A monthly community newsletter published by St Michael’s Church and Gittisham Parish Council
| What’s On? Community Kitchen A free hot meal for all at the village hall every Thursday at 6.30pm Sunday 14th April 10-4 Pierre’s Café 07545 214940 Saturday 20th April 7.30pm St George’s Day Quiz at the village hall Honiton Beehive WICKED LITTLE LETTERS (15) Fri 19 Apr – 7.30pm A 1920s English seaside town bears witness to a sinister scandal in this riotous mystery comedy. Based on a stranger than fiction true story, follows two neighbours: Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) & Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley). 200 Club Winners Details available from Julia Barratt Sunday Services Details available from Julia Barratt St George’s Day Quiz Saturday 20th April 7.30pm Teams of up to 6 £7 per head including ploughmans supper Contact Nick to book 07973 797447 |
How’s your broadband?
The government promised national coverage at speeds at or above 24mb/s by 2024, currently most of Gittisham village and most surrounding dwellings achieve less than 10mb/s many as low as 2mb/s.
The Parish Council has contacted and met with our MP Richard Foorde to explain our situation and the delays we’ve experienced. He was given examples that show how inadequate broadband affects our lives of people. More case studies from around the village would be helpful. Please get in touch 07535233558
Grain To Cream Edmond Hayman
It wouldn’t be an appropriate article about farm life if I didn’t first have a moan about the weather. The fields are still saturated and the forecast equally miserable. As you can imagine, this has made for a challenging spring so far, with limited opportunity to get out on the fields and slurry storage nearing capacity. Some of you may have seen that additional slurry storage is being constructed in the form of a clay lined lagoon, although it currently resembles a large duck pond, we hope it will be completed for the coming winter. This will give us the flexibility of spreading slurry when crops require it most, allowing for better nutrient management and less reliance on bought-in fertiliser. On a brighter note than the weather, we have made some notable gains to animal welfare after investing in new calf housing last winter. These ‘Optimum Climate Calf Barns’ (The name hasn’t stuck), are insulated modular pens, which keep our youngest calves out of the elements, and can be easily disinfected between batches. So far, the results have been promising, with a reduction in pneumonia cases and higher growth rates. This early stage for the beef and dairy calves’ is crucial for health and performance in later life. I’ve been back at Gittisham Farm now since last summer, and it’s been great to apply some knowledge gained from Harper Adams in a practical setting, which for Dad has probably been a pain in the backside.
Jokes aside we seem to be working well together. That may change when he sees that I’ve just hijacked his treasured gazette article. Maybe we’ll just have to share it
Gittisham Fete August 31st 2024
St Michael’s Church, Gittisham
St Michael’s has been the focus of spiritual life in Gittisham for over 600 years. The first reference to the original church is in 1244. It was built, or partly so, in 1321 and named St Michael’s – though it was not at that time dedicated to this Saint and it is therefore thought that an earlier church may have existed on the same site. The actual date of dedication is not known but there is a record of the order for dedication being made in 1331 and in1498 mentioned in the will of Thomas Colpriest.
The church stands in the centre of the village set back from the Village Green. It is built of dressed flint, with lime mortar render and is in the early English and Perpendicular styles. Distinctive architectural features include; C18th Box Pews installed in 1715; a wagon roof; a collection of hatchments; several stained glass windows and monuments and memorials to the Beaumont, Putt and Marker families – the successive owners of the Combe Estate. There is also a Georgian West Gallery not currently accessible to the public and some interesting carvings on stone pillars including a Green Man.
The churchyard wall was built in 1720 and the oldest grave on which the inscription is still legible is dated 1616. The present Lych- Gate was erected after the Second World War and also serves as a war memorial.
Contact Lay Minister, Julia Barrett, for details email:
07763 11136
How is your broadband ? – meetings and media campaigns
Firstly thank you to all of you who sent in witness statements about the poor broadband service you are getting in Gittisham, and the ways it negatively impacts your lives. I was able to hand three of these strongly worded statements to our MP, Richard Foord, when three Gittisham Parish Councillors (Alex Rowe, Maggie Walker, Adam Powell) met up with him recently to discuss improving broadband speeds in the Parish, specifically to get fibre connection. Richard listened carefully, we explained the uneven broadband speeds in the Parish. It was good to have Alex and Maggie present, as long-term residents as they know the history of failed attempts to install fibre connection. Four points came out of our hour-long meeting. On Richard’s part he would chivvy up the staff responsible for digital connections at Devon County Council, he had spoken up for Gittisham on this matter two years ago, so it was about time he went back to them. Secondly, Richard said he would raise the matter again with the digital minister in parliament, John Widdingdale, this may lead to more questions being asked in the House of Commons.
For our part, Richard suggested we start a media campaign to highlight the issue. Lastly, It was also suggested we work as closely as we can with the Combe Estate in achieving fibre connectivity across the Parish.
We thanked Richard for his interest and time, he didn’t over promise, but I believe he will fight our corner.
So, we need to start a media campaign! I’m sure there is someone out there reading this that can help us with this….
From my limited research a ‘media campaign’ requires three elements ;
1. Data – of download and upload speeds and how these relate to targets, the rest of
the country, dare I say to Europe.
2. Case histories – Specifically how does it affect your lives; ability to working from
home, access to health care, studying, and entertainment.
3. Collective action – this could be a petition, letters to the minister, a strike or demonstration, or probably just a group photo of those affected with a statement. With some or all of the above we will be ready to contact the media ( local and national papers, radio and TV and posts on social media). We need to provide the information, then we can get help on how it is presented. All help and ideas on the above are welcome.
A few facts about broadband.
The government promised national coverage at speeds at or above 24mb/s by 2024,
currently most of Gittisham village and most surrounding dwellings achieve less than
10mb/s many as low as 2mb/s. Would anybody like to help with a poll around residents?
Over £15 million provided for rural fibre connection has been clawed back to Devon
and Somerset County Council.
If you live within 1.6 km of a telephone connection box served with fibre your broadband speeds maybe adequate, unfortunately Gittisham village is further than this from the box at Fenny Bridges and the one opposite Lidl.
I could tell you more….much more
We need more witness statements, how does this effect you?
We need help with our ‘media campaign’, creative ideas please.
Contact Adam Powell on behalf of Gittisham Parish Council 07535233558
PARISH COUNCIL – APRIL 2023 REPORT
Six councillors met for the April meeting.
Public toilets. Alasdair Bruce (EDDC) had emailed the parish council in his absence to tell councillors about a decision taken last week at EDDC’s planning committee. Two public toilet blocks are to be removed and replaced by an ugly pay to use prefab literally craned into place. One in Honiton and the other in Budleigh Salterton. Cllr Bruce said he had always been of the belief that it should be a right to use a public convenience for free. He was
appalled by the decision, and felt it was a backward step to now be faced with the option of needing to use this grotesque monstrosity, in place of the previous sanctuary of relief, and pay for the privilege. Neither buildings contribute any aesthetic value whatsoever to these towns, and to many this change will become a contributing factor in the calculation of a shopping trip out. So in future the public and visitors in Honiton are faced with either
paying to pee (providing the locks work), relying on the good graces of a certain coffee shop, or, use the facilities of the large church and leave a contribution.
Finance. Members agreed the finances.
Crimes. Due to an ongoing error on the Police UK website which the force is aware of, it is not possible to report crime statistics.
Planning applications.
1 Beaumonts Cottages, Gittisham – T1, Willow: pollard to approximately 8m above ground level; maximum diameter cuts of 20cm; western limb over building; reduce to 3m off main stem. Councillors had no objections to this application.
Road closures. 20 May–7 June 2024 road through Alfington is closed for water works.
Broadband.
Adam Powell reported that he, Maggie Walker and Alex Rowe had met Richard Foord MP earlier in the day to discuss the delay in rolling out superfast broadband. The MP has agreed to follow up with Devon County Council as well as the Digital Minister in Parliament. It appears that Gittisham parish is no longer on the list of locations for
Airband, the remaining full fibre broadband infrastructure provider in the area. Members thanked Adam Powell for raising the profile of the lack of decent broadband. To share your experience of poor broadband in Gittisham village, please contact or telephone 07535 233558.
Hayne Farm play area.
Janet Twist reported that residents of the Hayne Farm development had been repeating their calls for the play area there to be improved. Members agreed that until the ownership of the land had been established on a more permanent footing (likely in two years’ time), the parish council was limited in what support it could provide. It had been pointed out on previous occasions that the equipment in the village play area was provided through fundraising, not capital expenditure. The parish council is happy to assist with providing advice / support on fundraising. Councillors agreed to invite Baker Estates to a parish council meeting to provide an update on the development, and answer concerns raised by residents about the play area to understand where, if at all, the parish council might be able to get involved.
Next meeting. Thursday 2 nd May at 7.30pm in the parish room. This is also the annual parish meeting. All welcome.
Parish Council links Who’s who https://gittisham.org.uk/parish-council/
Emergency Plan https://gittisham.org.uk/parish-council/emergency-plan/