Brayford Village News

Certificate of thanks received from the Air Ambulance Trust.

All Saints church, High Bray has organised a "Welcome Back" free tea on Sunday 1st August at 3.00pm, to celebrate the better availability of the church to Brayford residents as Covid regulations are relaxed.

In addition to the tea, there are craft and other displays in the church, pony carriage rides and children's games.

All are welcome.

Please see attached image for details of Selaine Saxby's open surgeries for North Devon. 

Appointments are required.

Until further notice, the Parish Council has been advised that councillors are now permitted to gather in groups of more than six indoors as the gatherings are classed as "Permitted Organised Gatherings" under the Health Protection Act 2021.

Parish council meetings will now revert to full "Face to Face" meetings following full Covid safety guidelines/requirements as required by the village hall. Members of the public are once again invited to attend any council meeting but are also required to observe all COVID secure guidelines . 

As the hall requires that social distancing is met the total capacity of the hall is reduced to 60 people at any meeting.

The Parish Council thank Ray Dart for his service over the years.

Ray's departure from the council leaves a vacancy, please see the PDF file linked below.  

The planning appeal hearing for the proposed pig farm and house on Shutscombe Hill is scheduled for Tuesday 8th June.  It will be a “virtual” meeting held over Microsoft Teams.  

The Case Officer has given guidance that the Planning Inspector would prefer it if the village nominated a spokesperson for the village rather than having several people speaking in an uncoordinated manner.  The Parish Council has agreed with this approach and the spokesperson will be supported at the meeting by a member of the Parish Council.  This is not to deny anybody’s right to request a speaking role, only to allow the hearing to proceed more efficiently. We are assured that the Inspector will have read all of the objections submitted by the village and that repeating them in person will not add weight.

However, this is not to discourage residents from registering to attend the meeting – quite the reverse as the view of experts in these matters is that attendance can be helpful in showing continuing village interest and support.  Residents can attend the meeting by registering with the Case Officer on the details below, after which you will be sent instructions on how to join.  

If you wish to attend the Hearing then you can register by emailing the case officer, Ms Pauline Dunn at  west1@planninginspectorate.gov.uk.  Please make sure that you quote the appeal reference number (3261217).  If you wish to speak, then please also advise her of this and mention what you wish to speak about. You can also telephone on 0303 444 5634.

Please see the PDF attachment for info on how to join.

Every adult in Devon is being encouraged to take a rapid, lateral flow test for coronavirus twice a week, and now they can do so in a variety of ways including through testing centres, workplaces, pharmacies, or home delivery.

Please see the attached PDF or https://www.devon.gov.uk/coronavirus-advice-in-devon/document/coronavirus-testing-in-devon/ for more information.

A wonderful hint that a return to "normal" is imminent is that the Brayford Show is planned to go ahead on August 7th.

Please see the files attached to download entry forms, classes etc.

Due to the impact of Coronavirus over 5.5 million people are claiming Universal Credit. Many of them are new to claiming Universal Credit having been negatively impacted by Coronavirus. 

Parish Councils have been asked to share the following guide on their website and/or social media to help local people navigate claiming Universal Credit. 

Here’s the Universal Credit guide https://www.jobcentrenearme.com/universal-credit/

Here's an update from Devon County Council regarding the COVID-19 situation, offering some helpful advice and hope for the future!

Devon County Council Update

Please see document attached this article. 

Coronovirus Vaccination Breifing provided by NHS Devon.

The current lockdown restrictions prevent the council from reintroducing face to face meetings.

This has meant that recent meetings are being held under an agreed scheme of delegation whereby decisions which need to be taken prior to the next meeting are made by the Parish Clerk in conjunction with the Chairman and Vice Chairman.

The delegated procedure, however, is not ideal for managing council business. If meeting restrictions continue for many more months. The council is therefore re-looking at the possibility of meetings held by ZOOM, the main difficulty being access to suitable broadband.

Free books available to borrow or swap, donated to Brayford parish courtesy of RMB Chivenor. Located in the Nook bus shelter in four plastic boxes.

Happy reading!

The mobile library stops in Brayford Village monthly.

See downloads below for times, there have been some changes.

Subsequent to and overriding the previous notice regarding the resumption of Parish Council meetings, please see the attached document from the Parish Council.

Please see the attached regarding resumption of Parish Council meetings according to government guidelines.

The Parish Council thank Mike Naden for his service over the years.

Mike's departure from the council leaves a vacancy, please see the image (click to enlarge)

The North Devon Planning website is now the means to find out about, comment on and track planning applications in the area.

North Devon Planning Portal

To report potholes, blocked drains, fallen trees etc causing problems on the highways, there is a website provided by Devon County Council.

Devon Highways - Potholes

Reporting here is the most direct way to get the specific message to the right department in the council.

Devon County Council provide a mapping service of road closures, current and planned up to the next twelve months.

The service is free, although to see closures planned any further ahead than the next two weeks you need to create an account and sign in.

The website is here: One Network Devon

Please see attached update notice from Selaine Saxby

Steve Warren has done an excellent job of collating a list of helpful resources for parishoners during teh pandemic, including a list of support volunteers for those in need. 

Please see the documents attached below.