Friday 6 May 2022
In this update:
- Multi-million pound plans for ambitious improvements
- New fund will help households with the rising cost of living
- Nominate a community volunteer to win an award
- Advice for Ukrainian refugees on COVID-19 vaccination
- ... and even more!
 The Newton Abbot scheme would enable more people to commute by bike.
Multi-million pound plans for ambitious improvements
Next week, councillors will be asked to recommend five schemes to be put forward for money from the government's 'Levelling-Up Fund'.
The schemes are to help boost Devon's economic recovery and improve local transport, and in partnership with Devon's district councils, we would like to bid for nearly £75 million from the government.
The schemes include:
-
Okehampton - a second railway station east of the town, to make best use of the new passenger service to Exeter. With West Devon Borough Council, we want to create a multi-million pound transport hub with facilities for bus connections, cycle links and electric vehicle charging
-
Exmouth - with East Devon District Council, we would like to complete the Dinan Way ring road link to the A376 Exeter road; improve pedestrian and cycle connections to the Exe Estuary multi-use trail; and potentially improve bus journey times to Exeter
-
Cullompton - with Mid Devon District Council, we would like the funding to support the town centre relief road, to remove traffic from the High Street, cut congestion and improve air quality
-
Lee Mill - with South Hams District Council, we would like to provide a new slip road scheme off the A38, removing traffic from the centre of the village and allowing lorries to access the industrial estate, again cutting air and noise pollution for residents
-
Newton Abbot - with Teignbridge District Council, we would like to enhance the cycle route to Torbay via Kingskerswell and enable more people to commute by bike; make improvements at the Penn Inn underpass; and better connectivity to and from the new residential development at Wolborough
You can read the full story on the news page of our website.
We announced today a new £5 million pot of funding to help residents who are struggling to afford to pay for their gas, electricity or water usage, or buy food or other essential items.
The government has set conditions on how the money can be used, but we're prioritising £200,000 specifically to support Devon residents who have prepayment, or 'pay-as-you-go' meters to pay rising energy bills.
Funding will also be targeted towards families with children, and people of pensionable age who are struggling financially.
Working with Citizens Advice Devon, we intend to provide further support to prepayment meter customers, who are struggling to pay for their new higher energy costs.
"We are extremely worried that the cost of living crisis means that more and more people are struggling to make ends meet," said Janie Moor, Chief Officer for Citizens Advice South Hams.
The additional funding also means that we will be able to provide free school meal holiday vouchers for the seven week May half-term and summer holidays to ensure that children and young people who are eligible for benefit-related free school meals don't go hungry during the holidays.
And we are working with our district council colleagues to identify people of pensionable age, that we know from local data are struggling financially, to offer some additional one-off assistance.
Further details on the above funded initiatives will be made available, as their development is finalised.
You can read the full story on the news page of our website.
We believe that it's important for disabled children and young people to have opportunities to make and meet friends and to feel confident.
We have a 'short breaks' programme that helps to do this, providing opportunities for children and young people to meet new people, take part in activities, enjoy positive learning opportunities and have different experiences, while giving their families a break from their caring responsibilities.
If a child is eligible for targeted support, this support can include short breaks.
Now, we want to improve our short breaks offer, so we're currently working alongside the Parent Carer Forum Devon and organising sessions around the county to meet with parents and carers of disabled children and young people to talk together about short breaks, and share updates and experience together.
We have four coffee morning sessions taking place in:
- Barnstaple, on Wednesday 18 May
- Newton Abbot, on Wednesday 25 May
- Honiton, on Tuesday 7 June
- Tavistock, on Thursday 16 June
Further sessions are being planned for autumn, to be announced once they have been finalised.
If you are a parent or carer with a disabled child or young person, we'd like to invite you to attend any of our sessions.
For more information, and to book attendance, please visit our website.
 Bickleigh floods
Nominate a community volunteer to win an award
Devon Communities Together (DCT), an independent charity, is seeking nominations for people who have voluntarily helped to make their communities safer places over the last few years.
Six volunteers will be chosen to receive an award at DCT's 'community resilience' event in Filleigh, North Devon, on Monday 23 May.
Anyone interested in helping their local community to be more resilient to emergencies, such as flooding, are invited to attend. There'll be workshops and presentations from local experts, examples of what other local communities are doing to be more resilient, training advice, and a lot more.
The charity's project manager, Laura Dixon, says:
"We want to hear the stories of people across Devon that have gone above and beyond to keep their communities safe over the last few years. They might have been instrumental in getting a community resilience group off the ground or perhaps gave their time to reach out to vulnerable members of the community during lockdown. This is a fantastic way to recognise these special members of our communities."
To find out more, or to nominate someone, or to book a space at the event, please visit the Devon Communities Together website.
 NHS Devon appeal for people to use the most appropriate service for their condition
This week NHS Devon said that their services in the county are very busy due to high numbers of people requiring hospital treatment.
They are urging people to do their bit to support the NHS by using the most appropriate service for their condition and keeping the emergency department for life threatening conditions. And they are asking those with family or friends in hospital, ready to be discharged, to pick them up as soon as they're ready to go home, to free up beds for other patients.
There are other ways people can support services. These include:
- using your local pharmacist for minor conditions such as insect bites, ear ache and skin rashes.
- using NHS 111 – online or by phone if you need advice or medical treatment quickly and can’t wait to see your GP. If you need to be seen by a Minor Injuries or Emergency Department they can book you in.
- getting vaccinated against COVID-19. Have both jabs and your booster if you are eligible
- staying away from hospitals if you have COVID-19 symptoms or diarrhoea and vomiting
- using the HANDi paediatric app for advice on common childhood illnesses and when to seek help
 Barnstaple COVID-19 vaccination site is moving
The COVID-19 vaccination centre at Barnstaple Leisure Centre is moving from its
current site to a purpose-built mobile centre in the car park of the Barnstaple Tesco Extra from Monday 9 May.
The new centre is just across the road from its current site and will provide vaccines to those with appointments. Walk-in slots will also continue to be available from the new site.
Anyone with a booked appointment at Barnstaple Leisure Centre for Monday 9 May or afterwards should go to the new centre. You will receive a communication from the NHS to confirm this.
Everyone with appointments up to and including Sunday 8 May should attend the Barnstaple Leisure Centre, as well as people wishing to walk-in
for their vaccination up to this date.
 Advice for Ukrainian refugees on COVID-19 vaccination
Refugees arriving from Ukraine are eligible to have the COVID-19 vaccination and do not need to wait for an NHS number.
If they haven't received any vaccinations, they can attend a walk-in clinic and do not need to bring identification.
If they have had one or more doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, it would be helpful if they could bring any documentation for their previous vaccine dose(s) with them; or, if they have no documentation, to make a note of the rough dates of when they had their previous dose(s) and vaccine type, if they can remember them.
They will get an NHS number after they register with a GP. If they already have an NHS number, their vaccination can be linked to their records to help them to prove their vaccine status. If they do not yet have an NHS number, their vaccination will be linked to their records at a later date.
They can also request that vaccinations that they have had outside England, be added to their NHS vaccination record.
|
