[DF&F Main Menu] [Community Profiles Menu] [Community Appraisals Menu] St. Giles On The Heath Community Appraisal Index Pedestrians Reduce speed limit to 30mph on A388. I fear there will be a tragedy one day where parents and children have to cross the A388. Pedestrian facilities are seen as poor by the majority of people (52% of those expressing an opinion). Specifically, 215 people thought there should be traffic calming on the A388 with 205 favouring a pedestrian crossing. 177 people would like a footpath/bridleway from Moorfield Road to the River Carey and 38 would be prepared to help make it. 181 people would like a footpath from the village to Pinslow Cross and 26 would be prepared to help make it. 143 people (73% of those expressing an opinion) would like streetlights between Moorfield Road and the existing lights on Tower Hill Road. 156 people (76% of those expressing an opinion) would like streetlights between the village and Pinslow Cross. Action should be taken NOW re parking and stopping at school. Traffic calming measures urgently needed for safety of other road users. Recommendation 1: Armed with this information Parish Council should renew its efforts in relation to traffic calming, pedestrian crossing, streetlights and the foothpath from the village to Pinslow Cross by taking them up once again with both Devon County Council and Torridge District Council. It should be made clear that at least insofar as the footpath from the village to Pinslow Cross is concerned, a number of people are prepared to help build it. Recommendation 2: Participants should be sought to form an action committee with the purpose of exploring the feasibility of acquiring grants, land etc. to create a footpath/bridleway from Moorfield Road to the River Carey. Index Top Social Club After school coffee bar/homework club. 84% of those expressing an opinion (181 people) were in favour of the idea of a social club and 54 people said they were prepared to help run it. Most (76%) were in favour of it being licensed although two thirds of these wanted it available to young people on unlicensed occasions. We rarely use the facilities at St. Giles but might do more if there was more to offer. Particularly sport and recreation facilities for 11 + age. There was a wide range of support for the social club having a pool table, dart board and table tennis. Recommendation 1: A social club of the sort envisaged (i.e. with a licensed bar and equipped with recreational facilities) assumes premises. Accordingly it is recommended that the provision of such premises be considered as part of the suggested improvements to the Village Hall. Recommendation 2: A minority of people (24%) were not in favour of the social club being licensed. It is not known how strong their feelings are on the subject. If the social club is to have as broad appeal as possible it is important that the organisers of the social club take steps to canvass the particular nature of the opposition and see what can be done to mitigate any concerns that people may have. Recommendation 3: Part of the responsibilities of a social club would be the provision of indoor sports activities. It is therefore suggested that any social club formed should in fact be a combined sports and social club. Index Top Village Hall Replace hall and build a new one. Needs general modernisation. 70% of those responding (153 people) think that the present hall is inadequate. The most widely supported suggestions for improvements were a social club facility (103 people), re-doing the kitchen (90 people) and upgrading the car park (82 people). Until the parents control their childrenlyouths, no community spirit can be achieved in St. Giles village. The provision of Youth Indoor Facilities attracted considerable support in the survey (150 in favour). Recommendation 1: The suggested improvements will obviously be expensive and require considerable efforts in terms of fund-raising, grant application etc. To make the most of the apparent willingness to help get a social club up and running (as compared with the difficulties faced by the current Hall committee in attracting support), it is recommended that the existing Hall committee give consideration to fully capitalising on this enthusiasm by letting a separate and wholly new committee assume responsibility for the substantial efforts that will be needed to secure these improvements. The present hall is too small and restricts the amount of choice for young people to participate in, The purpose of this committee would be to explore ways of transforming the Hall into a facility that would not only cater for existing activities but would serve as a Social Club, be able to cater for a broader range of indoor sporting activities than is currently the case, provide a suitable location for both a Pre-school Playgroup and a Parents and toddlers group, and house a computing centre (see below). It would be a good idea to have a pub in the village. Recommendation 2: In order to make best use of people's energies and minimise the overall number of clubs that people are asked to join, it is suggested that this proposed committee be the same committee that organises the Sports and Social Club (see below), at least until the hall improvements have been completed. Index Top Clubs Perhaps one of the most surprising revelations of the whole appraisal was the number of activities which people were eager, to pursue and the number of people interested in helping to organise them. (Badminton was not included on the survey but a number of people wanted it). Recommendation: Some of the activities - such as indoor bowls and table tennis - are clearly dependent on facilities, and these should be considered by any committee attempting to upgrade Coronation Hall. The majority however require little more than communication and co-ordination, something which should be achievable via a village newsletter. It is therefore proposed that the organisers of the village newsletter make the promotion of such clubs one of their first priorities. I am in favour of this initiative in the village, as in my opinion much effort is needed from the residents to make this a "REAL" village. Index Top Sports Facilities 129 people are in favour of improved sports facilities. 23 people say they are prepared to help with maintenance of the playing field. More facilities for older children. Recommendation: It is recommended that all sports facilities become the responsibility of a new Sports and Social Club (see above). [Previous Page][Index][Next Page] [DF&F Main Menu] [Community Profiles Menu] [Community Appraisals Menu] [Top of Page] [Devon C.C. Homepage] Page Created: May 2002 This Information was provided by Corporate Information Services Send any comments, enquiries, etc. to DRIS@devon.gov.uk