To provide additional communication and interaction with residents, this page contains the Parish Council notes from the parish clerk published in the “Eagle” village magazine each month. (The December issue also covers January of the following year.) This page will contain the latest notes together with those for the previous two issues of the “Eagle”.

DECEMBER 2025/JANUARY 2026

Firstly, a reminder of an issue that I raised in the last issue of the “Eagle”. Now is the best time for years to resurrect the Youth Club with a realistic chance of getting a grant towards running it.

 

The Youth Club was a part of growing up for children in Yarnscombe over many decades, a meeting point and also a chance for parents to get to know other residents. Please register your interest by emailing clerk@yarnscombe.org.uk or approaching any councillor.

 

In the past, we have always received a monthly crime report for the local area. Actual attendance at our meetings by the then PSCO Brown was infrequent, but at least we had a point of contact.  Since the retirement of PCSO Brown, we can only get information from the Devon and Cornwall Police website regarding the whole of Torrington Rural. District Councillor Elliott found out that a new cohort of PCSO’s have just finished their training, so we are hopeful that we will have some face-to-face contact with our local police in the near future.

 

At our last meeting of the year in November, we will concentrate on setting the budget and precept for 2026/27.  Our next council meeting will be on 28th January 2026 (NO MEETING IN DECEMBER)

 

Finally, may we take this opportunity to wish all our parishioners “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year”.

 

Planning:

Change of use and conversion of former agricultural building to provide additional living space to existing dwelling - Little Greylake West Greylake Yarnscombe Barnstaple Devon EX31 3NF.  Ref. No: 1/0645/2025/FUL   -  Application permitted

 

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NOVEMBER 2025

The days are certainly getting shorter now that we have now put the clocks back.

 

At this time of year, street lighting is of the utmost importance to keep all road users safe.

 

I have been approached by a parishioner about faulty street lights and who to report them to. I filed a report and they are due for repair. Should you come across a faulty street light, please contact https://www.devon.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/report-a-problem/street-lighting/

 

At our last council meeting, Cllr. Cottle-Hunkin (Devon County Council/DCC) raised the issue of a grant scheme for young people. Councillors explained that for years now, we have been trying to get the Youth Club up and running again. For some years, there were simply not enough children living in the parish to make it a viable proposition. We believe this has changed now. It would be very helpful to get an idea of how many children there are/would be interested in attending Youth Club.

 

We know it seems a big undertaking and a lot of responsibility for parents to run it. If we have a reasonable number of children who are interested, we can explore the avenue of a paid leader further.

 

We also just had the bus shelter cleaned, it had acquired a rather green tinge. Agendas, minutes and other relevant council information, as well as general parish information is displayed here.

 

Planning:

Change of use and conversion of former agricultural building to provide additional living space to existing dwelling - Little Greylake West Greylake Yarnscombe Barnstaple Devon EX31 3NF

 

PLEASE NOTE: Our last council meeting for 2025 will be on 26th November, the December meeting has been cancelled.

FIRST MEETING IN 2026 :  28th January 2026

 

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OCTOBER 2025

Firstly, great news regarding the Globe Hotel in Great Torrington. They reached their goal of raising £230,000 with only a few days to go and exceeded it by a further £10,000. This means, a further half a million pounds will be unlocked from central government and The Globe is owned by the community. 

 

The damage to the playing field hut has been repaired, especially important as now the windy and rainy season seems to be upon us.

 

Cllrs. Brice and Newberry have locked the goal posts into the agreed permanent position, so there should be no more problems regarding landing space for the air ambulance and the playing field can still be used by parishioners.

The council is now able to process electronic payments, saving money on fees for cheque payments.

 

For our next audit 25/26, the council has to be able to fulfil the criteria of Assertion 10. It requires councils to use a council-owned domain for email and operate an accessible website. In addition, the council will need to comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulations (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act; process personal data lawfully, fairly, and in line with UK GDPR principles; recognise its role as both Data Controller and Data Processor.

 

This sounds like a mammoth task, but we have the support of an experienced organisation and help is available from Devon Association of Local Councils (DALC). Many thanks to our new website administrator Sharron Newberry and Cllr. Pengilley for the work they have done so far to help us meet these goals.

 

Planning:1/10607/2025/FUL - Demolition of existing storage sheds and erection of commercial building (B8), Yarnscombe, Grid Reference 255977 123750