Find out more about what has been happening recently in the village. If you have a news story that you would like to publish on the site, please contact us. For past stories about Bishopsteignton, see the News Archive.

The village of Bishopsteignton will be holding a special Spring Flower Show this April to raise funds for its Community Centre.

Open to everyone there are 20 classes for showing daffodils, tulips, camellias and other spring flowering shrubs.

The Bishopsteignton Spring Flower Show has been generously sponsored by Jack's Patch Garden Centre who will also have displays at the Show itself.

To enter the show you need a Schedule which lists all the classes and the rules. These are available now free of charge from local Bishopsteignton shops and from Jack's Patch Garden Centre. Alternatively, telephone Roy or Jackie Halsey on 01626 774049 for more information.

So, keep an eye on those spring bulbs beginning to push through the soil – you might just have a winning bloom on your hands. With prize money available for First, Second and Third place in each class, why not enter the Show and let the judge decide?

The Spring Show is on Saturday 10th April 2010 at Bishopsteignton Community Centre. Open from 2.30pm until 5.00pm there will be a fabulous array of flowers, cream teas and a great raffle.

As you may be aware, an application has been made to designate the grassy area opposite Bishopsteignton Primary School as a village green. This application has involved a considerable amount of effort from a group of residents, supported by the Parish Council. To support the application, evidence was collected from local residents regarding their use of the area as a community space.

Teignbridge District Council have submitted an objection to the proposal, based on the evidence provided in support of the application. Their argument is that only a small proportion of the local community completed questionnaires, and provided input about use of the space, that the "community" use has not been ongoing for the past 20 years, and that the area has not been used for activities such as team sports.

It seems a great shame that a campaign to protect one of the only remaining open green spaces in our village does not have the support of the local authority, and we will now wait the outcome of the application with baited breath.

Bishopsteignton has made the local press on more than one occasion in the past week or so. You may have noticed the damage to the bus stop on the main road, close to the junction with Cockhaven Road. This was caused by a road traffic collision, and has again raised fears about speeding through the village. More details can be read in the report by the Mid Devon Advertiser.

The proposed scheme to enhance the junction of Fore Street and Bishops Avenue also made the front page of the Herald Express, as the main financial sponsor, Devon County Council, has been forced to withdraw its funding of the scheme, due to budget constraints, and the increasing cost of the recent spell of cold weather. Obviously this is a great disappointment to the members of the Bishopsteignton Enhancement Group, and the numerous members of the community who had expressed their support for the scheme. However, this turn of events also reflects concerns that over 160 villagers expressed in signing a petition against funding the scheme through the parish precept and council tax. Read the full story on This Is South Devon.

Finally, traffic problems, were caused on Forder Lane on January 22nd, when the cob wall of a residential property adjoining the road collapsed. Fortunately no injuries were reported, and we hope that the owners of the property are able to repair their home swiftly.

Devon County Council have agreed to set up a Community Group to work with them on the development of the proposed cycle track from Teignmouth to Newton Abbot. It's called the Newton Abbot Connect 2 Community User Group - perhaps they can change the name to something catchier! The meeting to set up the group will be at 3.30pm on the 3rd February at Forde House,Newton Abbot.

If anyone, preferably a cyclist who will be wanting to use the path, would like to be on the group, please they let me know ahead of the 3rd February meeting, so I can put their names forward. Thanks.

Anyone interested, please let Roger Hunt know, or drop us an email at the website and we will pass your details on: contact@bishopsteignton.org.uk.

An exciting new group has formed in the village to start tackling some environmental issues which maybe, as individuals, we find a bit beyond us. Not only will there be a series of speakers to clarify issues such as energy and efficiency, ethical investments and rainwater harvesting but there will be direct action taken to make life a little easier for us, cheaper and greener. Initiatives such as a community car/sharing scheme, tools and machinery pool and local food production are all on the agenda.

The essence of the group is to improve community spirit and involvement and to help residents of Bishopsteignton move to a more sustainable lifestyle. We will be working with Teign Estuary Transition to keep in touch with our neighbouring towns.

We hope to have to have our first public speaker in March which will open to all. Find out more about the group as it develops on the Clubs page, and also check the Events listing for details of talks etc. If you would like to be more involved please contact Kate Yeo 772843.

This scheme ischampioned by Teign MP Richard Younger-Ross and Teignbridge District Council, and aims to reduce CO2, fight fuel poverty, and will boost jobs. If you plan to take advantage of the scheme, please use a local plumber! 

The Government has launched a new national scheme, the Boiler Scrappage Scheme.  Households in England can apply for a £400 voucher to help with the cost of replacing old, G-rated boilers for a new A-rated boiler or renewable heating system such as a biomass boiler or a heat pump.

The scheme is open to householders, including tenants, and landlords who privately own and rent dwellings.  To be eligible, the boiler to be scrapped must be the main boiler used to heat the home.  If the householder is under 60 years of age the boiler to be scrapped must also be in working order.  However, householders aged 60 and over can apply regardless of whether the boiler is in working order.

The £400 vouchers will be issued from 18 January 2010. Vouchers are only valid for 12 weeks from date of issue.

If you believe that your home has a G-rated or worse boiler and wish to register an interest in the scheme to receive a £400 cashback voucher towards the cost of upgrading to an A-rated boiler, then arrange for your nominated installer to visit and provide you with a quote. You will be required to provide all of the following information:

1. Your full name.
2. The address of the property you wish to claim the voucher for.
3. The make and name of the boiler being scrapped.
4. The company name, address and contact details of the installer carrying out the work.
5. The type of replacement boiler to be installed e.g. gas, biomass.
6. Confirmation that you have received a quote or visit from the installer to carry out the work.

Once you have this information please email (boilerscrappage@est.org.uk) or call ACT ON CO2 advice line on 0800 512 012.

Further information can also be found at www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Home-improvements-and-products/Heating-and-hot-water/Boiler-scrappage-scheme.

There have been plans for a number of years for a cycle route between Teignmouth and Newton Abbot along the Teign Estuary. There's not been much to show for it though as the main concentration of effort has been between Passage House and Newton Abbot and progress has been bogged down by the large number of land owners and cost. There has been some work on the Teignmouth Station to Shaldon Bridge end but again not much real progress yet. Up until now very little effort has been done on the Bishopsteignton stretch between Shaldon Bridge and Passage House.

Many Bishop residents have supported the proposals - at the moment it's highly dangerous cycling along the main road especially between Bishop and Newton Abbot- and so have the Parish Council. The cycle route would also benefit tourism and local business.

A meeting was held just before Christmas led by Devon County Council and with representatives from all the interested councils along the route. As a result it's been agreed to start looking at the stretch between Passage House and Bishop to see whether anything can be done separate from progress elsewhere. A Community Group will be set up to ensure views from potential local users are taken into account.

I hope there'll be more news on this fairly soon.
Roger Hunt
Parish Councillor

Bishopsteignton Outdoor Art Group are proud to announce that the winners of the 2009 Christmas Songs trail were (fanfare!) Abigail and Kate Lockyer of Wellington, Somerset. Congratulations! They each get a book token for correctly identifying all 14. Runner up prizes go to the Bailey family in Manor Road and the Doxsey family in Murley Crescent, who each had 13 correct answers. Huge thanks to everyone who took part.

Many people have asked for the list of answers, so here they are:

1. Ring of Bells - ‘I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas’
2. Supply Stores - ‘Mistletoe & Wine’
3. Tree on Hump - ‘Silver Bells’
4. Corner of Moors Park - ‘All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth’
5. Paved area bottom of Radway Hill - ‘I saw 3 Ships’
6. Top of Bishop's Avenue - ‘Little Drummer Boy’
7. 37 Fore St - ‘Silent Night’
8. Church gates - ‘Jingle Bells’
9. Cockhaven House - ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’
10. Stone at Cross House - ‘Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer’
11. Village Hall end wall - ‘Deck the halls’
12. Tree in school grounds - ‘We Three Kings’
13. 1 West Town Cottages - ‘The Holly & The Ivy’
14. Gas light bracket West Town Meadow - ‘Ding Dong Merrily on High’

The group will now be working on their entry for the Teignmouth TRAIL sculpture exhibition in summer. For this we need lots of unwanted CDs (about a million!), so if you have any, then please pop them round to Cockhaven House, 6 Cockhaven Road. And if you’d like to join this whacky band of outdoor arters please contact Gill Greatorex 779628. No art experience necessary but a sense of humour is advantageous.

The Bishopsteignton Players departed from their usual dramatic production to offer a light-hearted evening of entertainment at the Village Hall on Saturday, 21st November.

The variety of performances and relaxed setting promoted a convivial atmosphere, greatly assisted by the availability of the bar and the tasty nibbles! The acts included ghostly tales, songs, tributes and sketches. High spots were the pointed toes and twinkly tiaras of the 'men in tights', Yorkshire earthiness with Albert and the Lion, Flanders and Swann and Joyce Grenfell reincarnate. A constant chuckle, interspersed with even greater guffaws of laughter, sounded throughout the village hall. Even Santa made an appearance!

The evening had its serious side, however, for one aim was to raise money for the Royal British Legion, Poppy Appeal. The Players were able to make a donation of £228.70 to this worthy cause.

Those of you who missed this evening can take heart: it was so successful and such fun that the Players plan to put on another evening of entertainment at the same time next year.

As you may know, local resident Natasha is organising a volunteering trip to Ecuador. This trip is now planned to take place in summer 2011, and will last for 3 months. Natasha is working hard to raise the money needed to fund the trip, and is organising two further events in the village. There will be a masquerade valentine's ball on February 13th, where a two course meal will also be served. The second event is a South American themed carnival or fete, which will hopefully be held at the primary school.

Natasha would really appreciate some help in organising and running these events, so if you have some free time and would like to get involved, Natasha would be very pleased to hear from you.

You can find out more on Natasha's Facebook page, or if you can offer some help, please email Natasha.

The Bishopsteignton mummers were formed in 2000 to celebrate Twelfth Night and tackle contemporary issues. They are currently looking for new members to join the group, so if you are interested in being a mummer, or joining in as a musician, please get in touch with Marilyn Bannon on 778004. Find out more about the Mummers on the clubs page, or see the events listing for details of this year's Mummers' performance (January 9th 2010).

The Bishopsteignton village website is now one year old. I hope that local residents, and visitors to the area are continuing to find the website of use. If you have any ideas for content for the site, updates to the current content, or other features you would like to see included, please do get in touch.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has contributed to the website over the past year, providing information about local clubs, the local businesses who advertise on the site, the team who update the daily weather reports, and everyone who posts local events on the calendar.

Sadly, again the chalets at Luxton Steps have been targetted and property there vandalised. This time holes have been drilled into the bottom of a dinghy moored on the beach. This latest incident follows on from thefts of property, and two arson attacks within the past 3 years.

This is a remote area of our village, which is perhaps why it is targetted, and it's relatively isolated spot also makes it more difficult to trace the culprits. However this area is also used by a number of people walking their dogs, or simply enjoying the beautiful location of our village. Could we please ask that anyone who does use the area around Luxton Steps, or indeed other remote parts of Bishopsteignton, just keeps an eye out, and reports anything suspicious?

Full details of the local police contacts can be found on the Local Information page.

Over the next ten months local resident Natasha Dawn will be saving money and putting on various fundraising events in the hope of raising £3000 to put towards a trip to Ecuador. Ecuador is in South America, and is home to some of the poorest people in the world. The place Natasha will be staying has very little access to the necessities, such as running water and a constant food supply.

Whilst in Ecuador Natasha will be staying in a Volunteers' hostel, and will be working six days a week. These days will be spent educating local children in English, sport and drama. She will also spend two of these days rebuilding and improving the community.

Natasha needs to raise £1500 by December 2009, which will pay for the flight and travel, as well as the deposit for the trip. The remaining £1500 will hopefully be raised by June 2010, and this will be spent on insurance, food and any excess will be donated to the community Natasha will be staying in.

You can keep up to date with Natasha's progress on her Facebook page. Good luck fundraising, and with the trip!

If you have some spare time, internet access and would like to help your local community, would you consider volunteering to act as a co-ordinator for a local "parking space rental" scheme? There are a number of websites which help match up people with a spare parking space (or driveway or garage), with local people looking for somewhere to park their vehicle. Since there is such a shortage of parking available within Bishopsteignton, general consensus is that it would be a good idea for a rental scheme to get off the ground. However it's likely that some villagers don't have access to the internet, so a co-ordinator would be really helpful in matching people up, and providing information from websites to people wishing to participate.

If you are interested in volunteering, please email this website (contact@bishopsteignton.org.uk). A guide to renting parking spaces can also be viewed online for anyone interested in such a scheme.

It has been reported that the inaugral Bishopsteignton Autumn Ball at the Teignmouth Golf Club on the 10th October was brilliant! Thanks are due to Anne-Marie Cowell and the other organisers for all the hard work they put in to help fund the Pre School Play Group. Let's hope that a Ball like this becomes an annual affair whether it's on behalf of the Play Group or some other well deserving village cause! If anyone has any photos of the event perhaps they could send them in!

If you are aged 70 or over, and are a car driver, you may be interested in the "Driving Safer for Longer Scheme", operated by Devon County Council and Devon and Cornwall Constabulary. The scheme offers a guide, workshops and driving assessments to help drivers to continue to drive safely on the roads for longer. Further information about the scheme can be found on the Devon County Council website. Devon residents can also request a "Driving Safer for Longer Guide", or find out more about the driving safety workshops and assessments, from the Road Safety Helpdesk (email: rshelp@devon.gov.uk or telephone 0845 155 1004.