Ashwater

The Ashwater Easter Egg Hunt

The great Easter Egg Hunt will take place again this year on the Village Green starting at 2pm. There will also be an Easter Card competition for pre-school, infant and junior aged children. Wendy, the new Landlady, from the Village Inn, will judge this competition. This years event is being organized by the Ashwater Playgroup who will also run a raffle, prizes for this would be welcomed contact 254112 for information.

Parish Hall Events

• Illustrated Talks by Paul Rendell 28th March 2007 - The Landscape and Wildlife of Bodmin Moor. Tickets £3.00 on the door.
• Cinema - 18th April 2007 Film: Happy Feet - Animated Tale of an Endearing Penguin - tickets £3.50 on the door.

The increased hire charges for the equipment means that we need a minimum of 31 ticket sales to break even. This is a facility that the Parish should try and continue but unless there is more support then either the entrance fee must rise or we will have to consider not running the film shows.

Parish Hall

The Big Lottery Fund has interviewed the sub-committee who managed to answer their questions and queries. It is now hoped that we will get a decision at the end of April or early May.

Horticultural Society

The willow workshop was well attended and all went home with items they had made.
A visit to the Pine Lodge Gardens near St Austell has been arranged for 19th April. The entrance fee is £5.50 for adults and £5.00 for pensioners; this will be subsidized by £2.00 per person for society members. Anybody who is interested in this visit should let Peter Capron (211106) or Rhonda Fry (221200) know by 10th April. We will use cars as transport and could you also let us know if you will drive and how many spare seats you have so we can match people to transport.

Dominoes League

The winter is over and the dominoes sessions in the Village Inn have run their course. The winner of the League was Brian Williams with Peter Capron as runner-up. The doubles competition has also been concluded with the winners being Ann Richmond and Peter Jennings with Rodney Brock and Melvyn Lake as runners-up.

Three Moors Ride

The 3 Moors Ride is a charity horse ride that is taking place from Wednesday 13th June - Wednesday 20th June, we are riding in aid of the our local branch of the MS society, there will be on average 4-8 horses riding each day including a core of riders that will be doing the whole ride and others joining us for a few days. We are riding from the highest point on Exmoor to the Highest point on Dartmoor to the highest point on Bodmin moor.
Everything is falling in to place fantastically and we have all of our over night stops sorted already, people are giving us their yards, fields, beds. Its just amazing the generosity we have encountered. We still have lots to sort out and are in need of help, anyone that feels they could give us their time would be more than welcome, Our main vehicle and horse box crew are sorted but we are in need of volunteers to spend a day with us on the ride, it will involve going ahead to water stops and sorting them out, grabbing us some lunch!!! (very important) that sort of thing. It would mean using their own vehicle and carrying water/ buckets etc. We also need help in organising a BBQ on the Thursday 21st on the village green.
If anyone would like some horse manure for their roses I have loads and am asking for a small donation that will go towards diesel/petrol for the crew vehicle's.'
Please give me a ring if you would like more info, can help or if you would like to sponsor us. Thank you Rach Martyn tel:211262.

Parish Council

Several matters have been dealt with recently:

Following the Parish Council's letter to Devon CC, suggesting traffic calming measures, James Anstee from Devon CC has replied that Ashwater does not have a speed related accident problem, and therefore Devon CC cannot commit to such a scheme at this time.

It was agreed that LH Garden Services be awarded the contract to cut the Village Green for 2007.

Many of you will notice that the holes in the road on the corner of the Village Green/Jubilee Court have at last been repaired. The reason for the delay has arisen due to disputed liability/ownership of this area of road. TDC Cllr Christine March successfully negotiated with Devon CC, to carry out the work, even though the ownership/liability issue is still unresolved.

The Parish Council invites tenders to make and erect a new notice board to be sited on the village green. If anyone is interested in quoting perhaps they would like to contact Tony March, Chairman P.C., to discuss sizes, materials etc. telephone 01409 211340.

The question arose about the District Council Offices in Holsworthy and TDC Cllr Christine March stated that there was no intention whatsoever to remove the area office. TDC would be considering, however, for cost efficiency, whether the office should remain in the present Manor Offices Building, or whether it could move into the refurbished Memorial Hall, or another location in the centre of the town. TDC were looking to increase the range of Council Services available from the Holsworthy area office and it will not be removed.

Many of you will notice that the telephone kiosk has been removed from Sandrymoor Cross, following a road traffic accident. BT has posted a notice next to the site, stating their intention to remove the kiosk permanently. The Parish Council has already raised its objection to the removal of yet another rural amenity. Not everyone has a mobile phone and signals in the Sandrymoor Cross area are poor. The exposed nature of the area makes land line failure a fairly common occurrence and the phone box needs to be there, in case of an emergency.
To voice your objection, you can either write to Lisa Skinner, Planning Dept. Riverbank House Bideford EX39 2QG or if you have email, directly to BT (with a copy to TDC). Whichever method used, the following information should be included: Telephone kiosk at Sandrymoor Cross Tel 01409 211272 ref WW420384564. Email: customer.serv.payphones@bt.com.
If you are concerned about the growing number of rural services being lost, please send in your objections.

The Parish and District Council Elections take place on 3 May 2007 and the Chief Executive of TDC, John Van de Laarschot in his article in the current Torridge First reminds everyone that every vote is important, as we live in a democracy. "Elections are the heart of local democracy. This is your chance as citizens of Torridge to elect those members of the community that can have the greatest impact on improving the quality of life for everyone". He goes on to say, "Use your vote wisely. Every vote counts. Use your vote on election day to make sure your democratic views are represented by the best possible candidate".
There is almost certainly going to be an election this year in Ashwater, as there are a number of new candidates willing to be nominated for the Parish Council. If anyone wishes to be nominated for the Parish Council, forms are available from the PC Chairman Tony March at Ash Cottage. Please either call in, or telephone 01409 211340. Forms must be received by the Returning Officer, TDC Bideford by noon on 4 April 2007. The forms have all the necessary information. Electoral Roll numbers can be obtained from TDC, or Tony March. If you need a postal or Proxy vote, there is still time to apply.

The Parish Council was concerned that the damaged post box at Quoditch Moor had still not been replaced. Cllr Chris March has pursued this and we are promised that it will be replaced within six weeks.

For Sale

Samsung Microwave oven…£30. Hinari Toasted sandwich maker…£20.
Both as new please contact 211448, 8 Manor Park.

Devon County Council

Trading Standards

Why look further than a business that’s been approved by your local Trading Standards Service?

You are new to the area and need some building work done on your house, your car needs servicing and you want to know about good local shops. How do you find out who will treat you fairly? How can you have confidence in them?

CustomerFirst is the approved trader scheme operated by Devon County Council Trading Standards Service. Members range from builders, electricians, plumbers and glazers to hotels, garages and local food stores. The aim of the Scheme is to protect local consumers and members have to show that they operate in a legal, honest and customer friendly way. Can we guarantee that a business will never let you down? Of course not, but we are confident that if you do have a problem our members will do their best to resolve it fairly and promptly.

All members must abide by a code of practice and are inspected before being accepted into the scheme to ensure they comply with trading standards legislation. Any complaints received about members are monitored and disciplinary measures are taken if businesses fail to meet their requirements.

To search for a member click on CustomerFirst on the Devon County Council website homepage - www.devon.gov.uk - or phone 01392 381381 for further information.

If you know a local business which has given you great customer service then why not recommend them for the Scheme? Call us on 01392 381381 or complete the nomination form on our website and we’ll do the rest!

If you run or own your own business you may be interested to know more about the scheme. Members benefits include on-going training in a range of trading issues, regular newsletters and access to direct advice on consumer issues when you need it. For further details contact 01392 381381 or look at the website.

Church News

The money put into the Tower Fund bottle in the Village Inn has been counted. A big thanks you to all who put change and donations into the bottle, which amounted to £135 for the Tower.

• April 18th in the Ashwater Church the AGM to which all are invited at 7.30pm.
• May 26th to 28th The Flower Festival will be held, the theme is still to be arranged, please watch this space.
• July 7th The Church Fete
• October 7th The Harvest Festival service will take place.
• October 8th there will be another service, which will be followed by the Harvest Festival Supper.

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 the 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: Thursday April 05, 2007