In the Teign Valley
News and information from Bridford Parish Council
The Annual Parish Meeting of Bridford Parish Council will be held on Thursday 7th May 2026 at 6pm in the Village Hall in Bridford.
All parishioners are welcome to attend to hear about the work of the Parish Council and volunteers over the past year and to discuss local issues. Nibbles and refreshments will be served.
We have been asked by colleagues at Moretonhampstead Parish Council to share the following information and surveys regarding the closure of Moretonhampstead hospital and the future of the public toilets.
Moretonhampstead Hospital
The parish council, Moretonhampstead Health Centre, other health and wellbeing organisations, and the wider community are very concerned about the closure and proposed sale of the hospital building. Although based in this parish, Moretonhampstead Health Centre provides vital services to around 3,500 patients across a large area of Dartmoor, including Moretonhampstead, Whiddon Down, Drewsteignton, Bridford, Bovey Tracey, Widecombe-in-the-Moor, and areas towards Princetown.
Keeping the hospital open and providing a local health hub would allow the NHS, the Health Centre, and local health and wellbeing organisations to improve health services for our rural population.
I recently met our local MP, Rt Hon Sir Mel Stride MP, with the Practice Manager of Moretonhampstead Health Centre to discuss our concerns about the hospital closure and sale and to seek his support.
Moretonhampstead Public Toilets
Teignbridge District Council currently runs Moretonhampstead’s only public toilets, located in Court Street Car Park, and they provide welcome facilities for visitors, shoppers, tourists, and bus drivers. TDC is considering withdrawing funding for public toilets by March 2027, and Moretonhampstead Parish Council has been asked whether it will take over the toilets.
Please see below the verges management plan for 2026
Please see below the meeting dates for 2026/7:
Please see below an advert for youth support services available in the local area and online:
Dartmoor National Park Authority Planning department have informed us of a forthcoming change to their planning notification email system:
We will shortly be introducing a weekly planning alerts subscription service, which will allow consultees and members of the public to sign up to receive a weekly list of newly registered planning applications and notifications.
To sign up to this service, please click on the link below:
Sign-Up to Planning Alerts | Dartmoor
Importantly, we will continue issuing neighbourhood notification emails as normal until 1 May 2026, after which the new subscription service will become the primary way to receive regular updates.
We would be grateful if parish councils could share this information locally and encourage anyone who wishes to continue receiving updates to subscribe using the link above.
Your local Neighbourhood Team will be at CHRISTOW at The Bus Stop by The Community Shop, Village Road, Christow, EX6 7WA on 19th February 2026 at 2-3pm.
Please take this opportunity to raise any concerns you may have and to find out what the Police are doing to tackle the issues that matter to you.
The Met Office has issued further yellow warnings for rain covering both today (Thursday 29th January) from 12:00 to 23:59 and tomorrow (Friday 30th) from 12:00 until 06:00 on Saturday morning (31st).
The level of rain expected is nowhere near the levels experienced with Storm Charna, but as it is falling on saturated ground there is a greater likelihood of localised flooding.
Please pass this message on to your communities, encourage preparedness measures such as moving parked vehicles to higher ground, and caution, particularly around driving through floodwater which required multiple fire service attendances over the past week.
We at TDC are continuing to liaise around the clock with multi-agency colleagues from the emergency services, DCC, Environment Agency, Met Office and others, and will keep you updated with any developments.
Dartmoor National Park have asked us to share the following event information with parishioners.
The Rivers and Moorland festival, celebrating the arts, the environment and everyone living and working on the moor, is being held in Ivybridge on 5th – 7th June 2026, with the launch event happening on 12th January. Please see details attached via Rivers & Moorland Festival | Join the Celebration – Discover Dartmoor.
Due to the current weather conditions and hazardous icy roads in and around the village and on the approach to the Village Hall we have taken the decision to cancel the Bridford Parish Council meeting on Monday 5th January.
Please do get in touch if you were intending to attend the meeting and have something to raise with the Council on: [email protected] Our next meeting will be on Monday 2nd February.
Wishing all our parishioners a very Happy New Year. Please drive carefully and stay safe.