Street marshal patrols started in Newton Abbot this week as part of a hotspot policing initiative in Devon and Cornwall.

The patrols aim to proactively disrupt crime and act as a deterrent, as well as providing a reassuring presence to help people feel safe.

Newton Abbot Security Trust (NAST) will be delivering the patrols. They operate the CCTV system and work closely with businesses to ensure safety in the town centre. The funding allows an extension of their service with high visibility foot patrols.

The patrols represent a multi-agency approach to improving community safety. Key parties came together for a briefing to learn more about the proven methodology of hotspot policing. Partnership working between Teignbridge District Council, Newton Abbot’s neighbourhood policing team, and the NAST street marshals will make a real difference to the town centre.

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Parks in Shaldon, Teignmouth, and two in Newton Abbot raise the prestigious Green Flag Award after achieving international quality mark for parks and green spaces.

Teignbridge District Council is celebrating the news after receiving a Green Flag Award for Teignmouth Den, Courtenay Park and Decoy Country Park and Local Nature Reserve in Newton Abbot, and Homeyards Botanical Gardens in Shaldon.

The Green Flag Award scheme is managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy under licence from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government. The awards recognise and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for the management of green spaces across the United Kingdom and around the world.

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Starting next week, a section of road along Queen Street in Newton Abbot will be closed between Albany Street and Courtenay Street. This closure is required to undertake works on the north side of the road.

During this phase of works, pedestrians will continue to be able to walk along Queen Street as usual to visit shops and businesses, and a well-marked diversion will be in place for motorists. To view the diversion map, please visit the Devon County Council webpage devon.cc/queen-street-newton-abbot.

Stagecoach bus routes 75, 77, 77A and Country Bus route 174 will run on a diversion route along The Avenue and the B3195 (Kingsteignton Road).

Once completed, this section of road will be reopened to buses and cycles, as well as taxis and blue badge holders to enable passengers to be picked up or dropped off along the full length of Queen Street. Other general traffic will maintain access to Queen Street’s eastern end before being routed north on Albany Street.

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

If you have any questions or comments, please email the Queen Street project team.

If you use our garden waste collection service, don't forget to renew your subscription by 12 August to receive your permit in time for the new collection cycle on 1 September.

Or why not join the 25,000 subscribers who enjoy having the convenience of their garden waste collected from their property once a fortnight?

We can collect: grass cuttings, hedge trimmings, cut flowers, weeds, fallen leaves, twigs, shrub pruning's and windfall fruit for composting, and provide a green wheeled bin.  All you need to do is fill it with your garden waste and we will collect it from your property once a fortnight on the alternate week to your black bin.  We collect throughout the year with a two-week break immediately after Christmas.  Collection calendars are available to download from our website.  

The garden waste we collect is processed at a local site where it is shredded, turned and screened to produce a high-quality product for local farmers to use on their land. You can find out more information on why recycling garden waste is a good idea and how it is recycled on the Recycle Now website. 

You can find out further information, join the service  and renew your subscription on our website. 

It has been a challenging week for communities across the UK in all sectors with a horrific loss of young lives in Southport followed by false news, racist hate crime and violence. 

Our staff are working closely with the Police and wider partners to understand and respond to concerns in the community and assess any intelligence. There has been a large amount of misinformation on social media and all potential risks are being assessed by Police. 

You will have seen in the national media the swift justice being applied through our criminal justice system for those intent on committing crime and disorder. We have seen positive outcomes locally too, with three people jailed from the Plymouth disorder and more likely to come from that incident.

Police Forces are providing mutual aid support to those areas of the country most affected by acts of disorder, Devon and Cornwall Police remain well-staffed to meet the requirement throughout the weekend, with additional staff identified to respond to any local acts of disorder.

You will continue to see an increased level of community policing over the coming days and some of those officers may have uniform that looks vastly different to that which you see most often, with public disorder specialists providing visible patrols, whilst remaining ready for deployment in their specialist role if so needed. This is part of police plans to ensure they're available to receive information from the community; it is not in response to intelligence regarding planned disorder. These officers are available to be approached in exactly the same way as any of our officers.

Should anyone have concerns, call 999 in an emergency – when the offender is still in the area, someone has been injured, or there is a risk to life.

For hate crime not reported via 999, please report online.

In light of the violence in Plymouth and across the UK, Devon Community Foundation has pledged to ensure its grant funding is accessed particularly by organisations in Plymouth and across Devon that are:

• Directly supporting refugees and asylum seekers in terms of meeting immediate need and helping to rebuild lives in local communities
• Supporting black and racially minoritised groups to feel safe in Devon’s communities
• Delivering anti-racism work or work encouraging religious understanding
• Led by people who have direct experience of racial abuse or marginalisation
• Delivering work to strengthen relationships between Devon’s diverse communities

Applications will be prioritised through a fast tracked small grants process in the coming weeks and organisations supported to apply.

Please get in touch if you are doing or can recommend organisations doing this work – particularly at a grassroots level. The usual small grants income threshold of £250k won’t apply where organisations can evidence that they are uniquely well placed to do this work.

If you want to make a difference but don't know how, a donation to Devon Community Foundation right now will go towards supporting organisations working to strengthen communities in the ways outlined above – you can make a donation here.

For more information about applying for a grant or making a donation please email info@devoncf.com or call 01884 235887.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is asking councils to alert residents to the risk of potential scams, concerning applications for Household Support Fund support.

Household Support Funding is made available from the DWP and is available until 30 September to help households on low incomes to pay for food, utilities, and other wider essentials.

Residents apply for funding through their local district council, but the DWP this week wrote to councils to alert them to the risk of scammers taking advantage of the situation. 

The DWP say that residents elsewhere in the country have been telephoned and told that they are eligible for the Household Support Fund, with the caller saying that they are from their local council. 

The caller asks for the resident’s bank details so that the money can be transferred to their account.

Councils in Devon have already written to households who have been allocated an award, giving details of how they can claim their Household Support Fund payment.

If you think that you may have been scammed, you can report it to Action Fraud on tel: 0300 123 2040

For advice, contact Citizens Advice consumer helpline 0808 223 1133

If you give your bank details to a scammer alert your bank immediately.

Train4Tomorrow Skills Bootcamps are open to employed, self-employed and unemployed adults looking to take the next step in their career. These courses are designed with employers to ensure you get the skills you need to elevate your career.

From web design to welding, construction to coaching, health to hospitality, we have a range
of courses available across Devon and Cornwall. Skills Bootcamps are tutor led and run
from 2 to 16 weeks to fit around your busy life!

John, in Salcombe, completed the Regenerative Agriculture Skills Bootcamp at the Apricot
Centre, he said “The course for me has been testament to how you can go into a
learning environment with an open mind and increase your understanding of the
world around you massively.”

Employers are required to contribute to course cost when upskilling their staff, employed
individuals who wish to use Skills Bootcamps to upskill in their current role should speak to
their managers about co-funding.

Many of the Skills Bootcamps are starting in September - don’t miss out apply today!