The Parish Appraisal

Introduction

The Parish appraisal was prepared, agreed and distributed by residents of Northlew who attended the public meeting held in September 1996 and volunteered their time for the preparation of the appraisal (the names and organisations are listed below).

Having identifed local issues to be discussed, and studied other parish appraisals, an anonymous questionnaire was compiled and distributed to 242 households in the parish of Northlew. 180 completed or partially completed appraisals were collected giving an excellent 72% response, representing the view, of 391pcople. The results will be used to inform local authorities and other organisations whose activities impact on the residents of Northlew Parish.

The Northlew School compiled their own questionnaire and designed the jacket, for which we would like to thank the children and Mrs Matthews for their co-operation. The children who wished to complete the questionnaire have expressed their views giving a return of 22% for the under 11 year olds. These views are recorded on page 3, but are not part of the analysis.

If the appraisal is to be of any value, then the most important part of the work is yet to come. The Action Plan in this report will be presented to the Parish Council for their attention. The Parish Council has arranged a public meeting in the Victory Hall on Wednesday 4th March 7pm for 7.30pm. This will be your opportunity to ask questions and agree the way ahead. Most importantly it is your opportunity to get involved either as an individual or through your local social group.

We wish to acknowledge the following for our parish appraisal and summary which has been funded by Northlew Parish Council, West Devon Borough Council, Devon County Council, European Objective 5b funds and other public sector contributions whose questions were compulsory to this appraisal. The Northlew Group wish to thank Helen Vines and the team from the Community Council of Devon, and Devon County Council for the printing and analysis of our 'Appraisal' and the time and advice given by Helen at our Group Meetings.

The Appraisal Group

The members ofthe Appraisal Group were:
Dennis Adams, Francis Church, Michael Coles, Winifred Davey, Bryan Dufty (Chairman), Diane Grierson, John Grierson, Mes Dames lris Holmes, Stella Jordan, Marlene Mahoney, Janet Millership, lan Snell, Maureen Voaden, Andrea Ware, John Yelland. This covers the spectrum of those born and raised in Northlew to those who have moved into our parish in recent years.

The following organisations were represented: British Legion, Church of England, Coffee and Chat, Mens Snooker Club, Methodist Chapel, Northlew AFC, Northlew Parish Council, Northlew Silver Band, Northlew School Governors, Playgroup, Playing Field Committee, Skittles Club, Victory Hall Committee and Women's Institute.

January 1998.

Character of the Parish

Northlew has a long history. Like so many other villages in Devon it was founded in the Saxon period following the invasions during the second part ofthe 7th century. It takes its name from the River Lew which runs nearby. The river was there before the village and "Lew" is a Celtic word meaning bright running stream. The shape of the village originates from Saxon times and is built around a large rectangular space with roads entering the village from all directions.

There is reference to Northlew in the Doomsday Book and the parish is blessed with two scheduled ancient monuments, a stone cross at Eastcombe Cross and a stone cross at Durdon Cross. The present houses around the Square are of fairly recent origin but they are built on the site of older ones. Over the years larger properties around the Square have been made into smaller dwellings in keeping with the village. The Square still has the pump, although no longer in use, and the trees surrounding the area are flourishing.

Since 1989 there has been some housing development in the village. Over the years Northlew has maintained its rural image but sadly has lost all but one of the retail shops. The butcher, baker and candlestick maker are no more. Northlew is a farming community although there are a few smaller occupational outlets within the Parish.

There are three active churches, St Thomas of Canterbury, Methodist Chapel and Whiddon Chapel. All have active congregations.

The Northlew Primary/Junior School has a steady quota of pupils and has received a very good report from recent government inspection. School pupils from 11 years of age are taken by bus into Okehampton College by the local bus company who also provide a twice-weekly service to Okehampton on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.

The Victory Hall plays a large part as a social hub of the community, housing the children's play group and other social events during the year. The smaller Church and Chapel room/hall and the Square also host social gatherings, as does the local inn 'The Green Dragon'.

Last but not least, Northlew is the only village with a silver band in West Devon, and they play at local functions in the Parish and other Parishes by invitation.