 In this issue...
- Have your say on the future of leisure centres, sports facilities and other opportunities for physical activity like cycle routes in East Devon
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Private landlord slapped with £400 fine for fly tipping in Uplyme
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Grants update for East Devon businesses
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Property ‘MOTs’ will be carried out on hundreds of East Devon council homes over the next 12 months
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SWR installs eBikes at Cranbrook and Honiton stations
 News and updates:
Have your say on the future of leisure centres, sports facilities and other opportunities for physical activity like cycle routes in East Devon
 East Devon District Council (EDDC) need residents’ views, before 6 March 2022, to create a clear vision to work towards, for the next 10 years.
EDDC needs your views on:
- What physical activities you take part in now and what you would like to do in the future so that you can be more active, more often, whether this be, for example, through walking, playing football or dancing.
- What you think is good about our existing leisure facilities; our sport, health and physical activity services available within the community; and our great outdoors, and what could be improved.
- Whether and how the Coronavirus pandemic has affected the physical activity you do.
The council has employed consultants to develop a Leisure and Built Facilities Strategy for East Devon.
To have your say please go online and fill in the questionnaire located below.
The document will allow EDDC to:
- Ask for money from new home developers, in East Devon, to help pay for things like leisure centres, sports facilities, and other outdoor or indoor leisure opportunities.
- Understand if the leisure facilities and services that the council subsidises offers residents value for money.
- Understand whether the council’s current focus to provide built facilities for residents to undertake physical activity is right or whether it should focus on providing more outdoor informal opportunities such as open spaces.
Private landlord slapped with £400 fine for fly tipping in Uplyme
 A private landlord has been slapped with a £400 fine for allowing a tenant’s waste to be flytipped in Uplyme.
This is the scene (see picture) left at Yawl Cross Woods Trail for East Devon District Council (EDDC) officers to clean up in October.
The £400 fixed penalty notice, reduced to £200 after being paid within 10 days, was given for the landlord’s lack of care after a mess was left by one of the landlord’s tenants.
The landlord was then unable to demonstrate they had used a licenced waste carrier to dispose of it.
EDDC is investigating the unlicensed waste carrier and further enforcement may occur.
Grants update for East Devon businesses
 Due to exceptionally high demand, the deadline for submitting an application to the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG4) scheme has been brought forward from 7 March 2022 to 28 February 2022 at 5pm.
The scheme is being closed early because the ARG allocation from Government is on course to be fully spent. Please be aware that due to limited funding, grants may not be awarded to all eligible applicants.
Property ‘MOTs’ will be carried out on hundreds of East Devon council homes over the next 12 months
Property ‘MOTs’ will be carried out on hundreds of East Devon council homes over the next 12 months.
Ian Williams will be visiting 500 homes annually to identify if any repairs are required, some of which will be carried out whilst on site that day.
Ian Williams will be in contact with residents directly to arrange the MOT appointments, where workers will be all be wearing the required PPE.
SWR installs eBikes at Cranbrook and Honiton stations
 South Western Railway (SWR) has completed the installation of Co Bikes docking stations plus 30 e-bikes at Cranbrook and Honiton stations, launching a new eco-friendly onward travel option for their customers.
The e-bikes, supplied by Co Bikes, will provide SWR customers with a green and efficient transport alternative, helping to tackle congestion on roads, improve air quality and give locals and visitors alike an alternative way of travelling around Exeter and East Devon.
With 20 e-bike docks available at Cranbrook Station and another 10 at Honiton, the partnership with Co Bikes highlights the growing number of convenient yet sustainable modes of transport across the SWR network.
To use the new Co Bikes, customers will need to download the Nextbike app on a smart phone and register for an account. To activate the account, customers make a £10 payment which is then used for their first e-bike trips.
Sidmouth theatre sells out shows, after lockdown return
Hungry theatre lovers have finally been able to get their fix for live performances following lockdown with tickets selling out at an ‘amazing’ rate for the first five Sidmouth shows.
Among the sold out shows, at the Manor Pavilion Theatre, was Sidmouth Youth Theatre’s production of ‘The Show Will Go On’ and the Moonstone Theatre Company’s ‘Dead in the Water’ – an original classic period whodunit which sold 460 over two nights.
‘Variety by the Sea’, showing on 12 March, has been sold out for weeks.
70 oak trees to be planted in East Devon, celebrating Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
A total of 70 oak trees, marking The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, will be planted across East Devon this year.
East Devon District Council (EDDC) is celebrating the landmark event, which is a first for any British monarch, by gifting oak saplings, with a commemorative plaque, to every town and parish - with hopes planting can begin this March.
EDDC is working with councillors and local parish and town councils to find suitable locations for the English oaks which can also be enjoyed by the public.
It is hoped the commemorative oak trees, renowned for their longevity, strength, and unique position in the national landscape, will offer many other collective opportunities and serve as an important local ‘memory jogger’, recognising EDDC’s carbon neutral and environment priorities.
Do you know any young people looking to start a new food or wellbeing business?
 Here’s a great opportunity for social entrepreneurs aged 18-30 in Devon to start something new that benefits Devon’s rural communities.
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Founders for the Future is Stir to Action’s free business support programme starting in March. With up to a £1000 grant (money you don't have to pay back) for new food and wellbeing businesses.
Act now! Applications close 28th February.
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Living with COVID plan: Key dates - what's changing in England?
From Thursday 24 February:
- people who test positive for COVID-19 will no longer be legally required to self-isolate, but will still be advised to stay at home and avoid contact with others for at least five full days
- routine contact tracing will end, so fully-vaccinated close contacts and those under 18 years old will no longer be legally required to test daily for seven days or advised to self-isolate
- workers will no longer be required to tell their employer if they need to self-isolate
- the £500 self-isolation support payment for people on low incomes who test positive for COVID-19 will no longer be available
- COVID-19 provisions for increased statutory sick pay will apply for a further month
From Friday 1 April:
- free mass symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 testing for the general public will end, and will instead be targeted towards the most vulnerable
- people with COVID-19 symptoms will be asked to exercise personal responsibility when deciding whether to stay at home - until then they are still advised to do so
- current government guidance on COVID-19 passports will end and it will no longer recommend venues use the NHS COVID Pass
This plan is for England only. Restrictions remain in place in other parts of the UK.
You have just three days to file your Self Assessment return
 Time is running out for customers who still need to file their Self Assessment tax return and avoid a penalty, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has warned.
The deadline for submitting tax returns was 31 January but, this year, HMRC gave customers extra time to complete their 2020/21 tax return. They have until 28 February to file their return to avoid a late filing penalty.
About 12.2 million customers are expected to file a tax return for 2020/21 tax year and more than 10.2 million were received by 31 January.
About 1.5 Million customers have just three days left to complete their late tax return.
HMRC has given customers until 1 April to pay their outstanding tax bill or set up a time to pay arrangement to avoid receiving a late payment penalty. Interest has been applied to all outstanding balances since 1 February.
The existing Time to Pay service allows any individual or business who needs it, the option to spread their tax payments over time. Self Assessment taxpayers with up to £30,000 of tax debt can do this online once they have filed their return. Almost 100,000 customers have used this service since April last year, spreading the cost of their tax bill into manageable monthly instalments.
If customers owe more than £30,000, or need longer to pay, they should call the Self Assessment Payment Helpline on 0300 200 3822.
Are you taking part in The English Channel Challenge?
 We are encouraging everyone who is thinking of raising money for charity to take on LED's English Channel Challenge.
We challenge you to swim as far as you can in just 4 weeks to help us raise money for Hospiscare - a brilliant cause that provides a wide range of support, from medical care to wellbeing groups, to patients with life-limiting illnesses.
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Swim as many lengths as you can at any LED Community Leisure swimming pool between Monday 14 February to Sunday 13 March and log your lengths via the LED Leisure app to enter into our prize draw to win vouchers from our friends at Hays Travel.
We understand that for many swimmers the English Channel (1,416 lengths) might be just a length or two too many and so we are offering alternative challenges and prizes too!
- Novice: 64 lengths (£50 voucher)
- Beginner: 424 lengths (£100 voucher)
- Intermediate: 850 lengths (£150 voucher)
- Advanced: 1,416 lengths (£250 voucher)
We encourage every person taking part to collect a sponsorship form from our reception team and join us in raising money for Hospiscare. Alternatively, please consider donating to our JustGiving page via the link below:
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Share our risk checker to find 14,000 undiagnosed men who haven’t started prostate cancer treatment because of the pandemic
 Prostate Cancer UK have teamed with NHS England to find the 14,000 men who haven’t started treatment for prostate cancer due to the pandemic.
Referrals and treatments for prostate cancer dropped significantly during the pandemic, with men less likely to visit their GP and discuss prostate cancer. Previous NHS research found that half of people would delay coming forward to their GP during the height of the pandemic because they didn’t want to burden the health service.
Although referrals and treatment levels for most other cancers have now recovered or even risen above pre-pandemic levels, the number of missing prostate cancer diagnoses is growing.
Early prostate cancer rarely has symptoms that would prompt men to visit their GP. Prostate cancer is very treatable if caught early, so it’s vitally important that these men are found quickly before their cancer spreads. Please help by sharing this risk checker with your loved ones, friends and colleagues.
Latest news and newsletters
East Devon District Council also produce regular newsletters and news on different topics, in the last week we have issued the following which may be of interest:
Tree planting with Clyst Valley Regional Park
News for East Devon's visitor economy
February news round up from East Devon's countryside team
Key applications received
Decision on key applications
 Council meetings dates
Over the next week the following East Devon District Council meetings are taking place. Any public meetings will be streamed live to the Council’s YouTube channel, and in the event of difficulties these will be streamed on our Facebook page instead.
Tuesday, 1 March
Wednesday, 2 March
Thursday, 3 March
 Recycling news
How to separate your recycling correctly
 Quality as well as quantity counts in recycling.
We want to recycle as much as possible but the correct separation of materials between your containers is important to help keep the quality high. Be a Super-Recycler!
If you have glass containers, please put the glass in your recycling box and the metal lids in your recycling sack, this helps us to recycle both the glass and the metals.
Thank you for recycling.
Have you downloaded our free East Devon App yet?
Join over 30,000 people using our smartphone app and get simple personalised collection reminders, the latest collection updates and tell us about a missed collection.
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 Thelma Hulbert Gallery
The Story of Food In Art
 1 March, 10.30am-12.00om.
Join us at THG for the last in our series of talks with art historian John Francis. Explore the remarkable history of food in art and how it has inspired artists over the ages including Georgia O’Keefe (pictured) and Claude Monet.
£10 (£8 THG Friends/Students)
Last chance to see! Don’t miss the final week of THG’s acclaimed exhibitions in Honiton and Exmouth.
 Mikhail Karikis – multi venue exhibition – find out more
- Mikhail Karikis: Children of Unquiet: THG, Dowell St, Honiton.
- Mikhail Karikis: SeaWomen : Ocean, Queen’s Drive, Exmouth.
In Focus: Tom Bailey Theatremaker and Director – find out more
Until 5 March. Open Wednesday – Saturday, 10 - 5.
 Wild East Devon
Activity Trail
 Come down to Seaton Wetlands this half term and take part in our activity trail. Find out more about the nature around you and see if you can spot any animal tracks!
To keep in touch with the Wild East Devon Team follow them on Facebook and Twitter
Next edition
We plan to send out our next bulletin on Friday, 4 March 2022.
Please forward this email to anyone you think would find it useful and encourage them to sign up.
You can also can share this update on social media and in any online groups you're part of by using the view it as a web page link at the top of the page.
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