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.

East Budleigh with Bicton Parish Council has restored a phone kiosk and installed a life-saving public access defibrillator to help the community of Yettington

East Budleigh with Bicton Parish Council has restored the phone box that sits in the centre of Yettington, East Budleigh and installed a defibrillator.  The phone box had fallen into disrepair over several years and become very unsightly.

Judith Venning, the Parish Clerk said “Sam Storey of Millin Metalcrafts who lives in Yettington, has done a wonderful job of repainting and restoring the box, which now houses a defibrillator, purchased with a generous donation to the Parish Council from Lord Clinton’s Trust.”

The defibrillator will be available to residents of Yettington and visitors alike and will be checked regularly by the Parish Clerk. The nearby Yettington Hall has also been restored, so the availability of a defibrillator nearby will give greater reassurance to users of the Hall.

Local resident Mel Ferrers said “What a fantastic use of an otherwise disused and generally run-down phone box. Thankyou to everyone who helped to make this happen.”

Making a start on the project!

Undercoat nearly finished!

Shiny new phone box with defibrillator!

For more information

A number of Devon’s councils have used BT’s Adopt a Kiosk scheme to adopt a K6 phone box for a huge range of different projects including Brixham’s Telebug Hotels and Kingsbridge’s smallest nightclub. Defibrillators are a popular use for phoneboxes as the kiosk provides perfect housing for this lifesaving equipment. The British Heart Foundation has some information on public access defibrillators and how they can benefit a community.

Tell us about it!

Thank you so much to East Budleigh with Bicton Parish Council for sharing this story, we’re delighted to hear about your new defibrillator which is a fantastic way of restoring a run-down asset and providing reassurance to nearby residents. We love to hear stories from our members, so if you have a project that you’re proud of please tell us about it!

The importance of young people to your community, how to engage them and read about Horrabridge’s newest (and youngest) councillor!

Young people play an important part in our communities and may use a range of council facilities such as playparks, benches and public toilets. Although they have their own needs and desires for the community, they can sometimes be a hard group for local councils to reach but there are benefits to engaging with them. They are the future of our communities so it is critical to support their development. Councils can work to engage young people, either by getting them involved in the work of the council or by delivering services and assets designed to support them.

How can we engage young people?

Councils could try and reach out to young people by working with other organisations, such as schools and local youth groups, to help educate youngsters about local councils and encouraging them to participate. This might include going into schools or youth meetings (such as the Guides or Scouts) to give talks, putting notices or updates in school newsletters, or actively working with groups to promote local democracy. For example, councils could run art competitions in schools to design a logo for the council or to design a poster. South Tawton Parish Council carried out a competition to choose a winning design for their ‘slow down’ road signs.

Streaming or videoing important events may also help as young people could watch them at school or at home; Okehampton Town Council streams their Mayoral choosing event so that schools are able to watch it live.

Other ways to include young people in your community might be to use social media; different media will reach different groups so it may be worth considering an Instagram, or Twitter, page. Perhaps you could use community awards to recognise young people in the parish who are already working hard to benefit the community like South Brent Parish Council’s Community Champion awards

A young councillor at Horrabridge

Meet Harley Carpenter, Horrabridge’s latest parish councillor! Harley was co-opted in April, having just turned 18 years old.

She has lived in the parish for 5 years and felt it was important to join the council to encourage other youngsters to feel more involved with the community and to express any concerns they might have.

Harley also volunteers with the local youth club, youth coffee mornings and U.B.A.K.A. (Urban Bulldogs Against Kids Abuse).

Resources

NALC has a range of resources aimed at how councils can encourage young people to become councillors and make a change in their community, but also the ways that councils can support young people including funding youth groups, consulting young people and installing relevant assets such as skate parks. This includes a Young people case studies publication, which includes several councils from Devon including Bradninch, Peter Tavy, Chulmleigh and Buckland Brewer.

Training

Our partners, Breakthrough Communications, run training on how to effectively engage with young people in your community (please note the course costs £30 +VAT, invoiced by DALC), to help you explore the issues that matter to young people, how to effectively reach and engage with them both online and offline, and how to build partnerships with them to improve your community and the work of your council. More information on our training with Breakthrough Communications is available here, with a range of other courses to help you engage your community.

NALC National Network

If you are a young councillor (under 40) then you may be interested in joining NALC’s National Network for Young Councillors which meets regularly to help connect councillors, share good practice and provide mutual support.

South Brent Parish Council has awarded their Community Champion awards for 2021-22; a great way to celebrate the community and raise the council’s profile!

Many councils look for new ways to raise their council’s profiles within their community and South Brent Parish Council’s Community Champion Awards are a great way to do this, while also providing an excellent way to celebrate the community. The council gives two awards, Community Champion and Young Community Champion, with nominations from members of the public.

South Brent Parish Council Community Champion 2021-22

They received two nominations for Community Champion and gave the award to South Brent Pharmacy. Although Community Champion is historically awarded to an individual, the council was so impressed by the community spirit and excellent service demonstrated by the pharmacy, they decided to break with tradition.

The pharmacy is an extremely important facility in the community, giving excellent service with staff of the highest quality. The pharmacist puts himself out to serve the community; during a period of very bad weather, he stayed in the flat above the shop so the pharmacy could open as normal.

South Brent Parish Council Young Community Champion 2021-22

The Young Community Champion was awarded to Holly Chapman-Burden who is part of Dartside Explorers, always giving one hundred percent. She also volunteers as a young leader with the Ivybridge Scout Group, setting an excellent example and taking care of others in the unit.

Pictured (right): Cllr Glyn Richards (Chairman of the Parish Council) and Holly Chapman-Burden.

Pictured (above): Trish Luker, Phil Beard (pharmacist), Cllr Glyn Richards (Chairman of the Parish Council), Rachael Timmins and Russell Porter.

We love reading the ways that councils work with their communities and raise their profiles! NALC’s Points of Light has a range of case studies from across the country of the amazing work councils are doing including other community awards.

Please do take a moment to tell us about what your council is doing.