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Christmas craft fair 21 November 2010The craft fair in the village hall was well attended.  Public hearing on the DPD for building more houses in HarbertonfordWednesday 10 November 2010 was the last opportunity for villagers to comment on the plans for dropping 60 houses into Harbertonford. Your representatives on this occasion were Jo Williams, Tim Padfield and Clive Fairweather. They are pictured below with the panorama used to explain the traffic and flood water threats which many residents have associated with the area RA18, identified as suitable by South Hams forward planners. There are more details of this long and intricate process on the South Hams District Council page. The trio argued before the examiner the danger of approving this site for housing before properly evaluating the flood risk to the lower village and before designing access that does not increase traffic on Old Road. They also put forward the nearly unanimous opinion of the villagers that site RA 17 (the derelict mill) should be redeveloped immediately, rather than after 2016, as in the plan.  Photo by Frances Padfield Windmills at Luscombe CrossAt the November 2010 meeting of the Parish Council, Richard Hoyland and Matt Russel presented the plans for two windmills north of the village. The project brochure gives more details. Do not be dismayed by the statement in the brochure "onsite connection to the grid, straight into Totnes." Electricity does not move in such a pre-determined way, even if the citizens of Totnes dream of green amperes driving their hair dryers. There is merit in generating electricity close to where the demand is, whether that demand is from Totnes, Harberton, Ashprington or Harbertonford. Transmission losses are minimised by local generation. The national, even the pan European, grid then provides backup and capacity to balance the load, also when our own windmills generate more electricity in a gale than is immediately needed here. The second village brunch - on Sunday 20 June 2010 - was well attended and much enjoyed. It looks set to become a village tradition.  There was music and stands and posters showing local initiatives in green energy, local volunteers, allotments, wine tasting, plants for swap, book club and the craft club whose stand is shown below.  The Village GreenThe Parish Council has sent (14 June 2010) the evidence for communal use of the ford area to Devon County Council, so that it can be registered as a village green. Thanks to all who responded to the questionnaire and declaration. New decoration of our small green space, in the conservation area and close to our listed 19th c bridge. The environment agency didn't need to ask for planning permission to plant a water level gauge, but they did ask the Parish Council, which agreed on the position. It could be that the gauge will indeed register runoff from the stream from Harberton, which enters the Harbourne below the bridge, but one can speculate that it was sited for convenience of access. We could ask that its signal be always available on a web page, or in coloured lights suspended from the tree above. tim padfield, 2 June 2010 THE VILLAGE BRUNCH on Sunday 28th March 2010 [any photos anyone?] For the first time a cafe was staged at the village hall, serving a full English breakfast, free to all comers! And come they did. The hall seemed to be packed from the 10.30 start to the 1pm closing. There were at least 60 eggs fried by a bevy of chefs, master-minded by Linda Broom, who also very generously sponsored the event. Very many thanks to her and her team for laying on such a spread and to Nic Cottis for providing a musical accompaniment. Thanks also to the Beamish set who came along and sang for a while. Newspapers were provided, although there seemed little time to read them, and Buck's Fizz, another freebie, was supplied by the village wine club! There was a grand mixture of villagers there, many of whom had recently moved to the village and seemed to particularly appreciate the chance to meet others and find out about some of the clubs and activities of the village. As the breakfast cafe was so well supported, it is likely that others will be scheduled in future, although doubtless not quite so cheap for the customers! The village hall deserves our support for its running costs and towards its future improvements. Although laid on by HSSG, the success of this event was due to everyone who came, in every capacity, from chefs to feasters, musicians and chair-movers, sweepers and club representatives. Well done everyone. Let's do it again some time! Nigel Cameron has diedNigel died in his sleep at his daughter's home in Gloucestershire on the night of Thursday 4th March 2010, aged 85. He'd been ill for several months. His long history in the village, variety of creative interests - painting, poetry, sculpture, photography - and active lifestyle were a credit to him, and endeared Nigel to all who knew him. Living opposite Nigel's house in Hernaford Lane, I valued him greatly both as a friend and neighbour, and am saddened by his passing. He had a very wide acquaintance, and many would wish to pay their own tributes: I understand a funeral service will be held within a week or two here in Harbertonford, where Nigel's late wife Jean is buried, and I'd be happy to pass on the details as soon as I know them myself. Call me on 732559: I'm away from home 'til Tuesday pm, 9th March, but someone will take your call and I'll get back to you soon. Tony Harrison Harbertonford flower show, Saturday 1 August 2009 Harbertonford big lunch day, Sunday 19 July 2009 Local history societyOn Tuesday 1 July 2008 archaeologist Robert Waterhouse gave a lecture on four old houses in the area.  There was a meeting 2 May to discuss the hazardous pedestrian crossing. There was an open road demonstration at 10:00 on Saturday 3 May. Pictures below, and join the discussion on the opinions page.   Clearing the scrub on the flood plainOn the 30th March about 15 villagers met to remove saplings from the flood plain above Palmer's dam, to provide air and light for enough grass to grow to feed Peter Beamish's goats and cattle, which will trample and eat the next generation of saplings. We cleared about a quarter of the area destined for grazing.  On the 17th August,a small working party attacked the Himalayan Balsam threatening the Nature Reserve. They were successful in adding to Clive's earlier efforts and there are now more than 30 bags of the invasive plant to be disposed of. It is hoped that the clearance has taken place before the Balsam gets a chance to seed. Exercising the damsee also How the dam works for Bryn Williams' explanation of the functioning of the sluices. December 8th 2007. A night of rain swelled the Harbourne to a threatening level. According to hearsay, the sluice again had to be levered into defensive position by men in fluorescent jackets, supplementing the digital automation. A spokesman for the Environment Agency, Bryn Williams, explained that the automatic mechanism was alert but the water had not reached the level at which the gradual shutting of the sluice was programmed to begin. The manual operation was in response to a number of phone calls from anxious inhabitants of the lower ground in Harbertonford. Bryn has provided a full description of the working of the sluice, and the water level which will cause it to close. 
Upriver, the reservoir was well filled by mid afternoon, raising the problem of how to rescue the cows which are proposed to munch the over-abundant vegetation. Maybe some artificial islands could be thrown up, ideally by deepening the rapidly silting ponds. 
For the Environment Agency's description of the dam and its purpose see: http://library.coastweb.info/488/1/Harnessing_the_harbourne.pdf (tim padfield 8 dec 2007, revised 15 December) Anti-social behaviour in the school groundsSouth Brent Police Station has issued this notice to Harbertonford residents on 09/10/2007: From PC 4639 Taylor, PC 2870 Hopper and PCSO Vicky Gummow. There have been a number of reported incidents of anti-social behaviour in the school grounds. Incidents such as criminal damage have been reported to us. If you see or hear any persons on the premises out of school hours then please do not hesitate to make contact with the police with details of the incident and descriptions of the persons involved. If you feel the nature of the incident requires an immediate response then please dial '999'. In all other cases dial 08452 777 444. The nature reserveOn the sixteenth of August Jeremy Bailey and Mike Williams of DEFRA met a group of villagers to discuss alternative ways of managing the land upstream from the flood relief dam. 
The concensus was that the best solution would be to fence off the wooded areas and graze the rest using a carefully selected breed of cattle which likes munching the rank but varied vegetation. Geoff Broom wrote in the September newsletter: Nature reserve - an informal meeting with the environment agency took place at the observation site at the reserve on 26th August [actually 16th]. The Agency confirmed that there was a covenant on the land restricting public access, but that a private access agreement could be made with a group concerned with the conservation management of the reserve. The Agency also indicated that they could fund the provision of a fence to protect the trees. There was general agreement that the remainder of the site should be kept open, and this could be best achieved by grazing the site with suitable cattle breeds such as North Devons or Galloways. A local management group could then undertake minimal clearance work to maintain the open land and water. The next stage is to explore the possible constitution of a local management group, clarify insurance matters, identify initial management works required and undertake a preliminary survey of the site. Another meeting will be held in October to agree a way forward. Contact: Geoff Broom (731097). Comment from tim padfield 30 Sept 2007 I suggest installing a family of beavers. Their rustic lodges may be flooded by occasional closing of the million pound pile of earth downstream but they must have evolved to cope with variable water levels. There is an article in the New Scientist, 25 August, which describes the beaver's re-introduction to Britain and what a good neighbour it is: coppicing woodland and controlling floodwater. AllotmentsA group of villagers want allotments. Join us if you are interested. The more people who want allotments, the better the chance of getting a piece of ground. Sign up here, or contact Frances Padfield 732 962, frances@padfield.dk Fordstock 2007Here's the view from the hill, Saturday 14 July 
HARBERTONFORD PLAYGROUND COMMITTEEAs you may know, the Committee has been raising funds over the past four years to install new equipment in the village playground adjacent to the school. We are now pleased to announce that two pieces of equipment are due to be installed during the first week of December. I have a provisional date of 4 December (though this may change depending on the weather) and during this week, therefore, the playground will be closed to villagers, although children will still be able to gain access to the school around the path. It is anticipated that the installation will take a week and during this time heavy goods vehicles will be going to and from the site using the Riverdale entrance which may cause some disruption for residents. I would ask that residents park cars elsewhere or park to allow ease of access for the tractors and such like to the site. I appreciate that this may cause inconvenience, but it would be very much appreciated if you could co-operate to ensure the installation goes as smoothly and as quickly as possible. If you are really not able to park elsewhere then, of course, the contractors will simply have to work around you. If they are stuck, IÂm sure they will knock on doors! If you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me on 01803 732496 after 4.00pm. Jane Jeffreys Chairman/ |