Bridford, Devon

The October Parish Council meeting was held on Monday 7^th October 2024 and these were the key points of discussion:

Snow team for Bridford – plea for additional volunteers

We have a very good snow team in place but need a few more volunteers to help run the gritter when needed as some members have moved away from the area, and it is always useful to have additional members to call upon should help be needed. As Bridford is not on the main gritting route, we rely on the volunteers to keep the roads to Bridford open in the cold weather. Please contact Tamsin Mowat, Clerk to Bridford Parish Council on [email protected] if you are able to help.

Reporting Highways issues

As the weather is changing, just a reminder to please report any issues you notice on the roads, such as potholes, drainage, overgrown vegetation, etc. directly to Devon County Council Highways department on: https://www.devon.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/report-a-problem If you are reporting an emergency that requires immediate attention, please call 0345 155 1004. An emergency on the highway is defined as something that is very likely to present an imminent threat to life or serious injury or serious damage to property.

You can also find out the latest information about planned road works and road closures here: https://one.network/

Clothing bank and recycling/disposing of large items

Many thanks to all those who have contributed items to the clothing bank at Bridford. Just a reminder to please double bag items before donating them in order to keep them dry and in good condition in the wet weather.

Larger items that are not suitable to be donated can be taken to Devon County Council recycling centres at Newton Abbot https://www.devon.gov.uk/wasteandrecycling/centre/brunel-road-recycling-centre and Exeter https://www.devon.gov.uk/wasteandrecycling/centre/exton-road-recycling-centre or collection of large items, such as beds, mattresses and white goods, can be arranged from your home for a fee; see Bulky waste collections by Teignbridge District Council here: https://www.teignbridge.gov.uk/recycling-and-waste/special-collections/bulky-waste-collections

Fountain Forestry have instructed Euroforest Ltd. to undertake log clearance work at the Laployd and Smithacott Plantation near Tottiford Reservoir from 4th October 2024. The work is due to be completed in a few weeks, weather dependent. Lorries will need to travel up from the Teign Valley Road (B3193), up Pound Lane and through the village to access the site and return that way too. There will be signs in the village to direct the lorries. This should complete the work that was started last year and further work in this area is not due to take place for another 5 or 6 years.

If you are interested in reading the agendas and minutes of the latest TVCH Management Committee meetings, you can now find them here on the TVCH website: https://teignvalley.org/tvch-management-committee/

There was no meeting in August. The September meeting was held on Monday 2nd September. News from the meeting:

Bridford Allotments annual competition

Judging of the allotment competition took place in August and Andy and Lynne Bornemisza were awarded the cup for productivity at the September Parish Council meeting. Leanne Bird received a special commendation for biodiversity.

Play park

Many thanks to those who contributed their views at the Bridford fete to the consultation about the play park. Next steps for the plan to enhance the play park are currently being considered.

Hedgerows

The management of hedgerows was discussed and advice for this is given in a separate article below.

Importance of hedgerows

Hedgerows are a vital resource for wildlife. One study counted 2070 different species in just one hedgerow in Devon.  Blossom in the spring supplies nectar for insects, the structure provides bird nesting habitat in summer, the berries give food in autumn and the twigs and branches opportunity to hibernate in winter. Some species operate in very particular niches, for example the brown hairstreak butterfly lays its eggs on the young shoots of blackthorn.

The value of a hedgerow is not just for wildlife, and a healthy hedgerow has widespread benefits including:

• Flood prevention
• Crop and livestock protection
• Prevention of soil erosion
• Increasing pollinators to assist in crop pollination

Threats to hedgerows

One of the threats to a healthy hedgerow is if it gets cut to the same point each year, this creates scarring that eventually kills the individual plant and leaves gaps in the hedge.  There is a good illustration of the eventual effect of over trimming on the right hand side of the image at PTES Hedgerow Management cycle . Ideally hedges should be cut on a two- or three-year cycle, allowing plants to blossom and fruit. Obviously, this will not be appropriate for everywhere, including the vertical line of a hedge where it directly borders roads, but elsewhere this should be considered. If the cut cannot be left for this long, by cutting 10cm on from the previous year’s cut you allow the hedge plants to blossom and avoid the scarring of repeatedly cutting to the same point. There is more detail on all of this on the Healthy Hedgerows on your Land Leaflet

Policy and grants

Legally a hedgerow should not be cut in the nesting season (1 March – 31 August), where hedges meet the description set out at the Government guidance on hedge cutting.  Where possible, it is best to leave the cut to late winter so that the fruits of the plants can stand and provide an essential food source for wildlife over the autumn and winter months.

As of 1 July 2024, there is a policy of leaving a 2 metre buffer strip either side of the hedge (measuring from the centre of the hedge) – see the hedge criteria at Government guidance on hedgerow buffer strips for more details. There are restrictions on spreading fertilisers or pesticides, as well as ensuring a suitable green cover is maintained on these buffer strips.

Additional to these policies, the Government wants to incentivise healthy hedgerow management.  Under the Environmental Land Management scheme, the Government makes payments for environmental goods, alongside food production. The incentives are as follows:

• Management of hedgerows by rotational cutting and leaving some hedgerows uncut – £10 per 100m for one side of hedge
• Manage hedgerows, including annual incremental cutting or leaving hedgerows uncut for longer- £10 per 100m for one side of hedge
• Assessing and recording hedgerow condition- £3 per 100m (one side)
• Maintain hedgerow trees, or establishing new ones – £10 per 100m (both sides)

You can find more information on these at ELM update . Though these may not seem like large sums, added up together and for both sides, they can soon mount up and obviously a larger farm would see greater financial benefits.

Hedgerow surveying

There is a new hedgerow survey app that allows quick surveying of the structure of a hedge, so that recommendations for future management can be made. This survey can be used to support farmers to survey their hedges and receive the above assessment payment. You can find more information on the app and download it at Healthy Hedgerows Survey.