THE deputy leader of Teignbridge Council, Cllr Ray Frost, appealed to the over 60s who use bus passes to report the matter if they receive a bus ticket for longer than the journey they are making. 'We want them to contact Teignbridge Council and forward the ticket explaining what has happened,' he said. There have been numerous reports from passengers that drivers have been issuing them with tickets – for instance, from Newton Abbot to Torquay when they are only travelling to Kingskerswell. But Cllr Frost said that while that did not matter at the moment because there was a standard charge by the bus company of 85p per journey, where it would matter was when it was reviewed. Then the bus companies and district authority would look at the figures from the journeys to decide how much it should pay. Cllr Frost said next year it would cost Teignbridge Council 38 per cent of its non-pay budget and it would be costing the authority more than £4 million. He added that it was, however, a good scheme and there was evidence people were taking their cars off the road because of it.
q IN her monthly report, PC Sarah Ross said it had not been a good four weeks for Chudleigh, with two air weapon offences, an arson and a wounding among the 21 incidents. Of the other offences, there was a burglary in one of the town's pubs, three thefts, four damage to vehicles, four damage to buildings including graffiti outside the town hall, a shoplifting and a drink/drive. Two people were also in custody for a drugs offence. Chairman Cllr Lorraine Evans welcomed the news that seven of the nine community officers were now back in the Teignbridge area after being seconded to Torbay. The other two are expected to return in June. Three of the officers are based in the Chudleigh Division.
q THE county council's budget day is next Thursday and education and social services would probably be consuming the largest amount of it, Devon County Cllr Jerry Brook told the meeting. He warned that possibly highways would not receive as much money as it would like. Main roads into the town would be alright but repairs to minor roads off them might have to wait longer. Cllr Brook referred to Conduit Square where he said what was becoming evident was that bad surfaces were getting worse. 'They are obliged to come and fill in potholes within 24 hours of notification. 'We need to keep on the case because of the priority of the funding. It is not going to be any easier to get the funding, though I will pursue it as much as I can,' he said.
q EVEN though vandals who have been pushing stones off the top of the wall of the Globe public house have probably been caught red handed on cctv, they cannot be touched. Before police can watch the recordings they have to receive a complaint or official request from the owner of the wall, explained clerk Phil Vogel. And therein lies a problem. The wall is between the Teignbridge Council-owned car park and the Globe and the owner has not yet been established. 'A complaint has to be made to the police and then the police can come and deal with it officially,' he said. Cllr Wendy Macfarlane said that because of the dangers the brewery had acted and brought someone in to concrete the top stones. q DEFECTIVE manhole covers outside Chudleigh Town Hall were repaired last week by Torbay Council after three authorities became involved, reported Mr Vogel. He said Devon County Council had said it had a disclaimer from Telewest Broadband. 'A letter was sent to the wrong area office and a cheque written by Teignbridge Council was out of date. 'The county council went back to Teignbridge to get the cheque and the job was done,' said Mr Vogel.
q THE council is calling foul on drivers who park their vehicles in the road outside the cricket/football field. Chairman Cllr Evans said the gates were left open on match days so that vehicles could be parked inside, but the drivers were still parking in the road. 'The police have put cones there but they are getting smashed up,' she said. Councillors are hoping drivers will heed the warning or police will be called in to deal with it.
q ANY organisation or individual who would like to make a grant application to the town council has to do so by Friday, March 2. The maximum grant is £1,200 and all applicants must submit an up-to-date set of accounts. Mr Vogel said those who would like to apply should contact him as soon as possible at the town hall.
q DEVON County Cllr Brook said some of the yellow line marking had been completed in Conduit Square, but he understood that the workmen could not do any more because of the state of the road.
q THE annual parish meeting is in the Chudleigh Town Hall at 7.30pm on Thursday, March 22.
q THE town council's website had received 15,000 hits including five from Uruguay during the Christmas period, members were informed.