Thousands in funding for two pools in the South Hams
Issued: 01 May 2024
Dartmouth Open Air Pool and Quayside Leisure Centre in Kingsbridge have received tens of thousands of pounds from the Swimming Pool Support Fund.
Quayside Leisure Centre has received £77,000 to go towards variable speed pumps and to upgrade the building management system, while Dartmouth Open Air Pool has received £48,000 for photo voltaic solar panels and pool covers.
325 swimming pools and leisure centres across England have received money from the £60.5million Phase II of the fund to help ensure their long-term sustainability by improving their energy efficiency.
The works at Dartmouth and Quayside will make them more resilient for the years ahead, ensuring these important community pools continue to improve community wellbeing and serve the people of the South Hams for years to come.
Cllr Victor Abbott, South Hams Executive Member for Community Services and Operations, said: “It’s brilliant that the District Council and its officers have secured funding for both Dartmouth and Quayside pools. They are both tremendous assets to their communities and this money will help ensure they continue to serve the people of the South Hams.
“Rising energy costs have hit us all, but leisure centres have felt these increases harder than most in recent years. It’s good to see this funding supporting centres across the country, as these facilities are hugely important to their communities.”
Jo Squires, Treasurer and Pool Manager of Dartmouth Open Air Pool, said: “We are very grateful to have been awarded £48,000 from the SPRS, as once the solar and cover are installed and all in working order, it will help to reduce our astronomic electricity bill, which was £33,000 for just the four months we are open.
“Without this money we would have to remain closed until the electricity prices came back down again. We are slowly modernizing our community pool, which has been there for 37 years. If it had to close it would be a loss to the locals who love it, as it provides a completely different swimming experience to the indoor pool.”
Sports Minister Stuart Andrew said: “Millions of people swim every year in England, but high energy costs mean some pools are struggling financially. I know from personal experience the health benefits of getting down to your local pool, whether that’s just for a few lengths, to swim with friends, or a water aerobics class.
“This further £60 million of support from the Government and Sport England will make hundreds of swimming pools more energy efficient so they can keep offering their vital community and health benefits for generations to come.”
Over 500 capital interventions in over 300 facilities with swimming pools have been awarded funding from the Government and Sport England’s £60m capital investment programme. The interventions include photo-voltaic cells, LED lights and pool covers as well as variety of other capital improvements aimed at improving the energy efficiency of public facilities with pools in the medium to long term.
264 local authorities have received a share of the funding, of which £20m has been provided by Sport England via the National Lottery and just over £40m has been provided by the Government as part of their commitment to support the long-term sustainability of public leisure.
In its commitment to help local businesses thrive and flourish, South Hams District Council is working to support the economy of local towns and rural areas across the District.
As part of this wider economic priority, it has today launched a public consultation across Salcombe and its neighbouring parishes so that its residents, businesses and second homeowners can help shape the future of the town.
In its drive to make sure businesses and residents achieve their aspirations, South Hams District Council is working with the Salcombe and surrounding community to develop a Community Economic Plan. The plan will build on the town’s existing Neighbourhood Plan, create a clear economic vision and develop various projects to support growth.
Salcombe is the second town to take part in the project, with the first already happening in Ivybridge.
With climate change a top priority for both the District Council and local communities, the project also looks at ways local businesses can reduce their carbon emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change.
The project is being supported by a local steering group made up of residents, business owners, Ward Members and Salcombe Town Council. The group has been set up to make sure all voices of the community are heard.
South Hams District Council’s, Executive Member for Economic Development, Cllr John Birch, said: “Salcombe, like so many of our towns is a place where people want to work, live and visit. So that our towns can thrive and prosper, we must continue to first and foremost support the needs of the local community as well as attract visitors to the area.
“The actions and aspirations within Salcombe’s Community Economic Plan will be reflective of local opinions so we encourage all the community to take part in the consultation.”
Anyone living, working or who owns a second home in Salcombe, Marlborough or East Portlemouth can now have their say on the next chapter of their town by taking part in an online survey until 31 July.
There will also be opportunities to join local focus groups which will take place over the next three months.
40-year lease renewed for popular Totnes Caravan Site
Issued: 29 April 2024
South Hams District Council has awarded a new 40-year lease to the Caravan and Motorhome Club on its Steamer Quay Road site near the riverside, in Totnes.
The Caravan and Motorhome Club occupied the campsite on a seasonal basis since 1970, a massive 54 years of Totnes visitor history.
The Caravan and Motorhome Club won a competitive tender in 2022 with proposals to spend in excess of £1m to improve its year-round facilities and to modernise the campsite.
The Club’s investment into the campsite is hoped to boost the town’s visitor economy, extending the use of the campsite into the off-peak seasons and throughout the year. Visitors would then spend money in the wider South Hams as they explore the area.
The work, which includes improvements to pitches, washroom and reception facilities and also includes installing solar power, is supported by local District Councillors and work started in mid-April.
South Hams District Council’s Executive Member for Economic Development and Commercial Strategy, Cllr John Birch, said: “This is great news for Totnes to increase the number of visitors to the town throughout the year. The Caravan and Motorhome Club has a good reputation nationally and with renewed facilities, this will encourage visitors to our wonderful town and the surrounding area.
“We cannot underplay the economic impact that visitors have to our local businesses and attractions. It’s so important that as a Council, we continue to support opportunities to get the best possible outcomes for our communities and economy to thrive.”
A spokesperson for the Caravan and Motorhome Club, said: "Steamer Quay Caravan and Motorhome Club Campsite is a hugely popular destination for members and non-members alike. The latest report by the UK Caravan and Camping Alliance shows that UK holiday parks and campsites generate £12.2billion in visitor spending each year and play a vital role in supporting local economies across the nation.
“Visitors to UK holiday parks and campsites stay 82% longer and spend 12% more than the national tourism average. Holiday parks and campsites also have strong ties to the local communities in which they are based, whether that’s through employment, supporting local marketing or fundraising initiatives.
“The Club is delighted South Hams District Council have awarded a new 40-year lease to the Club to enable people to continue to enjoy this wonderful location."
Plans are afoot to create a district-wide arts festival for the South Hams next summer.
In conjunction with South Hams District Council, NDP Circus is working on delivering a week-long festival across the district in the summer of 2025. The festival would bring together community organisations focused on the arts and culture, while encouraging collaboration with town and parish councils too.
The festival would also bring together event organisers to help co-ordinate activities in each area. The key theme of the festival would be climate change, a subject of importance to South Hams District Council.
Cllr John Birch, South Hams Executive Member for Economic Development and Commercial Strategy, said: “An arts festival encompassing our communities would be a huge boon for the district. We are looking for our towns and parishes to really buy into the idea, so that this truly is an event for the whole South Hams.
“The festival would be great for the economy, as events would attract visitors to our towns and venues and encourage people to spend money and support our local businesses.
“The Council has an ambition to develop an arts and culture strategy for the South Hams. The festival could be a launchpad for wider activities in the district and leave a significant legacy.
“Climate change is something affecting us all and making it a key theme of the festival will also highlight this important issue.
“Events like this create memories. They get people engaged in the arts, learning new skills and trying new things. They build community spirit by bringing people together. Businesses benefit as people come out from their homes and spend time in the heart of their communities. I’m excited to see what NDP Circus can pull together and the programme of events our residents can look forward to.”
NDP Circus has a track record of bringing arts events to the district following their successful Totnes Festival in 2022. The event was delivered around Totnes and Dartington, with highlights including a performance by the Globe Theatre at Dartington Hall.
The organisation successfully attracted £65,000 of Arts Council funding for the Totnes Festival, along with further funding from Totnes Town Council and South Hams District Council.
The 2025 arts festival is predicted to cost around £175,000, and they will again look to secure funding from the Arts Council and private sector, as well as town and parish councils. They will also aim to work with arts organisations locally to co-ordinate events.
Action on climate change in Devon and dates for the diary
Devon Climate Emergency | April 2024
Welcome To Our April Newsletter!
There are many actions already taking place across Devon that are successfully reducing greenhouse gas emissions and implementing the Devon Carbon Plan. Here are our picks for the month!
You can see more positive actions and stay updated throughout the month by visiting the Taking Action page on our website.
Churches Raise 87% of Their Fundraising Goal in Four Weeks to Make Net Zero Improvements
Churches in Devon participating in the Give 2 Go Green pilot scheme have successfully raised £85,000 out of their £97,000 goal in just four weeks.
The project, run by the Church of England’s Giving Team, involves match-funding to help parishes make net zero improvements to their buildings. Improvements include LED lights, solar PV, infrared heating, roof and window repairs, insulation, and secondary glazing.
South West Coast Path Explore Future-Proofing Path
Since last March, eleven cliff landslips and five wildfires have been reported, prompting the path’s managers to consider adaptations.
The path’s managers are exploring ways to future-proof it through measures such as moving and diverting sections of the path and considering surfacing and drainage.
South West Water to Trial Innovative Leak-Detecting Technology
South West Water is launching a trial to address customer leaks by distributing 6,000 ‘LeakBots’ to households in Devon and Cornwall. The devices will alert homeowners if a leak is detected. If customers cannot fix the leak themselves, the company will provide free repair services.
Climate change is projected to result in reduced summer rainfall in the southwest, increasing the likelihood and length of droughts and causing greater water scarcity. Therefore, effectively managing water resources is more important than ever.
Multi-Million Pound Project to Restore Peat Bogs on Dartmoor
The South West Peatland Partnership (SWPP) is undertaking a £13 million project to restore peat bogs on Dartmoor, aiming to reverse habitat loss. Peat, rich in carbon storage, has been degraded due to various factors, including industry, ordnance testing, and climate change.
The partnership is implementing measures such as blocking gullies and creating pools of water to raise the water table within the peat, slowing water release to mitigate flooding and drought while capturing carbon.
£12.4 Million Secured For Zero-Emission Buses In Devon And Torbay
Devon County Council and Torbay Council have just been awarded £12.4m Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) funding to electrify their bus fleets, alongside investment of over £15 million from Stagecoach.
The anticipated rollout of electric buses by early 2026 is expected to redefine the public image of transportation, attracting new passengers, increasing park and ride utilisation, and mitigating air pollution.
We've published a new page with monitoring indicator data on our website, to track the achievement of the Devon Carbon Plan’s objectives at a strategic level. Indicators include the total consumption of fossil fuel energy in Devon and the proportion of vehicles registered in Devon that are ultra low emission. This data supplements Devon’s annual carbon footprint and the descriptive progress reports against each action. The indicators are work in progress and will be developed and added to over the coming months.
These indicators are shared for review by the Response Group, as well as published online.
Wave Hill Farm have joined 34 other businesses who have signed the Devon Climate Declaration.
Wave Hill Farm & Eco-Glamping is an off-grid eco glamping site in the South Hams. The site is a working regenerative farm, meaning they produce delicious food while restoring the soil & natural resources.
They use the Farm Carbon Calculator to assess their carbon footprint, that concluded that in 2020 overall the farm sequestered more carbon than it emitted, 75 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year NET. This is contributed to by 100% pasture reared lamb, tree planting and no-dig vegetable production.
The farm have applied their eco ethos to all aspects of what they do. Visit their website at wavehillfarm.co.uk to find out more.
If your organisation would like to endorse the Devon Climate Declaration and appear in this newsletter and our social channels, you can read more on our website:
Find out about upcoming events and consultations across Devon below.
Devon Housing Commission Call For Evidence
The Commission wants to hear from you about the housing issues you face, how to solve those issues and how the Commission can make a difference. The Commission is also considering the Devon Carbon Plan as evidence in developing its recommendations.
Our Green Futures is an exciting project funded by Transition Together and delivered by Turn the Tide Teignbridge CIC and Sustainable Dawlish. It runs from March 2024 until February 2025.
The project aims to provide ideas and support to local community groups to meet the dual challenge of climate and ecology emergencies. They will be delivering 10 meetings to raise awareness and inspire everyone into taking positive action, as well as inviting bids to enable groups to realise their Green Futures vision. To get involved and stay up to date follow their Facebook page.
South West Marine Ecosystems Water Quality Webinar
10 April 2024, 13:00 - 14:00
With increased likelihood of intense rainfall due to climate change, managing water quality is an area for concern. Would you like to learn more about the status of water quality in the Southwest? Speakers include South West Water and Westcountry Rivers Trust.
We'll be repairing at Tiverton Library, our regular home. We're here, every second Saturday of the month, 9.30am - 12.30pm. What can we mend? We'll have a go at most items, however, as we are volunteer run it does depend on who is available on the day.
With the reduction of income from the Basic Payment Scheme over the next few years, all farmers are considering how to continue to develop their profitable farm businesses. As part of the Agricultural Transition, Defra introduced the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) to support farmers looking after the natural environment in the course of their farming.
In this free workshop, Business Information Point will look at the options available under the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), including a deep dive into the six new standards being introduced in 2023, and how these can be applied on your farm.
Kingsbridge Community College, Balkwill Road, TQ7 1PL
Join Sustainable South Hams for their 2024 assembly and explore how collaboration leads to positive action! Taking Action Together is all about connecting, supporting and inspiring community groups and education services to collaborate for climate, nature and adaptation. It is a day to discover, explore and get inspired, to celebrate what is already happening across the South Hams and make new connections.
South Brent Old School Community Centre, Totnes Rd, South Brent, TQ10 9BP
Led over a weekend by 'Dr Compost' Nicky Scott and SusSH Composting Mentor and Community Compost Expert Ben Bryant, this course will offer a deep dive for all those interested in developing a community composting site. Booking is essential (follow the link above). Attendees should be willing and able to use the course to develop projects in their own community.
Action on Climate in Teignbridge invite artists from the world of theatre, music, performance, dance and contemporary art to join them in creating a climate change themed festival across Teignbridge.
Planning Inspectorate decides that Locks Hill building works cannot restart
Issued: 8 April 2024
The Planning Inspectorate has turned down an appeal to vary a previous planning permission on the Locks Hill site at Kingsbridge.
The Inspector concluded that the developer Garden Mill Ltd (formerly known as Blakesley Estates) had not complied with a planning condition on the planning permission to build 32 homes on the Locks Hill Site. The planning permission had lapsed, so it cannot be varied, and the appeal was dismissed.
Cllr Dan Thomas, South Hams District Council’s Executive Member for Planning,said: “We have known about the issues at Locks Hill for a very long time. During that time, both our Legal and Planning teams have carried out some fantastic work behind the scenes.
“Ongoing legal proceedings mean that we cannot say too much at this time. However, the decision by the Planning Inspectorate has shown our full understanding of the issues surrounding the site and has vindicated the decisions we’ve made around the breach of the planning condition.
“There has been a longstanding commitment on behalf of the Council, supported by our local MPs, to take robust action regarding breaches of planning.
“This has been an issue that has gone on for many years, and we have worked tirelessly to reach this very satisfying outcome.”
Planning permission for the Locks Hill site was granted by the Planning Inspectorate on appeal in 2017, after it had originally been refused by South Hams District Council in 2016.
The green light for the development hinged on the importance of retaining and adding to the trees and vegetation on the edge of the site, to limit the impact that building work and the development would have on Buttville House, a Grade-II listed building that neighbours Locks Hill. Trees on the north-east corner of the site were particularly important to screening and sheltering Buttville House from the development.
Conditions on the planning application agreed that “no site clearance, preparatory work or development shall take place until a scheme for the protection of the retained trees (the tree protection plan) and the appropriate working methods (the arboricultural method statement)” were in place.
The developer informed the District Council that work would begin on the site on 27 May 2021, but evidence has proven that “substantive activity” began on the site began before this date, without adequate tree protection fencing that met the requirements of the tree protection plan.
In their decision to turn down the appeals, the Planning Inspectorate noted that this lack of adequate protection for the trees meant “a breach has clearly taken place”. It added that any work done on the site before 21 December 2022 was “not lawful and the host permission lapsed at that point”.
The Planning Inspectorate also awarded South Hams District Council a partial award of costs from the developer.
Council concerned about Government’s approach to energy efficiency
Issued: 8 April 2024
With tackling climate change a top priority for South Hams District Council, it has voiced its concerns on the Government’s efforts and speed to improve the energy efficiency of new homes.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) is currently consulting on changes to The Future Homes and Buildings Standards, a set of rules that will come into effect in 2025 to ensure new homes produce less carbon emissions.
In its response to the consultation, the Council has expressed its concerns on the limited standards being set for new buildings, as well as the government’s approach to the full Future Homes and Building Standards.
Cllr Julian Brazil, Leader of South Hams District Council said:Cllr Julian Brazil, Leader of South Hams District Council, said: “The Future Homes and Building Standards were supposed to deliver a huge shift in energy efficiency with new buildings not needing future work to be considered net-zero. However, the Government’s approach is now to rely on the decarbonisation of the electric grid to deliver carbon savings, rather than ensure new homes and buildings are net-zero in operation from the outset.
“It is hugely disappointing that at a time when we need to drastically reduce carbon emissions, we are presented with these barriers.
“We need the Government to act fast and take bigger and quicker strides on the important issue. We understand that ensuring net-zero in operation of new builds comes at a cost, however the long-term financial cost of not doing so, could have far reaching implications for future generations.
“We remain driven and committed to achieving our 2025 net zero targets while just as importantly reducing energy bills for our residents. We cannot do this alone; we need the support at a national level.”
As promised, South Hams District Council has launched their Dartmouth Park and Ride public consultation.
Following the South Hams District Council’s Executive meeting on Wednesday 13 March, a range of parking and travel proposals compromises were agreed for Dartmouth’s Park and Ride.
The District Council can confirm that the public consultation is open from Thursday 28 March until Thursday 18 April.
There are many actions already taking place across Devon that are successfully reducing greenhouse gas emissions and implementing the 
Churches in Devon participating in the Give 2 Go Green pilot scheme have successfully raised £85,000 out of their £97,000 goal in just four weeks.
Since last March, eleven cliff landslips and five wildfires have been reported, prompting the path’s managers to consider adaptations.
City parklets, seating areas with plants, have been introduced to create a more pleasant and social city experience for active travel.
South West Water is launching a trial to address customer leaks by distributing 6,000 ‘LeakBots’ to households in Devon and Cornwall. The devices will alert homeowners if a leak is detected. If customers cannot fix the leak themselves, the company will provide free repair services.
Wave Hill Farm have joined 34 other businesses who have signed the Devon Climate Declaration.
Find out about upcoming events and consultations across Devon below.
Exploring SFI Options for Your Farm in 2024
Two Day Community Composting Masterclass
