BERE Ferrers Parish Council held their annual parish meeting on Friday evening, where heads of comittees spoke of progress made throughout the year and outlined plans for the future.

Four councillors delivered a progress report to the audience concerning their respective committees, namely: footpaths and environment, open spaces, plans and highways and finance and general.

Dotty King, vice chair of the footpaths and environment committee spoke of new posts and pointers on the peninsula’s footpaths and the system to report defects using a QR code, recent problems with landowners trying to alter footpaths across their land (which have escalated to legal department of Devon County Council), the existence of electric car charging points on Pilgrim Drive car park for visitors and the possibility of expanding this provision with a further two — one at the parish hall and another in Bere Ferrers.

In addition, boardwalks are set to be repaired and supported by metal runners and the parish council wishes to engage with the Lost Paths Scheme, an initiative which has identified 49,000 miles of lost footpaths across UK, with volunteers working to identify and restore these.

Cllr Dave Pengelly, chair of open spaces, outlined that £4,000 of work is to be conducted on Sarah Park to replace rubber underneath the basket swing and the runner on the zipwire, with £3,000 from the council and £1,000 from the Bere Alson Recreation Park charity, which is currently in the process of winding down.

Cllr Pengelly said: ‘At the moment we have about £6,000 left in the bank. £500 will be donated to the local school who are trying to raise money for a bike rack and the other £5,500 will be going to parish council and will be ring fenced to be spent on play parks.

'To top that up, we’ve applied for a £10,000 lottery grant’.

In addition, the open spaces committee has looked at the possibility of adding outdoor gym equipment to parks for older children and adults and conducting work to clear up the cemetery and memorial garden, which have become overgrown.

Ralph Maycock, chair of plans and highways spoke of how the neighbourhood plan sub-committee is currently undergoing its five year review and is being kept fresh and up-to-date with no change to its tenure.

To finish, chair of finance and general Richard Leithall touched on how no further vandalism has occurred in the public toilets following a small spate last spring, how the parish council website has a new and more user-friendly look and that bicycle stands have now been purchased and installed at the Pilgrim Drive car park and at Weir Quay.