Landkey Village

Many villagers will have noticed and enjoyed the lovely Spring daffodils that were planted around the village by the Parish Council and Horticultural Society last year. The Society would like to add to this display and has purchased more bulbs to be planted. However, we really need some help so if you can spare an hour or so we would be really grateful.

We will be meeting at the lower end of Bakery Way at 9.30 am on Saturday, 11 November and hope to see as many of you there as possible.

On Sunday 12th November, St Paul's church will, on behalf of the village, be holding the annual service to remember all those men and women who have died while serving in the defence of our nation.

In a break with tradition, though, the service this year will be held in the village hall rather than in the church. This change has been made to make it more convenient for those attending the service to then be present at the Act of Remembrance at the war memorial at 11:00 am by avoiding the need to make the long walk up from the church after the service ends.

We hope that as many parish residents as possible will feel welcome to join us at this important time.

A well-attended meeting on July 18th in the Village Hall discussed the possibility of the village setting up a Neighbourhood Plan Group.  An explanation of the process was given by Graham Townsend of North Devon District Council.  Frank Benbow from Bratton Fleming related his experiences of leading the process in his village, explaining that it was hard work and very time-consuming, but worthwhile.  There was much discussion and many questions asked and eventually several people volunteered to be part of a Steering Group to take the process forward.   This Group will meet during August - date to be confirmed-  and once it has been formally constituted we will publish the list of members, but it is still be open for others to join the if they feel they have something to contribute.  At each stage it will be important to consult widely and let everyone know what is being discussed.  It is vital that the whole Community is involved as the ultimate aim is to produce a Plan which commands the support of everyone and is approved by public referendum.   More news will be posted as we move forward.

The Parish Council has decided that we should try and agree a Neighbourhood Plan to sustain and improve our local services, and to develop our community.

We need to seek the views of local people with the intention of producing and implementing measures that will keep our community vibrant for the next 15 years.

A Neighbourhood Plan is a community-led plan, produced by the village itself, which has to be adopted by local referendum. It becomes a legal framework used by the Local Planning Authority to determine the future development of an area. Producing it is a long and difficult process, but there is plenty of help available.

The main thrust of the Plan will be to support and develop our assets such as the Primary School and our flourishing community groups. Another core aim will be to ensure the future of a village shop and Post Office facilities as well as other valued local services. The Parish Council is also keen to protect and enhance our open spaces and to celebrate the beautiful rural setting of the village, ensuring that it does not become merely a suburb of Barnstaple. As Landkey grows, the needs of our community may change - we need to capture these issues and include practical ideas and solutions in our Plan.

We are keen to involve a full range of village residents, but will hugely welcome young people and those with families, as it is in these people that our future lies. So, please join us!

Following the introduction by North Devon Council of the recycling trial featuring three-weekly black bin collections, there will be a meeting in the village hall on 11th July at which village residents can comment on their experience of the new routine and ask further questions, if required.

As a reminder, the Recycle More trial introduces these changes:

• Three-weekly black bin collections instead of two-weekly.
• Unlimited recycling with the option to have an additional box and bags at no extra charge.
• Food waste to be placed in kerbside caddy and emptied on recycling day.
• Garden waste to be collected every two weeks (except in winter) but a  £36 annual fee applies to this service.

The meeting will be at 7:00pm - 8:30pm.