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April 29, 2024: Plans unveiled for new Community Homes development in Downderry

The occasion of DaSRA's AGM  (29 April 20240 presented an opportunity for the Chairman of Deviock Parish Council to introduce plans to provide more affordable homes in the village . He outlined plans to take on a local site currently providing rental homes but which is unable to meet new environmental and effeienct requirement in the future. An ideal site is identiofied bit woukd be

Speech delivered at DaSRA’s AGM. 29 April 2024

Community Homes: Chairman Mark Gibbons. Deviock Parish Council.  

Contact. mgibbons.deviockpc@gmail.com.    07767 496926

I am here primarily to talk about community homes.

The Parish Council has been trying to address our local housing needs for nearly 30 years - I am happy to say that we now have a clear front runner.
Coombe Park is owned and managed by a local family and has been providing affordable housing in Downderry for decades. However, with legislation evolving to address climate change, there is a real prospect that it will be impossible to meet new environmental and efficiency requirements there in the very near future.

We began talking with the family about the future of the site, and its potential for providing more affordable home in the village, around three years ago. They have been open to our ideas and supportive throughout. The site is unique in our Parish – being flat land and close to transport and amenities – and as a result has a value that would be prohibitive to sustainable and affordable housing were it not for their altruism and desire to support current and future generations of local people. 

The vision for Coombe Park is to provide energy efficient rental homes, of a high standard, for local people. As well as housing everybody that currently lives there, with good planning to modern standards, it has the potential to provide homes for a significant number on our housing needs register. 

Housing Needs surveys have identified homes for young people, new families and older residents wishing to downsize but remain in the community as primary requirements – and this development would serve all of these groups.   We would not have been able to progress this far were it not for the visionary early stage funding scheme provided by Cornwall Council which has helped us reach agreement on a sale price and heads of terms.  We are now at the stage where the Parish Council has handed the project over to a community land trust, about which you will  soon hear more detail moment from Simon Ryan.

Deviock Community Trust is about to engage in a detailed viability study, again supported by Cornwall Council funding, that will report back on the feasibility of these plans later this year.  If it gets the green light, The Trust will proceed with the purchase and become the new owners of the site. It will then work to secure the grant funding required to progress the project to completion and will manage it thereafter.


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Speech delivered at DaSRAs AGM. 29 April 2024 

Simon Ryan, Three Seas and Deviock Community Trust.

I’m from Cawsand…I have been in community development for most of my working career, 20 years in supporting groups to do things, in particular I am personally a specialist in buying old buildings for community use, refurbishing them, raising money, making stuff happen. The big one that matters for the current discussion is that a group of us in Cawsand bought three redundant council houses there in 2018, 2019, 2020. Those would certainly have gone to auction for second homes. Thanks to Cornwall Council, they took a punt on us, as an unknown organisation and let us work on it. It took 18 months, we raised the money, we bought those houses, we refurbished those houses and there are three local families living in them.  Big victory - proof that it can be done. It mattered a lot to us. On the back of that, a group of us, from that time started Three Seas, Three Seas Cornwall officially, with a view to expanding that model across the county.

We went to Looe, You probably know the Looe council flats, up high above the bridge there, a beautiful building. Exactly the same situation. The Council cannot deal with these old, tired out, expensive, complicated sites. And they would sell them at auction, and they’d be gone. Those are terrifically beautiful buildings. Instead to their lasting, lasting honour, Cornwall Council gave them to us for £1, 17p a flat, it’s not bad.

The truth of course is that we are not paying £1, we are buying a £2m commitment. That’s the reality. Fantastically expensive, terrible access, really dangerous, slope behind. People in Looe do not need convincing about landslips, it’s a real live issue. That has to be dealt with.  We are also going much further than most in green energy, good insulation, new windows, solar if we can make it work and so on. We are going to build very high quality, very cheap expenses, housing. Rental again, mostly for local young people, Mark alluded to it, there are people, who want to downsize, there are people who want to start their life in that town.  The project is going really well. Fantastic enthusiasm, leading us to believe the we can now roll this out across the county. You yourselves are next. Applause and gratitude to the Daniel family, who have made this happen. (Loud clapping). An extraordinary opportunity, an extraordinary offer, a really important opportunity for your community. The family in addition to making that generous offer, have laid down conditions. One: these houses will be for local people. Bang. No ifs and buts. And second, these houses will be, first and foremost, for the existing tenants

Our duty as an operator is to find a way to house those tenants during the build process and to ensure they get a home afterwards. We will abide by that. That is written into the constitution of the organisation, and we will not change it. That is fixed. Everything else is flexible. We have been three years to get to this point, to do the deal, to work out the basics, to get a valuation, to get a process started. The next stage now, six months minimum, it’s a £30,000 grant, engineers, surveyors, drone for the topographical survey, architects, solicitor, all those people

At the end of that process, it’s called a feasibility study, it’s a full document, the Looe one is 20 pages long. It tells you in detail what’s got to be done, how much it will cost, how long it will take, what the pitfalls are, what will work. 

With that 6-8 months, minimum, part of that, critically, is community consultation. It’s vital that this community as a whole supports that activity. There’ll be surveys, there’ll be public meetings, there’ll be discussions. We need people to be onside. We cannot raise the money without it. Once we have demonstrated that the community wants it, and we have a complete costed plan, we then go to the powers that be for planning permission for all the rest of it and to raise the money. Weirdly,  raising the money isn’t the hardest part. Government has an agency called Homes England, who are very keen to spend, housing is difficult to fund at the moment, they are willing to fund us. Cornwall Council will fund us, banks will fund us. We will not be going to the community for community shares money, the total involved is too high. We are talking £3m, possibly more. Process, time, 18 months, two years. We will be back. We will be talking to you again. Thank you very much.

(ends).  May 2024

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6 June 2023 Downderry Stores to Close

Downderry Stores is to close in the first week of September.  Kim and Richard James, who have run the village shop for 24 years, said that falling turnover and rising costs meant they could not continue to trade. The current economic climate with high inflation, rising energy costs and supplier closures had undermined the viability of the business.  

“It is with great sadness, that we are being forced to take this step,” they said. “We would like to thank the community for all the support we have received for more than two decades. We treasure  the friendships we have made across the counter during all these years, and we are very mindful of the great support we have received from our wonderful staff.”

In announcing the news, Laura Done, chair of DaSRA, the Downderry and Seaton residents association, said news of the closure was “a severe blow for the community. The shop has served as the very hub of village life, and we remember with especial gratitude the lifeline it provided during the long and testing months of the pandemic. Kim and Richard have played a vital role in all our lives, and they, and the shop, will be sorely missed.

“It will take us all some time to digest this devastating news, but in the coming weeks our community will have to pull together to discuss what steps might be taken to fill the sudden void that is opening up at the centre of our village life.”   


ends

06/6/09

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26 May 2023 Considerate Builders Code: Survey launched


Downderry and Seaton Residents Association - DaSRA - and the local Neighbourhood Watch are inviting residents to respond to a questionnaire to judge support for a Considerate Builders Code to be introduced in Downderry and Seaton.

The overall purpose of this survey is to identify and adopt what residents and builders consider a reasonable approach to the inevitable disruption that can be caused by building works. The decision to introduce a Considerate Builders Code will depend on responses to this questionnaire which residents are being encouraged to complete, and return, by 9 June 2023

The questionnaire can be responded to on line on DaSRA website  -www.dasra.co.uk - or copies of the Questionnaire can be picked up at Downderry Stores  and then posted in the DaSRA Post Box, sited in the shop.

The prospect of the adjacent villages adopting a Considerate Builders’ Code is being considered as a way of minimising any adverse impact that building works may have on local residents. Most concerns would be covered under headings such as Communication, Deliveries, Working Hours, Nuisance.   

Such a code has to be voluntary.  DaSRA and Neighbourhood Watch have no powers to enforce such a code and therefore local residents and builders must be willing to adopt it if such a scheme is to work.

This initiative is part of a new national campaign  A Better Place to Live  launched within DaSRA's association with Neighbourhood Watch to encourage local neighbourhoods to address issues that matter to them.

The outcome of the survey will be announced in July.

 

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7 March 2023: New Car Park Tariffs in Downderry and Seaton

For more information click here :

Notice from Deviock Parish Council  6 March 2023.: Consultation Deadline 23 March 2023

As many of you will be aware, Cornwall Council intends to apply a new Tariff Structure to its car parks in Downderry and Seaton (see below).  

  • The new Tariff will see increased rates and charging introduced at Seaton from 6pm until midnight in the Summer. Charging will also be introduced in Seaton from 9am to 4pm in the Winter.
  • The Tariffs at Broads Yard will increase and charging will  be introduced from 9am to 4pm in the Winter.

Cornwall Council are running a short public consultation and we would encourage you to make your feelings known before the 23 March Deadline.

See below on how to respond to the questionnaire

Here’s how to respond to the Consultation: If you are having difficulties in registering/logging on to the Consultation document, there are alternative ways to submit your views:

  • Online:   https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/TrafficConsult.
  • From this page, you click through to the consultation, which is the Cornwall Council (Off Street Parking Places) Order 2023.. You must log in or register to participate (not very user friendly I’m afraid).
  • Email: Email your response to parking@cornwall.gov.uk.
  • In writing: Write to Parking Services, PO Box 664, Truro, Cornwall TR1 9DH. (Any postal responses should allow for postal delays.)

If responding by Email or Post we suggest you format your response in the same way as the online form:

Q1: What are your views on this survey: Support / Object
Q2: Please write any comments you may have on the proposal. If you object to the scheme, you MUST state your reasons.
Q3: What is your postcode?

Your response must be received by 23 March 2023!

Cccarparks

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14 December 2022; Food Bank fundraising concert raises £2,500

A magical evening of music in Downderry organised by Whitsand Harmony Choir and The DerryAirs shanty group, has raised nearly £2,500 for the Liskeard and Looe Food Bank.  The fundraising concert brought the local community together to raise awareness of the work of the Food Bank, while enjoying a special programme of singing and laughter.

Pre-concert donations totalled £680 and, by bulk buying, choir members, Jeff Rees and Raj Chotai, were able to buy items specifically requested by the Food Bank to the value of £999. The items were displayed at the concert venue, Downderry & Seaton Village Hall, to show the audience the value of pooling cash. The audience responded generously so that extra savings can be made on the next shopping trip.


“In recent months the need for our help from local residents has increased by 53% and sadly we think that over the winter months things will get worse and we will be needed even more.  We can only help those seeking help with the support of communities like Downderry and Seaton who have responded so generously at these worrying times,” said Cathy Lake, deputy manager of Liskeard & Looe Food Bank.


The Downderry and Seaton residents association (DaSRA) will continue the appeal during the winter months, when demand for Food Bank services is expected to remain especially high. Raj Chotai, DaSRA treasurer, will work with the Food Bank to maximise the value of future donations by bulk buying the requested household items.


If you would like to support our local Food Bank in this way, please put your donation in an envelope, marked FOOD BANK, and post it in the DaSRA box sited in Downderry Stores. Please add your contact details if you would like an acknowledgement of your donation.   If you prefer, please arrange  a bank transfer, 


Our Account Name is DaSRA. Sort Code: 09 01 53 Acc No. 89643289  Reference  Food Bank.  


For more information, call the Liskeard and Looe Food Bank (including Torpoint and Rame Peninsular) at 07512 011452 or visit www.dasra.co.uk to support the local appeal

If you have tins of food/household items that you would like to donate to the Food Bank, do add to the Green Box in the porch of St Nicolas Church, Downderry, open 24/7, which is delivered to Liskeard once a week.  

 

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13 June 2022 Community Notice Board damaged

Community Notice Board  - an apology to all those wanting to put up posters on the Board in the centre of Downderry. Within a couple of days of each other, the two latches being turned to open the front door broke away -first the top and then the bottom latch, rendering the door impossible to open. “Never happened before” so the manufacturer do not hold supplies hence we await delivery from France. At the time of writing this copy, no firm date set but we will do all we can to have it repaired as soon as possible. So disappointing especially since we have had such positive comments about the Notice Board.

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7 March 2022 Local Transport Survey launched


Subject: Rame Peninsula Public Transport Survey

Have your say!

The Parish Councils, Go Cornwall Bus, GWR and. Cornwall Council want to hear from you.

●What journeys would you like to make by bus or train but can’t?
●Should buses and trains be more convenient, cheaper, and accessible to all?
●Could the routes and times of services join up better with each other?
●How can information about trains and buses be more accurate and available?
●Does there need to be a different approach to how we get about, and how we can make transport greener?

A year ago (15 March 2021) Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “Buses are lifelines and liberators, connecting people to jobs they couldn’t otherwise take, driving pensioners and young people to see their friends, sustaining town centres and protecting the environment. As we build back from the pandemic, better buses will be one of our first acts of levelling-up.” This was to be part of a £3 billion bus revolution.


Now, villagers on the Rame Peninsula are trying to follow that declaration through.  They have decided to run a survey (starting on 7 March 2022 until early May ) of all people aged 11 and over living in the Rame peninsula, Deviock and St Germans areas, to see what they think about improving and developing an integrated public transport system, linking trains, buses and ferries, and ensuring that the network meets their needs.  


The two public transport groups (Rame Peninsula Public Transport Users Group and the St Germans and Area Public Transport Group) have had extensive discussions with Cornwall Council, the parish councils, Community Rail Network, Go Cornwall Bus and Great Western Railway, and  have received backing to carry out the survey over the next two months. They are asking questions about the current journeys people make by bus and train - details of where they go, the time of day they travel etc. People are asked whether they can easily get to St Germans station, and about any local journeys which are not really possible. What are the reasons why they are difficult (such as the lack of bus routes, problems of timing, cost, etc)? Is information about bus or train services satisfactory, and what about delays or cancellations? Importantly, the survey asks for ideas about the integration of bus and train (and ferries), and if people have ideas about new ways of getting to places  - such as being able to phone for and book a mini-bus to get them to the main road, the ferry, or the train station (or perhaps to the seaside!)


Lizzy Stroud, chair of the St Germans & Area Public Transport Group said “We all know that in this time of climate emergency we need to use cars less and buses and trains more - but to be able to do that we need integrated services.” It is ironic that in these circumstances there are bus service cuts which are being proposed, and train companies are being told by the government to reduce their cost substantially.


The Public Transport Survey will run from 7 March and people can have their say till the start of May, using https://sgrug.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/transport-users-survey-go 

Printed copies of the survey will be in village shops, community centres, libraries etc on the Rame peninsula.
7th March 2022

Issued on behalf of The Rame Peninsula Public Transport Users Group, Secretary Geoff Cadwallader, 01503 230933


and  St Germans & Area Public Transport Group, Secretary Alan Cousins, 01503 230106 a.cousins345@btinternet.com

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16 February 2022. Scam warning re NHS Test and Trace

Cornwall Council warns of scam NHS Test and Trace text

Residents in Cornwall are being warned about a series of scam text messages claiming to be from NHS Test & Trace. The messages inform the recipient that they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 or Omicron and asks them to click on a link to order a test. They are sent from seemingly random mobile phone numbers – a tell-tale sign they are a scam.

Elizabeth Kirk, Senior Trading Standards Officer at Cornwall Council, said: “These texts can seem very genuine, but the NHS, government or Public Health Cornwall would never send messages like this from a mobile phone. “The most important thing is to remember that the scammers want you to click a link. If you click the link, you could enable them to download malware, viruses or other nasties. “It might also give them access to your passwords for internet banking or any other sites you access from your phone.”


If you click the link accidentally:

  1. Close the web page it opened ASAP. This prevents further harm.
  1. NEVER enter passwords or other personal information onto any page you have opened by clicking a link.
  1. Reset any passwords you may have revealed.
  1. Update your phone’s operating system.
  1. Block the number that the text came from.
  1. Report the scam to Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cyber-crime, run by the City of London Police. Visit the website or call them on 0300 123 2040.

Cllr Martyn Alvery, Cornwall Council’s Portfolio Holder for Public Protection, said:

“Scam calls and texts to mobile phones are a serious problem and some are extremely convincing.

“I would urge anyone who receives a text message that they are unsure about to think twice before clicking any links or divulging any personal information and seek advice.  

“For advice on scams call 0808 223 1133 and to report scams call 0300 123 2040. The more you respond to scams, the more you will be targeted.”

Follow Cornwall Trading Standards on Twitter - @TSCornwall - for information on the latest scams and advice on how to avoid becoming a victim.

People can also undertake a 20-minute scam-awareness training programme offered by Friends Against Scamsvisit their website for more information. The Think Jessica campaign also has useful information and tips on avoiding scams.

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