November Full Council Minutes published
Approved minutes of November’s Full Council meeting are now published and available on the website.
Temporary Closure of Helmer’s Bridge
The pedestrian walkway that links the Helmer’s Estate in Chillington with the playing field and park is temporarily closed while contractors investigate rotting timbers which could make the structure dangerous to users. Both carrier joists and a number of decking planks on the ramp at the eastern end of the walkway (playing-field end) are seriously weakened and could fail at short notice. A spokesperson for Stokenham Parish Council, which owns the playing-field end of the walkway, said that the timbers were reaching the end of their expected life and plans were already in place to renew the structure with more durable materials. In the meantime the council had no choice but to advise walkers to avoid using it. The closure has been marked with barrier tape: those continuing to use the walkway before repairs are effected do so at their own risk! 
November draft minutes published
Draft minutes of November’s Full Council Meeting are now published and available on the website.
Dartmouth Ferry Refit Timetable
With Christmas just around the corner, Dartmouth’s Lower Ferry is gearing up to keep the festive spirit, and the town, moving! To keep passengers safe and to follow legal guidelines, the ferries’ annual refits and Marine and Coastguard Agency (MCA) inspections will be taking place between November and February.
The team are working hard to make sure your journeys across the Dart are as smooth as possible this winter. They’ll have extra staff on board during single ferry periods, working hard to keep everything running safely and efficiently. Please be patient and kind to the team – they’re here to help you get where you need to go.
Winter Service Schedule:
Starting with Tom Avis and Hauley VI getting their refits, the services will run as follows:
- Single ferry service
- Will run until Monday 8 December 2025.
- Double ferry service over the busy Christmas period.
- Will run from Monday 8 December 2025 to Sunday 4 January 2026.
It’s then the turn of Tom Casey and Hauley V to have their annual safety updates and checks, but the team will wait until after the New Year to restart.
- Single ferry service
- Will run between Monday 5 January to Monday 9 February 2026.
- Double ferry service
- Will run from on its usual schedule from Monday 9 February 2026.
The full service returns for the rest of winter and into spring with all dates being subject to change depending on MCA availability and inspection findings.
Your parish needs you!
Are you passionate about your local community?
Would you like to get involved in activities to benefit your village and locality?
Do you want to help shape the future of the place you love?
Then please consider becoming a Parish Councillor!
Call the parish clerk on 01548 581185, or email clerk@stokenham-pc.gov.uk for more details and an application form.
October Full Council minutes published
Approved minutes of October’s Full Council meeting are now published and available on the website.
The On-Off Saga of Major Roadworks in Chillington
The chaotic scenes in Chillington earlier this week, with queues of traffic stretching on occasion as far back as Carehouse Cross in one direction and Coombe Meadows in the other, seem to have been caused by poorly positioned and badly timed traffic lights controlling the roadworks – roadworks that popped up overnight without any of the usual notifications, the haste justified on the grounds that they constituted “emergency repairs” to the electricity supply.
Parish Councillors might have seen this as a foretaste of things to come. For just last week we were treated to a presentation from National Grid, designed to break the bad news to the community that a seven-week closure of the A379 through Chillington was planned for the new year, starting mid-January.
While the proposed works – involving the installation of an upgraded 3-phase electricity supply through the length of the village that would future-proof residents against the demands of heat pumps and EV chargers – seemed entirely sensible and prudent, the disruption involved would be extensive and burdensome. It was clear that the entire operation, including arrangements for access to properties, alternative parking and bus-route liaison, would need to be planned with military precision to avoid exactly the sorts of snarl-ups and gridlock that were witnessed in the village in the past few days. To give them due credit, the folks from National Grid promised that they would liaise closely with Parish Council and neighbourhood groups, both to share information and keep disruption to a minimum.
Still, it was with some relief that we learned midweek that the proposed works will NOT now be going ahead next year after all, Devon County Council having put the kibosh on the plan due to the length of closure. The work still needs doing, however, and at the time of writing it is envisaged that it will occur in January 2027. This sounds like a highly dubious claim, so watch this space for further developments.
October Full Council minutes published
Draft minutes of Stokenham Parish Council’s October meeting are now published and available on the website.
September Full Council minutes published
Approved minutes of September’s Full Council meeting are now published and on the website.