Join the Mayor of Barnstaple, Cllr Janet Coates at this years Country Music Hoedown. Enjoy an afternoon of line dancing, live music, tin can shootout and lots more.
RECENT EVENTS
HELLO FROM BARNSTAPLE TOWN COUNCIL…
A warm welcome to our February Newsletter…
On the community front, January saw One Barnstaple welcome everyone back to the Wellbeing Cafes. The first took place on 3rd January at the library, with Chair Yoga recommencing the following week on the 10th. It’s always a popular activity and by the end of the month over forty people attended the session. That was a real positive for the event which celebrated its anniversary as part of Wellbeing Wednesdays.
Kicking off with ‘Brew Monday’ on 15th January, Community Developers Rosie and Ella tested out a few sessions of ‘Meet and Eat Mondays’ in The Shambles; offering free hot soup at lunchtime followed by Camerados Pop Up Public Living rooms in the afternoons. If you’d like to find out more about Camerados and the wonderful work they do visit https://camerados.org/what-is-camerados/
We are really happy to share their ethos and it was great to chat over a cuppa with community members and get to know people. We are looking forward to continuing later in the year once The Guildhall has finished having its spruce up.
Our Heritage department had a couple of successful school visits this last month. One of these focussed on the locally renowned William Rock, after whom Rock Park was named. Working with the then Mayor John Chanter, William Rock secured land along Taw Vale and opened Rock Park to the public in 1879. He also helped establish the Literacy and Scientific Institution, donating over 600 books to the library and offering 100 free memberships to those from poorer backgrounds. William Rock gifted £12,000, which was a substantial donation at the time, to ensure that the Athenaeum remained in place for ‘at least a century’. Said to be a modest man and a very bright scholar, Rock was less shy in saying what he thought about poverty and inequality. Writing letters to local and national press he championed a ‘health for all’ approach long before the NHS was in operation. An outbreak of cholera in the Barnstaple area saw many infected, with little done to either help the afflicted or curb the spread. Rock believed fervently that Victorian Britain should address society’s inequality. It’s always encouraging to see the Guildhall being used to explore our history.
Last but not least for this section, we’d like to pass on a warm welcome to The Revd Dr Benjamin Williams, the new chaplain of our town centre church St Peter and St Mary Magdalene. We all wish him well in his new post.
THE LONE RANGER!
This month we’re going to focus on one particular aspect of our Estates team, our Town Centre Ranger, Tim Steer. The post is a new one for us and Tim has kindly reflected on his first year by writing a piece which sheds a little more light on his day to day activities. He may not have Tonto alongside, or rely on Silver to get about, but it’s clear that teamwork is very much central to making the post a success! Over to you Tim:
“I’m grateful for this opportunity to say a few things about my post as Town Centre Ranger, and our Rangers in general, and how we try to co-operate in working alongside others. It’s nearly a year since the position was created by the Council, who agreed that Barnstaple would benefit from the presence of a community-based Ranger in the town centre.
No two days are really the same in this job, but a typical day finds me working with the other town Rangers and co-ordinating work events. In general, the town centre aspect of my work includes maintaining our buildings as well as planting, watering and weeding the entire town. I also regularly inspect and clean our streets and footpaths and work closely with the street marshals and other community groups, including our award-winning Barnstaple in Bloom volunteers.
Hopefully people have noticed that the town’s bollards have been painted recently, which is another example of us working alongside partner groups. The RNIB had advised on how the bollards should be painted to give extra help to those with sight disability.
More recently I’ve been working alongside Devon County Council, regarding the removal of posters and stickers, and North Devon Council regarding waste and recycling. The latter provided me with training and a chewing gum removal backpack, enabling me to set about the task of cleaning our footpaths of chewing gum. Due to way the equipment looks, I do sometimes get the odd ‘Ghostbusters’ comment, and now and again someone will start singing the film’s theme tune, but it’s all in good spirit and people know that ultimately I am there to make their town a more attractive place to live and work.
One thing I have particularly enjoyed is working alongside the volunteers who helped our town receive a Gold award from RHS Southwest in Bloom 2023. I know there are plans to get Barnstaple into the higher league so to speak, to compete for national awards, and I’d enjoy trying to help them to achieve this. I was really pleased that Barnstaple railway station won the RHS Southwest in Bloom Gold award for a second consecutive year.
I’ve been really proud to be the first Town Centre Ranger and have benefitted from the support the Council have given me. More than anything else though I’d like to thank all the members of the public who have been so positive with their feedback. Whenever we work in the town centre and improve the appearance of this street, or that hedge, or that footpath, whatever, it makes such a difference to get a positive response from the public. It’s the people of Barnstaple we work for, so their praise is what matters most. My Ranger colleagues work tirelessly to make a difference to our town, and they too appreciate it enormously when the public feeds back on their work.
Finally, I was asked if there were any particularly memorable moments during the last year. Well, there is one notable hot summers day which springs to mind. It was probably the hottest day of the year and I had been watering the town’s flower beds using the Council’s Gator buggy, which has a large water tank on the back. I was approached by a group of joggers who were out of breath and struggling with the heat. They begged me to stop watering the plants for a minute and spray them instead… so I did, and they were very grateful before jogging off again into the distance. All part of the service I guess!
UPCOMING EVENTS
Plans have now been finalised for this year’s Mayor’s Ball, one of the most prestigious events in our calendar. We are thrilled to be able to host it and this year it will take place at The Barnstaple Hotel on Saturday 20th April. Our events officer has planned a glamourous evening, full of elegance and entertainment, including various games and a silent auction.
We’d like everyone to come together to create an unforgettable evening. The entertainment will include performances by local artists and an array of musical styles. The ‘games corner’ will provide an opportunity for a few fun competitions and the silent auction will include chances to bag luxury breaks, exquisite artwork and a host of other goodies. Dress is formal attire with a dash of sparkle and pink. There are ‘early bird’ tickets available at £40 from our website now.
All proceeds from the Ball will directly benefit the Mayor’s Charities. We’d really like to make a difference to people’s lives and welcome all to our special evening of elegance and entertainment.
On the Heritage side, February will be a fairly quiet month. We are currently engaging in the process of hiring a new Heritage and Cultural assistant to work alongside Lucy. One project we do have on the horizon concerns the Dodderidge room in the Guildhall. We hope to attract historical experts to examine the room in more detail and are particularly keen to learn more about the provenance of the fireplace. Just a reminder that we also offer free private tours of the Guildhall. Anyone interested can mail admin@barnstapletowncouncil.gov.uk
On the Community side, Wellbeing Wednesdays will continue, unsurprisingly on every Wednesday! There’s good news in that funding is now in place to secure these events through the remainder of the year. A big thanks goes out to the Growing Communities Fund which is administered by DCC.
Our Community Cafe will continue, running between 12 midday and 2pm and the Chair Yoga sessions will also keep going with scheduled times of 10.15am and 11.45am. Please do follow the One Barnstaple Facebook page where our cafe is listed as a recurring event and where we plan to share details of who our guests will be. For further details on Chair Yoga, follow @yogaandholisticswithjeanine on Facebook or ask at Barnstaple Library.
Just to be clear, the above events will all now take place at the Library whilst the Shambles is closed as part of the Guildhall renovation work. We will keep you posted on any re-opening of the Shambles as soon as we get further news in the coming months.
As part of plans to boost cultural events in our area there is a real drive to see Barnstaple Carnival up and running again. Carnival was always one of the most anticipated events of the year, with thousands of local people getting involved. Sadly, for one reason or another, participants and attendances fell over the years. However, many town carnivals are active and successful, and there is a fresh desire to see Barnstaple’s carnival back on the map. With this in mind, a series of workshops are taking place, encouraging one and all to get involved. See the poster for details…
Town Clerk Chronicles
January seemed a particularly long and challenging month for many, and you can sense a little spring in the step when February comes along.
Event-wise, it is traditionally a quiet month for us and a welcome respite to the hurly burly of Christmas and New Year. Behind the scenes though, it’s business as usual at the Council, with our regular schedule of Town Council and Committee meetings.
The most important decision in January is agreeing the budget for the next financial year. The Town Council is required by law to prepare a budget to calculate its precept requirement. The budget must give details of planned expenditure for the financial year, ensuring that financial resources are aligned to the priorities of the Council.
The Town Council provides local services for Barnstaple residents as your first tier of Local Government, and owns and manages a wide range of facilities and services on behalf of the community. This includes Grants to voluntary organisations, community and heritage activities, the Guildhall, community buildings, maintaining open spaces, Rock Park, the playground and football pitches.
A precept of £1,364,646 was approved, which is the equivalent of a £193.98 per annum, a 40p per week increase for a band D property. This is collected as part of your Council Tax. A full list of the activities and details of the budget are available on our website.
Over the recent weeks you may well have seen members of the Town Ranger team maintaining the roadside hedges and vegetation from Eastern Avenue, Barbican Road and Alexandra Road, and around the Bus Station and TA roundabouts.
This is a responsibility that the Town Council took from Devon County Council about 8 years ago and will continue to undertake, both for the safety of road users and to maintain the appearance of the town.
A local resident contacted us this week to say ‘The central reservation and areas along and around the inner relief road are fantastic now that BTC rangers have trimmed and tended them. Thank you!’
In fact, a number of residents commented that driving became easier with clearer sight lines and we were pleased to be able to help with this work. Well done our Rangers.
Hopefully you will have seen that the work has now started on the Guildhall external renovation, there was plenty of recent coverage in the local media. The Guildhall’s external appearance has worsened over the years, and we’re delighted that grants are allowing us to help restore it to its former glory. The BBC did a piece on Spotlight, which was a welcome opportunity for us to raise the profile of the town to the wider South West public.
The work will restore the façade of this historic building. It’s the third Guildhall Barnstaple has had in its history, with construction completed during the reign of George IV in the 1820’s. It was designed by local architect Thomas Lee, shortly after he had finished work on Arlington Court. That brings us up to date for now, I’ll catch up with you all again soon.
Forthcoming Town Council Meetings
The remainder of February sees Town Council meeting on Monday 19th and the Planning and Transportation Committee on Thursday 22nd. There’s an Environment Committee and Rock Park Trust scheduled for Weds 6th March.
Your Councillors
Our website provides an excellent resource for information relating to your Councillors. There is background information about your elected Councillor’s political party, the ward they represent and full contact details so that issues can be raised directly with them. Please either follow this link: ‘town councillors’.
For any press/media issue please contact communications@barnstapletowncouncil.gov.uk
