Sustainable Crediton
Core Group Meeting, by Zoom, Thursday 21st Jan 2021, 7:00pm
Present: Dee Ross, Esther Mann, John Craythorne, Caroline
Romijn. Also Helen Tuffin, Abi Hindriks and Jeanette Brown (warmly
welcomed to the group)
Apologies: Gill Westcott, Danuta Karpinska, Terry Hadley (Louise
Cumberland)
1. Matters arising from previous Core Group meeting
(17/12/2020)
a) Seed Share 2021 ( See 5 below)
b) Correspondence with Mel Stride. Open Letter asking for
meeting to be published in Courier on 22/1. Copy mailed to MS. NB
(John) essential to prepare for meeting. Core Group to coordinate
collection & prioritisation of ideas to discuss with MS.
Action: Caroline & John to start work on this.
c) Trees: Meeting with Steve Densham (See 7 below)
d) Email management: Outstanding. Action: John to pursue with
Sarah Green, our Web Manager
e) Display in a High Street shop window. All enthusiastic to set
up a High Street display, or possibly a 'hub' that people could
enter. Dee has started exploring empty shops (eg Town &
Country) and enquired about CTC display boards. Action: Agreed Dee
to pursue preps, but launch of display should probably be deferred
until lockdown eases.
2. Zoom(Dee)
Proposal to purchase Zoom was shelved following very generous
offer from Jeanette to provide future Zoom links for the group.
3. Pollinator Project Update (Dee)
Dee had met the 2 Steves on Zoom: Steve Densham, MDDC Land Mgr,
and Steve Scriven, plantsman. Sus Cred will take on wildflower
circle in Newcombes Park. (Beds near Boniface statue will be
managed by Bert Jewell not us.) Action: Dee to hold further
detailed discussion with Steve Scriven on planting etc. Alison
Orchard taking liaison role re St Lawrence Green. No further news
on wall at Post Box Corner. Crediton Town Council website lists the
Town's land as well as MDDC land.
4. Waste Group Update (Esther)
No update on Waste Group activities, but Esther had attended
Zoom with Plymouth Plastics Group, who have won 'Plastic Free
Status' for the city. Interesting ideas but Esther felt that the
bureaucratic load of obtaining the status probably means not viable
for us.
5. Food Group update (Dee)
a) Incredible Edible follow-up: Dee had provided Louise with
contacts: Yvonne Crone re Town Square planters; Richard Ward re New
Surgery development. However, it appears that Richard is now
additionally in charge of the vaccination programme at Lord's
Meadow, and too overstretched to respond at the moment. Action Dee
to seek another link to surgery development.
b) Seed Share 2021. Evidently cannot go ahead as event; Dee has
cancelled bookings for Square and Boniface Centre. Other ideas
floated - eg sharing in driveways or garages? sharing c/o a willing
shop? Action: Agreed Caroline to find out whether Plantshed at
Copplestone would like to host seed-sharing in their marquee.
6. Woodland Management and Tree Planting (John)
a) Activity at Moor Farm now in abeyance.
b) Tree planting: Meeting on 7th January (Steve Densham, Steve
Scriven, John, Caroline) Walked through land above QE Drive and
Beacon Park. In principle, Steve D would welcome Sus Cred support
with clearing, coppicing and new planting. Steve followed up with
encouraging Email with list of parcels of land owned by MDDC.
Nothing will happen immediately: confirmation needed on MDDC cover
for voluntary work; temporary issue with Woodland Trust packages.
Steve thought MDDC likely to be able to help with resident survey
and supplies (eg stakes) if needed. Action John, Caroline to
continue work on sourcing trees; John to pursue cover for
management work when lockdown is lifted.
c) Sus Cred has received an Email from Andy Gray of M C Kelly,
seeking volunteers to plant 5000 trees in February. Action: John to
liaise.
7. Transport Group (John)
Next Co-Cars meeting planned for end of this month or early Feb;
looks as if responses were adequate to go ahead. Good news welcomed
by all and especially Jeanette who has signed up and is keen,
having used Co-Cars previously.
8. Contributions from additional attendees (non-Core Group)
a) Jeanette interested in solar panels. Had unfortunately missed
Mid Devon's recent Solar Together initiative, though members
recommended her to try MDDC/ Elizabeth Wainwright just in case
there were opportunities for late joiners. Dee confirmed that Sus
Cred had had an active Energy Group in the past, pursuing both
solar and wind power, but that we no longer had anyone leading on
this.
b) Helen agreed that an Energy Group would be really useful.
Also regarding insulation: to provide info and assist individuals
to navigate the system and avoid cowboys.
Dee responded that these ideas would certainly be kept in mind,
but the current Core Group had not got capacity to act on this.
9. Annual Plan
a) Objectives for 2021 ( off-the-cuff list to be reviewed at
next meeting)
i.Action to raise profile in the town
ii.Plan and launch shop window display
iii.Set a Clothes Swap date for the autumn. Look into including
school uniform?
iv.Plan Seed Share for February 2022
v.Plan a Green Fair for Newcombes Meadow. Late summer/ early
autumn?
vi.Maximise use of Facebook and Heart of Crediton blog
vii.Prepare presentation for use when visits to interested
groups can re-start. Consider video for use in the interim?
b) Meeting dates for year? Agreed 3rd Thursday of month. (18/2;
18/3; 15/4; 20/5; 17/6; 15/7; 19/8; 16/9; 21/10; 18/11; 16/12)
Action: diarise, publicise.
10. Collaboration with local groups
a) Linkage with Villages (Caroline) - Copplestone: link with
Gardening Group who will hopefully provide extra vols for M C Kelly
planting. Morchard Bishop: liaising with Frances Anson. Lapford:
school contact not yet pursued; some liaison with Christina Dymond
who is involved in village initiatives. Newton St Cyres: according
to Steve Densham's list, the one village where MDDC owns a parcel
of land. Action: Caroline to take up contacts in Newton St Cyres,
Shobrooke and Coleford/Colebrooke; to seek contacts in Yeoford
,Cheriton Fitz and Sandford (possibly via Linda Lever).Gill
Westcott is our contact in Cheriton Bishop.
b) Collaboration with MDDC - Dee participating in Climate
Conversation but unsure how fast it is moving. Meeting agreed that
we should attempt to offer Elizabeth Wainwright more support.
Action: John to write to Elizabeth.
c) Devon: The Devon Carbon Plan. All of us intending to do it
but only John has done it so far! John proposed that we should make
an organisational submission. Action: Caroline and John to
collaborate to submit on behalf of Sus Cred.
11. AOB
a) Esther: Email mapping - All members of Core Group need to
tidy up their bits
b) Dee: Good news on grants: £500 received from Transition Towns
for admin/ running costs; £1000 from Crediton for project work
expected in April.
12. Next meeting: Thursday 18th February, 7.00pm. Action:
Caroline to liaise with Jeanette to set up Zoom invitations.