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News from 2011(This page is not editable) The pedestrian crossing warning sign is upAfter a long wait the interactive warning sign is guarding the pedestrian crossing. We have to thank Paula Black, the Green party county councillor for Totnes Rural. She secured funds for the installation and saw it through many delays with gentle persistence.  It seems not to be solar powered. That would be difficult because it seems to stay lit permanently in the dark. It flashes only in broad daylight when a vehicle approaches. The next campaign must be for the bottle bank to return. Tim Padfield, 10 November 2011 Plans for two wind turbines will be on displayAfter over a year of site investigations, the plans for the two Totnes Community wind turbines are taking shape. The Totnes Community Wind Farm project team (TRESOC and Infinergy) would like to invite you to another Community Open Day to share the results of the environmental studies with you and discuss the proposal. The open day will be held on Saturday 19th November 2011 at Harbertonford Village Hall. From 14.00 – 20.00, there will be an exhibition with information boards where members of the project team, including our noise consultant, will be on hand to answer questions. We would also like to make you aware of a noise workshop that we are planning to hold on the same day from 10.30-12.00 at Harbertonford Village Hall. The workshop, hosted by our noise consultant, wind farm acoustics specialists Hayes McKenzie, will be focused on answering many questions that we have received about noise during our consultation process. Parish Councillors, residents where noise monitoring was undertaken and people who have previously shown an interest in this subject will be invited. However, should anyone else be interested in attending, please let us know by sending an email to info@totnescommunitywindfarm.co.uk, writing to Freepost Infinergy Limited (no stamp required) or ringing the freephone number 0800 862 0309. We would also like to take the opportunity to thank all residents who came along on our Site Visit Day in September and visited the proposed turbine location. Many issues were discussed and we were happy with the input visitors have given us throughout the day. It looks like it has been a useful exercise for all involved. Jane Brady 21 October 2011 STOP THE LUSCOMBE CROSS TURBINESPublic meeting at HARBERTONFORD VILLAGE HALL, Mon. 7th Nov. from 7pm. Talks, with question and answer session after, by guest speakers John O’Sullivan ,LLB and Hans Schreuder, retired analytical chemist. They will present evidence to show that burning fossil fuels will not lead to a global climate catastrophe and that the wind turbine “solution” to this imaginary threat does not produce the clean, green, renewable energy it’s claimed to do. Tea and Coffee from 7pm. Talks start at 7.30pm Displays and Power Point presentation Organised by Ian Phillips Tel 731008 and a new informal group of local residents, based in Harbertonford. Harbertonford Allotment Society lunchAfter the HAS annual general meeting on October 9th, members and landowner Colin Finch and family sat down to a lunch mainly constructed from produce from the allotment. After a late start and an unhelpful drought the allotments have now come into luxuriant growth.  Traffic and access to TotnesDevon County Council has convened a steering committee to advise on traffic improvements in Totnes and its hinterland. Bus, cycle and pedestrian routes are included in the discussion, as well as the everlasting topics of congestion and parking. There is nearly 5 million pounds of funding available for transport improvements in the Exeter, Newton Abbot and Totnes areas, so this steering group has the opportunity to achieve more than talk and reports. Tim Padfield is the representative for the Totnes rural parishes on this committee. Send him your proposals for improvements to local transport. You can also write your proposal on this website on the Main.Totnes Transport Steering Committee page. The next meeting is 17th August. Tim Padfield, 11 August 2011 PUBLIC MEETINGWIND TURBINES AT LUSCOMBE CROSSFriday 15th July 2011 at Harberton Parish Hall 7.00pm for 7.30pm There are plans to erect 2 huge commercial wind turbines just off the main road from Totnes to Harbertonford. They will stand 100 metres tall (330feet) and will dwarf an important and beautiful landscape. They are being promoted by Totnes Renewable Energy Society (TRESOC) and turbine company Infinergy. This will be the first public meeting of SHOCT (South Hams opposing Commercial Turbines - www.shoct.co.uk) to oppose this and other inappropriate wind farms in the South Hams. SHOCT are in favour of renewable energy including wind power, but feel that this is a wholly inappropriate location for these turbines. The South Hams is an area of exceptional natural beauty that people from all over the country come to enjoy. If wind turbines of this scale are allowed here, it will set a precedent for further applications in the South Hams. David Parsley (Totnes FM) will chair the meeting. Our outside speakers are both experienced researchers who have participated in the planning process to successfully oppose wind farm developments. They will give a general survey of the issues involved and with particular emphasis on the question of noise disturbance and the impairment of the visual landscape. After short introductory talks there will be ample time for questions and discussion. ALL WELCOME - Complimentary refreshments from 7pm including wine, hot and cold drinks and nibbles. Event organised by members of SHOCT Enqs to Ian Phillips, 01803-731008 Email SHOCTinfo@gmail.com Any offers of practical help in connection with this meeting will be much appreciated. Tree felling in the wood north of Crowdy MillLarch trees are currently being felled in the woodland east of Harbertonford, along Bow Road. This is because they are infected by Phytophthora ramorum, which is a serious and spreading infection of Japanese Larch, prevalent in the south-west and in Wales. Spores can be spread by moving bark fragments and leaves, so please keep away from Larch plantations. There is more information about this pathogen at http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-8EJKP4 Tim Padfield, 29 June 2011 A successful Open StudiosSue Deakin, one of the organisers of the Open Studios event, pronounced it a great success. The list of exhibitors is still visible, with some of their works, on the Open Studios pages  Tim Padfield, 28 May 2011 The playground is officially openThe village playground was ceremonially opened on 24 March 2011. Here are balloons rising over the timber construction. There is more about the playground on the Playground page.  Tim Padfield, 25 May 2011 Ceremonial opening of the playgroundThe mayor of Totnes will formally open the playground at Riverdale on Tuesday 24th May at 15:00.  Photo by Jane Hutchinson Wind Farm at Luscombe Cross - Public MeetingPlease note that the public meeting organised by SHOCT (South Hams Opposing Commercial Turbines) to discuss the proposal for a wind farm at Luscombe Cross, just north of Harbertonford, and originally scheduled for Friday 13th May 2011 at Harberton Village Hall is being postponed until June. This is because BBC2 has rescheduled its broadcasting of a programme about a proposed wind farm elsewhere in Devon to 7.00pm that evening. Local residents are recommended to watch it and the three following weekly instalments to find out what could be in store for us here. A revised date for the SHOCT meeting will be announced shortly. N McDonnell Village brunch, 17 April 2011A well attended brunch continues the good, recent tradition. £25 was raised from the allotment society plant sale. There was also a book exchange and wine tasting, and live music. Thanks to Linda and Geoff Broom and many kitchen helpers.  tim padfield Accident on the pedestrian crossingA car coming from Kingsbridge direction punched into the back end of a van on the pedestrian crossing at 11:50, 14 April 2011. The car driver suffered an injured wrist, the van driver a shaking from which he recovered fast. The car itself sent an emergency call. The Police arrived at 12:35. Meanwhile, Paul the publican had provided a generous ice pack to the car driver's wrist and a local doctor had checked that no serious injuries had been sustained. One person who had just crossed the road witnessed the event. Tim Padfield The Willow Den 13/3/2011 A very successful and fun willow planting day took place last week with years 5 and 6 school children and we are now proud to have a beautiful, amazing and rather exciting willow structure in the playground which is like a maze providing a play space for children to hide, explore and sit and congregate in the middle. Go and have a look and take your children to enjoy it, it's wonderful, I think you will agree! It will take the summer and most of next year to really establish itself so it's a little bit fragile but hopefully with some TLC it will be enjoyed by our children for many years to come. Jane Jeffreys Signing the contracts for the allotments up Hernaford roadMarch 2 2011 Colin Finch, the landowner (far right), and members of the Parish Council, the Allotments Committee and a reliable witness have signed the documents concerning the allotments which will appear on the first field on the right up Hernaford road. The field should be ready by 31 March.  Photo by Sue Deakin Clearing the allotment fieldMany volunteers from the allotment society are helping to clear the field up Hernaford road. The hedges have all been laid, now the cut timber has to be transported for use in the allotments as bean sticks and net supports.  Tim Padfield, Sunday, 20 February 2011 The pedestrian crossing road sign The Parish Council meeting on Tuesday 8 February was treated to an overture; crossover music urging motorists to slow down, composed by Peter Beamish and sung by the local choir. Jim Halliday and Mike Jones from the Devon County Council Highway Management then explained the troubles over several years with the road signs warning of the pedestrian crossing over the A381 in Harbertonford. The signs do not work. They are an experimental design not generally used on highways. This was not explained to the PC until recent correspondence. The signs have been paid for. The manufacturer now refuses to repair them or to repay the money. In response to a down to earth comment by councillor Hockings that if something doesn't work you have a right to get the money back, Mr Halliday said that he would consult the county solicitor. About twenty residents were present at the meeting. Their complaints were about speeding traffic rushing round the bend from the bridge so fast that they had little time to react to a person already on the crossing, who would have started off not able to see vehicles approaching from the south. The response from the officials was that there had only been one recorded accident so there was no basis for action to improve the safety of the crossing. From the floor, it was claimed that there had been two accidents and people told of many near misses. People suggested reporting near misses. On the matter of vehicle speed, Mike Jones said that 86 percent of vehicles travelled through the village at less than 32 mph. Further questions revealed that the measurements had been made at the garage, since it was easy to park the van with the speed meter unobtrusively among the used cars. Linda Broom then offered the driveway to her house, which overlooks the bridge from the Halwell side, from where one could measure the vehicle speed at the place where it matters to the subject under discussion. To the question, why is there not a 20 mph limit throughout the village as there is in almost every other community in the South Hams. Mr Halliday replied that he had been guilty of installing these limits but would not now get permission to extend the limit to Harbertonford because it would be refused by a higher power, which he did not name. On traffic calming measures such as bumps, Mr Jones said that such measures are only installed when there is an alternative obstruction-free route. Finally, Mr Halliday and Mr Jones said they would think of what to do and respond by the end of March. There is a longer write up of the meeting in the Totnes Times of Wednesday, February 16, 2011 tim padfield, Sunday, 13 February 2011 Blocking the crossingThe long running dispute on the placing of the crossing and the unnerving speed of traffic round the bend at the bridge reached one of its intermittent climaxes on Saturday 5 February 2011.  Photo, Prana Simon See also the moving image at: If safety on the crossing causes you concern, come to the February meeting of the Parish Council. And bring a solution - it seems to have eluded the experts. tim padfield Saturday, 5 February 2011 Cutting the branches on the allotmentsThe first working party of the Harbertonford Allotment Society has been laying the hedges surrounding the field up Hernaford Road.  The owner, Colin Finch, is using a chain say to remove the thick stems after which we use hand tools to lay the hedge in the ancient style, cutting almost through the thinner stems and then bending them down to make a living fence.  The HAS chairman, Rob Summers, is making good progress on the south hedge, helped by a team of about eight HAS members. Rough calculation suggests that about seven work days will be needed to encircle the allotments with a stockproof hedge. Tim Padfield, Saturday, 15 January 2011 Harbertonford leads the campaign against binge drinkingTim Padfield writes, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 Typical of the forward thinking so characteristic of our dynamic village is the isolation of the bottle bank behind a mesh fence, with a threatening mass of loose masonry ready to topple on anyone daring to approach with an empty bottle. A brilliantly ingenious initiative in the fight against the threatening alcoholisation of the entire UK population.  |
