the recent public consultation. The infrastructure of the town can’t cope and there are a number of issues that will affect residents such as jobs, parking, schools, hospital, police, doctors and flooding." A whistleblower told the Courier that he had come across plans for Crediton to be doubled in size!

Planning permission has been granted for 257 houses and a rugby club despite huge opposition from members of the community.

November 2017 - There was, and still is, public fury over Mid Devon District Council putting Crediton Council Offices up for sale. The offices also housed Citizens Advice and the Crediton & District Community Transport Association. Crediton Town Council put in an offer, which was refused.

At the time Pat and Norman Burr, of Coldridge said: "We don’t think the Council Offices should be sold and we certainly don’t agree with the hospital being taken from us - we helped to pay for it!"

The Council Offices have now been sold despite huge opposition from the public.

January 19, 2018 - The pavements on Crediton High Street, had been deteriorating for some time and many of the slabs had become loose, raised, sunk or broken, becoming a potential hazard to pedestrians of all ages. Crediton Town Councillors voted in favour of tarmac rather than slabs along Crediton High Street pavements because this was less likely to cause a trip hazard.

Crediton Resident, John Higgs, said: "I have to walk looking at the pavement. I’ve already tripped twice, fortunately without damaging myself. I think it’s really dangerous now and needs immediate attention."

The state of the pavements is still deteriorating with raised, sunken, loose or broken slabs.

May 2018 - In response to a letter from Cllr Judi Binks asking if Creedy Bridge plan will have a traffic impact on Crediton and Sandford, one local resident said: "Crediton is renowned for being a black spot for asthma. All the extra traffic will increase the problem. I feel sorry for the elderly, vulnerable and the young who will be affected the most. For years we have lived with this problem and far from improving it is getting considerably worse with the increase in traffic."

Other topics that I have covered over the past 5 years include; the removal of local telephone boxes, the introduction of a town crier for Crediton, proposal for a footpath and cycle way between Crediton and Exeter, the introduction of wheelie bins at a cost of £50 per year for garden waste, the proposal to repeal the Hunting Act, air quality in Exeter Road, an 80’s Retro Exhibition at Crediton Museum, and the government’s new rulebook.

I look forward to seeing you when I’m out and about, and to receiving more of your views and comments in the future. Or you can email me at: [email protected] .