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Council takes bold step to address housing crisis with Rope Walk site disposal

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Tel: 01803 861368 Email: communications@swdevon.gov.uk

Council takes bold step to address housing crisis with Rope Walk site disposal

17 July 2025

In a decisive move to tackle the ongoing housing crisis, South Hams District Council has agreed to transfer land at the Rope Walk Site in Kingsbridge to Hastoe Housing Association.

The proposal is to deliver 10 genuinely affordable homes on the site for local people, with the majority offered for social rent and a smaller number available through shared ownership. Hastoe will be responsible for the delivery, ownership, and management of these homes.
The transfer price of £1 will enable Hastoe to start the development and create high-quality affordable housing in Kingsbridge.
The Council is working closely with Kingsbridge Town Council and Hastoe to turn this housing ambition into reality, with all parties committed to completing this project swiftly. The Council will also continue to help Hastoe secure additional funding for the development.
Councillor Denise O’Callaghan, Executive Member for Housing, at South Hams District Council, said: "Creating high quality, affordable housing remains a key priority of ours. Delivering a mix of affordable and social homes, of suitable sizes, is essential to address the housing crisis. The need is as urgent in our towns as in our rural communities, and Kingsbridge is no exception, especially given the recent limited delivery of homes from the private sector.
“This initiative along with many others we are working on reflects our ongoing commitment to tackle local housing issues and give residents access to affordable homes close to where they live and work.”
Chris Meadows, Regional Development Manager, at Hastoe Housing Association, said: “As a leading provider of rural affordable housing, we know the successful provision of new homes in towns such as Kingsbridge is about listening to local people to ensure we deliver what they want and need. Securing the land at Rope Walk Site brings us one step closer to creating a scheme of high-quality, affordable homes that meet an urgent housing need in this area. We’re looking forward to working closely with the local community, South Hams District Council and Kingsbridge Town Council to see this project through to fruition.”
This is one of a number of projects the Council is progressing to ease housing pressures in the District. It recently acquired the last three homes at Holywell Meadow in St Anns Chapel, is preparing to open a new temporary accommodation unit in Kingsbridge, and has purchased 17 homes through the Local Authority Housing Fund scheme. Several other housing projects are also underway to deliver even more affordable homes for residents.
Through its South Hams Housing Offer, the Council is also helping communities explore and set up local housing initiatives such as Community Land Trusts—empowering residents to shape their own housing future.
For more information on housing in South Hams visit www.southhams.gov.uk/housing

Council supporting local market traders to thrive

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Tel: 01803 861368 Email: communications@swdevon.gov.uk

Council supporting local market traders to thrive

3 July 2025

South Hams District Council has given approximately £30,000 in grants to support local market traders—both new and established—across the District.

This initiative is part of the Council’s effort to strengthen the local economy and support local start-ups across its towns. The funding has helped new traders get their businesses off the ground, while allowing existing traders to improve the professionalism and resilience of their stalls.

The Market Traders Grant scheme saw take up from traders in Totnes and Kingsbridge and recipients used the funding to buy a wide range of items including fire compliant gazebos, card payment systems, display items and bespoke tools.

For many the grant has been a chance to replace aging equipment, invest in eco-friendly materials, and adopt reusable displays – supporting both economic growth and the Council’s wider sustainability goals.

Dawn Shade, owner of Deer Dawn Art at Totnes Market said: “It is important for councils to provide grants such as these to local traders, it makes you feel supported. I set up my shop in a period where it has been harder for retail. It gives you an extra boost, especially when it hasn’t been as affluent for traders as in previous years.”

Cllr John Birch, South Hams District Council’s Executive Member for Economic Development; Commercial Strategy; and Governance, said: “Backing our local markets is a key part of revitalising town centres. They are often at the heart of a community and help to increase footfall, create a vibrant atmosphere and complement what our fantastic high streets have to offer.

“This year we are investing even more into improving our markets, and our trader grant is a great way of helping our local traders to thrive.”

For anyone interested in becoming a market trader in the South Hams, please email markets@swdevon.gov.uk

Councils awarded funding to tackle sticky issue of chewing gum

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Tel: 01803 861368 / 01822 813648 Email: communications@swdevon.gov.uk

Councils awarded funding to tackle sticky issue of chewing gum

Issued 30 June 2025

A grant from the Chewing Gum Task Force, administered by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, will help South Hams and West Devon Councils clean up gum and reduce gum littering.

The two councils are putting plans in place to remove the chewing gum that blights local streets after receiving a £23,590 grant to tackle the issue.

The councils are among 52 across the country that have successfully applied to the Chewing Gum Task Force, now in its fourth year, for funds to clean gum off pavements and prevent it from being littered again.

Established by Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and run by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, the Chewing Gum Task Force Grant Scheme is open to councils across the UK who wish to clean up gum in their local areas and invest in long-term behaviour change to prevent gum from being dropped in the first place.

The Task Force is funded by major gum manufacturers including Mars Wrigley and Perfetti Van Melle, with an investment of up to £10 million spread over five years.

Monitoring and evaluation carried out by Behaviour Change – a not-for-profit social enterprise - has shown that in areas that benefitted from the first and second year of funding, a reduced rate of gum littering of up to 80% was seen in the first two months - with reductions still being observed six months after targeted street cleansing and the installation of specially designed signage to encourage people to bin their gum.

Cllr Jacqi Hodgson, South Hams Executive Member for Waste, said: “The funding we received last year allowed us to look at the problem of chewing gum on our streets and street clean in several areas.

“The continued support means we can continue with this work and tackle problem areas.

 

“As a local council we can only do so much about the problems of chewing gum on the street, but we hope the public will be more thoughtful in how they dispose of their gum to help the streets stay cleaner.”

 

Cllr Christopher West, West Devon Lead Member for climate change and biodiversity, said: “We’re grateful to the Chewing Gum Task Force for this continued support. It’s a positive way for the industry to help solve the littering issue that it creates.”

 

Many towns and cities are affected by people dropping chewing gum and we hope that the street cleaning this grant covers will act as a reminder to people that our streets look much nicer without litter like chewing gum.”

Estimates suggest the annual clean-up cost of chewing gum for councils in the UK is around £7 million and, according to Keep Britain Tidy, around 77% of England’s streets and 99% of retail sites are stained with gum.

In its third year the Task Force awarded 54 councils grants worth a total of £1.585 million, helping clean an estimated 500,000m2 of pavements.

Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, Keep Britain Tidy’s chief executive, said: “Chewing gum continues to be an unsightly form of litter in our public spaces – though thankfully the scheme is leading to significant reductions. People need to remember that disposing irresponsibly of their gum causes harm to our environment as it takes years to decompose naturally – and, ultimately, costs the public purse to clean it up.”

 

National Highways: A38 Ivybridge to Marsh Mills – westbound resurfacing works

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National Highways

A38 Ivybridge to Marsh Mills – westbound resurfacing works

 

We’re resurfacing the westbound A38 between Ivybridge and Marsh Mills. This will maintain and improve safety for everyone using the road, and reduce the need for any unplanned closures.

 

The works will be carried out in three phases.

 

We’ll be working weeknights (Monday – Friday between 8pm and 6am) when there is less traffic on the road.

 

During the day and at weekends, including over the August Bank Holiday weekend, the road will be open as usual.

 

Where are we working and when?

 

Our works will be carried out in three phases:

 

  • Phase one – A38 westbound between Smithaleigh and Voss Farm

Works will start on Monday 30 June and will take us up to two weeks to complete.

 

  • Phase two – A38 westbound between Wrangaton and Ivybridge

Works will start on Wednesday 09 July and will take us up to two weeks to complete.

 

  • Phase three – A38 westbound from Deep Lane to Marsh Mills

Works will start on Friday 18 July and will take us up to six weeks to complete.

 

Closure and diversion information

 

We’ll have phased weeknight closures (from 8pm to 6am) on the A38.

 

The A38 will be open as usual during the day and at weekends.

 

Well signed diversions will be in place:

 

  • Phase one – A38 westbound weeknight closures between Smithaleigh and Voss Farm
    • 30 June – 02 July, and 09 July: A38 westbound carriageway closed between the Smithaleigh westbound exit and entry slips.

Diversion: A short diversion will be in place via the off and on slips.

    • 03 and 04 July: A38 Smithaleigh westbound entry slip closed.

Diversion: Road users will take the local road network to rejoin the westbound A38 at Lee Mill.

Please note: HGVs will be advised that they will not be able to re-enter the A38 until 6am if they choose to leave the A38 westbound exit slip at Smithaleigh after 8pm.

    • 03 – 08 July: Voss Farm eastbound exit and entry slips closed.

Diversion: leave via A38 westbound Deep Lane exit slip. Turn right onto B3416, up to the roundabout and return and turn left into local road network.

    • Please note: During slip road closures we’ll be using a convoy system on the A38. This means the A38 is still open, but you will be taken past the working area behind a traffic vehicle at a reduced speed.

 

  • Phase two – A38 westbound weeknight closures between Wrangaton and Ivybridge
    • 09 - 21 July: the A38 will be closed westbound (weeknights only) from 8pm – 6am between Wrangaton and Ivybridge.

Diversion: Via the B3213, Marjorie Kelly Way, Western Road, the B3213 before rejoining the A38

 

  • Phase three – A38 westbound weeknight closures from Deep Lane to Marsh Mills
    • 28 July - 16 August, and 28 August - 29 August:  A38 westbound carriageway between A38 Deep Lane westbound exit slip and A38 Marsh Mills will be closed weeknights.

Diversion: via A38 Deep Lane westbound exit slip, turn right up to the roundabout. Turn left onto B3416 (Plympton), Glen Road, Plymouth Road to rejoin the A38 westbound at Marsh Mills.

    • 18 – 23 July 2025 and 27 - 28 August: The A38 westbound entry slip at Smithaleigh will be closed weeknights.

Diversion: WB Entry Slip closures - traffic will be diverted via the local road network to rejoin the westbound A38 at Lee Mill.

Please note, HGVs will be advised that they will not be able to re-enter the A38 until 6am if they choose to leave the A38 westbound exit slip at Smithaleigh after 8pm.

    • 18 - 24 July and 27 - 28 August: The A38 Voss Farm exit and entry slips will be closed weeknights.

Diversions: Westbound Voss Farm exit slip closures traffic will be diverted via A38 westbound Deep Lane exit slip, turn right onto B3416, up to the roundabout and return and turn left into local road network.

For the westbound Voss Farm entry slip closures, traffic will be diverted via the local network to turn left onto the B3416, turn left onto the A38 westbound Deep Lane entry slip.

    • 24 - 25 July and 20 - 21 August: The A38 Voss Farm entry slip (only) will be closed weeknights.

Diversions: via the local network to join the B3416. Turn left and then right to join the A38 eastbound via the eastbound entry slip at Deep Lane. Leave via A38 Lee Mill eastbound exit slip. Rejoin the A38 westbound via the westbound Lee Mill entry slip.

    • 25 - 26 July: The A38 Voss Farm entry slip (only) will be closed overnight.

Diversion: via the local network to turn left onto the B341. Turn left onto the A38 westbound Deep Lane entry slip.

    • 23 - 25 July and 19- 27 August: The A38 Deep Lane westbound exit slip will be closed weeknights.

Diversion: Take the A38 Marsh Mills exit slip, use the roundabout to return via eastbound A38 Marsh Mills entry slip to leave via eastbound A38 Deep Lane exit slip.

    • 24 - 25 July and 20 - 27 August: The A38 Deep Lane westbound entry slip will be closed weeknights.

Diversion: take the A38 eastbound Deep Lane entry slip to leave via eastbound A38 Lee Mill exit slip. Rejoin the A38 westbound via the westbound Lee Mill entry slip.

    • 18 - 20 August and 27 - 28 August: The A38 eastbound Deep Lane entry slip will be closed weeknights.

Diversion: Take the A38 westbound Deep Lane entry slip to leave via westbound A38 Marsh Mills exit slip. Use the roundabout and rejoin the A38 eastbound carriageway via eastbound Marsh Mills entry slip.

 

Dates may change at short notice due to poor weather conditions or operational reasons. If we’re unable to complete our work as planned, we may need to continue beyond the dates stated above.

 

Please plan ahead and allow extra time for your journeys.

 

Access will be maintained to properties within the closure area.

 

Please also remember that closures can change at short notice. You can find live travel information on our Traffic England website: https://www.trafficengland.com/. Or, our travel alerts give details of live incidents on our network: https://nationalhighways.co.uk/travel-updates/travel-alerts/

 

Help us to spread the word

 

Please help us by sharing this update. Please share this message with your connections and network, as well as on your own channels.

 

Any questions?

 

If you have any queries or comments about the work, or would like further information please contact National Highways Customer Contact Centre on 0300 123 5000 or by email: info@nationalhighways.co.uk

 

To keep up-to-date with our work in the South West please visit: https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-roads/south-west/south-west-maintenance-schemes/  or follow us on X at @HighwaysSWEST

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Have your say on the future of Devon

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Tel: 01803 861368 Email: communications@swdevon.gov.uk

Have your say on the future of Devon

Issued: 17 June 2025

We need your help to shape the future of local government in Devon by letting South Hams District Council know what matters to you.

In December 2024, Government set out its intention that all areas with two levels of local government (District and County Councils) were required to develop plans for a single level of Government.

In March 2025, a proposal setting out the Council's initial thoughts on the future of local government in Devon was submitted on behalf of all the Devon District Councils, except Exeter. Now final proposals are being prepared and are due to be submitted to the Government in November.

The Council's preferred option for the future, known as the 1-4-5 plan, proposes:

· Retaining Plymouth unitary authority on its existing boundary.
· A unitary authority combining the South Hams, Teignbridge and West Devon areas with Torbay.
· A unitary authority including East, Mid, North Devon, Torridge and Exeter.

Multiple other initial proposals have also been submitted to Government by other councils in Devon.

Now, everyone with a connection to the South Hams is being asked what matters to them to help shape the Council’s final proposals so they reflect the needs and aspirations of people living and working in the area.

The short survey can be found on South Hams District Council’s website, which also has more information on local government reorganisation, including Frequently Asked Questions.

www.southhams.gov.uk/local-government-reorganisation

Over the next few months, a series of engagement events around South Hams will also be taking place with residents, towns and parish councils and other organisations. Details on how you can get involved will be available soon.

 

Help shape South Devon’s future

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Help shape South Devon’s future

Issued 9 June 2025

Conversations are taking place this month with South Hams town and parish councils that may be swallowed up by Plymouth City Council’s expansion plans.

As part of a series of engagement activities on the future of local government, Cllr. Dan Thomas, the newly elected Leader of South Hams District Council, is inviting all 13 of the councils affected by Plymouth’s proposals to meet with him to find out what matters to them. District councillors for the affected area will also be involved.

As requested by Government, a joint outline proposal has been submitted on behalf of all the Devon District Councils, except Exeter.

Known as the 1-4-5 plan, it proposes:

  • Retaining Plymouth unitary authority.
  • A unitary combining the South Hams, Teignbridge and West Devon areas with Torbay.
  • A unitary including East, Mid, North Devon, Torridge and Exeter.

Multiple other initial proposals have also been submitted to Government by other councils in Devon. This includes Plymouth’s plan to expand into part of the South Hams.

Cllr. Thomas has written to the chairman and clerks of the 13 towns and parishes affected to discuss how they would like to move forward in the future. The feedback will help shape final proposals which will be submitted to Government in November. The town and parish council meeting will be held at Follaton House in Totnes on Wednesday 18 June.

Leader of the Council, Dan Thomas, said: “Our communities are at the heart of everything we do as a council, and this must continue in the future.

“I am a district councillor for Newton and Yealmpton and have recently been re-elected to the county council to represent South Brent and Yealmpton – areas that are directly affected by Plymouth City Council’s expansion plans.

“That is why I feel it is important that one of the first things I do as Leader of South Hams District Council is to speak directly with the towns and parish councils affected. They are the grassroots of local democracy and can really give good insight into where people in their communities feel they belong.

“Personally, I fail to see how the rural communities of the districts that are included in the affected area, can be best served by a city council, which quite rightly is focused on urban issues.

“We will of course be talking to all our residents, businesses and partners over the next few months to help shape the best possible business case for our proposal and to make sure that it meets the future needs of everyone we serve in the South Hams.

“It’s vital that the voice of our communities, including all local organisations and town and parish councils which deliver services at a local level, are heard.”

More information on local government reorganisation, including some FAQs can be found on South Hams District Council’s website.

 

Details will soon be available on how people with a connection to the South Hams can share their views on what is important to them.

Longmarsh Boardwalk open as part of Saltmarsh Project

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Longmarsh Boardwalk open as part of Saltmarsh Project

03 June 2025

A new boardwalk connecting paths around the saltmarsh at the end of Longmarsh is open allowing residents and visitors to complete a peaceful and beautiful circular walk around the marsh.

The boardwalk creates easy access to view the important habitat and skirts the fragile marshland to protect it. Interpretation signage helps users to understand more about the important saltmarsh habitats on the River Dart.

Funded by the Environment Agency and landowners, South Hams District Council, the boardwalk is part of the wider Saltmarsh Project, which is a collaboration between 13 separate partners and led by the Bioregional Learning Centre.

The Project studies, conserves and restores the saltmarsh along the Dart Estuary between Sharpham and Totnes.

Saltmarshes are habitats along the edge of estuaries which are lie between the highest spring and high tide water levels. As wetlands are tidal, the saltmarshes have a unique range of flora and are very important habitats for young fish, bird and insect species. They also help to improve and filter estuary waters by locking up carbon from the atmosphere and organic matter from the river. They are a protected feature of the estuary’s Marine Conservation Zone.

Watch the boardwalk opening event at https://youtu.be/_9YizDF4DW0

To find out more about the project, get involved or information on River Dart saltmarsh trips from www.dartharbour.org/the-saltmarsh-project

 

Council secures prosecution for illegal tree felling

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Council secures prosecution for illegal tree felling

23 May 2025

We’re committed to coming down hard on those who disregard the environment. That’s the message from South Hams District Council, following a successful prosecution at Newton Abbot Magistrates Court

Mr Richard Symons pleaded guilty at Newton Abbot Magistrates Court to unlawfully felling a mature Holm Oak tree in East Portlemouth, which was protected by a woodland Tree Preservation Order. He has been fined, and with legal costs ordered to pay £2,984.

Mr Symons claimed in his defence that the tree was dangerous and needed to be removed to prevent it falling onto a road. However, South Hams District Council disputed this, noting that officers hadn’t seen any evidence to support this during a site visit after the felling. The Council also challenged Mr Symons’ qualifications to assess the tree’s safety.

Councillor David Hancock, South Hams District Council’s Lead Executive Member for Planning & Strategic Planning, said:: “Protecting the environment and tackling climate change is one of our top priorities, and we will not hesitate to take action against anyone who fells protected trees illegally. We hope this prosecution sends out a clear message.

“Tree felling can have serious consequences—it’s dangerous, damages the environment, and disrupts local wildlife. That’s why it must be done lawfully and responsibly.”