► ASBESTOS, illegally dumped in Newton Abbot’s Halcyon Road Car Park, hit the front page at the beginning of October.

A reader called in to complain about a lack of action to remove it but Teignbridge Council stepped in, removed the potentially dangerous waste and appealed to people for information on the fly tipper who dumped the bags there.

► A CABINET, made of wood from Nelson’s flagship the HMS Foudroyant, sold at auction for £41,000. This was just one of the many real treasures and surprise best sellers unearthed by well known local auctioneer Michael Bowman that have been reported on in the Mid-Devon Advertiser.

The Foudroyant was Nelson’s fagship prior to Trafalgar and when she was shipwrecked her salvage rights went to Manchester firm Goodall, Lamb and Highway who marketed a range of goods from the shipwrecked timber.

Michael Bowman added that ‘a plaque on the cabinet confirms it was indeed once part of the flagship of one of our nations greatest heroes.

Local auctioneer Michael Bowman sold this cabinet made of wood from Admiral Nelson’s flagship for £41K in his auction.
Local auctioneer Michael Bowman sold this cabinet made of wood from Admiral Nelson’s flagship for £41K in his auction. (-)

► AMBITIOUS plans were unveiled by the Alexandra Theatre Newton Abbot Charitable Community Benefit Society to turn the popular Newton Abbot venue into a thriving arts centre.

The plans have been submitted to Teignbridge Council which has previously wanted to include the theatre in its Future High Street Funding scheme.

The society says under the plans the theatre could become the ‘cultural jewel of Newton Abbot, positioned alongside the museum, library and performance space, bringing communities together and offering a range of experience’.

► A MOVING tribute was paid to a man with a passion for the railway. More than 300 friends and family saw Nick Perring, a respected member and volunteer on the South Devon Railway, set off on his final journey aboard his beloved railway.

Nick’s coffin was placed in a carriage and taken to Totnes and back where a lone piper played ‘On the Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond’ – a reference to where Nick proposed to his wife Wendy.

► AFTER more than 30 years of feeding the children of Highweek Community Primary School, dinner lady Jane Gudgeon hung up her apron.

Children and staff were sad to see Jane go and wished her a very happy and well deserved retirement.

► MEMBERS of a Teignbridge environmental group took their protest to London in October.

The Green Spirits mime group joined thousands of others who were protesting against the loss of habitat and wildlife.

‘The world has reached a tipping point,’ they said.

► A FULL planning application went in for site-wide improvements to the South Devon Railway (SDR) site at Buckfastleigh.

Described as a ‘masterplan’ for the popular tourist attraction that will improve its environment and appearance, it will include site wide landscaping works, creating a locomotive carriage restoration building and the formation of a car park.

The plans have been submitted to Teignbridge Council by Walsingham Planning consultants from Bristol.

► DARTMOOR is well-known for a certain tale of a legendary hound, and another canine found herself at the centre of her own story.

One evening Jess, a young spaniel, became trapped in a spoil heap of large boulders at Haytor.

She was with owner Shane Darwood. Members of the Devon Cave Rescue Organisation (DCRO) joined teams from Dartmoor Search and Rescue and Bovey Tracey Fire Station in a multi- agency operation to save Jess.

A DCRO spokesperson said: ‘Tonight’s effort was a fantastic example of joined up multi agency working amongst several services.’

► PEOPLE power spoke as unpopular plans to re-route buses in Newton Abbot were dropped.

Around 80 per cent of people who responded to a consultation opposed the so called Bradley Lane Bus Link proposal to create a bus and cycle gate between Hunterswell Lane and Bradley Lane.

Teignbridge Council listened and after the consultation they shelved the plans.

► A DEVELOPMENT team revealed its long-term vision for how Dawlish might grow in the future and is shared its vision at a public consultation.

Ideas for a sustainable new low-carbon neighbourhood, providing homes, parks, workspaces, shops and large areas of green open space for people and nature, have been brought together in a concept masterplan by Farm Developments Ltd.

The site, Hensford Park, lying to the north of the town, would connect to the A379 via a new link road, and could ultimately accommodate around 1,200 homes over the next Teignbridge Local Plan period which runs to 2040 – and beyond.