Parish Council
We have had a very successful month which included purchasing the Leaf Blower so that we can now undertake routine clearance of footways, pavements and the roadside in the village. The Road Warden Team have already been up on the West side of the village and cleared up some of the leaves obstructing the footway on the hill down into the village. This will make it easier for residents to walk up and down the hill and to access the bus stop adjacent to the Old School. We have also completed one clearance of the other bus stop and will complete another in the next few weeks (more about this later on in my report). Our routine clearance includes regular inspection of drains, verges and kerbsides. Significant rainfall the other day demonstrated that there appears to be a blockage on one of the main underground culverts on the west side of the village. Highways have been informed and I will investigate this in due course.
Last month, I was able to successfully complete Chapter 8 training which allows me to conduct more extensive work on the roadside. It was an extremely informative day and it was also an opportunity to meet with other members of parish councils in Dartmoor area which I am sure will prove useful in the future. I would like to make a request to SPC to ask all councillors for the New Year to set up a to begin preparations for timetabled clearance at key points in the year to ensure that our village can support Highways and associated services to support them to ensure that roadsides, verges and kerbsides are safe for everyone. I will also like to request that SPC agree to support me in producing/reviewing a Generic Risk Assessment to safeguard any further work which we all conduct on the roadside in our Parish. Requests for the above actions will be delivered on 11th November in preparation for the New Year.
I have sent an email to Live West as requested informing them of their responsibility to ensure that vegetation on Lower Back Lane is managed appropriately; I have yet to receive a response from them and I am already in close contact with Highways who plan to communicate with landowners themselves to ensure that all landowners are informed about their collective requirement to ensure that the vegetation in this area is cleared appropriately. It is my understanding from my conversations with Highways that this area has been identified as an obstruction to vehicles (which includes horses) and there is a need to service this area. My hope is that we can all work together to ensure that this requirement is fulfilled efficiently. Even if nothing is done to manage the vegetation this time, landowners will be clear of their role and responsibilities in this area. I will keep in contact with relevant parties referring to this matter and will remain objective in whatever decision is made.
I have had a few conversations with residents in our village about ‘All things Green’. We have discussed some other measures which can be put into place to encourage the correct disposal and recycling of items in our Parish and to keep our village and surrounding parishes clean and tidy. I would like to request that we organize a Combined Parish Community Scheme. We combine with South Tawton Parish to set up a routine Litter Pick to be organized by younger members of our Parishes. I think too that to make this successful, we could encourage younger members to enrol in this Community Scheme (members over the age of 14 could include this as part of their evidence to complete Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme). Participation in this Scheme could also be formally recognized by Councillor responsible for the Region. We are always looking to encourage and inspire the younger members of our community to care for our Parish just like we do and I think that this an excellent first step.
Highways have been informed about the dying Ash tree on the verge on the West side of the village and I have notified Highways of the Pothole near the Devonshire and the streetlight up the road from the Old School. Highways are also aware of the desperate need to repair Willey Lane and all we can do at the moment is wait our turn amongst all the other financial pressures which are present in the county which aim to sort out the ever-decreasing quality of our road infrastructure.
Report submitted by Jake Powell for submission on 11th November 2024