Teignbridge Council Leader Martin Wrigley was elected as the MP for the Newton Abbot Constituency, at last Thursday's General Election.

Cllr Wrigley (Liberal Democrat) beat sitting MP Anne Marie Morris (Conservative) into second position with 15,201 votes to 12,955. Reform UK polled 8,494, Labour 7,115, Green Party 2,083, South Devon Alliance 1,924, Heritage Party 116 and Volt UK - Pan-European Party 104. All the results are available on our website. 

At the Council's Executive Meeting this week (Tuesday 9 July) Teignbridge Council Deputy Leader Richard Keeling congratulated Mr Wrigley on his election and thanked him for his excellent service as council leader.

New Leader will be appointed by Full Council

Cllr Richard Keeling, the current Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Corporate Resources, will act as interim Leader until the Full Council meeting on 30 July, when Members will vote on who will be the  new Leader of Teignbridge Council.

Don’t miss out on the final FREE online Let’s Talk session taking place tonight - Thursday 11 July.

Get tips and techniques to help you support your children with the challenges they might face.  

Thursday's session is all about online safety and exploitation

The Let's Talk sessions are designed for parents and carers of young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or who are neurodivergent (suspected or diagnosed).

Book your session today - Safer Devon and South Devon and Dartmoor CSP Events - 2 Upcoming Activities and Tickets | Eventbrite

The work to enhance Queen Street and make it safer for shoppers and residents is moving forward well and Queen Street continues to be open for shoppers and visitors to the area. The first loading bay, located outside of Poundland, is now installed, and construction of the second loading bay outside The Richard Hopkins (Wetherspoons) pub, is well underway.

A temporary footway surface is in place with temporary ramps leading to and from any significant surface level changes. The final footway surface coat, between Warrens Bakery to The Richard Hopkins, is programmed to start early next month, and once in place will provide a constant level across the full width of the footway.

Work to widen the southern footway of Queen Street at a further two locations is also underway ahead of schedule, from Coast and Country Estate Agents into Devon Square and from St Joseph’s Catholic Church into St Paul’s Road, meaning all improvements are well on schedule for completion by the end of November.

Other work including the proposed zebra crossing are still on track to begin in November.

Information boards have been installed throughout the area to keep everyone informed and remind people that Queen Street is open for business.

During phase three (August – September), contractors will be working on the north side of Queen Street between Courtenay Street and Albany Street. Pedestrians will continue to be able to walk along Queen Street as usual to visit shops and businesses.

Queen Street road closure from 11 August

For the phase three works, a road closure will be in place to widen and resurface the footway. There will be a well-marked diversion in place. Local businesses will receive a letter reminding them about this road closure.

After these works have been completed, the road closure will be replaced by a pedestrian and cycle zone covering the section of Queen Street between the west of Albany Street and Courtenay Street. Traffic will be restricted to disabled permit holders, local buses, taxis, cycles, HGVs over 7.5t and loading. All other visiting traffic accessing Queen Street will be routed north on Albany Street when leaving Queen Street.

Bus routes will be temporarily diverted during the closure.

For more information or to sign up to the Queen Street newsletter please visit the Devon County Council webpage. 

We're doing some work on the tunnel

We're doing some some essential maintenance work in the Ness Tunnel on Friday (12 July). To keep any disruption to a minimum, the work will take place between 10pm-midnight and during this time access will not be possible for the public. Contractors will be able to escort anyone who needs to leave the beach.

Newton Abbot is one of three areas set to benefit from a new bus service scheme that will improve services across key areas of Devon. 

Devon County Council this week approved schemes in Barnstaple, Exeter and Newton Abbot which will help to improve the reliability of bus services and cut journey times.

The aim of our schemes is to encourage more people to use bus services and at the meeting of its Cabinet on Wednesday Devon County councillors gave the schemes the go-ahead.

The schemes will cost in total approximately £2.8m and follows Devon County Council (DCC) being awarded £14.1m of Bus Service Improvement Plan funding by the Department for Transport in 2022.

The Newton Abbot scheme will focus on a route throughout the Town Centre, from Penn Inn Roundabout on the A381, along Torquay Road, to Halcyon Road / Kingsteignton Road towards Balls Corner Roundabout.

The corridor services 28 different bus services, totalling over 200 buses per a day on Kingsteignton Road and approximately 40 buses a day across Torquay Road.

Proposals include changes at existing signalised junctions and crossings to improve bus priority, including measures that would extend the green traffic signal when a bus is detected. This would reduce the waiting time of a queuing bus.

It’s time for parents across the UK to extend their Child Benefit claim if their 16-19-year-old is staying in full-time non-advanced education or approved training.

HMRC sent 1.4 million letters between 24 May and 17 July to parents, explaining how to extend their claim. If you haven’t received a letter yet, there’s no need to worry. You can still extend your Child Benefit via the HMRC app or online where eligible.

We know how important Child Benefit can be to families, so let HMRC know by 31 August if your teen intends to stay in approved education or training.

Extending your Child Benefit ensures you won't miss out on any payments from 31 August. However, if your child changes their mind about further education or training, you can simply let HMRC know online or in the app and they will update their records and adjust any payments as needed. For parents who can’t extend their Child Benefit online, you can still do so by post or by phone.

Forgotten cash? Helping your teens to claim their Child Trust Fund

If your child was born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011, they may have a surprise windfall waiting for them. Child Trust Funds (CTF) are long-term, tax-free saving accounts – worth an average of £2,000. If you didn’t open the account, HMRC may have opened one on behalf of your child.

If your teen is 16 or 17, they can take over responsibility for their CTF account. Once your child is 18, they can access and withdraw the money from their account.

If you don’t have details of their CTF account to share with them, they can ask HMRC who their CTF provider is by completing an online form. They’ll need your National Insurance number for this, which they can easily find in the HMRC app.

With the summer holidays fast approaching, families across Devon can look forward to an action-packed Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme! 

The Devon County Council run scheme offers funded activities and healthy, nutritional hot meals during school holidays to children of low-income families. 

This summer’s HAF programme promises a wide range of fun and educational activities for children of all ages to spark their creativity, encourage exploration, and help them develop new skills and make friends.  

The Council has teamed up with over 100 different activity providers across Devon to offer more than 30,000 places to children aged five to 16 years old, who receive benefit-related free school meals.  

From arts and crafts workshops to sports tournaments and outdoor activities, the programme is designed to keep children engaged, active, and well-nourished during the school break. All clubs will be operating for a minimum of four hours for four days and will include a hot meal.  We have also increased the number of places for secondary school aged children, with some sessions taking place during the evenings and at weekends.

Places are limited, so don’t miss out! We encourage parents and carers of children who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals to book their child’s place as soon as possible. 

Find out more on the HAF programme, including booking details and eligibility criteria, on Devon County Council's website. 

An interactive map is also on the website. If your child is eligible to access the programme, simply search for a provider in your area, have a look at their listing to see what they’re offering, then when you’re ready, book a place with them directly using your unique HAF code. 

Maybe it’s the sports coach who gave your child their confidence back; or the kind volunteer who sat with you so patiently when you were anxious about your hospital appointment; or the befriender who comes to see you every week and always makes you smile; or your neighbour who helps keep the street tidy by doing litter picks and weeding.  

Whoever has helped brighten your days, you can bet they’ve done the same for others too! We want to show these people our appreciation, because they make Teignbridge such a special place for us all. 

In November, Teignbridge CVS is organising an awards ceremony to celebrate the people who make Teignbridge such a wonderful place to live. 

If there’s a volunteer who’s had a positive impact on your life, please email chloe@teigncvs.org.uk by Sunday 15th September to nominate them for an award.