Drewsteignton Parish Council

Council Members

The following are the present Parish Council members, together with the ward they represent and a brief profile.

William Savage - Chairman - Crockernwell
Bill completed 32 years service in the Devon & Cornwall Police. From 1971 - 1976 he was stationed at Okehampton and covered the Drewsteignton area making many local friends and contacts with whom he kept in touch with regularly. He came to live in the parish in the early 1990's.
Having retired from the Police he started a garden maintenance business which he runs with his wife Caroline. Caroline was born and brought up "next door" in the parish of Cheriton Bishop.
Bill has been a Parish Councillor since 2004, he was instrumental in achieving the 30mph speed limit in Crockernwell and is constantly seeking to achieve other Road Safety measures in the parish. A keen supporter of the countryside and countryside pursuits he is anxious to preserve the country way of life and historical aspects of the Parish as a whole, whilst recognising the need to embrace modern methods and technology to be used to enhance the future of the Parish and it's children.
He has for many years served on the Chagford Show committee and Caroline is a member of Teignton Fayre Committee, they are both active volunteers for the Devon Air Ambulance Trust.

you can contact Bill on Bill.Savage@drewsteigntonparish.co.uk

Wayne Mudge - Vice Chair - Drewsteignton
Wayne was born in Drewsteignton, in the cottage that he lives in now with his wife Diane and three children Alison Sam & Lucy.
He went to school at Drewsteington briefly till its closure in 1971. He then transferred to Chagford Primary School and then on to Okehampton Comprehensive. On leaving school Wayne worked on a number of farms in the parish before going to work in our local Quarry until it was closed in December 1991. After that he was employed delivering food to hotels and restauants all over the South-West.
Wayne now works for a local tree surgery company covering an area from Bridgewater to Torquay. The work involves mainly trimming trees from power lines.

you can contact Wayne on Wayne.Mudge@drewsteigntonparish.co.uk

Paul Ridgers - Drewsteignton
Paul is married to Fiona and they have two young children.  They have lived in the Parish for 10 years, although Fiona has family connections with the village that stretch back 100 years.  Paul is a director of an advertising agency in Exeter as well as representing the Drewsteignton ward for West Devon Borough Council.

you can contact Paul on Paul.Ridgers@rhads.co.uk

Paul Chadney - Crockernwell
Paul was born in Cardiff in 1968. He started his career with Barclays Bank in 1987 and met his wife, Cath, whilst working at its Regional Office in Cardiff. Their first child, Holly, was born in 1996 and they have two more daughters, Ella and Evie.
Paul's interest in Caravan Parks started when they moved to Cardigan and rented a house on a Caravan Park. Through the Caravan Park owner, they became interested in the industry which has since shaped Pauls work and personal life dramatically.
Paul began specialising in the Caravan Park sector at Barclays, which led to the formation of the Barclays Holiday and Home Park team in 1999, of which he is still National Director.
In 2004, Paul and Cath found that Barley Meadow Caravan Park in Crockernwell was for sale - they viewed it and decided to go for it. A walk down at Fingle Bridge sealed it!! Since moving in back in March 2005, it has been hard work, but very rewarding.
Paul's first experience of the Parish Council was during a routine planning application visit to the Caravan Park during their renovations. He found all the Councillors approachable and very knowledgeable about what was and was not acceptable to the local community. He was honoured to be asked to stand as a Councillor for Crockernwell and delighted to be elected. Paul says that being part of the Council has broadened his knowledge of the area immensely, especially as there is so much experience sat around the Parish Council meeting table!
Paul hopes to be able to contribute his experience as a local businessman to help the Parish community and he is more than happy to be contacted by any local resident on any aspects of Parish business.
He looks forward to meeting more of the Parishoners in the future.

you can contact Paul on Paul.Chadney@drewsteigntonparish.co.uk

Susan Power - Venton
Sue spent her childhood in Dorset before moving to Devon in 1972 with her husband Kevin and their 2 sons to run a Riding & Trekking Centre and a small dairy farm. They moved to Venton in 1983 running the farm as a diary unit until the mid 1980s.
In 1984 Sue joined a GP Practice in Exeter becoming Practice Administrator until 2004 when she was made redundant. Sue and her husband now run a caravan storage business and Sue also works part-time for Rendells Estate Agents in Chagford.
Sue is also involved with Macmillan Cancer Support and Riding for the Disabled.

you can contact Sue on Susan.Power@drewsteigntonparish.co.uk

Graham Hester - Whiddon Down
Graham his wife Jill, along with there two children have lived in Whiddon Down for nearly 11 years, moving west from Surrey. It was a move back home for Jill, her family are from the Okehampton area with many living in Drewsteignton Parish.
Work wise Graham runs his own business producing plastic injection mouldings, sea fishing tackle, electrical components, pest control equipment, are among the products produced.
During his first year as a Parish Councillor Graham has been involved with the production of the 'Parish Plan', a work still in progress.

you can contact Graham on Graham.Hester@drewsteigntonparish.co.uk

Stuart Hardie - Whiddon Down
Stuart was born and bred in Chagford and has lived in the Drewsteignton Parish, at Whiddon Down, for the last 29 years. He and his wife, Lyn, who works at a local estate agents, raised their two sons Chris and Nick in the village.
Stuart has had a variety of jobs over the years including butchery manager and fork lift truck driver. After obtaining his ADI qualifications he set up his own driving school "Crossways School of Motoring" and has been successfully running the businesse from the village for the last 15 years, helping many locals gain their driving licences. Since the boys left home Stuart has had more time to persue other activities, including being an active member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists and a member of Exeter West Lions Club. He was very pleased to become a local Parish Councillor and would like any parishioners who have any concerns or issues to contact him.

you can contact Stuart on Stuart.Hardie@drewsteigntonparish.co.uk

John Dyke - Whiddon Down
John has lived in the parish of Drewsteignton for 41 years. His life here began when he was posted to Whiddon Down as the local police constable. After 6 years he was able to buy his house, continuing to work in the Okehampton area. He and his wife Val, who worked as a supply teacher settled here, and children Stephen, Jenny and Kathy attended the local schools. The children later moved away for further education and employment. Since retiring from the police after 28 years service, John has driven tail-lift minibuses for D.C.C.  and his own car for the Hospital Car Service. He is still employed part-time on D.C.C. minibus contracts.

you can contact John on John.Dyke@drewsteigntonparish.co.uk

Chris Gosnay - Drewsteignton
Chris was born in Manchester and has made a series of moves taking him further and further South before finally settling in the Parish in 1999. Now semi retired, Chris's career has been in Telecommunications and Data Communications since leaving school. He owns an IT business based in Reading, Berkshire. His wife Liz, is a supply teacher. Chris & Liz have two grown up children Stephen and Sarah both of whom live in Berkshire.
Chris spends most of his time renovating the farm he lives on.

you can contact Chris on Chris.Gosnay@drewsteigntonparish.co.uk

Council Meetings

Click on the links below to download the parish council meeting agenda and minutes.

Please note you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to read these files. If you don't already have this program, you can download it free of charge by clicking the button opposite.

Agenda - March 17th 2008
Agenda - March 8th 2008
Agenda - February 18th 2008
Agenda - January 21st 2008

Minutes - February 18th 2008
Minutes - January 21st 2008
Minutes - December 17th 2007