Bishopsteignton Residents Association

Bishopsteignton Residents Association (formed July 2010)

“Working for a better village”

Aims and Objectives

To monitor and provide early and full information and advice to members on planned developments and activities within the village, to enable those to make informed decisions about issues that affect the village.

To ensure the character of the village is preserved and that developments are handled sensitively to meet the objectives of the wider community.

To promote the interests of the village and work in collaboration with Bishopsteignton Parish Council and other local representative bodies to ensure the character and heritage of Bishopsteignton is preserved, that developments in the community are sensitively handled and meet the objectives of the association.

To promote the development and maintenance of amenities for the use of residents and the wider public.

We are currently actively involved in the following issues:

· Michaels Field Development of new football pitches by Teignbridge District Council as a replacement for pitches lost at Broadmeadow due to contamination and the Morrison’s development. Estimated completion date September 2012. Residents have requested that a crossing be placed on the A381 to the pitch entrance to improve the safety of access.

· Huntly Liaising with the new developer on the sensitive and appropriate development of the Huntly site

· Closure of GP Surgery The Residents’ Association mounted a village wide petition to save the village surgery and has continued to support the Parish council in setting up a working group to save the surgery. NHS Devon have now approved the continuation of the surgery. Proposals for a new surgery and potential healthy living centre are now being considered

· Bakers Yard The proposal by Barratts to build 32 houses on this site was discussed at a recent meeting. The association fears that this development may be the thin end of the wedge leading to other larger scale developments on land around the village. We wait for their planning application so that we can comment.

· Teign Estuary Protection Society (TEPS). Members of the association set up TEPS to campaign for the continuing protection of the Coastal Preservation Area and Areas of Great Landscape Value in the estuary basin. These areas may lack protection under Teignbridge’s Preferred Options-Core Strategy which will be out for 6 weeks public consultation in January 2012. 800 residents have already signed a petition calling upon Teignbridge to underwrite existing protections and opposing any further large scale development in the village. The TEPS Group are working closely with other community groups in the area.

· Bequest from Molly Coombe. Molly Coombe left a bequest to the village when she died in 2007 that a museum should be built on the site of her home in Bishopsteignton. To date, the museum has not been built.

We support projects that benefit the village and are also planning a programme of social events. The more members we have, the better we can represent the views of the village. The group is open to all residents. Membership is £2.50 per person, renewable in October. Find out more - Have your Say! Please email: bishopsresidentsassociation@gmail.com or phone 775378 for more information.

Dates for your Calendar

Full Group Meetings

Thursday	19th January	Community Centre	7.15
Monday	12th March	Cockhaven Manor	7.15
Tuesday	15th May	Community Centre	7.15
Wednesday	11th July	Community Centre	7.15
Thursday	13th September	Community Centre	7.15
Monday	8th October	Cockhaven Manor	7.30
Monday	12th November	Cockhaven Manor	7.15

Bishopsteignton Residents’ Group
Annual General Meeting
10th October 2011, Cockhaven Manor

This was the first AGM of the residents’ group. Below is a summary of the points discussed.

Chair’s Report: Bob McMahon gave his report as the outgoing Chair of the group. He expressed concern about the scale of developments, which are planned for the village in the future. The Localism bill is going through parliament, and the proposals for changes in the planning laws seems to be a contradiction to localism. Their definition of sustainable is limited to economics. The plans for increasing the number of houses in the village do not reflect the need or the capacity of the village.

Update on existing projects.

a) Michael’s field on the A381 is being developed, but with slow progress on pitch development to date and no news on the crossing which Devon Highways are considering.

b) Huntly now has a buyer, and we will contact this person to invite him to a meeting.

c) The village museum still has potential trustees, but nothing has developed.

d) Regarding the surgery, members of the Residents’ group have played a big part in making something happen. The working group may well be asking the community for help in fund raising.

e) Finally, Barratts are still keen on a development at Baker’s Yard, with the concern that this may lead on to further developments in the Coastal Preservation Area.

Treasurer’s Report:

June Grimble reported that we have £509 in the kitty, and thanks very much to the social events, which raised quite a lot of funds.

Election of Officers:

Chair, Bob McMahon was re-elected
Vice chair, vacancy
Secretary, vacancies, this role will be sub-divided
Membership secretary, Elaine Cawthraw elected
Treasurer, June Grimble re-elected
Publicity officer – vacancy

Three members of the management committee:

Graham Jelley
John Wotton
John Macnab

The subsequent discussion led to the adoption of the name ‘Bishopsteignton Residents’ Association’ instead of ‘Group’, although the email address and bank account would remain the same.

The discussion also included the introduction of the Teign Estuary Protection Society (TEPS), a sub group of the residents’ association concerned about the potential development of this area which had been protected under Devon County Council and Teignbridge District Council policies. TEPS are going to petition local residents asking about their views on potential development, and then joining with other parishes and towns in the Teign Estuary to form a larger group with similar interests.

The meeting then welcomed Councillor Alun Williams summarising the proposed changes to planning regulations to be introduced in April 2012. After this, June Green from Teignmouth Town Council spoke to the group about her concerns regarding development in the Teign Estuary.

Future Developments (more information)

We will be keeping a close eye on Baker’s Yard at the end of Forder Lane. Barratt Homes are currently interested in building a development of houses there subject to planning permission being granted. At present this land is approved for horticultural and light industrial purposes only and change of use would have to be granted before houses are built there.

If you want to tell us about your interests and concerns about the future of the village, or to get up to date information about developments in the village, come and join us. The more members we have, the more we can represent the views of the majority of people in the village. Membership is a token £2.50 this year until October 2012 Contact Bob McMahon, Chair on email: bishopsresidentsassociation@gmail.com or by phone: 07779 053 948. A membership application form can be downloaded here.