Kingsteignton Town Council has had a very busy 2022 with a number of different events and services happening throughout the year to support their community!

Kingsteignton Town Council launched a community food larder (pictured above), situated in the Community Hall and aiming to support residents who are struggling financially who can take what they need and bring what they can. The local Co-op store supported the larder by making donations.

The Kingsteignton Wild group of volunteers held a competition for children to design a sticker for the Kingsteignton Nature Trail, and winners were presented with their prizes at the opening of the new playpark.

Kingsteignton Wild also participated in a Newton Abbot event promoting the need for encouraging swifts to nest; these amazing birds are in flight full time, and only ever land to nest. Kingsteignton Town Council has recently installed six swift nesting boxes on the council office building; although having swifts nesting may take up to five years, the boxes may be used by smaller species such as blue tits and sparrows.

The ancient tradition of Beating the Bounds, walking the parish boundaries, was carried over two weekends in August. Walks were led by Kingsteignton Town Councillors and totalled 17.2 miles. Participants were presented with a medal and certificate.

Mayor Ron Peart said: “I would like to thank all who took part, land owners who gave permission to cross their land, councillors who led the walk, medics who attended and council staff who helped to organise this special event. My wife and I did this walk 8 years ago, 17.2 miles over two days, and decided once was enough!”

Clifford Park was renovated with the new play area being opened in August by Lord Clifford, who previously owned the land. The park also includes a BMX skate ramp, table tennis table, MUGA ball court, ball catcher and a full range of fitness equipment.

Kingsteignton in Bloom awards were presented in August at an event at The Old Rydon Inn, with everyone enjoying a light buffets and winners being presented with cups, certificates and a prize of a voucher for a garden centre.

The council has installed a ‘Happy to Chat’ bench at the Fountain in Kingsteignton, a bench which invites anyone to sit and chat, which can enhance your mood, mental health and promote happiness.

The Town Council, as with many of our member councils, also had a busy year celebrating the Platinum Jubilee and paying their respects to HM Queen Elizabeth II.

Kingsteignton Town Council planted a tree as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy scheme with a plaque, unveiled by Lord Clifford, and marking the Platinum Jubilee 2022.

A royal cake bake competition was held; look at this amazing street party cake with a union jack hidden inside!

The town council helped primary schools marked the Platinum Jubilee by donating a weeping silver birch tree to each of the schools, along with a time capsule which pupils could fill with items. The time capsules were buried by the town council by the tree when it was planted.

Thank you so much to Kingsteignton Town Council for sharing everything they’ve been up to in 2022! They’ve had such a big year, and it’s lovely to see all these photos and information.

Please do share what your council has been up to by contacting us here.

The Ivybridge Christmas Festival took place on 25 November and was a well attended event with lots of positive feedback!

Christmas market and entertainment

This year the Ivybridge Christmas Festival was located in Fore Street, Glanvilles Mill and Glanvilles Mill car park, running from 4pm until 8pm.

Miss Ivy Events, a local leading organiser of street food and artisan events with connections to many exhibitors, was invited to manage the Christmas Festival again following the successful event she delivered the previous year.  This year she brought in over forty quality craft gift stalls plus hot food spread throughout the town.  Priority for pitches was given to local people before opening the market up to all traders.

Ivybridge Town Council was successful in securing three main sponsors, namely London and Cambridge Properties who are the owners of Glanvilles Mill, Palladium Building Supplies, and Manning and Company.  Ivybridge Dental Centre, Ivor Jones Financial Planning, Richard Peachey and Christopher’s South Hams also supported the event.  Lawsons donated their electricity supply free of charge, and Manning and Company did a collection and donated funds to the Mayor’s charity for Ivybridge Young Carers.  The Town Council is very grateful to all the above businesses for their generous support.

Miss Ivy Events helped to coordinate the event in an extremely friendly and professional manner. She brought in more than the expected revenue and secured some excellent entertainment, including the extremely popular Paw Patrol and festive Punch and Judy, plus stilt walkers and live music artists.

Christmas Lights

A new Christmas lighting scheme was introduced into the main street, using LED festoon lighting dressed with falling tubes and glittering ball displays.  In January the decorative lights will be removed leaving the festoon lighting in place but switched off.  This allows flexibility for them to be turned on for other events in the town throughout the year.

The running of the event was successful, not only due to the assistance of a professional events coordinator, but also to the management on the day by the dedicated Town Hall team with the help of their families and Rotary Club members plus councillors.  The staff are grateful to all those volunteers as without their help in safely managing the road closures and the car park, plus helping to set up and take down the marquees and staging, the event would not have been possible. We were also grateful to have a strong presence from the police and fire services.

The weather was calm and dry and the town was incredibly busy.  Feedback from residents and businesses has been extremely positive and social media comments were excellent, indicating that the community had found the event very enjoyable.

We love seeing Christmas pictures from our member councils, so spread some Christmas cheer and send them to us!

Stafford Mount Park is a greenspace at the very heart of Uplyme village. It is a public space but is currently under utilised and Uplyme Parish Council are embarking on a regeneration project.

The Council recently decided to regenerate the space to mitigate against climate change, to make the area more bio-diverse and to improve public involvement with and use of the space. Their aim was to create a destination in the village for the public to meet to sit and reflect, but which was sustainable and supporting local wildlife.

It was important to the council to involve the people in the parish so they could take ownership over the project. Their first step was to get young people involved by working with the school to gather designs for the project.

They asked Mrs Ethelston’s primary schoolchildren to submit designs to be installed within the garden. There were 4 categories: an entrance sign, 3 mosaic panels, a hedgehog habitat and an insect habitat.  The Councillors who judged the designs, Cllr Mrs Claire Wiscombe (who is leading the project) and Cllr Colin Pratt, were extremely impressed with the huge number of designs submitted.

On Monday 14th November, the Chair of the Parish Council, Cllr Chris James and one of the judges Cllr. Colin Pratt, handed out a certificate and prize to each of the winning entrants.  Well done everyone!

The next phase will be for all the children to make the winning mosaic panel designs to become a reality during after-school clubs, collection and donation of materials to make the habitats and creation of a seasonal and pollinator-friendly planting design.

The council has also received donations of plants for the area from the local Rotary Club, which is a great example of how a local organisation can get involved with parish council projects. Their next step will be to start making grant-funding applications, and to create a planting plan in the new year so the community can get involved with creating a sustainable, bio-diverse space to watch nature in action.

See some of the beautiful designs from the schoolchildren below:

We love to hear stories from our member councils. If you have a story you would like to share then please contact us.

The Fair for South Brent focussed on issues of community, nature and climate, involving as many local groups and organisations as possible. It was a very successful event with lots of activities, advice and information.

Over 1,000 visitors thronged to the Fair for South Brent on 16th July, for the 50+ stalls, activities, great food and entertainment.  And from the many compliments received and calls to ‘please do it again next year’, people really had a great time.

SSB Chair Andy Harker says: ‘We are delighted that the main aims of the Fair were achieved. We came together as a community and had a lovely, fun-filled afternoon, whilst also thinking about changes we can all make to help nature and respond positively to climate change. Great conversations and discussions were ‘sparked’ across the Fair and lots of really useful information and advice shared in a range of areas, including nature, energy, waste, transport, food and community support.

We also raised around £2,500 to put into SSB’s fund which helps any local group with a good idea around sustainability. We couldn’t have achieved any of this without the support of many wonderful volunteers, far too many to mention by name, but all very much appreciated”.

The initiative of Sustainable South Brent, the Fair was staged in collaboration with South Brent Parish Council and other local community groups, organisations and businesses. It was made possible due to funding from various sources, including South Brent’s Community Energy Society, Parish Council, District and County Councillors, as well as Sustainable South Brent.

We loved hearing this story from South Brent, so glad you had such a successful event! We always love to hear from our members, if you have a story to share then please contact us here.

This year, 2022, was the 160th Beating the Bounds for South Tawton parish, a tradition which dates back to Alfred the Great and happens every 7 years.

Beating the bounds, or beating the parish boundary, dates back to Anglo Saxon times, right back to Alfred the Great (848 to 899), and the tradition happens every 7 years. This year, 2022, is the 160th Beating the Dartmoor Boundary for the parish of South Tawton and South Zeal (served by South Tawton Parish Council). The idea of parish boundaries being “checked out” was to confirm the boundary markers had not been moved or disturbed by neighbours, and also to enable the young members of the parish to learn from their elders where the boundary lies.

The parish route for Beating the Bounds started at South Zeal Victory Hall, to Mill Farm below East Week, Paynes Bridge and then up onto the open moor following Blackaton Brook, past Shilley Pool and out to Raybarrow Pool and Little Hound Tor before dropping down to Taw Marsh, back to Belstone and Sticklepath before returning to South Zeal. It is approximately 12 miles in total, a good day’s walking!

Walkers were encouraged to provide their own drinks and snacks during the walk, with South Tawton Parish Council supplying pasties and water refills at Taw Marsh. Everyone then headed back to the village of South Zeal for a hog roast and refreshments provided by the council.

2022 saw a tremendous turnout of approximately 200 walkers, with the event supported by Dartmoor Rescue to whom the council owes a debt of thanks; they will be making a contribution to the charity. Donations were collected throughout the event for South Zeal Recreation Ground Charity and £567.10 was raised. The council would like to thank Dartmoor Commoners who donated a barrel of beer for the thirsty walkers on their return to South Zeal.

Pictured (right): the walkers setting off from the village of South Zeal on their beating the bounds walk. What a beautiful day for it!

We love to hear stories from our members, please take a moment to tell us what your council has been up to!

More than 200 animals on Dartmoor were given reflective neckbands this summer to make them more visible to vehicles and help prevent road traffic collisions

The reflective neckbands were issued to farmers of 80 Dartmoor Ponies and 150 cattle following a successful funding bid to the Vision Zero South West Road Safety partnership. The idea came from Dartmoor Forest Parish Council who say collisions and animal deaths have been a major concern for several years. They successfully bid for £6,306 from the Vision Zero South West ‘Call For Ideas’ scheme which paid for neckbands for animals specifically along the B3212 road from Peek Hill to Princetown.

Cllr Mark Williams, Dartmoor Forest Parish Council, said: “The B3212 is the busiest of the two the main roads across Dartmoor and is the arterial route from Plymouth onto the moor and to Princetown and HM Prison Dartmoor. The 3.5 mile stretch between Peek Hill and Princetown is unfenced, with a speed limit of 40mph and runs across Walkhampton Common where around 150 cattle and 80 ponies roam freely.

“Collisions involving vehicles hitting animals are unfortunately frequent. There were 117 collisions involving animals on Dartmoor in 2021 recorded by the Dartmoor Livestock Protection Society. Most result in the death of the animal and heavy damage to the vehicle involved. Some also result in injury to drivers and passengers.”

Learn more about the project and its aims in the video from the launch event in June!

Karla McKechnie, Dartmoor Livestock Protection Officer, said “These unfenced roads become death traps unless motorists are animal aware and drive with ‘moor’ care. I am sickened and saddened by the high number of collisions I attend involving dead and dying animals. If you witness an animal being hit, please call me urgently on 07873 587561.”

Dartmoor Forest Parish Council worked with a number of stakeholders on the project, including local farmers with livestock grazing the moor alongside the road and also representatives from:

• Dartmoor Livestock Protection Society
• Dartmoor National Park Authority
• Devon County Council Highways
• Dartmoor Commoner’s Council
• Devon and Cornwall Police
• Dartmoor Speedwatch
• Burrator Parish Council.

Andrew Watson, Head of Recreation and Access at Dartmoor National Park said “The National Park sees thousands of visitors each year, attracted by the vast open areas of moorland with unfenced roads and grazing livestock. The Authority is delighted to be part of this partnership, working to reduce the number of animal deaths and injuries across Dartmoor, and improve road safety for all visitors and residents”.

As well as the neckbands, the funding from Vision Zero South West has also been used to install a new Vehicle Activated Speed sign below Leedon Tor, on the road from Princetown, to alert drivers to excess speed. This is in addition to the one, funded by the Dartmoor Livestock Protection Society, already located by the double car parks on the road from Peek Hill. Improved signage at both Peek Hill and Princetown will be put in place to remind drivers to expect livestock to be on, or near the road, and to reduce speed/ give way to animals.

Cllr Williams added: “These neck bands have proved successful in their use in the New Forest. We hope that these measures will raise driver awareness of the need for caution and reduced speed when travelling on this stretch of road, and that traffic collisions and incidents involving livestock will be reduced as a result. If this initiative proves successful the aim is to roll out similar measures on other key routes across the moor, should additional funding become available.”

Vision Zero South West Partnership Manager Natalie Warr said: “We launched the ‘Call For Ideas’ small grants fund to support creative and innovative schemes just like this one. Working together is vital when addressing road safety issues, and no one knows their local roads quite like the communities who live there. Quite often you can big impact with a relatively small amount of money and that’s exactly what I hope we have done in this case.

“Our vision is to halve all fatal and serious road collisions in Devon and Cornwall by 2030 and we can
only do that by working collaboratively and innovatively with residents. I’d like to say a big thank you
to everyone involved in this bid, I think it’s going to make a big difference.”

For councils that want to learn more about how they can have an impact on speeding in their communities, there will be a session at AGM, Conference and Exhibition on Wednesday 5 October with Chris Parkes, Senior Traffic Engineer at Devon Highways.

We always love to hear from member councils; if you’ve been involved with a project that you’re proud of then please take a moment to tell us about it!

Chudleigh Town Hall as a safe, warm space this autumn and winter

Chudleigh Town Council is opening up their Town Hall as a safe, warm space this autumn/winter, from Tuesday 6 September.  The rest centre will be open between 6pm and 9pm on most evenings as a drop in facility so users can stay for as little or as long as they like. It can’t be available every evening since the council also needs the room for council meetings and for existing hirers. They will be supplying hot beverages free of charge and callers will be able to use the attached kitchen. It will be open to anyone who wants to use the facilities but under 18s will need to be part of a family group.

The Mayor, Victoria Hadley, explained “We are doing this because councillors are very aware that the increase in utility prices, coupled with a high rate of inflation will leave many families under severe financial pressure. Whilst the government is taking some action to mitigate this the truth is that residents are going to face electricity and gas prices double what they were last winter”

Initially, the drop in will provide warmth, drinks and company. However, over time it will develop and change. The council have never done anything like this before so, beyond the basics, they don’t know what residents will want and need. How the warm space develops will be very much in the hands of the people using it. The message from the council to their community is: if you need us, we are here.

To the right is the Town Hall being offered as a warm space for the community this winter

We’re interested to know if any more councils will be offering a warm space to help their communities through the cost of living crisis this winter; please do tell us about your plans.

Our conference on Wednesday 5 October includes an open session workshop to discuss the cost of living crisis and how councils can help so do book a place to join the session! Funds like the Growing Communities Fund may help any projects.

Exmouth Town Council has developed a Beach Wheelchair Project to hire out specially adapted wheelchairs for use on the beach

The Beach Wheelchair Project is an initiative from Exmouth Town Council and aims to provide disabled people with greater access to the beach through the provision of specially adapted, all-terrain wheelchairs which will be hired out free of charge from the new premises on Queen’s Drive. The eco-friendly storage unit has now been completed and has been fitted with a wheelchair ramp, solar panels for electricity and collects rainwater to wash off the wheelchairs after they have been used. It contains five wheelchairs and an electric hoist. The project was under development for nearly three years, and was opened earlier this summer.

The project has been funded through community donations raised via a Crowdfunder appeal set up by Councillor Pauline Stott, who initially conceived and championed the project, with match-funding from Exmouth Town Council, East Devon District Council, Devon County Council, The Norman Family Trust, South West Water and the Freemasons of Exmouth. Wheelchairs have also been donated by the Devon Super Team and The Claire Milne Trust.

Councillor Pauline Stott commented: “My ambition with this project has always been to enable as many people as possible to go to the beach with their families and friends, regardless of disability. Just imagine being in a position where you can see our wonderful beach but you are not able to go on it yourself … Well, hopefully, with Exmouth Town Council behind the project, everyone will soon have access and the project will succeed for many years to come.”

The Council would also like to thank the volunteers who have offered their time to hire out the wheelchairs and manage them being returned.

We love to hear from our member councils; please tell us what you’re proud of!

A new bench has been installed outside The Mansion in Totnes to make it easier for people to stop and chat as part of a project tackling loneliness

A new bench has been installed outside The Mansion in Totnes to make it easier for people to stop and chat. Funded by a £1,500 grant from Totnes Town Council, the bench has been crafted by local charity Landworks and is part of a project by Inclusive Totnes to help bring people together to tackle loneliness. As well as encouraging people to talk more, it also provides a comfortable place to stop for anyone needing a rest as they walk through the town.

Jeff Chinnock from Inclusive Totnes said: “We are grateful to Totnes Town Council for the Community Grant – this project would not have been possible without it.

“We wanted to install a bench outside the Mansion for two reasons: to promote the bench as a place for people to chat to others – whether they know them or not – as a way of bringing people together particularly after the last 2 years. Age UK and the ONS designate Totnes town as an area at a very high risk of people being lonely, so this is a small but important way to better connect people. In addition, Totnes Fore Street and High Street are steep and the bench will provide a place to stop and recover for people living with mobility issues or long-term conditions as they walk up the hill.

“If the bench is well used and welcomed by the community, we will look for additional grants to install further benches.”

Cllr Emily Price said: “What a fantastic addition to the town, thanks to the vision from Inclusive Totnes and the craftsmanship of the team at Landworks. I’m delighted the Town Council were able to contribute towards this stunning community bench and I hope citizens of the town will enjoy a moments rest, respite or conversation here for many years to come.”

Jeremy Doyle, who has been proactively encouraging people to stop and talk in the town, added: “In October of last year I started placing a spare director’s chair next to my own in the high street with a sign offering the opportunity for anyone and everyone to sit down and have a chat.  I have done so on an irregular but reasonably frequent basis ever since, and I have met a whole range of people, every one of them with a story to tell; we all have a story.  It is almost certain that the lockdown created significant social barriers for many, leading to an increasing sense of isolation and loneliness, and I hope that what I have done and continue to do has made and will continue to make a difference for those who choose to sit down.

“The community bench outside The Mansion offers that opportunity, ie a chance to sit and chat with someone you probably don’t yet know.  However, it also offers the opportunity simply to sit and rest as you go up and/or down the high street.  The bench itself is a beautiful piece of woodwork, crafted by those wonderful people at Landworks (check them out if you don’t already know them) and just sitting on it made me feel privileged.  Try it out the next time you’re passing.  You might meet and talk to someone you know or someone you don’t know; you might let your thoughts wander peacefully; you might engage in some people watching (come on – we all do it!).  Whatever, I hope that by sitting on this new bench you feel a part of this vibrant community that is Totnes.”

Inclusive Totnes is one of 11 community groups that received a grant from Totnes Town Council last month.  With a combined value of £24,000, the grants allocated by the Town Council will support a wide range of local projects that aim to enhance wellbeing or offer other benefits to the area. Other grant recipients include Totnes Caring, Totnes Bike Hub, St John’s Church and Bridgetown Alive! The next round of Town Council grants will open for applications in September.

In the last year, Totnes Town Council has also supported projects across Totnes to access funding worth over £545,000 from government grant schemes and other sources.

We love to hear stories from our member councils whether it’s a project you’ve done yourselves or support you’ve given to a local group. Please do tell us what you’ve been up to so we can feature it!

Cranbrook Town Council has tackled poor mental health and wellbeing in their town by installing a Mindfulness Trail and launching a new resource hub to help residents empower themselves.

In Cranbrook, 2021/22 has been a year of great highs with periodic stalls from the pandemic, but this has not stopped the exciting work taking place. The year kick-started with feedback from their Covid Community group expressing concern about mental health across the town. This unfortunately has been the theme across the UK. Cranbrook Town Council responded by externally funding to provide a self-esteem course and a heads-up café for their teens. This then led to better engagement from their most vulnerable young adults within their home, school and community settings.

Cranbrook Town Council then swiftly moved to creating the extraordinarily successful Mindfulness Trail in Cranbrook Country Park, which used audio QR codes to navigate families around the trail. This activity assisted residents to move and learn about their natural environment, all the while undertaking mindfulness activities. Over 750 residents took party in this trail with small children enjoying scanning the codes. Families made it a day activity with picnics and there was the notable increase in park use. Residents fed back about how they had felt doing the activity in what was described as a very unstable period.

The summer was then quickly upon them, and they had the wonderful opportunity of running a holiday club (Holiday Activity Food – HAF Funding). Their teens had four days over four weeks to move, eat healthily, make friends and go on experience days. They had great fun with BBQs in the park, canoeing, Go Karting, laser tag, dodgeball, art and so much more. Young adults had life changing experiences as it had been the first time they were included in a mainstream activity, low-income families had access to healthy meals and Covid lead parents got well-earned breaks.

This prompted the first ever Cranbrook Mental Health Survey to try and understand how the town was dealing with the effects of the pandemic. As a brand-new town, connecting services often proves difficult and so a new resource hub and community signposting directory were established within the Younghayes Centre giving residents the tools to empower themselves when change is needed. This hub is now a gateway to information for residents to use, with free internet access, printing, and resources to reduce barriers to vital services. Although mental health is foremost, Cranbrook has taken some significant steps to improving the town’s future wellbeing.

For more information

Councils interested in supporting mental health and wellbeing in their communities can find a wealth of resources on NALC’s website including case studies of work that councils have done and talks from their 2020 Health and Wellbeing Week.

Share your stories

If you’re proud of something your council has delivered, please tell us about it so we can feature it! We love to hear about the work of our member councils.