The first Honiton Transition Town meeting takes place at 7.30pm on Wednesday 28th September at Montgomery’s on the High Street (next to Ganesha Health Food Shop). We will have representatives from other local transition towns and hopefully a bunch of interested, enthusiastic local people.

We will be discussing the possibility of starting our own transition group and the way forward. I will be chairing the meeting and representing the town council, who agreed to support such an initiative earlier this year. Please add a comment below if you are able to attend, so we have an idea of how many people are coming and most importantly please pass on a link to this page to anyone who you thing might be interested. Montgomery’s is very kindly giving us this meeting space free of charge, so it would be nice if everyone bought a drink or two in order to support this local business which is kindly supporting us!

A Transition Initiative (which could be a town, village, university or island etc) is a community-led response to the pressures of climate change, fossil fuel depletion and increasingly, economic contraction. For more info on the transition network, see www.transitionnetwork.org

1. End of term today – kids very tired but excited about summer hols.

2. Finished my job as a care assistant last night – after almost a year there. Will miss the dears dearly

3. Started new job – am now a ’support worker’. Extremely pleased, settling in well

4. Been a town councillor nearly three months now – right decision, learning lots, SO much potential.

5. Getting involved with fundraising for the new Honiton Community Centre.

6. Getting stuck into recycling – working hard to improve this in Honiton.

7. Planning the first Honiton Transition Town meeting for September.

8. Looking forward to doing a Green Party stall at Ottery Community Market on Sat 30th July.

9. Also doing a Green Party stall at the opening of the new cycle bridge in Ottery on Bank Holiday – 29th August.

10. And booked into the Ottery St Mary Environmental Day in September.

11. Will be raising funds for the European Election campaign at the Exeter Green Fair on Sat 10th September

12. The Exe Factor green gig is now booked for Sat October 8th.

13. Honiton Charter Day tomorrow, then the Honiton Show on August 4th.

14. ……..and still haven’t managed to have a game of tennis yet this year  - pants

The Issues and Options Consultation Report is being published on 28 April 2011, with the consultation period extending to 21 July 2011. The Consultation Report, together with supporting documents, will be available from 28 April on the County Council’s online consultation facility, which allows responses to be submitted easily online.

Honiton Green Candidate Sharon Pavey is demanding that the town makes it’s roads safer for children and other pedestrians.

The East Devon Green Party recently surveyed 200 people in Honiton and 70% said they think cars drive too fast in Honiton. A substantial 67% of Honitonians were in favour of introducing some 20 mph zones in town. The Greens think that 20 mph zones should be in place outside our schools and parks including the Brand Meadow park on Battishorne Way.

Currently families are unable to cross Battishorne Way safely to get the new Brand Meadow nature reserve and play park. Sharon uses the park regularly with her two children aged nine and five and also crosses there to walk her dog on Roundball Hill.

Sharon says “It’s such a wonderful children’s park but such a shame you have to cross a dangerous road to get to it. I believe a crossing has been looked into for the past couple of years and that now recent cuts mean a delay in getting anything done about it. Surely safe access should have been in place when the park was opened!”

“Drivers regularly speed along Battishorne Way at much more than the 30mph speed limit and with so many people crossing at Honiton Bottom Road to use the park, the nature reserve or Roundball Hill, there may well be an accident there sooner or later. It would be sensible to have a crossing there or speed cameras and traffic calming measures”

Results of the resident’s surveys also highlighted the need for a safe crossing on New Street, and a 20mph zone outside Littletown and Millwater Schools. Residents also commented that the Exeter Road roundabout near Sidmouth Road was a dangerous place to cross as cars exceeded the 30mph speed limit on the Exeter Road.

The Honiton Greens are happy to take up these issues at council level if elected in May. Sharon adds “With 42 children killed or injured on our UK roads every single day, road safety is a top priority for the Honiton Greens.”

Notes

ROSPA (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) 42 children are killed or injured on the road every day in Britain http://bit.ly/ePEKrT

Photo above – Sharon Pavey. Photo at the top is Natasha and Aleck Pavey waiting to cross a very busy Battishorne Road next to the park

The Office for National Statistics found that 1,446 care home residents died as a result of pressure ulcers or bedsores, 4,866 were victims of septicaemia or blood poisoning and 4,881 had fatal falls. These deaths are happening in care homes which cost on average £600 – £800 per week.

38 year old Green Party area co-ordinator and Green candidate for Honiton, Sharon Pavey works as a care assistant in a residential home specialising in caring for elderly people with dementia. She described these figures as “simply shameful” adding “It is appalling that thousands of people have been and are still being neglected in this way. Our elderly relatives are dying every day in the UK because basic levels of care are not being given, and we are asking why?”

Sidmouth Green Party member Sharon Howe was also shocked by the figures “My Mum spent several years in three very good care homes in Sidmouth so this subject is close to my heart. I have a friend who recently worked in a very prestigious care home in Devon and was totally appalled at the way residents were treated. Care in this country obviously varies a great deal from home to home.”

Tony Smith Chair of Honiton Senior Council is concerned about the standards of care locally “There are a number of care homes in the Honiton area, and I’m sure some of them are very good but we are worried about these figures showing that our elderly population is being let down”.

Mr Smith explained that the Senior Council would like to see a survey done locally in order to establish the levels of care and highlight any concerns which can then be addressed.

The East Devon Green Party would like to hear your views on caring for the elderly or any other issues which affect you. They are holding a coffee morning at the Christ Church Hall in Exmouth on Saturday 19^th February from 10am until midday. For anyone in the Honiton area, there’s a Green Party fundraising skittles night on Wednesday 23^rd February at The Heathfield Inn from 8pm. Non-members welcome, tickets are £6 from Sharon Pavey Tel: 07740973990 or sdpavey@googlemail.com

For many (many) years there has been a group of people in the town who have been trying to develop and realise plans for a community centre or complex in the Devon town.

I have lived in the area now for almost three years, having moved here with my Honitonian husband Daniel and our two children aged nine and five. In my opinion, there are not enough good venues in the town for community activities and when I heard about the plans for a community centre, I thought yes, surely that would be a very good thing for this town. A bespoke building for the whole town to use for meetings, events, classes and more.

Then came the town poll, did they say it cost £2000 to administrate? And off the top of my head, I think it was about 70/30. That is 70% AGAINST the community centre. Very disappointing BUT this was a democratic way of measuring the feeling within the town. Democratic as far as this only measured the feelings of the minority who come out and vote in the town (I think this was ONLY about 30% in the last local elections!!)

Many objectors were opposed to the huge costs involved and money to be borrowed especially in the current economic climate. Then East Devon District Council withdrew the offer of the land to build on (the car park near the tourist info office & the Thelma Hulbert gallery).

Now I may be wrong (but my knowledge of all of this is just the same as the average Honiton resident, we pick up what is in the local papers etc) but I believe the town council is ignoring the results of the poll and pressing on with plans for the centre?

So this brings me back to whether I think Honiton should have a community centre.

I do think a town of this size should have a community centre and I do think that had the whole community been truly engaged in this debate, that many more local parents like me would have voted yes to the poll. I lived outside town at the time of the poll so couldn’t vote (which is strange in itself as my family, like many in the surrounding parishes use town facilities).

Although I think we should have a centre, I also think that we don’t need to be burdened with huge debt for future generations of Honiton. I read recently of another town in the region (I forget where) who had successfully raised enough to build their own community centre. What an admirable community!

I would like to see the plans and start thinking about how the centre could pay for itself. Perhaps this has already been discussed over the twenty or so years of planning but what about the centre being built of a low cost recycled material, eg tyres, glass, used wood etc ? Will the building be producing it’s own energy (solar etc) and making money from feed in tariffs? I presume there are also grants available for community ventures like this? if so many community groups want the venue then everyone should pull together to raise the funds to make it happen.

I think I’ve probably just touched on this issue and I do apologise if I have got my facts wrong. I welcome all comments on the issue and would like to find out more. Please add your comment below.

Sharon Pavey
Coordinator East Devon Green Party
Regional Fundraiser for South West Green Party
Prospective Green Party candidate for Honiton St Michaels ward

Proudly presents

Matt Harvey

And many more astounding acts

Refreshments

Totnes Civic Hall

Friday 28th January

7.30pm (Doors open 7pm)

Tickets : Advance/concessions £6 On the door £8

Available from Bishopston Trading, 79 High St. Totnes

& Rhythm & Light, 47 High St. TOTNES

Or phone 01803 865166

A South Hams Green Party Fund Raising Event

We have been spoilt the last three years living in the sticks with water from wells/bore holes etc and only charges for clearing our cesspits. So I’m asking friends on twitter, facebook etc for their water charges to compare to South West Water. Be interesting to see what everyone else is being charged. Here’s the results – will add more as they come in or add your own comment below.

Lisa who lives in the next street to us and has three children says “Get a meter we only pay £45, and haven’t cut down usage at all”

Catherine who is @QcattQ on twitter is in Horsham, West Sussex and tweeted “that’s loads! We pay £25/month and I think that’s a lot.”

Lynne @plymouth blog says “I pay £81 per month to South West Water!!!!”

Simon @simondevon75 in Devon says “personally on a monthly dd installment of about £25 a month. on a meter too.”

@tanwenhaf on twitter says “£25 a month with Welsh Water. Was on a meter briefly with 2 of us in a flat and it still came to £25 a month.”