Added on Friday 25th Jul 2025

Parish Council News July 2025

News since issue 10

• Parish Council Chair. Jill Millar has stood down as Chair due to health matters and at the last parish council meeting, the council elected Belinda Hayter-Hames as the new chair as of 14^th July 2025.
• Bellacouch Car Park. Some of you may have given up all hope of the car park, and associated toilets, ever officially opening for business but much to our delight we have finally got an official opening date - the 1^st August.To some of, of course, this will not be a delight at all, as the main outcome of officially opening the car park is that the parking will no longer be free!!
  So please note that, from the 1^st August, charges for parking will apply in the new Bellacouch Car Park. They will be at the same rate as for the top car park.
  Charging and enforcement will be administered by West Devon Borough Council. Many thanks are due to the Parish Council Chair, and to our clerk, for all the hours and hours they have put into bringing this car park into full operation.
• EV Chargers. Needless to say, not everything to do with the new car park is complete. The EV charges have yet to have their payment method sorted out and the solar panels have yet to be installed. However, we are hopeful that this will be finalised in the near future.
• Phone Box. We are looking further into the implications of taking responsibility for the phone box outside Blacks once it is decommissioned by BT. Such implications include electricity, insurance, costs of repair and maintenance, and costs of repainting and fitting out.
  Thank you for giving us your ideas on what the phone box might be used for. The most popular of these is to house a new defibrillator, and we are looking further into this. Other suggestions included a flower stall, a book swap and an information kiosk, and we will give further consideration to all ideas. If you have any more ideas please let the clerk know: clerk@chagford-parish.co.uk
• Digital Voice Switchover. BT is planning to change all our landlines from copper wiring to digital voice. It isn’t yet certain when this will happen but it could be later this year.Once the changeover has taken place landlines will no longer work in a power cut.
  If you are landline dependent and vulnerable, or have a telecare pendant, and do not have a mobile phone (or a mobile phone signal) you should contact BT and ask an engineer to visit to supply a battery pack. This should be fitted free of charge before the main switchover and you won’t have to pay £150 for the battery backup unit.
  Using this new technology may be challenging for some people who are not used to IT or who have memory problems. If you are aware of family members or neighbours who fall into this category please be aware of this issue and try to support them, and maybe contact BT on their behalf. Prolonged power cuts are not that frequent - but they do happen!
• Market house toilets. The council thinks it might be time to take a look at the costs and implications of upgrading the toilets in the Square. They often get damaged and are really not up to modern day standards. Chagford, we feel, could do with some nicer public toilets, could it not?
• VJ Day celebrations. On the back of VE day comes VJ Day, Victory in Japan day, to be commemorated on the 15^th August. To mark this 80^th Anniversary of WW2, the parish council will host a coffee morning in Endecott House from 10am to 4pm, with a history display about the war fought in the Far East and of those from Chagford who were involved.

Other News

• A reminder of the new WDBC Grants. West Devon Borough Council has 2 new community grant schemes, part of their commitment to support the local community. The Community Halls Capital Grant Fund (to support community hall developments. Grants are available from £500 to £25,000) and the Community Arts and Activities Fund (to help support existing arts or activities or established groups wanting to start new initiatives. Grants are available from £500 up to £3,000.) These grants are now open for applications, offering support for a wide range of projects and activities that enhance community life.
  
  For further information, go to:
  www.westdevon.gov.uk/community-halls-grant
  www.westdevon.gov.uk/arts-activities-fund
  The deadline for applications for the first round of funding is midnight on Friday 22 August so don’t miss out!

• In addition the WDBC are making a Household Support Fund available up to March 2026, to help carers, young people leaving care and families with 3 children or more who are in need. For further information go to https://www.westdevon.gov.uk/benefits-and-support/other-available-support/household-support-fund

As always, a reminder that you are welcome to attend our regular monthly meetings, held in Endecott House on the 2^nd Monday of every month at 7.30pm. The agenda is posted on the notice board on Wednesday or Thursday before each meeting.

If you would like to receive a regular copy of the newsletter by email please contact Ruth, the clerk, at clerk@chagford-parish.co.uk with your email address.

Belinda Hayter-Hames

belinda.hayter-hames@chagford-parish.co.uk

(Chair)