News from Broadhembury Parish Council

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Global Warming



Our climate is changing. ‘Global warming’ does not meant that the World is simply getting warmer. It is on a world-wide scale but more locally it means greater extremes of hot and cold, wet and dry. This effects crops, transport and the air we breathe. It causes flooding and fires, hurricanes and massive tidal surges.

Recent publicity about climate change, protests and UN debates have caused the issues to be more prominent and all are being urged to think what we could do. At our next Parish Council meeting on 19th November we are discussing what we could do. Of course a PC alone cannot change the World but if everyone adopts that view then nothing will happen and our planet will be a different place for future generations. We already have some initiatives in place but please come along and tell us what you think or write to us using the web site.

Traffic Speed

Parish residents who walk, ride or cycle tell us that traffic passes too close and too fast on our narrow roads. The National speed limit applies to all roads in the Parish, so that means that the limit is 60mph on our lanes. The only exception is the bigger and wider A373 where a 40mph limit applies. Slower traffic would also reduce carbon outputs

What do you think we should do? Please tell us. You can write to the Clerk, send any of us an email or leave a message on our web site……or just stop one of us in the street and tell us.

Broadband and Mobile coverage

For the last four years we have lobbied hard for better broadband. The result is that some parts of the Parish now have a faster and more reliable service than a few years ago. But for Kerswell and Dulford, for example the service has not improved.

We were hopeful that Gigaclear ( a provided of fibre-to-the property) would help to improve the situation but CDS ( Connecting Devon and Somerset, the local body responsible for awarding and managing broadband contracts) has cancelled the contract and it will take at lease 18mths to contract another provider then about three more years to install the infrastructure. So at the speed we are going it could be 2025 before the Parish has access to the level of Broadband first promised for 2018.
In conjunction with the Blackdown Hills Parish Network,we have written to MP’s, met with them, lobbied Ministers and local County/District Cllrs and written articles for the Press. We have approached BT and Gigaclear to try to persuade them to include areas in their plans. Local landowners were willing to give permission for Gigaclear to cross their land without requiring a payment. We even compiled our own application for EU funding to do the job ourselves. None of this has yet produced the result we wanted but we will keep trying.

You can help too. Write to your MP and your local Councillors.

Mobile coverage for your mobile phone  reaches you without wires in the ground so you might think that it would be easier. We have made little progress here either. With the agreement of the church we have listed the church tower as a possible mobile phone ‘mast’ site, and there are many local landowners who would help. You can help by contacting your mobile provider about poor coverage.

Neighbourhood Plan

Our neighbourhood plan is still being discussed with EDDC. We need their agreement that it complies with the Local Plan to be able to proceed. We want to ‘allow’ small scale development in the hamlets but not in Broadhembury but this is proving difficult to achieve. Meanwhile Planning Policy guidance ( the outline of what can be achieved) has changed. The Local Plan ( EDDC’s  ‘local’ Planning guidance) has changed and East Devon’s Planning Officer with whom we were dealing has been promoted to another job. We will continue.

Wildflower Bank and the Memorial Hall car park



We have planted a wildflower bank on the Northern end of the Memorial Hall car park. When the trees are well established and the flowers in bloom it could look beautiful……but let’s wait and see. It is possible that rabbits may destroy them before they get established. Thanks to all the people who turned out on an overcast Saturday to do the planting.

We have promised to install lighting in the car park but it will need Planning approval and must be very low- level to reduce glare and light spillage. We will also need to apply for a grant to do it. When it becomes clear how people are using the car park we may also plant more trees.

National review of Protected Landscapes

A boundary line along the wildflower meadow in the Memorial Hall car-park divides the Parish. To the North, including the village of Broadhembury is an AONB.( The Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) to the South is simply ‘open countryside’.

A national review of ‘protected landscapes’ has just reported. The Glover Review, as it is called, has made some innovative recommendations including that some new National Parks should be created ( like the Lake District or Yorkshire Dales) from existing AONB’s. This could have an impact on ‘our’ AONB. What do you think? Please let us know.

It may seem as you read this that we struggle to get the outcomes we want in many areas. However a lot goes on unreported where we do make progress. We maintain footpaths, prevent flooding, secure grants and consider Planning Applications and we give small grants to local bodies to help them. We get bridges and ditches repaired and we maintain the MH car park and Millennium Garden. We also support the Playground Committees and help them get funding. So things do get done with help from lots of people. Please keep supporting us. Turn up to Parish Council meetings and turn out to plant, weed and sow.

Thank you for your time.