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.
Hello from Barnstaple Town Council
First, a warm welcome to two new team members, Heritage Assistant Rachel Wooley, and Finance Assistant Katie Blake.
Recent Events
Over Easter we hosted a couple of free craft sessions at the Guildhall, which took place during the school holidays. The workshops were well attended, with almost a hundred people coming along. It was rewarding to see families and friends getting together to make bunny masks, Easter cards and the like and it was a welcome respite to the dreadful weather outside!
It’s been a busy few weeks on the Heritage front. At the beginning of March we held an Exhibition in the Guildhall highlighting Inspirational Women, past and present, including a focus on the achievements of North Devon women. This was all part of the International Women’s Day Celebrations throughout Barnstaple and beyond.
No Mow May. Out and about, our Rangers have been putting up the signs for this year’s ‘No Mow May’, encouraging flora and fauna and helping our bee population, without whom the whole eco system would struggle to function.
Victorian Barnstaple
The following week, we were joined by around ninety enthusiastic young students from Orchard Vale Community School, as part of our ongoing school’s program. They learnt all about life in Victorian Barnstaple. In the afternoon, we went over to St Anne’s Chapel, which was the Grammar School for three hundred years, and gave them a taste of what a Victorian school would have been like for children back then. It was an age when children as young as seven were sometimes put to work, and education was a privilege rather than a right. For those now of the age where they are considering their move to senior school it’s worth remembering that no such system existed until the Education Act of 1902, passed a year after Queen Victoria’s death. By the time children were eleven or twelve many were expected to work long hours, with little time to learn or play. Suffice is to say, all of them said they would rather be living today than back in the Victorian era!
Rachel came on board just as we were joined by the local WI, to host their meeting, and for them to partake in some of our mock trials. Following this, we were then joined by Yeo Valley Primary School for a dramatization of ‘Cautionary Tales for Children’. The children really enjoyed learning in this way and performing in front of their parents, care-givers and friends who came to watch. They put on a fantastic show!
Food For Thought
Over recent months Ella and Rosie have been working with an innovative project under the banner ‘the North Devon food programme’. It’s aim is to link young people and food producers in North Devon, particularly focussing on food provenance and its relationship with a wide range of social issues.
Run by the Devon Community Foundation, who were awarded a grant to focus on North Devon, the Council have been liaising between young people and local producers to seek fresh ways of developing sustainable and accessible local food. The project will continue to work with local groups to build an evidence-based portfolio. Between them, and wider stakeholders, it is hoped discussion can be stimulated which will ultimately influence future policy. Ella and Rosie have talked to local people, local farmers and foodbank providers to help build the evidence base. We’re glad to be able to help in this way. Matters pertaining to food are often at the core of wider social issues, and these cover areas such as nutrition, availability and cost. Whatever can be done to make nutritional food more widely available and affordable is to be encouraged.
Spring Clean
Out in the community we were happy to provide the kit for the local Spring clean which took place at the end of March. Focussing on Town Walk and the lower Newport area, volunteers met at Portmarsh Lane car park to get things underway. The event was part of a national Spring Clean initiative, and a huge thanks goes out to all who turned up to volunteer. The litter pick was very successful, collecting a total of fifteen bags of rubbish.
Additionally, all sorts of other bits and pieces of litter and discarded items were dealt with, including one or two examples of fly-tipping which were reported to the authorities. There was one moment of excitement when a volunteer looked to have found a rare coin. It turned out to be an old US ‘quarter’ worth all of 20p! Perhaps the next Spring Clean will bring better luck! On a more serious note though, it was all a reminder that we must encourage everyone to dispose of their litter and waste properly. The harm caused to the environment, and particularly to animals, is an awful consequence of what is essentially selfish behaviour. Once again thanks to the volunteers, and thanks also to those members of the public who were so supportive of them in their endeavours.
Congratulations are also due to the Tarka Rail Association and Barnstaple in Bloom railway station volunteers, who were recognised recently at the National Community Rail awards. They picked up an ‘it’s your station’ Silver Award. Our Mayor Louisa York said, “Such a dedicated team of people deserve recognition for all the hours of hard work and planning which goes into maintaining and improving our station.”
Barnstaple railway station had already won two consecutive RHS Southwest in bloom awards, and their volunteers also picked up the Barnstaple Town Council Environment cup last year. Barnstaple railway station, and the North Devon line as a whole, are experiencing considerable passenger growth, with around 850,000 users in 2023.
Our very own Town Ranger Tim Steer, who is also the Rail Association’s Vice-Chair, said, “The North Devon line is doing so well that GWR now has issues with capacity on the hourly services between Barnstaple and Exeter. We hope to see Central government support our sustainable transport for North Devon with investment, so that more passengers can comfortably use our award-winning station.”
Upcoming Events
Hey there! Just a friendly reminder to take a moment and dive into the latest edition of our April Newsletter. There's plenty of exciting updates and important information waiting for you inside!
Looking further into April, and indeed May, as noted, it’s a busy time for us. In addition to annual events, committee meetings remain as scheduled, with details available on our website at www.barnstapletowncouncil.gov.uk
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’.
