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”.

MAY 2026

The next big date in the annual calendar of parish council meetings is the Annual Parish meeting, followed by the Annual Parish Council meeting and Ordinary Council Meeting on 27th May 2026, 7.30pm, Village Hall.

 

The Annual Parish Meeting is your opportunity to bring up any issues that concern you and present them to the council. The council can only work effectively, if it is made aware of problems and concerns. Naturally, you are always welcome to attend any other council meetings and councillors and clerk can be contacted throughout the year. Details to be found in the “Eagle” and on the website www.yarnscombe.org.uk .

 

As mentioned in last month’s article, two new PCSO’s had been appointed for Torrington Rural.  In the past, PCSO Brown (now retired) used to occasionally attend meetings, but she always sent in a monthly crime report for our area. Cllr. Elliott (Torridge District Council/TDC) had contacted the new PCSO’s, but they replied that they were unable attend meetings in person, neither was there enough time to send out monthly crime reports. Cllr. Elliott found this unsatisfactory and promised to contact Alison Hernandez (Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner). In the meantime, the clerk had received an invitation for a Teams meeting regarding policing/crime matters.

 

The first meeting will take place on 23rd April and 4 weekly thereafter. I am unable to attend meetings myself, due to work commitments, but hopefully a councillor can attend the occasional meeting to keep us up-to-date. More information will follow next month.

 

Planning:

West Park Yarnscombe Barnstaple Devon EX31 3LZ , Ref. No: 1/0039/2026/FULM | Proposed change of use of land from a construction training centre to a show people's site consisting of 7 plots, a play area, maintenance and testing area for fairground equipment and overnight parking

 

APRIL 2026

The parish council is reaching the end of another financial year. Luckily, there were no nasty surprises or big financial outgoings to deal with, so the current financial situation is stable.

We have still reserves, as advised by our internal auditor a couple of years ago, that are earning interest. The internal audit is due in a couple of months, for the first time it will also include a requirement for parish and town councils to comply with Assertion 10. In practice that will mean that we need to have an IT policy, that we operate with a council owned domain and website, which must adhere to specific accessibility regulations and as a council, we must comply with data protection legislation.

 

We have to thank Cllr. Pengilley for drawing up our IT policy and thanks to Sharron Newberry for keeping the website up to date.

 

We have as yet not met any PCSOs for Torrington Rural in person or received any crime reports for our area, but District Councillor Elliott has been in contact with PCSO  Gail Cole and PCSO  Dave Condron asking them to attend parish council meetings.

 

Planning:

Prior notification for the change of use of agricultural building to 2no. Dwellings and associated building operations under class Q, barn at grid conference 256449 121983,Yarnscombe, Devon – application permitted

 

MARCH 2026

By the time, you read this article it will be March and spring will hopefully be here. It is lovely to see snowdrops and the early daffodils at the side of roads, but the constant rain is getting everyone down and it has a detrimental effect on the condition of our roads. Please report potholes, as soon as you see them (information at the bottom of this page). We will also raise this issue regularly with the County Councillor.

 

The beginning of the year presented other weather challenges. It started very cold and frosty, following on from this we received some negative feedback regarding the perceived lack of gritting. There are some things to consider, firstly, the attachment used by the council is not as efficient as Devon County Council gritters. Secondly, gritting is only from the centre of the village to Clogshill Cross. Any other roads or private driveways are not gritted. Parishioners have access to salt/grit bins dotted around the parish. Should they be empty or damaged in the first instance please contact clerk@yarnscombe.org.uk.  Finally the role of Snow Warden and the gritting of roads is voluntary. Although every attempt is made to grit roads when necessary, no legal obligation exists.

 

Cllr. Elliott (Torridge District Council) informed the Council that there are now two (one male/one female) newly qualified Police Community Support Officers for the Torrington Rural area. He has asked them to make every effort to attend parish council meetings,  we are looking forward to meeting them.

 

Planning:

1/0607/2025/FUL Demolition of existing storage sheds and erection of commercial building(B8)

Agricultural Building at grid reference 255977 123750, Yarnscombe,  Devon - Application permitted