Parish Council news

Parish Council news

Neighbourhood Plan

Unusually, there was no discussion about the Neighbourhood plan at the Parish Council meeting as Cllr Rob Longhurst is taking a well-earned break. He will be back before you read this and he and the rest of the Neighbourhood Plan Team will be working on arrangements for the Public Exhibitions and presentations on 23rd and 24th November 2012 in the Village Hall. It is vital to have a big turnout at both of these events so that we can show good public support for any future Neighbourhood Plan. Details will be posted on the Notice Boards and on the Website. Housing land has been the main focus of attention so far with several sites being put forward for development very late in the process. Details of housing sites submitted under the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment can be found on the EDDC website at http://www.eastdevon.gov.uk/shlaa.

Lympstone Primary School

A busy Parish Council meeting in October received Tony Priest, Headteacher of our village Primary School and Jon Sharpe of DCC to hear about proposals for new building works at the school. DCC have accepted the need for four primary schools to expand to meet the coming demand for primary school places.

Lympstone Primary School is to benefit by the site of the Church Rooms being purchased by DCC and brought into the school site. The old building will be demolished and there will be a new building with two classrooms. This will replace the temporary classroom that was put on the playground with an 18- month temporary planning permission. The school will now expand to 210 pupils and almost all of these will be from Lympstone within a few years.

Car parking

Car parking and parking restrictions have been the subject of debate for the last few meetings. On the one hand there is a desperate need for more car parking space so that there is no need to park on every bit of road that does not have double yellow lines and on the other there is a need to remove parking from some areas to improve highway safety. These two need to be looked at together so that the whole situation is kept in balance. It is possible that EDDC will offer the freehold of the Underhill car park to the Parish Council. The Parish Council has decided that if this offer comes, then that will be time for a full debate involving all people in the village. However, Cllr Bernard Hughes has asked the Parish Council to come to a view about possible parking restrictions before the end of the year so that any Traffic Order can be processed before the County Council goes into ‘Purdah’ in the period leading up to the County elections in May 2013. What are your views about parking in the village? Do you have trouble finding somewhere to park or do you have trouble driving through the village or getting into and out of your driveway? Your Parish Councillor needs to know your views and problems.

Flowers in the Village

Parish Council Chairman, Cllr Peter Acca has received this message from Vic Verrier, President of South West in Bloom: “I am the President of the South West in Bloom organisation. Many years ago Lympstone was one of our most successful entries in both our Regional and the National competitions; indeed I have judged your beautiful village myself. In 2014 the RHS celebrates its 50th anniversary of the competition, so we are trying to get back with us some of our lost entries. We firmly believe that in a village like yours it helps to pull communities together, and helps with trade and tourism. If the main competition looks a little daunting we are looking to pilot a more floral based one, as it used to be next year. If you are at all interested I can arrange for information to be sent to you, or even a visit from a committee member to explain things to you. We would love to have you back. Please visit our web site www.southwestinbloom.org.uk for more details.” An entry into South-West in Bloom would be a fantastic thing for our Village but requires a lot of work from volunteers. This is not something that the Parish Council can take on although it will give whatever support is needed. A dedicated band of volunteers are needed to plant, fundraise, plant and maintain dozens of tubs, baskets and flower beds to keep them looking stunning for the judges. It has been done before with great success. The trophies are in the display case above the door to the Main hall of the village Hall. Do you think it is time we had another trophy? Are you and your friends willing to get together to put in the effort to make Lympstone a colourful place for the summer of 2013 and beyond? If so please contact a Parish Councillor or Tony, the Clerk.

Footpaths

Those of you who walk the footpaths in the Village will know that many of them are overgrown. What a year it has been for weeds! DCC cut hedges once a year and this year it was done at the start of the season. Many hedges and verges are now heavily overgrown and in desperate need of attention. This is generally the responsibility of the adjoining landowner. The last time this request was published there was a fantastic result when many footpaths were cleared. It is time to do it again so that paths are clear for the winter so if you have a footpath across your land or next to it, please get to work to cut back those weeds.

Tony Le Riche

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