Quarterly news from the Community Council of Devon

Issue 136 Summer 2014

Feature: A great year

for rural housing

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Our Services Community Buildings Community Engagement Community Enterprise Community Planning Consultancy Fuel Poverty Health in association with Healthwatch Devon Local Food Parish Council Support in association

with Devon Association of Local Councils

Playing Fields

Poverty and Disadvantage

Rural Housing in association with the

Devon Rural Housing Partnership Rural Services Rural Training Venue Hire

Membership: We welcome new members, whether you are an individual or organisation working within Devon or simply wish to support the work of the Community Council. For details of our membership scheme please visit the website: http://www.devonrcc.org.uk/c/27/membership.

Advertise to our readers: Village Green circulates 3000 copies every quarter and has over 11,000 readers in organisations and communities throughout Devon. If you would like to advertise in Village Green please contact Grant Harrison at: Zara Media & Design, 14 Kingfisher Court, Venny Bridge, Pinhoe, Exeter EX4 8JN. Tel: 01392 201227. Email: info@zaramedia.co.uk

“Community Council of Devon’s vision is of active communities shaping their own futures with improved opportunity and quality of life for all”.

Contact Details:Telephone: 01392 248919 Email: info@devonrcc.org.uk

www.devonrcc.org.ukPostal Address: Community Council of Devon, First Floor, 3 & 4 Cranmere Court, Lustleigh Close, Matford Business Park, Exeter EX2 8PW

President: Eric Dancer, CBE, JPChairman: David BakerChief Executive: Elaine Cook

Registered Charity No: 1074047

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Village Green is printed by Kingfisher Print and Design Ltd, Totnes. Telephone: 01803 867087. The contents of Village Green do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher or the Community Council of Devon.

Cover Image: © Evgenia Tiplyashina - Fotolia

We want you to contribute to Village GreenWe welcome all contributions to Village Green but regret that we cannot guarantee publication and we reserve the right to edit for reasons of space or style.

1-4 Community Council of Devon NewsFrom the Chief Exec’s Desk WW1 Memorial Grants allocated Great News for Broadhembury - Great News for Catalyst ISO9001 Women Led Enterprise Network

5-9 FeaturesBurrington Skittles with Radio Devon Honiton is buzzing A great year for Rural Housing Community camera competition

10 Training and EventsEvents Calendar Rural Renaissance - Shrinking State and Blooming Communities

11-14 Updates and InformationYour Dartmoor Fund Community Council of Devon Board of Directors Social Enterprise Workshops 2014 Manton Hallmark Awards Healthwatch Devon: One year on Devon Oil Collective update Staff changes in the rural housing team

15 Noticeboard Crossword competition Rural Housing awards

Community Council of Devon – Village Green

Contents

Two of the Community Council’s core areas of work feature prominently in this summer edition of Village Green; Community Buildings and Affordable Rural Housing.

Work with Community Buildings (formerly Village Halls) goes back over 50 years. Communities are passionate about these buildings and volunteers give up hundreds of hours per year to fundraise for, maintain and manage their halls. Broadhembury’s Big lottery award is not only well deserved but a magnificent example of a community working together over many years to achieve their vision of a first class facility for their village.

Housing of course, is quite another matter. Development is always contentious and the work of the Community Council’s rural housing team is often very long-term, involving careful engagement and consultation with local communities. A number of long-term pieces of work have now come to fruition and I would like through Village Green to thank everyone who has supported our rural housing work. As you will see we have some changes taking place within the Housing Team as long-standing worker John Scott retires and we welcome new team member Janice Alexander.

The Community Council is out and about throughout the summer starting with the Devon County Show and then at local shows across the county. If you are visiting your local show please do come and find us and say hello.

From the Chief Exec’s desk

Catalyst is the in-house consultancy service provided by the

Community Council of Devon. The Catalyst team can help with:

• Business planning• Fundraising strategies and bids

• Community engagement• Stakeholder consultation• Stakeholder consultation

• Governance and legal structures• Community owned assets• Neighbourhood Planning • Rural housing services• Training or mentoring

For an initial no-commitment discussion, please contact Dawn Eckhart by calling

01392 248919 ext *170 or email dawn@devonrcc.org.uk

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Community Council of Devon News

WW1 Memorial Grants allocated

As part of Devon’s Armed Forces Community Covenant,Devon County Council has teamed up with a range of organisations - including the Royal British Legion, Exeter University, Community Council of Devon,Torbay Council, Royal Navy, 43 Wessex Brigade, Devon Museums Group,Exeter and Plymouth City Councils, Devon Arts in Schools Initiative, trade union groups and local history societies - to instigate, support and co-ordinate community projects across Devon that commemorate the centenary.

The Devon Remembers WW1 memorial grant panel met on 25th February, and were very pleased to see fourteen very interesting applications for help towards restoration projects.

One thing that stood out from the applications was that the memorials are a valued part of the community, and will form the focus of commemoration events taking place over the next four years. The PCC at Upton Pyne wanted their memorial to look its best when they will host the embroidered banner visit on its tour of Devon, where there will be a ceremony attended by the Bishop of Exeter. The memorial at Bradninch will also form the focus of a community exhibition. This memorial commemorates the fallen from both the army and the navy and there was clearly some very interesting research being undertaken into the stories that lie behind the names.

It was excellent to see such a variety of memorials being restored – from stone crosses and obelisks, to a stone seat or church clock. The nature of the projects was also varied – from minor works such as replacing worn lettering to more major work such as replacement of railings or adding steps to aid safe access to the memorial. All these works, minor or major, will keep memorials in good order well into the future and the Panel was pleased to support the whole range of projects.

The Panel look forward to seeing the next set of applications following the deadline for the second round of grants, which is on 31st May. They are also pleased to be able to consider smaller applications for this round, so communities are welcome to apply for amounts less than the previous minimum of £750. Applicants still need to find 25% of the cost of their projects.

All forms and information can be found on the Community Council of Devon wwwdevonrcc.org.uk and Devon Association of Local Councils www.devonalc.org.uk websites, and any queries on completing the forms can be emailed toLesley Smith lesley@devonrcc.org.uk

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Community Council of Devon News

Great News for Broadhembury - Great News for CatalystOn 18th March 2014 the Big Lottery announced that the ‘Broadhembury Community Centre Project’s’ bid for £500,000 had been successful.

This is wonderful news for local residents of this isolated Parish in East Devon who have been committed to transforming the local facilities in the area since the project commenced 14 years ago.

The original ‘Broadhembury Memorial Hall’ was built by returning soldiers from World War 1 as a gift to the community. This well used and loved facility has however been in need of replacement for many years as its condition due to its age has deteriorated considerably. In response, a project group formed at the time of the Millennium with the mission of replacing the hall with an up to date, fit for purpose community centre which would meet the needs of all in the community. After 14 years of fundraising, community consultation, planning, design, determination and graft they are closing in to achieving this goal.

The community raised significant sums of over £80,000 themselves by concerted efforts including annual community festivals and regular events, and one member of the team – Paul Raine, who went on to become chairman for the project, undertook a sponsored sail around Great Britain for the cause.

It wasn’t always ‘plain sailing’ however as the initial application to the lottery was rejected in 2012. At this time they approached the Community Council of Devon’s ‘Catalyst ‘ consultancy for some expert assistance and a fruitful partnership ensued. First the Catalyst team, working closely with the local project team, undertook a community consultation exercise and produced a report which clearly demonstrated great local need and support for the project. Then they commissioned Catalyst to write their key funding applications and to assist with production of a business plan for the new Community Centre.

After several months of applications (this particular funding stream has a stringent 3 stage application process) and scrutiny from the Big Lottery the result couldn’t have been any better. It is enabling the transformation of local facilities in Broadhembury and has also enabled Catalyst to build on its track record and reputation in supporting clients to achieve large scale investment.

Paul Raine, chairman of Broadhembury Community Centre Project, said“It has been a pleasure to work with the catalyst team and Mr Nemo Shaw in particular. They have demonstrated foresight, given sound and helpful advice and are clearly well versed in the discipline of funding applications. Given the need to do so I would most certainly consider using their services again.”

Since then a number of other communities have commissioned Catalyst for support with similar sorts of projects including West Down Parish Hall and Postbridge Village Hall, and there are several other communities who are in contact and exploring the options.

Many community groups will not be able to pay for services such as Catalyst from their own resources, but there is the possibility of getting small ‘feasibility’ grants which could help to pay for some of the support needed. With this in mind we would encourage communities that are thinking about improving their facilities not to hesitate to make contact.

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Community Council of Devon News

CCD Achieves International Quality Standard

We are here for youCommunity Council of Devon is delighted to be leading a programme to support networks of Women Led Enterprises* build and develop networks across Devon and Somerset through the ‘Heart of the South West Business Support’ programme.

Through our previous work we have found the key strengths of this type of programme lie in the supportive nature of women’s networks and the mutual understanding of the specific issues women face in business. Once established, women’s networks often develop a strong determination to carry on without a structured support programme, finding ways to sustain themselves into the future.

We are currently available to provide a range of assistance including:

• Running workshops for Women Led Enterprise Networks - to reflect and plan ahead as a group and to introduce the range of opportunities available through the Heart of the South West Business Support and beyond.

• Ongoing support to help your network achieve your goals.• Promotion of your network to potential new members.• Helping you connect with other Women Led Enterprise Networks.If you are not yet part of a network but would like the opportunity we can help you find one. On the other hand if there isn’t one near to you and perhaps you would like to start a new one then we can assist with this.

Please contact aggie@devonrcc.org.uk, telephone 01392 248919 Ext 180 if you would like to access any of the support described or if you have any questions.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

*Women Led Enterprises are businesses owned or run (in the majority) by women.

(Some businesses in large urban areas may not be eligible. Please call us and we can confirm your eligibility).

Women led enterprise

Tea and cake accompanied the formal presentation of ISO9001 to the Community Council of Devon.

Bill Dickinson from CQS (Certified Quality Systems) Limited presented the certificate to Elaine Cook on 6th May 2014.

ISO9001 is recognised worldwide. Achieving the certificate demonstrates our commitment to the quality of our customer service and is seen as a statement of the importance we place in meeting the needs of customers.

Bill Dickinson paid tribute to “the investment in quality people, training and internal procedures that enable Community Council of Devon to provide efficient products and services to all their customers.” Bill Dickinson CQS presents Elaine Cook with ISO9001 Certificate

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Community Council of Devon News

APRIL EVENTSHoniton’s New Beehive Centre

Check web for new events www.beehivehoniton.co.ukBooking information & new telephone number will be on the website from mid-March

Box Office: 01404 548 430 (until 10th April) • The Beehive • Dowell St• Honiton • EX14 1LZ

The Beehive is supported by....

A New Community& Arts Centrefor Honiton & East DevonThe Beehive is Honiton’s new Community and Arts Centre serving the town and East Devon

With 200 raked seats in a 300 seat auditorium, a cafe-bar, function rooms, gallery space and offices, the Beehive is an exciting new venue for the whole area. The Beehive will buzz with dance groups, music, community events, exhibitions, conferences, fairs, cinema and theatre.

It is also the new home of Honiton Town Council.

Freddy Dare& The Ginger RobberFriday 4th, 7pmFamily Theatre, Tickets: £8 adult, £6 child, £25 family

Community FairSat 5th, 10am-3pmTours,Live performances &workshops from community groupsSun 6th, 12-5pm Teas & Tours

The Big Beehive BashSaturday 5th, 7.30pmSeated, light supper.Dress up & dance to ‘Area 52.’Tickets £20

Dance in Devon,Pop Up WorkshopsThursday 10th, from 10amBreakdance, Flamenco& Bollywood. Free!

Piratical Puppet Extravaganza!Thursday 10th, 1.30 & 3pmTickets: £3 per person, half price if you come as a pirate!

Christ CrucifiedSaturday 12th 7.30, Sunday 13th5pm Matinee & Monday 14th 7.30Tickets: £12.50 adult, £7 childTickets from www.christ-crucified.co.uk/booking/php

Cole Stacey & Joseph O’Keefe present

India Electric Co.Saturday 19th April, 8pm.

Don’t forget to take time to relax

at our Café Bar and indulge in some delicious local treats.

After 30 years of hard work and a Community Council of Devon Grant of £5,000 the Honiton Beehive is now a reality.

The Beehive is Honiton’s new Community and Arts Centre serving the town and East Devon with 200 raked seats in a 300 seat auditorium, a cafe-bar, function rooms, gallery space and offices, the Beehive is an exciting new venue for the whole area.

The Beehive will buzz with dance groups, music, community events, exhibitions,Conferences, fairs, cinema and theatre. It is also the new home of Honiton Town Council.

A series of opening events took place in April and the East Devon Community Buildings Champion, Don Mildenhall attended on behalf of the Community Council of Devon

For more information visit the Beehive websitewww.beehivehoniton.co.uk

Burrington Skittles with Radio Devon

It all began when Community Council of Devon’s David Kinross was interviewed on Radio Devon about Village Halls!!

Then everyone began to talk about skittles and the Dorset Belly flop! Sport Relief was coming up………….

Mix these three together and you get the Good Morning Devon team challenging Devon to a skittles evening to raise money for Sport Relief. Burrington village hall chairman, Graham Short offered the use of their hall where they can host up to six alleys at any one time.

With less than a week to organise the event, the preparations were made. 14 teams and their supporters came to play skittles with the Good Morning Devon team. Regular skittlers arrived as well as newcomers who came to enjoy a great evening which included a bar, hot food and a draw.

A fantastic evening was had by all and more than £1,100 was raised for Sport Relief. The Radio Devon team sadly did not make the final and the overall winners were a local team who donated their prize money to Sport Relief.

Local Community Buildings Champion, Paul Bailey, was interviewed by Radio Devon giving more publicity for village halls, and raising money for a good cause.

Honiton is buzzing

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Features

A great year for Rural Housing It is an exciting time for new rural affordable housing development in Devon. We have over 170 homes on-site at the moment and more in the pipeline. Three schemes are detailed below:

BradninchLocal housing provider Guinness Hermitage, a member of the Guinness Partnership, is working on the construction of 15 affordable homes at Kensham Avenue.

C G Fry began work on site in January 2014 with a target completion date of March 2015. The land, which is owned by The Duchy of Cornwall, is located on the outskirts of the town centre; approximately five minutes walk from the local shops, medical facilities and other amenities.Based upon identified local need, the scheme will consist of two, three and four bedroomed family houses, which will be available for affordable rent. All of the properties will benefit from having private gardens and off road parking, set in a pleasant open rural setting.

The new homes will be built to Level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes meaning that all aspects of the properties and their construction are designed to be more efficient than traditionally-built new housing so residents will see a welcomed reduction in their fuel and water bills. All of the homes will be allocated to local people, or those with a location connection, and applicants must be registered with the Devon Home Choice website (www.devonhomechoice.com) to bid for the homes when they are advertised.

Kim Leaver, Guinness Hermitage Project Delivery Manager said: “High property prices and a shortage of affordable housing in this area have made it increasingly difficult for people in Bradninch to access a home within their means, making this development all the more important for the community. Things are progressing well and we look forward to seeing the completed homes next year”.

Ashwater A start on site was made at the end of March on a new affordable housing scheme in Ashwater for DCH, formerly Devon & Cornwall Housing. The site is located adjacent to the Village Hall (built in 2009), within easy walking distance of the village centre.

The scheme was initiated by a housing need survey carried out by the Rural Housing Enabler in 2006.

The overall development provides 10 dwellings, with five 2 bedroom houses and one 3 bedroom house for affordable rent, three houses for open-market sale and a bungalow under a planning approval recently issued by Torridge District Council (TDC). The housing will be built by local company Pearce Construction (Barnstaple) Limited, one of DCH’s “framework “partners.

Both the affordable and the open market housing will use DCH’s Advantage SW closed panel pre-insulated timber-framed homes design and specification. The layout has been agreed following extensive consultation with TDC planning department, Ashwater Parish Council and Ashwater village hall trustees.

The homes will be built to achieve Code for Sustainable Homes level 3 and are expected to be ready early in 2015.

Features

Community Council of Devon – Village Green6

A great year for Rural Housing It is an exciting time for new rural affordable housing development in Devon. We have over 170 homes on-site at the moment and more in the pipeline. Three schemes are detailed below:

ChagfordA £20 million masterplan which will rejuvenate Chagford with 103 new dwellings could be underway as soon as next year, subject to detailed planning permission.The masterplan approved by Dartmoor National Park Authority in April is the biggest development of its kind on Dartmoor.

It will include a mix of affordable housing for local people priced out of the market and provision for elderly residents as well as some new houses for sale. The plans also include public toilets, an open space with an orchard, children’s play area, business units and a 70-space public car park. This is a community-led enterprise born of the community’s own Design Statement in 2009, and brought forward in DNPA’s Local Plan adopted last year. The masterplan is a result of close collaboration between the community, planners and the developers. The community will also be fully involved in its delivery. Parish Councillor Terry Bleakman said “It’s exactly what the town wants and what it needs. It will keep the town alive”

Dan Janota Senior Forward Planner for Dartmoor National Park Authority said “The approval of this Masterplan marks a key step in realising a vision the community itself had for this site several years ago. Following their preparation of the Chagford Design Statement in 2009 we worked with the community to include this site as an ‘allocation’ in our local plan. The local plan was adopted last year and we have since been working with the developers, community and other stakeholders on a developer-led Masterplan for the site. This Masterplan now provides a ‘blueprint’ for the development of the site; now it is in place more detailed planning applications can be prepared which will bring forward the various elements of the site – the Masterplan ensures these different pieces of the jigsaw fit together to realise the overall ambition for the site.”

In common with most counties in the South West there is a severe shortage of rural affordable rented housing across Devon and demand for these homes is expected to be high. Local people with a housing need will be given precedence in allocations to these schemes. Allocations will be made through Devon Home Choice which is the Devon-wide choice-based lettings system. To register with Devon Home Choice either complete an on-line form at www.devonhomechoice.com or contact the District Council to speak to an advisor who will take you through the process.

We are looking forward to the completion of these great new homes and would encourage anyone that wishes to be considered for a property, to register with Devon Home Choice as soon as possible. For more information please contact Sue or Janice on 01392 248919.

Features

Community Council of Devon – Village Green 7

We have been overwhelmed by the quantity and quality of all your entries, picking the winners was a difficult to say the least but the winners are....

Sarah Pearson has won a place on Marion Frances’ Beginner’s photography course for her stunning image of Kingsbridge quay

Features

Dan Underwood is the winner of a 3 course lunch in the award-winning Terra Madre restaurant at Broomhill for his photo of

the beach at Beer

Darren Colvin is the winner of a family ticket to Shaldon Zoo for this beautiful beach scene shot in Budleigh Salterton

Paul Baker has won a pair of tickets to the unique family friendly Devon festival Glas-Denbury for this great shot of Winkleigh

Winner of a selection of luxury natural skincare products lovingly handmade in Devoncourtesy of Lola’s Apothecary is Sarah Baker

Features

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Our Rural Futures conference is now an established event for those involved with rural communities in Devon and beyond. The formula of a number of inspiring speakers on a range of topical issues, a trade display by providers of goods and services and a number of information points has proved popular with delegates.

This year we will be continuing our theme of looking at how rural communities can adapt to the changes, even withdrawal, of services by local authorities and other agencies. Our speakers will tackle the important issues around creating the infrastructure that help communities develop their own resources, adapt to new methods of providing services and reflect the changing demographic structures of our communities.Confirmed speakers on our ‘Soapbox’ are Janice Banks, CEO of Action with Communities in Rural England; Carolyn Simms, Head of Banking, Charity Bank; Peter Couchman, CE of Plunkett Foundation and John Smith, Head of Services for Communities, Devon County Council.

Watch our website for further speakers and information.

The Community Council will host the Information Village with representatives of all our services and a number of our partners and associates in attendance.

A new feature will be a forum where delegates can put their questions to a panel drawn from those with a deep knowledge of rural and community affairs. Delegates will be able to join the debate and add their comments. With a General Election just over the horizon, we hope to have a lively political edge to the contributions.

Rural Renaissance shrinking state and blooming communities.

Our delegates are drawn from:• The operators of local services such as community buildings, community enterprises,

sports clubs and playing fields, social groups.• Parish, District and County councillors.• Represetatives of local authorities, agencies and charities supporting communities.• Environmental and conservation interest groups.

Events Calendar June 11th - West Devon CB network event Sampford Courtney Village HallFor more information contact local Community Buildings Champion: Daphne and Robin Gant daphnegant@freenetname.co.uk

July 9th - North Devon Hallshare CB network eventCombe Martin Village HallFor more information contact local Community Buildings Champion: Tanya Hussell t.hussell.filleigh@btinternet.com

9th - East Devon Hallshare CB network event Colyford village hall For more information contact local Community Buildings Champion: Don Mildenhall don.mildenhall@btinternet.com

16th - Teignbridge CB network event. Kennford Village Hall For more information contact local Community Buildings Champion: Christopher Gibbs cgibbssurveyors@gmail.com

September 25th - Rural Futures Conference Exeter Racecourse For more information contact Martin Rich martin@devonrcc.org.uk

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Training & Events

In 2013 the Community Council had a presence at the Devon County Show for the first time. As part of our arrangement with The Show we were asked to use our experience of community shops to provide a ‘village shop’ for the use of the many exhibitors and staff.

This started a search for a ‘partner’ shop to join us in the project. We were surprised at the interest in becoming involved in the show and we eventually teamed up with the community shop at Plymtree in East Devon. The shop had been in operation for four years, was convenient to the show site and had a close relationship with Plunkett Foundation .

Devon County Show provided a portakabin and the shop’s team set to furnish it with shelves, chillers and displays. Stock was ferried and daily re-stocking organised. We hoped that the choice of items available would strike a chord with the customers as those essentials that keep body and soul together for three days of exhibiting. Soon an uninspiring metal box was turned into a typical community shop with a good range of ‘essentials’ and a few treats. Much of the produce was locally sourced and added to the atmosphere of a ‘county’ show.

The shop opened up on the day before the show, when the site was busy with the final preparations and first arrivals. The volunteer crew worked hard, covering twelve hours a day. Lessons were learnt and notes made for ‘next year’. Overall it was a successful addition to the show and many exhibitors resolved to save themselves a shopping expedition and use the shop for future events. The shop had made its mark.

This year the shop was back and this time the Plymtree crew had an apprentice. They brought along some of the team working towards opening a shop in Otterton to ‘learn the ropes’ and find out a little about how to set up from scratch.

For more information on Plymtree community shop please visit www.plymtree.org.uk/community-shop

Devon County Show

Your Dartmoor Fund The Dartmoor National Park Authority is offering 2 new grant funds for Dartmoor in 2014/15.

The ‘Your Dartmoor Fund’ has a total of £75,000 available and will support projects on Dartmoor that: • Conserve, sustain and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage • Enable local people and visitors enjoy and learn more about the National Park • Encourage local communities and businesses prosper and benefit from Dartmoor’s human and natural resources

The ‘Dartmoor Communities Fund’ of £38,000 is available to community groups and parish/town councils within the West Devon and South Hams areas of the Dartmoor. This fund will support community based projects that: • Are community led • Meet community needs • Are capital in nature • Will have lasting impact

Both schemes have a simple application process and flexible approach. To chat about whether your project could benefit from a Dartmoor National Park Authority grant please contact:

For ‘Your Dartmoor’ Ruth Leonard-Williams, 01626 831069 or rleonardwilliams@dartmoor.gov.uk For ‘Dartmoor Communities Fund’ Jo Rumble, 01626 831024 or jrumble@dartmoor.gov.uk

Community Council of Devon – Village Green

Updates & Information

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Community Council of Devon are offering a variety of half day workshops designed to assist and empower voluntary, community organisations and social enterprises. The cost is £20 per place (subsidised thanks to funding from Devon County Council). Community Council members receive a further discount to £15.

There is a choice of 5 workshops, which will be delivered by qualified social enterprise advisors in an interactive style. Sessions will be planned as soon as we have enough expressions of interest.

If you would like to take part simply email nemo@devonrcc.org.uk and state which one(s) you would like to attend. Below are the choices:

Introduction to Social and Community EnterpriseA closer look at what social enterprises are, what makes them special, and what this model could mean for your organisation. What are the different legal structures available and what are their salient features.

Is ‘Enterprise’ for us?Can we trade? What are the options for us to generate income? This session will look at the different options, the legalities, and introduce tools and concepts which will assist organisations to identify and choose ideas for trading and income generation.

From Ideas to EnterpriseThis is aimed at those with particular business ideas in mind. This session will help explore the feasibility of trading ideas as well as how to progress them through to reality. What are the key steps to address to make sure that your ideas have the best chance of ‘lift off’.

Funding for Start Up and GrowthAre you looking to raise money to start-up your enterprise or grow your ideas? This session is an exploration of the different sources of capital finance that are available. Identify your funding mix of gifts, grants, legacies, loans, crowd funding, community shares and beyond…

Sustainable Funding Building a stable funding base to ensure that your organisation can survive and thrive through these challenging economic times. This session will explore the income spectrum and how this can help to enable longevity of your organisation.

Social Enterprise Workshops 2014

Do you have a passion for Devon’s communities and a desire to see them thrive?

Can you play a key role in taking the Community Council from strength to strength?

The Community Council is looking to recruit a Treasurer and two trustees to fill vacancies from November 2014.

Becoming a trustee is an enjoyable and rewarding way to share your existing skills and to develop new ones.

The role is voluntary but travel and other expenses are payable.

If you would like an informal conversation with our Chief Executive, Elaine Cook please contact her on elaine@devonrcc.org.uk or you can request an information pack from info@devonrcc.org.uk

Community Council of Devon Board of Directors

Manaton Parish hall recently was awarded Hallmark 1 and 2 at it’s AGM in May. This neatly closed a circle that started in 2007 when the Hallmark scheme was launched at an event in the hall. Since then significant investment and volunteer commitment has updated the physical infrastructure of the hall, including new windows and doors, disability access, a car park, and the systems and procedures by which it is run.The awards were presented by Christopher Gibbs the Hallmark assessors and Community Buildings Champion for Teignbridge.If you are interested in undertaking the Hallmark Quality Assurance system for your hall please contact The Community Council of Devon on 01392 248 919 Ext 240 or martin@devonrcc.org.uk

Manton Hallmark awards

Community Council of Devon – Village Green

Updates & Information

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Devon Oil Collective UpdateThe first part of 2014 is turning out to be an excellent one for the 350+ members of the Devon Oil Collective. April and May has seen us achieve record low prices (since the scheme began in 2012) of 49.9 and 49.8 pence per litre.

Towards the end of April we have refreshed the way the scheme is administered to help make it as efficient as possible. In particular members and their coordinators now liaise directly with ‘Oil Fuel Poverty Solutions’ (OFPS) when placing orders, and when joining or renewing membership with the scheme.

OFPS are a specialist social enterprise based in Oxfordshire who manage the ordering for many different Rural Community Council oil buying schemes across the country. Devon Oil Collective has been working with OFPS since the scheme started and they have always had the role of dealing directly with the brokers who negotiate the final prices for the monthly order. This change is effectively making the process more direct and enabling us to hold membership fees at the same rate for a third year.

Community Council of Devon still run the scheme and we are still here to answer any questions, deal with any issues and we will continue to promote the opportunity to communities across Devon. For more information, and how to join Devon Oil Collective visit the website:

http://www.devonrcc.org.uk/c/63/the-devon-oil-collective or call the office on 01392 248919. Follow us on Twitter @DevonOil.

Healthwatch Devonone year on Where we began…

On the 1st April 2013 we were launched as the independent consumer watchdog for health and social care in Devon. Our task is to enable patients and general public to give feedback on the design and delivery of local health and care services.

Our work

Getting your feedback on health and care services means being in touch with you! We are delighted to hear from so many people, including:• 600 people sharing their health and social care experiences with us• 2,000 ‘friends’ of Healthwatch Devon, receiving bulletins and newsletters• 17,000 website visitors and 1,000 Twitter followers.• 100 people calling in to their local Citizens Advice Bureau to talk to our “Healthwatch Champion” advisers.

We have also run public meetings and focus groups, covering topics such as: Dementia, Carers, Mental Health, Autism, Early Help, Residential Homes, Independent Living and much more. Feedback goes directly to health and care commissioners - the people who oversee delivery of existing services and plan new ones.

Finally, we tackle one-off issues affecting large numbers of the general public. These have included a survey on care.data, an NHS England plan for a national medical records database. Your feedback on this, along with feedback from other Healthwatch networks around the country, helped to persuade NHS England to rethink its implementation of the scheme.

What next?

In our second year, we aim to reach more people and build a greater volume of public opinion on local health and care services.

You can join in, and speak out on any health or care service that matters to you. If it matters to you, it matters to us!

Contact Healthwatch DevonT: 0800 520 0640 E: info@healthwatchdevon.co.uk W: www.healthwatchdevon.co.uk Twitter: @HwDevon Facebook: facebook.com/healthwatchdevon

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Updates and Information

....and Welcome! We are delighted to welcome Janice Alexander who started work as a Rural Housing Enabler at the end of April. Janice comes to us from Exeter City Council where she worked as a Neighbourhood Housing Officer dealing with tenancy matters and Estate Management. Prior to that, she was a researcher and analyst with Devon & Cornwall Police. Her experience in research and data analysis mean that she is amply qualified to carry on John’s good work in collecting and analysing information about rural housing need and development.

Staff changes in the Rural housing team

Goodbye.... At the end of May we said goodbye to John Scott who worked in the Rural Housing Team at CCD since 2007. His vast housing knowledge and background in data collection and statistics have been invaluable in the professionalising of the service we offer to Parish Councils and other partners. He has been key in developing our housing needs assessment processes which are now used as a model across the country. During the time that John has been involved. the team has enabled the development of over 400 homes in villages in Devon for local people. We thank John for his commitment and support and wish him all the best for a long and happy retirement.

A summary ‘Highlights’ report has been produced which helps to describe the rich variety and impact of the HogCO project between 2009 and 2014.

Downdload a copy at the following link http://issuu.com/communitycouncilofdevon

Alternatively paper copies are available please contact the office if you would like us to send one out to you. Community Council of Devon are still supporting the HogCO network (which has over 70 groups across Devon) and are currently exploring new and exciting ways to build on this success and take things forward.

Home Grown Community Owned

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Updates and information

Rural housing awards The Devon Rural Housing Awards recognise the contribution of any individual or group of people within a community who have been an inspiration in working towards affordable housing for local people. Entries are now invited for the 2014 awards which will be presented at the Community Council of Devon’s conference on 25th September at the Conference Centre at Exeter Racecourse.

All entries are welcome regardless of the size of the development and whether or not you have achieved your final goal. The categories this year are:-• Outstanding Community Contribution• Best Rural Development

The award for Outstanding Community Contribution acknowledges that the most successful affordable rural housing projects are usually driven by a particularly committed individual or community group that refused to give up despite the difficulties faced. We are looking for particularly committed individuals or groups that have gone the extra mile in the attempt to bring affordable homes to their community, overcoming difficulties and challenges along the way. The awards seek to acknowledge and celebrate such commitment and to inspire others who may wish to undertake their own project in their local community.There will be two cash prizes to spend on a community project of the winner’s choice.

The award for Best Rural Development is a new category this year. It will be awarded to the developer of the best rural development completed in Devon by April 2014 and will take into account the standard of design, consideration of local vernacular and engagement with the local community.

There is no application form to complete. Simply give as much detail as you can. Be sure to tell the judges why your nomination deserves to win! Closing date for entries is 31st July 2014.

Please send entries by email or post to: Community Council of Devon, 3 and 4 Cranmere Court, Lustleigh CloseMatford Business Park, Exeter, EX2 8PW or email sue@devonrcc.org.uk

Gardening Crossword

Down1 - Vegetable commonly grown at home2 - Common british wild flower 4 - First flowers of spring7- Apparatus used for moving heavy items around8 - Machine used to cut grass 13- Building in garden used for storage

Across3 - What does heather symbolise? 5 - Fertilizer made from recycled organic matter 6 - ‘Love is the flower, you’ve got to let it ___?’ John Lennon9 - Tool used to move small amounts of soil 10 - What are coffee grounds useful for in the garden? 11 - Famous english gardener12 - What was the most popular beverage at the Chelsea Flower Show?14 - Flower that symbolises love15 - Undesirable plants in the garden

Collect the yellow squares to make a garden anagram to win

a Community Council of Devon prize.Email your answers to

competitions@devonrcc.org.ukfor your chance to win!

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Noticeboard