Drewsteignton Parish Council

Please Note: There are 2 current Councillor vacancies which can be filled by Co-option. If you are interested in joining the team and making a very real contribution to your Parish please contact the Clerk who will be pleased to help you.

The Current Registers of Interest for Councillors is available from the Clerk.

News / Notices

Information on Community Speed Watch Groups.

Speeding has reached epidemic proportions and calls for a paradigm shift in the way we tackle it. That shift must include a change in the perception and management of community volunteers’ involvement with road safety.

More information in what is involved in setting up and running a Community Speed Watch group can be found on the dedicated website.

New service on DCC Website for Gully Cleaning

Members of the public can now check when a gully was last “inspected” which is usually when it was last cleaned.

There are some conditions to it though:

  • last inspected does not mean last cleaned, for example, they might not have been able to clean it because the cover was stuck.
  • It will usually not show you if a drain has been jet cleaned since it was last inspected.

www.devon.gov.uk/roadsandtransport/maintaining-roa…

Click “our interactive map” zoom in to a location, wait for the blue dots to load which seems to take a while, click on the blue dot and it will give you some info on when it was last inspected and its frequency of clean.

Parish Plan

Towards the end of 2006, the Parish Council requested the community consider producing a Parish Plan to inform the Council of the needs and desires of its constituents. A Public Meeting was held to elect volunteers from across the Parish to form a Working Party, and the document below is the result of their efforts.

Parish PlanDownload

Council Members

For general enquiries or to report to the council collectively, please email the Parish Council Clerk

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

Andrew di Battista – Drewsteignton

Andrew has lived in Drewsteignton since 2016. He works as a research scientist in a startup technology company. He is passionate about maintaining the heritage, natural beauty and delicate ecology of the parish. He can often be seen traipsing about on horseback on the many bridleways and footpaths around the region.

Peter Brennan – Crockernwell

Peter and his wife Jane have lived in Crockernwell since 2002 and have two grown up “men” Tom and Ciaran. Peter is a business consultant working with a number of local businesses. Originally from Leicester, Peter’s career brought him to Devon in 2002 working as Group Managing Director of the Vapormatic business in Exeter, a subsidiary of Deere & Company Inc. (John Deere). Peter has worked successfully in complex and highly regulated industry sectors, building partnerships and collaborative relationships in the UK and globally. Peter has diplomas in both Mechanical Engineering and Management and gained his MBA from Exeter University in 2012.

Anna Imrie – Whiddon Down

Anna has been happily settled in Drewsteignton Parish since 2004 and knew the area previously as an Exeter student in the 1970’s. After her MA, she worked in London as a picture editor and journalist and then joined her husband in a partnership as his still producer. Meanwhile, her sport was international rally driving and she went on to freelance widely as an advanced coach. Nowadays, she enjoys various local volunteering roles. She believes in informed discussion, balance, conciliation, and in taking a forward looking, positive attitude. Her special interests are road safety and small businesses of all descriptions.

John Redman – Drewsteignton

John has lived in Drewsteignton parish for 40 years on a mixed beef and sheep farm. He also has a property maintenance business.

Paul Ridgers – Venton

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.

Ian Rowe – Whiddon Down

Ian has lived at Mill Farm at Whiddon Down for the last 54 years and his children are the 6th generation on the farm. It is a working farm, in the past a mixed enterprise, nowadays the family only have sheep which fits in well with Ian’s plumbing business. Having lived in Whiddon Down all of his life Ian hopes his local knowledge of the area and experience in agriculture may be useful.

Regular Meeting Dates

All regular meetings commence at 7.30pm, all other meetings will be called when required.

The Annual Parish Meeting is held between 1st March and 1st June. In 2022 this was held on the 23rd of May 2022 7.30pm in Whiddon Down Village Hall.

Councillors’ Conduct and Interests – the Nolan principles

The seven Nolan principles apply to the conduct of people in public life.They are listed below.

  • Selflessness – you should act in the public interest.
  • Integrity – you should not put yourself under any obligations to others, allow them improperly to influence you or seek benefit for yourself, family, friends or close associates.
  • Objectivity – you should act impartially, fairly and on merit.
  • Accountability – you should be prepared to submit to public scrutiny necessary to ensure accountability.
  • Openness – you should be open and transparent in your actions and decisions unless there are clear and lawful reasons for non-disclosure.
  • Honesty – you should always be truthful.
  • Leadership – as a councillor, you should promote, support and exhibit high standards of conduct and be willing to challenge poor behaviour.