The Council continues to have virtual meetings which you can join in on. The link appears on the agenda which is on the noticeboard and website. You can of course join in during the democratic period. It has now been agreed that these on line meetings will commence at 7pm instead of 6pm.
The council is looking at possibly having some more bins in the parish. The principle purpose is to collect dogs mess. It is of course an offence to allow your dog’s mess to remain on the highway. Sighting of these bins must be agreed with East Devon District Council, who empty them. So please let us know your views.
Councillor Fox reported that a rotten gatepost on the bridleway from Langmoor Lane to Old Barn Farm will be replaced and that a gate on the path which runs from Courshay to Doenash Lane has been repaired. Devon County Council has written to a number of landowners regarding the blocking of the path by maize. There has also been some problems with bees near a bridge heading towards Fairwater. Her full report will soon be available on the parish website.
Neither our County or district councillor were able to join us for the September meeting, however we did receive a report from Councillor Hall. The Nightingale Hospital, he informs us, is being used to deal with the backlog of cancer referrals, and the Nuffield Hospital is contracted to do eight clinics a day on hip replacements.
We are pleased to inform you that the Devon Air Ambulance Night Landing Site has been completed and stands by ready for action. We, of course hope it will not need to be used very often, but it is good to have the facility. The total cost was £6, 896. The council would like to thank the many organisations that donated towards this worthy cause.
There has been an application submitted for a battery Storage Facility adjacent to the Woodcote Substation. This application will be looked at by the council at a special meeting on the 22nd September at 7pm. It is also understood that there may be a further application for a similar facility at the same location.
The Parish Lengthsman is due to deal with some drainage issues so that we are ready for winter
Concerns were raised at our meeting about the proposed changes in planning that you may well have heard about on the news. The Government in general feels that planning applications can take too long and that, taking into account, in their opinion, the need for more housing, this needs speeding up. This may of course lead to less say by councils at the lower level. At present we do not have full details, so it is a case of watch this space.
John Vanderwolfe
Clerk to the Council
