Town & Parish Newsletter - November 2020
Hello all
Welcome to the November newsletter, I hope you find it informative. Please do let me know if there any particular subjects you would like covered.
Please let me know if any of your Councillors resign or you co-opt so that I can keep the MDDC records up to date.
Carole
coliphant@middevon.gov.uk
'Remember from Home’ this Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day
Mid Devon residents are being urged to observe Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day from their homes this year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
While the traditional parades, services and public gatherings will not take place, there are still many ways you get involved.
This year the Council is encouraging residents to pay their respects by:
- Observing the national two minute silence from their garden or doorstep
- Watching one of the many virtual events happening across Devon
- Displaying a poppy poster in your window which you can download here
Chairman of Mid Devon District Council, Cllr Les Cruwys said:
“It’s so important that we never forget the sacrifices made by so many during times of conflict. Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day give us all the opportunity to pay tribute to our brave armed forces, past and present.
While the current restrictions mean this year’s Remembrance events will be different, I would encourage everyone to join the commemorations from home, by observing the two- minute silence and proudly displaying a poppy in their window. Together, we can play our part in honouring our war heroes and ensuring their memory lives on.”
Construction begins on the Crediton’s New Health Hub
Construction work on Crediton’s new medical hub has begun this month and, due to Covid restrictions, just two of the lead GPs marked the moment by cutting the ground on site.
Leader of Mid Devon District Council, Cllr Bob Deed, with social distancing in place, helped mark the moment alongside Dr Jo Harris of New Valley Practice, and Dr Peter Twomey of Chiddenbrook Surgery, Crediton. The event had to be scaled back due to Covid-19 restrictions.
The modern facility will merge the town’s two existing surgeries into one multi-purpose facility and has been led by Dr Harris and Dr Twomey.
The project will mean the GP practices will receive a £6 million long term loan from the NHS England Estates and Technology Transformation Fund (ETTF) - a national funding programme to support GP practices to make improvements to services for local patients including more modern, expanded facilities and use of new technologies.
MDDC has supported the project by providing the balance of funding to the tune of £2.2 million while the NHS fund has provided 80% of the project’s financing together.
Leader of MDDC, Cllr Deed said: “We are all acutely aware of the huge importance the NHS plays in our lives and this new hub will be a vital resource to ensure the communities of Crediton and surrounding villages have access to a high-quality NHS services in a purpose- built space.
“This project really is an example of how we can work together to support a common goal - helping those who need medical assistance access it easily and locally in their own community. After 18 months of hard work behind the scenes I am delighted building work is now starting and we are all eager to see the finished building and welcome patients next year.”
The new L shaped building will have two floors and will house a number of innovative features, including 16 multi-purpose clinical rooms and eight telephone/video consultation booths that can be used by different clinicians. A double height entrance atrium will flood the building with light to promote wellbeing in staff and patients alike. The spacious waiting room will contain devices and literature to help patients get to grips with new NHS technology, fill out online consultation forms and learn more about self-care. There will al- so be facilities for training GPs and nurses, rooms for patient groups to meet, and addition- al office space and IT equipment for staff. The practice will also benefit from ample parking facilities – which the existing sites are lacking – and will be easily accessible by public transport.
Building contractor, Kier, started the construction work on the site – behind the Tesco superstore – at the beginning of October and the building is scheduled to be completed to- wards the end of next summer, with patients expected through the door in Autumn 2021.
Clerk Vacancy
Borden Gate are looking for a part time clerk for up to 2 hours a week. If you are interested please contact the Chairman Heather Bainbridge on 01398 361430
Customer Contact Survey
Have you contacted us recently? Complete our survey about the ways you can get in touch.
MDDC is running a survey to gauge feedback on the ways we communicate with our customers.
Our Customer Services team is available over the phone, via email, through online forms and in person at Phoenix House, but it’s always good to know how our customers prefer to contact us.
The online survey is running from now until Christmas and takes just a few minutes to complete. It’s anonymous and any feedback we receive will be used to ensure we are resourcing the communications methods you prefer.
Cllr Nikki Woollatt, Cabinet Member for Support Services, said: "We know people are busy and that these days they prefer a range of ways to contact us, which we will always aim to do. But we want to ensure, with our limited resources, that we are funding the best ways for you to contact us and at the right times. Taking a few minutes to give us feedback on how you got in touch with us, and how you’d like to in the future, will really help us to do that."
To complete the survey please click here.
DALC have the following courses available
Devon Association of Local Councils (DALC) is putting on a virtual workshop for rural parishes in Mid Devon on Covid19 prepared- ness in the face of a potential second wave. The workshop will take place on Zoom on the 4th November at 2:00pm. Parishes can register for this free event at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mid-devon-district-parishes-covid19-preparedness-tickets-126269542601
02/11/2020 Webinar | Being a Good Councillor 4: The Council and the CommunityZoom Webinar
03/11/2020 Webinar | BudgetingZoom Webinar
03/11/2020 Webinar | Finance for CouncillorsZoom Webinar
09/11/2020 Webinar | Using social media to enhance your council's communicationsZoom Webinar
10/11/2020 Webinar | Introduction to VATZoom Webinar
10/11/2020 Webinar | Finance for CouncillorsZoom Webinar
12/11/2020 Webinar | BudgetingZoom Webinar
17/11/2020 Webinar | BudgetingZoom Webinar
Meet the Parishes
Morebath
Down the centuries Morebath has remained essentially a sheep farming community. The first part of its name derives from the "moory" basin created by the Shuttern Brook as it flows through the village to join the Batherm at Bampton, and the second part from the mineral springs nearby. Around the village which grew up here, the Saxon settlers named their farms from the local landscape: Moor, Wood and Combe; Ashtown among its trees; Warmore the marshy place near a weir; Pool near a calm stretch of the Exe; Hayne where the land had been hedged; Layton sheltered in the lee; Holwell where there was a holy well; and Brockhole where badgers lived. The road from Lodfin Farm to Exebridge is a very ancient trackway from Wellington to Dulverton, and another track passes through the village towards Bury and on to the North Devon coast.
Early history records that King Harold who died at Hastings once owned Morebath, and that William The Conqueror took it over as a royal manor. Henry I gave it to a man called Britellus whose home, Britelscombe, is now Burston Farm. Later it was given to the monks of Barlynch a mile or two away: their estate headquarters, where they held the Manor Court for their tenants, is still called Court. When Henry Vii dissolved the priory, the estate went to lay landlords; monuments to some of them are in the parish church.
Newton St Cyres
is a village, civil parish former manor and former ecclesiastical parish in Mid Devon, in the English county of Devon, located between Crediton and Exeter. It had a population of 562 at the 2011 Census. The village is part of the Newbrooke electoral ward.
The ward population at the above census was 1,520. Almost destroyed by fire in the early 1960s, its main point of interest is the Parish Church, built in the 15th century and dedicated to the martyrs St. Cyriac and his mother St. Julitta. Most of the church is in early Perpendicular style, built of local reddish 'trap', a volcanic stone from quarries at Posbury, with the exception of the nave pillars, which are of Beer stone. It contains the monument with standing effigy of John Northcote (1570-1632) of Hayne, lord of the manor of Newton St Cyres. Newton St Cyres railway station is on the Tarka Line from Exeter to Barnstaple, but is located approximately 0.5 miles outside the village centre, and receives an infrequent service.
Newton St Cyres is home to a public house, the Beer Engine, which is situated next to the railway station, and an Italian restaurant, Belluno, which was formerly the Crown and Sceptre public house. Traditional cheeses can be bought from the Quickes Farm shop. The village has a recreation ground with two football pitches, a cricket pitch and two tennis courts.
Keeping up to date
Press Releases Issued
https://www.middevonnewscentre.info/
Dates for Mid Devon District Council Meetings
https://democracy.middevon.gov.uk/mgCalendarMonthView.aspx?GL=1&bcr=1
3rd November—Environment PDG—5.30pm
4th November—Planning Committee—2.15pm 5th November—Economy PDG—5.30pm
9th November—Scrutiny Committee—2.15pm 10th November—Homes PDG—2.15pm
17th November—Community PDG—2.15pm
17th November—Audit Committee—5.30pm