West Devon Borough Council (WDBC) Annual Report 2024
WDBC Annual Report 2023/24
Hello everyone and thank for attending this annual meeting. I am the WDBC councillor for South Tawton Ward and would like to present my annual report to you.
In May 2023 we had our 4 yearly elections to council. This resulted in a change of leadership for the council. I thank you for your votes that gave me another 4 years to represent you.
I am in a group of 4 Green party councillors. We have formed the West Devon alliance with 11 independents, 4 LibDems and 1 Labour councillors to be the administrative body and run the council. It is so good to be able to make decisions that benefit our local community.
The council has declared a Housing crisis, because of the dire situation for so many people of unavailable and unaffordable housing across West Devon. I asked for a Housing needs survey in South Tawton ward which was carried out in August last year. Thank you to all residents who complete the survey. If we don’t have the evidence of what housing is required in our rural area, we can’t get planning permission to build what we need.
The survey showed that what is needed here is 16 social rented homes, 8 in Sticklepath and 8 in South Zeal/South Tawton. It may be possible to build a development of 16 homes to meet this need if land can be found. This would be a mixed development of 1, 2 and 3 bedroomed dwellings that will be for people and families with local connections only. Belstone evidenced no housing need at the time of the survey. Residents of South Tawton ward would be eligible for consideration for any local social housing.
The development would be of high environmental standards and would be as affordable as possible to run and heat. It is proposed that a Community Land Trust (CLT) is formed with all 3 parish councils providing 1 or 2 members to manage the Trust. I have offered to be a member of the CLT. I believe this is the only way we will get affordable homes for local people.
The CLT will ensure the local housing will stay within local control and not be eligible for right to buy, which takes social housing out of local reach and can be resold on the open market. It is an exciting project and one that I hope residents will support.
In 2021 I set up the Beacon Path active travel committee to pursue safe, active travel routes across South Tawton ward to enable people to walk, ride and wheel between our villages and into Okehampton, specifically to access the Parkway station and the town. This committee have successfully fund raised and commissioned a feasibility study now completed, for a proposed route. This would be between Sticklepath into Parkway station with further routes added in future to provide a joined up active travel network.
WDBC have had also developed a Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure plan., which includes our route, and councillors will vote on the funding later this year. I will report to PCs as the project progresses.
Last year I joined the save the stores campaign to try and prevent the loss of the last shop in South Zeal and the last post office in South Tawton ward. We had a lot of initial support for this and formed a Community Benefit Society. We were unable to get a government grant to purchase the promises at the asking price, because it would have put the society into negative equity by a large amount, which is not allowed under the rules of the grant.
The committee have been looking at a temporary site on South Zeal playing field with a portacabin option. However, we have had difficulty retaining committee members to drive this project forward. There will be an AGM in June, and a decision will be made whether we continue or not. I hope there will be some enthusiasm to make this project work. Portacabins have been very successful in other areas across Devon. The success of our shop will be dependent on the support of residents to volunteer and use it. There will be no post office counter but possibly a weekly outreach post office service such as that in Sticklepath and Throwleigh.
WDBC has a new Council Plan, which is available to read on our website. It sets out our vision for the next 20 years, prioritising housing needs, the local economy and climate adaptation. It is well worth a read and contains lots of photos from residents of our beautiful area.
WDBC was able to return a balanced budget for 23/24 something which we are proud to have done in these difficult financial times. We have also found some funding for projects such as Electric charging points in our business parks, which will be owned and run by the council for the benefit of local people.
WDBC has many plans and ideas for our area, and we always welcome more, so please get in touch with me if you have anything you would like us to consider.
Remember that I am here to represent you and am always available to help and assist you in any way that I can.
Cllr Lynn Daniel April 2024