October minutes published
The approved minutes of October’s Parish Council meeting are now published and available on the website.
News from the Patient Participation Group
The majority of Stokenham Parish residents are registered at Chillington Health Centre, but not all will be aware of our excellent Patient Participation Group, which is there to represent them and ensure they get the best from our local medical facility. The PPG’s latest newsletter is packed with useful information and makes essential reading. Get it here: https://stokenham-pc.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/PPG-November-24.pdf
21 November Full Council Meeting Postponed
Tonight’s meeting of Stokenham Parish Council has regretfully been postponed due to illness. The meeting will be reconvened for Thursday 28 November at 7.30.
New Banking Hub opens in Dartmouth
A new Banking Hub has opened at 5-9 Victoria Street, Dartmouth. The Hub offers a counter service operated by the Post Office, where customers of all major banks can carry out regular cash transactions, Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm. It also offers a Community Banker service where customers can talk to their own bank about more complicated issues on the day their bank is in the Hub. Community Bankers are available in Dartmouth on the following days:
Monday: HSBC
Tuesday: NatWest
Wednesday: Lloyds
Thursday: Barclays
Friday: Santander
Reform to bathing water regulations – make your views known!
In a consultation launched on 12 November, Defra are inviting the public, community groups, environmental groups, farmers, businesses and local authorities to share their views on modernising bathing water regulations to ensure a more flexible approach to designation and monitoring.
The proposed changes, which will benefit cold water swimmers and other water sports enthusiasts, include:
- Removal of fixed bathing water season dates (which currently runs from May to September) from the regulations to allow for a more flexible approach to monitoring, extending the dates of the bathing season to better reflect when people use bathing waters.
- Expanding the legal definition of ‘bathers’ to include participants in water sports other than swimming, including paddle boarders and surfers.
- Further considering water quality and public safety when applications for new bathing waters are assessed.
- Introducing multiple testing points at bathing water sites.
- Ending the automatic de-designation of bathing water status after 5 consecutive years of a site being rated ‘poor’, which can damage local tourism and businesses. Instead, underperforming sites will be individually reviewed by regulators, taking into account their unique circumstances.
Click on the link above to go direct to the .gov.uk site and have your say on this important topic!
Have your say on future plans for transport in Devon and Torbay
The Devon & Torbay Local Transport Plan 4 is now out for consultation. This is an opportunity for everyone to make their views known on the Councils’ plans for investment in local transport infrastructure that will affect all our lives for years to come. Don’t miss your chance to comment – click here to have your say!
The Saltmarsh Project – Free Community Workshop, Monday 11 November, 6pm
Living Dart: The Saltmarsh Project is now in its third year. Our small ria saltmarshes that sit between the sea and the land have experienced 12,000 years of evolution since the last ice age – what could the future for this resilient ecosystem look like, and how can we play a part in that?
The workshop is about knowledge exchange – we will:
– Get a project update from key team members from the Environment Agency, South Devon National Landscape, Dart Harbour & Navigation Authority and ParkLife SW
– Think together about adaptation and the impact of climate change on habitats like saltmarsh. What kind of health indicators can be monitored both by experts and citizens? How can we stay connected to each other and the saltmarshes beyond the life of the project?
– Discuss next steps for saltmarsh restoration involving sister rivers the Erme, Yealm and Avon, and the Salcombe/Kingsbridge Estuary
– Hear from The Saltmarsh Artist Collective about their work about–and for–the Dart’s saltmarshes
Click here for your free ticket to this unique workshop event.
Come and get your juice!
One of the joys of Parish apple pressings is that there is always plenty of juice to go around! If you weren’t able to make Saturday’s event you can still get your hands on a bottle of delicious local apple juice in return for a small donation to charity. The juice is pasteurised and will be good for at least 3 months. Please contact Gill for details on 01548 581185, or email clerk@stokenham-pc.gov.uk.
Sun shines on a juicy day out in Kellaton
Villagers gathered at Lower Kellaton Farm Barn in glorious sunshine last Saturday to watch, learn, and lend a hand at this year’s rearranged Parish apple pressing event. The Speidel mill and metal press from Orchard Link were given a thorough workout as more than twenty sacks of apples from orchards in Kellaton, Beeson, and further afield were turned into just shy of 300 bottles of juice. As usual, younger members of the community got stuck in, packing the “cheeses” with freshly milled apple pulp, which the giant press turned into rivers of delicious golden nectar. The bottling line had to be on its toes as the endless flow of juice demanded to be filtered, bottled, pasteurised and labelled. Sustenance, in the form of tea, coffee, soup and pasties, kept the workers victualled and by 3.30pm the last sack of apples was exhausted, as were the volunteers! Hearty thanks to Fran and Jonathan Ansell for their kind hospitality on the day.