Awards, Traffic, Policing & another Top Shop!

COMMUNITY MATTERS

BOVEY YOUNG CITIZENS IMPRESS&&&

Since this magazine appeared last time the first ever Bovey Tracey Young Citizen Awards have been made. It has proved to me without any doubt that we have got some great young people here in the town doing all sorts of volunteering activities and hence enhancing the lives of others. Patryk Lawrynowicz from Heathfield was named Young Citizen 2012 for his sterling work helping out at the Heathfield Youth Club. Eleven other youngsters were awarded Certificates of Achievement: Laura Glover, Emma Simpson, Sebastian Lancaster, Angharad and Elin Morgan, Sam Steer, Kerry, Tyrone and Jessica McVeigh, Carla Stapleton and Thomas Evans-Grout. The council website (www.boveytracey.gov.uk) contains photos of the awards being presented. Well done to all twelve of them.

SPEEDING & 20 MPH RESTRICTIONS&&&..?

Some topics seem to strike home straight away, and this certainly applies to the comments I made last time about the perception of speeding in the town and the concept of 20 mph restrictions being introduced in the main routes through the town. I’ve had a number of people contact me about it, and it seems to be an issue that many residents want addressed. As I mentioned before, Teignbridge District Council is currently providing a consultancy resource to assess the requirements for town centre enhancement. This will include traffic management (car and coach parking, highways design and management) and possible alternative traffic arrangements in the town. The project board has already begun work, and it is intended that there will be a period of community liaison. There will be a stakeholder workshop to include local residents, and if felt appropriate, street surveys will be held.

As public involvement is essential if you want your concerns and preferences considered, I would ask anyone who is keen to be involved in inputting to the studies to make contact with me please c/o the Town Hall or by email on bowdens.nhw@btinternet.com. Now is the time to do this, as the project is underway. If someone is prepared to lead on a campaign to get 20 mph speed zones looked at seriously, please let me know. I can help by keeping the town council informed and up-to-date (including seeking support from colleague councillors).    

THE POLICE

From my Neighbourhood Watch activities, I know that most of you value the excellent police team we have here in Bovey Tracey and Heathfield, but are concerned that the service may be downgraded because of the budget cuts Devon & Cornwall Constabulary are faced with. As a Town Councillor, I’ve therefore made submissions to the Bovey Tracey Community Masterplan 2013/2033 (as part of the Teignbridge Core Strategic Plan) concerning the need for the continued presence of a strong neighbourhood police team. In addition, I have asked for assurances that the Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service keeps the fire station here along with its contingent of retained fire fighters. The Community Plan is about infrastructure and services to support the growth of population envisaged for the town, not just about where new housing developments might take place, and I’m anxious to see this specific need is identified at this stage. I have also asked that CCTV is retained in the town centre as part of our stance against crime and anti-social behaviour.

ARNOLDS, THE SHOP THAT’S BIGGER THAN IT LOOKS&&&

I’m continuing the theme of identifying retailers in the town that provide a need for the people of Bovey, and which I believe deserve the support of those that live here. Using these shops so that they survive and flourish is the best way to resist a supermarket coming in. But I shouldn’t really need to tell you that, should I?

There has been a shop whereArnoldsnow is inMary Street, in what was originally the centre of Bovey Tracey, for 180 years. Cummings Bros. occupied the front of the existing shop (up to the steps) with a blacksmith (Jim Paine) at the rear. The Bovey Heritage Centre holds a receipt from Cummings dated 1901 for brass handles (why does Ronnie Barker come to mind?) and perforated zinc. Neighbouring shops then were International Stores (at what is nowPound Place), a Post Office (which became an off-licence, then newsagent, then antique shop), a bakery, and an electrical store run by Larry Copp (at one time the village’s cinematographer). There was a cobbler on the other side. It’s very different now of course, with the shopping centre moving over the years downFore StreettoUnion Square.

What is nowArnoldswas originally a hardware shop owned by Jenny Cummings, and then by a Mr Ransom, who was jokingly nicknamed as “Cumming in on Tuesday” for his usual comment when items were out-of-stock. Next came a Mr Tedd, before theArnoldstook it on, renting out the rooms upstairs to provide the funds to run the business. The store in Moretonhampstead was taken on in 1994, and is still going strong today. Eventually, the upstairs in Bovey was opened up for additional storage for both businesses, and now forms part of the shop that really is “bigger than it looks”.

Bob Arnold describes the business as a mix of hardware store and “cook shop”, likening the front downstairs rooms as a mini “Lakeland” for those that know the national store with an outlet inExeter. Many “white van” men  (builders, painters, decorators, carpenters, gardeners) pop in from Plymouth, Exeter, Torbay and Newton Abbot, because they don’t have anything similar available other than the chain stores, which Bob sees as his main competition these days. Other customers come in from Lustleigh and Manaton, and some from Bovey (he says he has met people who have lived in Bovey for over 10 years yet have never been into the shop!). If you are one of those, you can’t know what you’re missing, because this local resource has most of the things you might need for DIY in the house, small consumables (e.g. batteries of all shapes and sizes, including for watches and clocks, and most things you would expect from an ironmonger), plus an impressive range of kitchenware. Items can be delivered free-of-charge (except Calor Gas) in and outside Bovey. Those who have shopped atArnoldsover the past 27 years will know it for its excellent service, and helpful and obliging staff. If you haven’t shopped there yet, pop in, have a look around, and I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised. In my view, it’s a store Bovey Tracey really does need, a little gem which should be cherished by all in the town.

Tony Allen is a Bovey Tracey Town Councillor & Leader of the Bovey NHW Forum

Other columns by Tony Allen