Ivybridge has many incredible volunteers who do a fantastic job in the town and the Mayor, Cllr Spencer, was delighted to present the 2023 Community Awards at the Annual Town Meeting on 18 March.

We are delighted to announce that our award winners were:

The Salvation Army – The Bridge have been chosen to receive The Nick Cummins Community Group of the Year Award, in recognition of the service they provide to the community, collecting toys each Christmas for the toy appeal, running the café providing a non-judgemental safe place where everyone is welcome, running the Bees baby bank, providing emergency help and white goods and clothing for those in need and at the last minute holding the Christmas Lunch on 25th December for all those in need or alone.

Mavis Sturman was chosen to receive The David Britton Citizen of the Year Award in recognition of all the amazing voluntary work she is involved in, with the Brownies, Guides and Trefoil, with The Bridge, St John’s Church and generally for her smiling, friendly personality and insatiable appetite for helping others over so many years.

The continuing selfless endeavours of everyone who volunteers in the town are very much appreciated. We will be seeking nominations for the 2024 community awards in the autumn so please do watch out for this if you know of someone who deserves to be recognised!

The Mayor thoroughly enjoyed looking through all the entries for his Christmas Card Competition. It was a very hard decision as there were a lot of fantastic pictures! The winning design was created by Amelie, aged 8.

Thank you to everyone who took part.

On Monday 18th September at its Full Council meeting, Councillors welcomed new Town Clerk Kate Elliott-Turner to the team.

Kate is an experienced Clerk and is looking forward to working in the Town. She says “I am looking forward to getting involved with the vibrant Ivybridge community and supporting the Town Councillors to deliver projects and improvements for the benefit of the entire town.”

Our outgoing Clerk of 3 years, Jonathan Parsons will be leaving the Clerking world for ventures new. Prior to taking the role of Town Clerk for Ivybridge, he worked for 8 years as Business Manager for the Council’s Watermark building, helping to make it the fantastic community asset it is today.

Mayor, Councillor Alan Spencer said “Jonathan has been so instrumental these past 11 years in shaping the Watermark, and providing positive constructive input into the town council, it will be very sad to see him leave, but I am ever so excited to welcome Kate as our new Town Clerk, with a fresh set of eyes and extensive clerking experience, the future is bright for Ivybridge”.

The household increase in council tax for the Town Council will be 4.8%, an increase of £6.66 per year, or 13p per week (Band D equivalent will now be £141.57 per year, lower bands pay less, higher bands pay more).In general, you can see what each council does for its proportion of the Council Tax here: https://www.ivybridge.gov.uk/councils

The Town Council has used its reserves where possible to minimise any increase, but some areas of Council expenditure have seen double digit inflation in areas which are unavoidable such as energy, but the Council worked hard to budget for an increase at around half the rate of inflation.

Other Councils, such as SHDC have many other sources of income including central government and other grants such as the New Homes Bonus and Rural Services Delivery Grant. They are also limited to a 2.9% or £5 increase else they have to go to a referendum, and so they have proposed to raise their element by the maximum level possible - £5 per year (Band D equivalent). They require more Council Tax per household than the Town Council at £185.42 per household (Band D equivalent).

The Town Council only has one source of income – the precept which is its share of the Council Tax. And so it must earn the rest of the money required to run the rest of its services through charges for those services and partnerships.

This coming year the residents should see:

- the results of investment in The Watermark to significantly reduce energy costs for lighting

- investment of up to £100,000 in Play Areas and more for upkeep

- funding of a new job to help groups and organisations to gain external funding (in partnership with Totnes Town Council who have successfully done this before)

- management and investment in around 100 acres of public parks and woodland for the benefit of all residents

- continued provision of access to arts, cinema and entertainment at The Watermark for residents, schools and other groups

- quality jobs for local people who put money back in to the local economy, the lowest paid of which are paid a living wage

- increase in the general community grants budget to help groups in the town deliver support to the community

- engagement and support of young people including through supporting new facilities with partners such as Skate South Devon

- support of Citizens Advice service to run a weekly session in the town

- provision free rooms to be used for community use such as English lessons for Ukrainian guests, group AGMs etc

- support of the creation of a community fridge

- on going work with the District and County Council to help them understand Ivybridge needs in the areas they are responsible for such as active travel, wellbeing, youth, economic development etc

- work with agencies with the power to reduce anti social behaviour

- increase the towns resilience to climate change and other emergencies

- protect and campaign for better care and improvement of our river and built environment- and much more.

Full details of the Council Budget can be found on the website here: https://www.ivybridge.gov.uk/reports-and-audits

Many residents in the Ivybridge area are currently struggling to access essential services due to lack of transport. Please can you help your local community members to get to GP, dental or hospital appointments?

If you have your own car and can spare some time - no matter how little - it would be really appreciated. There is a very real need in your community.

If you can help, please call 01752 690444 or email idcta@btconnect.com.

A group of community-minded volunteers and the Town Council team coordinated an opportunity for those that would otherwise be alone at Christmas to come together on Christmas Day.

As well as Christmas carols from the Ivybridge Salvation Army, a festive food spread was put on in The Watermark, Ivybridge by volunteers who gave up their own Christmas day to spend time with others.

For those that weren’t able to attend, the Town Council team coordinated volunteers to deliver gift bags packed with festive food treats to those at home, and even included a cracker so the volunteer could share a bit of festive fun on the doorstep.

This would not have been possible without the support of over 25 volunteers, they all deserve a huge thanks for what they did to bring joy to others. Thanks also go to the Mayor Cllr Sara Hladkij, Town Cllr Ray Wilson and SHDC Cllr Louise Jones and their families who also helped out on the day.

Over 60 residents benefited from the activity, most otherwise may not have seen anyone on Christmas Day.

The food and hampers were funded with generous support from South Hams District Council Cllr Karen Pringle and the Sustainable Communities Fund and a kind donation from the Erme Lodge Freemasons. Other donations were received in kind from R D Johns Foodservice, MJ Baker Foodservice Ltd, Caterfood SW LTD, the Co-op Ivybridge and Diamond Disposables.

The Town Council staff time was provided to coordinate in advance, and the Town Council's ‘The Watermark’ facility was used to host the event.

Ivybridge Town Council is working towards Dementia Friendly status. For this recognition by the Alzheimer's Society, we can all do something straightforward by working through a 5 minute video available at:

https://www.dementiafriends.org.uk/WEBArticle?page=join-options 

You'll see the paragraph following encourages you to take up a 45 minute session too.

A significant step for the town will be to establish a Steering Group to identify contacts, processes and actions. The initial work is being led by a town councillor, assuring longevity with a Town Council archive and the continued involvement by one or more councillors. Would you join a Steering Group?

For a discussion on progress to date and your own involvement, please email cllrabbott@ivybridge.gov.uk or phone Victor Abbott on 07757 262 919

Ivybridge Town Council are delighted to announce that the winner of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Corgi Trail was Max Welsh. The Mayor, Cllr Sara Hladkij, presented Max with his prizes, a Jubilee pin badge, a limited edition Jubilee mug and a £50 voucher for Friends Bike Shop.

We do have a few Jubilee pin badges left over so if anyone who took part in the Jubilee Trail would like one, please pop along to the Town Hall. These will be on a first come first serve basis as we only have a limited number.

We have been informed that the Aldi application will be published at this link within 24 hours: 

http://apps.southhams.gov.uk/PlanningSearchMVC/Home/Details/221059 

The application will be open for comment by the public straight away, but the Town Council would like to work with the community to discuss and consult on the application so that a structured response can be made to SHDC from the Town Council . The SHDC consultation period will be about 8 weeks, the actual dates will be published at the above link. Details will follow about what the Town Council will organise once the full details of the planning application have been analysed. Look out for consultations and events by the Town Council over the coming weeks. 

If you are submitting a comment as an individual, you are urged to follow the guidance below to ensure your comment has maximum impact on the planning decision making process: 

https://www.southhams.gov.uk/article/3222/Information-on-how-to-Comment-on-a-Planning-Application

Ivybridge Town Council declared at it's meeting on 11th April 2022 that...

Ivybridge Town Council welcomes refugees, and will work with the community to support refugees that live in Ivybridge, and the surrounding area, now and in the future.

We have created a page where we will collate links to help and support and will also help to facilitate networking and social events for hosts and t hier guests by offering rooms to meet at the Town Hall.

More details at www.ivybridge.gov.uk/refugeeswelcome

Normally each year The Watermark hosts a free Christmas Day Lunch for people in the community that want to spend time with others. With the pandemic again making group gatherings difficult, the community wanted to still do something again for people in Ivybridge who would otherwise be on their own on Christmas Day and who would appreciate some human contact.

Christmas Day Hamper Deliveries became the alternative once again this year – involving local volunteers delivering hampers to individuals, with a focus on having a chat on the doorstep and spreading some festive cheer.

The community were asked to step up and the response was phenomenal, with donations of goods and time coming in from all across the town. Ivybridge Community College set about asking their students to donate wrapped gifts; SoSocial Art Group made individual handmade Christmas cards; we received donations from MJ Baker, Caterfood, Co-op, Nature’s Larder, Ringtons, Tamar Fresh and Mrs Mottershead. Financial support was provided by DCC Cllr Roger Croad, SHDC Cllr Vic Abbott & SHDC Cllr Karen Pringle from their locality budgets and a generous sponsorship was received from Ivor Jones and Co. This enabled the hampers and some of the items to go inside to be purchased.

Around 30 volunteers put their names forward to do the deliveries and help pack the hampers.

On Christmas morning, the rain poured but the volunteers still donned their Christmas attire and set off out into the community to deliver 38 hampers across Ivybridge and spread a whole lot of festive cheer.

It was a wonderful display of community spirit and it wouldn’t have been possible without the generosity of local groups, businesses, organisations and individuals coming together. The community owes a huge “thank you” to everyone involved.

Feedback from volunteers and recipients has been flooding in:

“Thank you to the nice guy who brought my hamper he was absolutely soaking wet as it’s been raining heavy all morning and it’s still raining now. I’m so lucky… caring human beings caring for their fellow humans just like me especially at this time of the year.” (recipient)

“I am absolutely delighted! I can't believe it but someone just called at my door and gave me a huge bag of goodies for Christmas... Someone wonderful was obviously thinking of me and I can only offer my heartfelt thanks to all those involved.” (recipient)

“We felt really good about doing something positive within the community on Christmas Day”. (volunteer)

The project was coordinated by the South Hams CVS Community Connector Jessica Shipp, So Social’s Shirley Weeks & Jonathan Parsons from Ivybridge Town Council.

If you are interested in getting involved in local volunteering opportunities, please get in touch. There are all sorts of opportunities in our community, from ad-hoc to regular.

Jessica Shipp, Community Connector, Ivybridge, South Hams Community and Voluntary Sector (CVS).

07756 667533

connector@southhamscvs.org.uk

This Tuesday I was joined by Rosemary to help maintain the hedge we had planted two years ago. The trees we had planted came from a 420 free community tree pack from Woodlands Trust and an additional 300 trees purchased by Ivybridge Town Council. These were planted with volunteers from Dartmoor Community Energy and with our weekly Ivybridge volunteers group over two days.

This is the last weekly Ivybridge Town Council task for a while, if interested in volunteering in the future then please email townclerk@ivybridge.gov.uk

Last Thursday Lou and I were joined by 4 volunteers to carry out boardwalk repairs and non-native invasive species vegetation control along a section of footpath 6 in Longtimber Woods. We had a new volunteer join us, Matthew, who kindly got stuck in and helped me carry the sleepers down to the existing boardwalk below the viaduct. We then cleared the soil around the boardwalk and installed 4 new sleepers. We will need to return with another two in the near future to complete the task. This makes the boardwalk section wider and earlier to access. We also cleared non-native species such as pheasant berry and laurel, which left unchecked will spread and shade out native plant species, from that section of the path.

Thanks to all the volunteers for helping, if you'd like to get involved then please let me know. Our next volunteer task is being held on Tuesday 23rd November at Filham Park - hedgerow maintenance, this task will involve clearing and weeding around the base of the hedge we planted two years ago, we will meet at 10am at the car park in Filham Park and finish no later than 2pm.

Andrew - Park Ranger

andrewprice@ivybridge.gov.uk

At the November Council meeting, the Community Awards were considered, and the Council is delighted to announce this year’s winners.

Ivybridge has many incredible volunteers who do a fantastic job in the town, but we are delighted to announce that The Ivybridge Foodbank and So Social have jointly been chosen to receive The Nick Cummins Community Group of the Year Award, in recognition of the vast amount of support they have provided to local residents. Despite the pandemic, Foodbank volunteers have worked tirelessly to support vulnerable people and families in our community who have found themselves in difficult situations. The coffee mornings organised by So Social provide a lifeline to those who are lonely and isolated, and help to signpost them to other groups and services they may benefit from.

Malcolm Smith and Rosa Hansen have been chosen to receive The David Britton Citizen of the Year Award in recognition of all the amazing voluntary work they are both involved with, working hard cutting, pruning, weeding and trimming hedges in order to keep Harry’s Patch looking its best all year round. The extra effort they put in for both the Tour of Britain and Ivybridge in Bloom was noted and received specific praise from the judges and brings joy and pride to the whole community. As if this was not enough, Rosa goes on weekly rubbish collection walks, not just on her own street but all around the town, helping to keep it looking nice and tidy, and Malcolm mans the Poppy Shop for the Royal British Legion in the lead up to Remembrance Sunday.

The continuing selfless endeavours of these volunteers are very much appreciated.

The Town Mayor will be formally presenting the Awards at the Town Council meeting on 13 December 2021.

On Saturday I joined Devon Rural Skills Trust (DRST) to help lay a 50 metre section of hedge along the access track into Filham Park next to the allotments. Laying hedges should be done every 5-10 years and is a great way to maintain a hedge without having to flail - which damages a hedge and wildlife, or using a hedge trimmer. It's also a great way to extend the life of a hedge and stopping it getting too tall without having to cut the top with a hedge trimmer. Once laid, the hedge will grow vigorously and can be left for years without any additional maintenance. This helps to keep carbon stored and creates a great wildlife corridor. Any brash removed is left as a habitat pile and will reduce over time, this will release carbon slowly. 

We will be laying another section of hedge in Filham Park in January with DRST, please click here to access their website if you would like to join us.

Earlier this year we started creating a new wildflower meadow on the existing amenity grass. We had mixed success partially due to weather and partially due to timing. Last Thursday, Lou and I were joined by a number of volunteers to help improve on the work from earlier in the year. We rotavated the existing areas and the area in-between to join the two existing meadows, making a larger single meadow. We then reseeded the whole area, the seed sown earlier in the year should still be in the soil and should come up in spring once we have had a winters frost. The seed mix we used last week is the same used at St Peter's Way back in April this year, so hopefully we will get a better display next year.

Lou and I were joined today by five volunteers,  for two of them it was their first time volunteering with the Parks team at Ivybridge Town Council. 

In just a few hours we had cleared a large area of the scrub and opened up the understory of the willow and hazel thicket running along the access track leading to Filham Park. Removing dense scrub allows light into the understory of the trees, all the trees will regrow and will benefit from being coppiced. The cut material was put back into the undergrowth as habitat piles.

On Saturday 30^th October, Devon Rural Skill Trust will be running a hedge laying day along this access track, laying the hedge on the allotment side. When laying a hedge the process creates a lot of arising, another reason to cut back the scrub we did today is to create space to lay these brash arising into.

We have a couple of Wildflower meadow creation days next week, on Tuesday at MacAndrews Field and Thursday at Filham Park. These tasks are open to all ages. If you’d like to talk about today’s task, or getting involved with future tasks, then please don’t hesitate to contact me at andrewprice@ivybridge.gov.uk

After a week’s break we resumed our autumn volunteer programme with meadow maintenance at Holman Way. This small site, until two years ago, had been cut on a regular basis and been kept as short mown grass. Just before the first lockdown Lou and I planted approx. a dozen small trees, known as whips. Last Thursday we returned to the site to see how these trees are doing. With the help of three volunteers, we checked all the trees, replaced any missing tree guards and installed better ones for the larger trees. The long grass was removed from around the base of each tree, 50 wild native daffodil bulbs were planted, plus we cut back the shrubs that have started to spread into the meadow. We cut most of the long grass and installed a new metal perch bench. The plan will be to return in a month to cut the rest of the meadow and carry out some wildflower seeding and seed bombs.

Next week is half term and we plan to rotovate areas at MacAndrews field and Filham Park. These areas will need to be raked off so then we can seed with more wildflowers.

If you’d like to join in either and/or both tasks next week and need more information, then please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Andrew Price, Park Ranger andrewprice@ivybridge.gov.uk

Lou and I were joined by 4 volunteers who helped us carry out our first meadow cut of St Peter’s Way, a meadow which the community helped create back in April this year. We have extended the meadow slightly using the hay cut today. The rest of the green hay was removed and taken to Filham Park. At Filham we also carried out a cut and rake of the meadows we started in April, adding to the seed we sowed earlier in the year. As some seeds need a frost, we should see an increase in plant bio-diversity next spring. We also found a couple of frogs in the long grass, showing the importance of leaving more space for nature and that it really works.

The cutting and collecting of green hay is an excellent way to increase a wildflower meadow without having to buy any additional seed. When cutting the hay, we use a brush cutter, so rather than smashing with a strimmer or a mower, the meadow can be cut and collected in a more traditional way. Spreading the hay, which is still rich in seeds, over the meadows at St Peter’s Way and Filham Park will allow this seed to disperse as the hay dries out. In a couple of week we will return and rake off the green hay, as we only want the seed and not the nutrient enrichment from the grass.

Unfortunately we have no volunteering next week, but we will be back with bulb planting and wildflower meadow management on the 14th October, site to be confirmed.

Andrew – Parks Ranger

Over the last three weeks the local volunteers have been working with the Parks team on a couple of our sites.  

Orchid Avenue is a small site that has become a wildlife haven in the town. Surrounded by houses it provides a great refuge within a built up area. The site has a couple of orchard apple trees, plum trees and blackthorn trees, so a great place to forage for some fruit or sloes.  We have spent a couple of volunteering days improving access and carrying out the annual wildflower meadow cut at this site.

Last week we returned to Filham Park to start this year’s hedge cutting. We don’t want to cut it all in one go, as this allows a better habitat for nature. This week we focused on opening up all the bench viewing points and cut around the bridleway section.

Both these sites have benefited from volunteering over the last few years, and it’s only been possible to complete this work with the help of our volunteers. It’s a great way to meet local people, and enjoy the outdoors, so if you have any questions about volunteering with myself and the parks team on Ivybridge Town Council sites, then please email me at andrewprice@ivybridge.gov.uk

Ivybridge Town Council’s first ever Bio-blitz event was held at Filham Park on 12^th August. The main focus of the event was to engage the local community with nature, helping to connect our local community with our natural spaces and also carrying out some citizen science. We started the Bio-blitz the evening before with the invaluable help of the Devon Moths Group (www.devonmoths.org.uk). I joined three of their members setting out 4 moth traps the night before the event, 3 traps from the Devon Moth Group and 1 as part of the Moth to a Flame art event. After a night of collecting moths for the reveal at 8am, we were able to identify 74 different species of moth. The Moth Reveal was also a great success, with a number of people getting up early to see the moths and talk to Dave and Karen from the Moths Group.

During the day, in spite of the rain, we had a number of popular activities including pond dipping and nature identify walks. The walks involved looking at trees, butterflies, birds and a bee talk. Many thanks to our experts, all of whom volunteered their time for free. Thanks to Alan, Richard, Tony, Kim and Michael for leading these walk and talks and giving up your time for the local community.

The Moth to a Flame activity proved very popular (www.mothstoaflame.art). Nearly 50 plastic moths cut out of milk cartons were made and are now heading to COP26 (www.ukcop26.org) as part of a larger art installation. Many thanks to Catherine for taking so much time and effort to run this activity and getting all the supplies together. Ivybridge Bloomers attended the event with a great number of activities, from planting, seed bombs, identity sheets and nature trail, many thanks to Shirley, Morgana and Sara. Other activities included a great story teller, leading families around the park, forest immersion and foraging walks, hedgehog awareness and a food stall selling delicious cakes, locally sourced sausages and vegan options. Many thanks to everyone involved in these activities.

We had a last minute kind offer from two local ecologists, Mel and Kate, to run our evening bat walk. We had a fantastic turnout of 70 people and we managed to ‘see’ and ‘hear’ 5 different species of bat. Everyone had a great evening, and some of the children who attended were heard to say it was so much better than sitting in front of the tv all night!

I’ve not been able to make a final list of species logged for the day yet, but a rough estimate, including bats and moths is nearly 300. Including the numbers attending the bat walk we had around 300 people attend the event, so it shows that the great British weather cannot stop Ivybridge’s hardy folk getting out and enjoying nature.

Thanks you – I’ve listed some names above that helped during the day, but a special thank you to Morgana for all the time and help planning the event, to our volunteers – Clare, Mark, Hattie for planning and helping on the day, to our experts, to our activities Sara, Emma and Myrtle. Also a big thank you to Cllrs Jones, Abbott, Austin and Pringle, who made a kind donation to help run the day, Cllr Jones also kindly made a donation for the Ring and Ride. Thank you to Ring and Ride for providing the bus service and Ivybridge Cricket Club, for supporting the day. Lastly, thank you to you the public for coming along and for all the Town Hall Staff for helping me plan and deliver this day. We will start planning next year’s event shortly.

Andrew – Ivybridge Town Council Parks Ranger

Last Thursday myself and 6 volunteers started the annual maintenance of wildflower areas and hedges at MacAndrews Field. Cutting and clearing away the grass on the margins annually helps increase biodiversity and stops the areas becoming rank grass. We managed to clear the grass along the northern boundary and cut back some of the overgrowing vegetation, clearing around the benches and display board. All the grass and shrub cuttings are raked and removed from the area to prevent any nutrients going back into the soil, this helps to promote a wider range of plants.

Later in the year we will return to sow some wildflower seed to increase the rough edges with more colour and pollinator friendly plants. 

Next week we have the Bio-Blitz event being held at Filham Park, starting at 8am with a moth reveal then there will bevarious activities through the day, including a story teller and identification sessions. If you fancy joining us next week, 12th August, at Filham Park then please either contact me for more information or just turn up. The event will be running all day, finishing in the evening with a bat walk around the park.

Andrew Price – Parks Ranger

andrewprice@ivybridge.gov.uk

For wildflower meadows to work well, the grass needs to be cut once a year. This works best after the grass has gone to seed and the flowers have finished and dropped their seeds, but before the grass has started to wilt later in the year. Cutting and removing as much of the grass as possible means we can stop most of the nutrients from returning to the soil as wildflowers grow best in nutrient poor ground.

Last week Lou and I were joined by 3 volunteers who helped cut, rake and remove the grass in two thirds of the nature area wildflower meadow. We have left some grass as cover for insects, and where plants are still in flower. We will return in a month to 6 weeks’ time to cut the rest. The volunteers also cut back the hedge, reducing it in height, making it easier to see into the nature area. Luckily the shade kept us all cool during a very hot day. 

Many thanks to Pat, Clare and Mark for all their help.

Anyone wishing to get involved in similar tasks, then please email me on andrewprice@ivybridge.gov.uk

On a very hot, dry day at Filham Park, Lou and I were joined by 3 volunteers to install a lovely oak sign, produced by Marc from Wild-Works (www.wild-work.co.uk). The sign was produced from locally sourced hardwood. Lesley Hughes, Ivybridge Town Council’s recently retired Town Clerk, organised the planting of the trees 20 years ago, the wood has now been named ‘Lesley’s Wood’. You can read more about the woods by clicking here. 

We also removed the broken bridleway gate on the access track from Filham House into the park, with a new self-closing gate. The old one had been vandalised and was unfortunately beyond repair. Devon Public Rights of Way kindly supplied the replacement gate.

If you would like to get involved locally, then please email me at andrewprice@ivybridge.gov.uk.

On Thursday evening staff and councillors attended an event in Filham Park to mark the retirement of the previous Town Clerk, Lesley Hughes. Lesley retired at the end of 2020 but due to Covid restrictions the event had to be postponed.

An area of woodland in the park has been named Lesley's Wood in appreciation the many years Lesley spent serving our Town and community. With the help of the Town Mayor, Cllr Sara Hladkij, a sign for this area was unveiled.

Lesley had provided dynamic leadership of the Council and through her efforts not only was the Town Council awarded the national honour of being named as town council of the year, but also a number of projects such as The Watermark brought to fruition through her drive and perseverance.

Lesley has also ensured those that need some extra help and support are not forgotten, providing the impetus for the Christmas dinners held at The Watermark aimed at providing a memorable day for older people who otherwise would have spent the festive period on their own. She also continues to be involved with Ivybridge Caring, and a strong supporter of sport, particularly football, within the town.

We are pleased to announce that Lesley’s replacement is Jonathan Parsons who in his role as Business Manager within the Council has been responsible for the successful management and development of The Watermark.

Back in April we planted 11 trees and seeded some wildflowers into a newly rotovated area. On the day we created the wildflower meadow we had 20 people from the local community who helped rake and seed the meadow, and after that hard work we can now see the wildflowers have been very successful.

This area is great for pollinators, and will help our struggling wildlife. Later this autumn we will cut and rake the meadow before the seeds drop, then take the ‘green hay’ to another Ivybridge Town Council site and lay the hay. This is a great way to spread the wildflowers in a local area.

Please let me know if you’d like to be involved, or hear more about these types of tasks in the future, my email is andrewprice@ivybridge.gov.uk

Andrew – Parks Ranger

THE DAVID BRITTON CITIZEN OF THE YEAR AWARD 2021 AND THE NICK CUMMINS COMMUNITY GROUP OF THE YEAR AWARD 2021

Ivybridge Town Council is once again delighted to announce that it is seeking nominations for The David Britton Citizen of the Year Award 2021 and The Nick Cummins Community Group of the Year Award 2021.

These prestigious awards are for individuals and groups and will be given to those whom the Council feel have provided an invaluable input into the community and have made a difference through their involvement in the town. There are many unsung heroes who work away, often behind the scenes, but who are making an impact on the community.

During the Covid-19 pandemic this year we have been amazed by the number of volunteers who have selflessly given up their time to help others, and now is the time to ensure these people are recognised.

The awards are open to individuals and groups who solely volunteer within the community and as in previous years the award does cover people living outside the town although they must have provided a service valued by people in Ivybridge.

If you know of any person or group you feel deserves to be nominated please write to Ivybridge Town Council, Erme Court, Leonards Road, Ivybridge, PL21 0SZ, or email the information to lindsaylane@ivybridge.gov.uk giving full details of name/group, address and reasons why they should be put forward to receive such an award and also include your own name and address. Please provide as much information as possible as this will help the Council to make their decision.

The nominations will be considered by the Town Council at the November meeting and the winners will receive a presentation from the Town Mayor towards the end of the year.

All entries must be received by Friday 15 October 2021.

Last week the volunteers and Town Council Parks staff tackled a couple of overgrown paths at Longtimber Woods. This included the pavement footpath which runs along the side of Station Road. We managed to cut back and also remove the soil building up along the edge. Once completed, the path was almost 2 foot wider in some sections. We also cleared a section of Footpath 6, which runs through the woods towards the viaduct, clearing the soil from the boardwalk and over-hanging vegetation, making the path wider and more accessible.

A great turn out of volunteers last week, having 6 people join Lou and myself meant we could tackle these two jobs. Thanks again to everyone that helped and for all the encouraging comments from members of the public passing by, these are always welcome! If you ever feel like getting involved then please email me at andrewprice@ivybridge.gov.uk to find out more information.

Andrew Price – Parks Ranger

On a very hot day last week I was joined by 5 volunteers to help improve the access along the top end of Footpath 1, the sections from Ivydene road to Blachford road. We managed 4 hours in the heat, cutting back the overhanging trees, hedge trimming and clearing over 8 dumpy bags of soils and vegetation from the path surface. The aim is to improve access, without cutting everything back too hard, this still allows nesting bird to go undisturbed, wildflowers and insects to still flourish.

Many thanks once again to everyone helping out the local community, the volunteers did an excellent jobs. If you fancy getting involved in local volunteering tasks, then please either email me at andrewprice@ivybridge.gov.uk or call the Town Hall on 01752 893815 and I’ll get back to you.

Andrew – Ivybridge Town Council Parks Ranger.

During early 2021 a team of volunteers took part in a tree planting event in Filham Park. They planted 8 disease resistant elm trees to create an avenue along the path and 12 oaks were added to the existing circle of mature oak trees.

If you are interested in taking part in one of our volunteering events, please have a look at our volunteering page.

Following its first issue in March 2020, Sustrans has now finalised Ivybridge Street Design Strategy. You can view it by clicking here or on PL:21’s website.

Since residents first gave their views, some significant changes have taken place locally and the coronavirus pandemic has caused significant disruption to people’s behaviour. The report shows that tangible progress is already being made.