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Posts in category Bigbury Parish Council

PARISH COUNCIL – CASUAL VACANCY

December 15, 2019 Leave a Comment Written by Stuart Watts

A vacancy has arisen for the position of Parish Councillor for Bigbury. Please see the formal Notice:-
CASUAL VACANCY

Intending applicants should note the following:-

1) Applicants have to be eligible – i.e. be on the electoral register in the Parish or in very exceptional circumstances live close to (but outside) the Parish Boundary.

2) Applicants need to be aware of the requirement to attend meetings – and the consequence of not doing so.
This has been a factor in three of the last four changes.

3) Applications need to be submitted in writing to Clerk – clerk.bigburypc@gmail.com

4) Applications should include details of any prior experience and personal interests (preferably relevant to the community) BUT most importantly some statements about how they will add value to the Council and by default the Community.

The Clerk will schedule ‘interviews’ for potential candidates ahead of the February PC meeting.

Bigbury Parish Council

GIGACLEAR – a Bigbury broadband update

November 27, 2019 Leave a Comment Written by Stuart Watts

As most people are aware Connecting Devon and Somerset cancelled the Gigaclear contract in September 2019 and are about to embark on a re-tendering exercise.
The Connecting Devon and Somerset website has more detail of the reasons for this decision and the status of the overall plan as they see it today..

Gigaclear have advised our Clerk today that a significant amount of installation work has been completed across Bigbury Parish, including the installation of cabinets. Gigaclear are keen to get some financial return for their efforts and investment and as such are currently preparing a plan as how they can connect people, should individuals choose Gigaclear as their provider of choice.

Gigaclear advise the detail of this plan should be available within the next 2-3 months and when complete, it is their intention to mail drop every resident with a copy setting out the status of the infrastructure project and options open to residents to connect.

Bigbury Parish Council, Other

Agenda for Parish Council meeting of 13th November 2019

November 8, 2019 Leave a Comment Written by Stuart Watts

The Agenda is available in the DOCUMENTS section of the Parish Council area of this website.

Bigbury Parish Council
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The Horror – 1/4 of Grey Bin Waste is Food

October 23, 2019 Leave a Comment Written by Stuart Watts

7 million tonnes of food waste each year in the UK.
1/4 of the waste in our bin lorries, is food waste that could have been recycled.

End the horror this Hallowe’en and recycle your pumpkin.

As if Hallowe’en wasn’t scary enough. Just think of all that food waste that could have been recycled.

This year you could make a huge difference to the amount of food waste produced in the South Hams, with one simple change: when you’re finished with your pumpkin, either home compost it or put it in your brown bin.

Any kind of food waste can be placed in your brown bin, whether cooked or uncooked, and the material goes to make soil conditioner for use in farms around the UK. You can wrap your food waste in biodegradable food waste bags, or in newspaper if you prefer.

Cllr Keith Baldry, South Ham’s District Council’s Executive Member for Environment, said: “The real horror at Hallowe’en is the tragic waste of so many pumpkins, which could have been recycled into soil conditioner to grow more for next year. Around the South Hams we still see approximately a quarter of food waste placed in the grey bin, so by putting your pumpkin in the brown bin this year, you could make a real difference.”

And if you’re wondering what to do with the inside of your pumpkins? Well, why not make some delicious pumpkin soup, pie or curry? The possibilities are endless – just search pumpkin on www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/recipes

Don’t let your pumpkin become another Hallowe’en horror – recycle for the South Hams!

ENDS

Bigbury Parish Council, Other
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The water conservation challenge

September 15, 2019 Leave a Comment Written by Stuart Watts

At a recent ‘Water Resilience Summit”, organised by the Westcountry Rivers Trust, there was concern expressed about the impact of climate change on the future availability of water for domestic use. Wildly fluctuating temperatures and rainfall patterns mean that water supply may become much more unpredictable and problematic. Water companies can control supplies through management of supply (quantity & quality) and delivery (improving infrastructure, reducing leaks, better treatment methods) but demand is largely in the hands of consumers. Changing demographics and socio-economic trends have meant that the national UK average for an individual’s daily water consumption is 140 litres/day (l/d). Denmark’s equivalent is only 88l/d. The UK target is 50 l/d!

What can you to to help meet this ambitious target to ensure that supplies do not run short? The answer’s are obvious: don’t use the bath or, alternatively, share the bath water with a friend; don’t flush the lavatory every time you use it – if it’s yellow, let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down; don’t run the tap when brushing your teeth; use a rain water butt to store water for the garden instead of using tap water; generally, be far more water conservation conscious and pass the message on to others.

By the use of relatively small measures, everybody can help to secure a water resilient future for our children and grandchildren.

Bigbury Parish Council, Other
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Review of Polling Districts and Polling Places

August 13, 2019 Leave a Comment Written by Stuart Watts

The Representation of the People Act 1983, Schedule A1
The Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2006, and the Review of Polling District & Polling Places (Parliamentary Elections) Regulations 2006.
South Hams District Council are required by law to carry out a review of the polling districts and polling places in the South Hams every 5 years.
The purpose of the review is to ensure that all polling districts and polling places are, as far as possible, suitable and accessible to all voters. We welcome comments from any person or organisation wishing to make a representation in respect of the arrangement of polling districts and polling places within the South Hams District Council boundary; or concerning the accessibility of polling stations wherever possible giving alternative suitable places that may be used. We would also like to hear from those people who are happy with their polling station as well as those who are not in order to have a balanced view to consider.

Polling districts
The Council is responsible for dividing its area into polling districts for the purpose of United Kingdom Parliamentary elections. The arrangements made for these elections are also used at all other elections and referendums. When designating polling districts, we seek to ensure that all the electors have such reasonable facilities for voting as far as practicable.
Polling places
The polling place is the geographical area in which the polling station is situated. It is common practice to define each polling district as the polling place, rather than designating a particular building, which allows some flexibility.
Polling stations
The polling station is the physical place in which polling takes place. The (Acting) Returning Officer decides on the location of the polling stations.
Steps for this review
Formal commencement of the review starts on Monday 12 August and will be on the website by that date.
We will publish the comments from the (Acting) Returning Officers as soon as they are received.
There will be a public consultation period commencing on the 12 August, 2019 which will end on the 20th September, 2019.
We will consider the representations received and publish draft proposals and have a second consultation period in October.
The final recommendations will be considered by South Hams District Council in November 2019.
Kind regards.
Elizabeth Tucker
Senior Specialist Electoral Services South Hams District Council

Bigbury Parish Council

The Avon Estuary has been designated as a Marine Conservation Zone

June 4, 2019 Leave a Comment Written by Stuart Watts

The designation of the estuary is described and briefly reviewed in the following document:-

DEVON_AVON MCZ3

Bigbury Parish Council, environment
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Community-led housing scheme at St Ann’s Chapel

June 2, 2019 Leave a Comment Written by Stuart Watts

The Parish Council and Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group are pleased to be able to report that the planning application for the community-led housing scheme proposed on land at Holwell Farm, St Ann’s Chapel was approved, subject to the completion of a Section 106 Agreement, by the South Hams District Council Development Management Committee on 22nd May 2019 (Application Ref: 4214/18/FUL). This was given unanimous support by Members of the Committee who considered that the proposed development was an excellent example of a development designed specifically to meet the local housing needs of a rural parish and comprised a scheme of a very high standard of design and sustainability.

Cllr Valerie Scott, Chair of the NP Steering Group, has provided an overview of the review of the planning application by SHDC, a site map and several drawings of the scheme’s appearance (‘Perspectives’) in the DOCUMENTS section of the NP section of this website: >NP>DOCUMENTS>select file of interest by CATEGORY or title.

IMPORTANTLY, the eligibility criteria for rental/ownership are outlined together with the appropriate contact details for those people interested in buying or renting a property on the site.

Bigbury Parish Council, NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN
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