Ashwater

Christmas Lights Competition

The annual Ashwater Christmas Lights competition was judged this year by Cllr Trevor Sillifant, Chairman of Torridge District Council. He was extremely impressed by the high standard of the displays, commenting that the community spirit was very apparent. Trevor and his wife Jenny thoroughly enjoyed their tour of the area.

After much deliberation, and having found it quite difficult to make his final choices, it was agreed that several highly commended certificates be awarded. The results are:

The trophies are once again donated by Mrs Huckles China Matching of Ashwater.

DEVON COUNTRYSIDE ACCESS FORUM

A statutory forum under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000

APPOINTMENT OF NEW MEMBERS

Are you interested in advising on access to the countryside?
Are you a landowner or manager?
Are you an access user?
Can you represent the access interests of young people or other under-represented groups?
The Devon Countryside Access Forum has fifteen members.
It meets four times yearly at public meetings and holds occasional working groups and training days.

If you would like to apply and add your voice please look at the Devon website for details and an application form or ring 01837 810921.
Closing date 28 February.

e-mail:Hilary Winter. (Lucombe House, County Hall, Topsham Road, Exeter EX2 4QW)

New Year Sessions for 14 - 18 year olds

Are you between the ages of 14 and 18 and live in Ashwater Parish?
In the new year there will be an opportunity to use the gamesroom at the Village Inn, on a Monday evening between 6 - 7pm, by kind permission of the proprietors. For more information and to register your interest please contact PCSO 30103 Beverley Harvey on 0845 656 78 46, or contact Wendy and Jer at the Village Inn.

Parish Website

It is hoped that over the next couple of months we can expand the website to include more of what goes on in and around the Parish in an attempt to increase tourism into this area.
This would include items such as accommodation, eating out, recreation, services available or firms that operate here. What we would like is for any one interested in having a presence on the site to get in touch by e-mail at newsletter@ashwaterparish.org.uk or webmaster@ashwaterparish.org.uk.
If you already have a site of your own then we could put in links to you and vice-versa. All of this we would hope will enhance any prospective visitors idea of what they can enjoy when they come to this locality, donations to help pay for the site would be appreciated but it is more important at this stage to boost the impact of the site.

If you can help or would like to join in please get in contact.

Parish Hall

There has been an anonymous report about the kitchen in the Hall, which is being investigated by Torridge District Council.
If this has come from someone in the Parish it would have been much better to have contacted the Hall Management Committee so that the complaint could have been discussed face to face instead of taking up valuable time of TDC and some members of the committee who had to meet the TDC official as he left satisfied with the hall.

Parish Hall Events

A Different Christmas Quiz: - There were four correct entries Rod Dominy, Renee Jennings, Ann Spratt, Linda Jenkins so the winner was drawn from the hat.
Officially won by Rod Dominy who graciously declined the prize admitting use of the Internet provided him with all the answers!
A second draw resulted in Renee Jennings being declared as the winner.
Gospel Singers in the Parish Church on February 1 2007, a joint event with the Parish Church. The Schoolchildren will start the show at 7.00pm.
Cinema: - 21st February 2007 - Walk the Line a biopic of the singer Johnny Cash.
Illustrated Talks by Paul Rendell 28th February 2007 - The Secret Wildlife of Dartmoor. Tickets £3.00 on the door and 28th March 2007 - The Landscape and Wildlife of Bodmin Moor. Tickets £3.00 on the door.

Neighbourhood Watch Scheme

There is to be a meeting open to all to talk about the above scheme and see if there is anybody willing to become coordinators. The meeting will be held on Wednesday 24th January 2007 in the Parish Hall at 7.30pm.

Horticultural Society

At the next meeting to be held on Mon 19th February at 7.30 pm in the Parish Hall we have a guest speaker for the gardening club.
Helen and Chris Shaw from the Devon Bat Conservation Society have agreed to give a talk and answer questions relating to gardening and helping the Bat population in this area.

The Cider and Pastie walk attracted some 50 adult walkers, about 10 children and a number of dogs, who enjoyed a good days walking around the Parish starting on the Village Green and ending up at Moorhaye Farm.
A total of £150.00 was raised which will be split between the Society and the Parish Hall.
Thanks to all those who helped set up the walk and a special thanks to those who supported the event.

A Pampered Chef Party

Ann Shadrick and June Murray are hosting a Pampered Chef Party on Monday 5th February at Cara, Barton Gate (June’s bungalow ) beginning at 7.30pm.
Everyone is welcome to come to the Cooking Demonstration, there will also be an opportunity to purchase cookware, free admittance, and all proceeds are in aid of the Church Tower Fund.

Devon County Council

Consistent Devon gets value for money thumbs up from inspectors

DEVON County Council has been praised for providing value for money and good financial management in a new judgement by independent public watchdogs, the Audit Commission.
The Commission's assessment confirms Devon County Council as one of the nation's consistently high performing councils in the challenging field of public finance.
For 15 years in a row the County Council has kept its budget in the black - a record achievement for the authority.
Inspectors say the County Council's use of resources during 2006 has been "consistently above minimum requirements"and judge Devon to be "performing well."

Take part in the big budget think-tank

DEVON people are being invited to take part in the county's biggest online "think-tank" as part of the build-up to Devon's budget day on February 15.
The budget service on the County Council's award-winning website at www.devon.gov.uk features:
official budget reports and briefings, webcasts of council discussions and consultation meetings with special interest groups and Devon residents, and the opportunity to send comments or questions to the Leader of Devon County Council, Brian Greenslade.
There are even fun interactive computer games for younger people who want to try their hand at being a councillor, running a campaign or managing a council budget. The games are provided at no cost to Devon thanks to the Local e-Democracy National Project.
It means people of all ages can follow the build-up to setting a new budget for Devon and have their say from home, work, local library, school or college, internet cafe, Devon In Touch or any of the community computer access points that the County Council has provided.
It's all part of a year-round process of public consultation the County Council carries out to involve Devon people in setting priorities for policy-making and spending. During 2006 the Council carried out two major household surveys and these followed up the big "Our Devon" survey in the autumn of 2006 which helped set priorities for the Council's five-year Strategic Plan.

Devon's rubbish statistics are great!

Recycling rates in Devon have jumped again to 45.7% compared with 40.6% six months ago.
Devon is one of the top three counties for recycling in the country; the national average for recycling is only 26.7%.
Recycling rates in the county have increased significantly since 2003 when levels stood at 22%. Since then, the County Council has been working in partnership with district councils on the 'Don't let Devon go to waste' initiative, promoting ways to reduce waste.
"This is great progress and very encouraging," said Councillor Margaret Rogers, Executive Member for the Environment. "Since these figures are only the half year statistics, we still have six more months to achieve even greater success if everyone does their bit. It's small things that can make a big difference, so people could take their Christmas trees to be recycled at recycling centres after Twelfth Night on 6 December for example.
Making Devon greener is one of the main priorities for Devon County Council, and we need the public's help to achieve this goal. We are investing in more recycling and composting facilities for instance, and providing information on how everyone can take steps to reduce, reduce and recycle. Making a few changes to our lifestyles could benefit Devon now and in the future too."
The County Council is also encouraging people to support the Woodland Trust by recycling Christmas cards at branches of TK Maxx, WHSmith and Tesco (excluding Metro and Express stores) from 2 to 31 January 2007.

Ashwater Parish Calendar

Below is a list of events that are taking or scheduled to take place in the parish so that all involved have knowledge of the dates already booked. Please let me have the dates of your event/meeting and I will include them in the calendar.

My thanks to those who provide articles for the newsletters. Copies will as always be available at the Post Office and in the Village Inn. Any information for inclusion in or offers to help please contact Peter Capron, my e-mail address is newsletter@ashwaterparish.org.uk.

Website designed by Anthony Williams and Henriette North.
Comments and Submissions to webmaster@ashwaterparish.org.uk
Last modified: Sunday February 18, 2007