Tarka Country Trust Biodiversity Awards 2023

The Awards are for individuals and community groups to carry out projects to help local wildlife. Each award comes as a package, which includes a grant of up to £1,000 and individualised support from the trustees. The awards cover two themes:

 Addressing the loss of localised biodiversity

 Reversing the decline of Devon’s primroses

The Trust would be pleased to receive applications from:

 owners of land, which is of poor value in terms of biodiversity which would benefit from improvement

 groups working together to improve biodiversity within the local area

 individuals who want to improve the quantity and diversity of local wildlife

In the 2023 awards there are five awards of £500 to be spent on efforts to improve land for wildlife. There are also batches of 100 primrose plug plants for planting in suitable locations. For each award, as well as funding, each successful applicant will be assigned the dedicated support of one of the trustees of the Tarka Country Trust to provide expert advice and support. The deadline for these applications is 31/08/2023. To find out more and to apply for an award go to the Tarka Country Trust website at www.tarkacountrytrust.org.uk and complete the application form.

Meeting Calendar 2023

Chaloners Road

Braunton

Devon, EX33 2ES

Phone: 01271 812131

Email: info@brauntonparishcouncil.gov.uk

Web: www.brauntonparishcouncil.gov.uk

Facebook.com/BrauntonParishCouncil

Twitter: @brauntonparish

Hours: 09.00 - 12.00 Monday - Friday

Tracey Lovell, Clerk to the Council

Angela Corner, Senior Council Officer

Full Council meetings are now being held back in the Council Chamber and additional meetings, to primarily consider planning applications, are being held virtually.

Full Council Meeting, 7pm

Tuesday 8 August 2023

Additional Council Meeting, 7pm

Tuesday 29 August 2023

Darling Greyhound Doris looking for her forever home.

-year-old Greyhound at Dogs Trust Ilfracombe, is looking for her forever home. A happy girl who adores her home comforts, Doris is instantly friendly with new people and enjoys a fuss and a snuggle. Doris likes to play with toys, and she sometimes enjoys a game of fetch, or she may just want to run around with her toy alone. She plods along nicely on her lead which makes walking with her an absolute a joy. She has gone on several trips with our volunteer off-site walkers, and they come back always singing her praises. Doris will need to be the only pet in the home and have opportunities to walk with other suitable canines when out and about.

Elise Watson, Centre Manager at Dogs Trust Ilfracombe, said:

“Doris is an absolute darling of a dog! She loves making new friends and is a hit with everyone she meets.

“She is currently living off-site in a foster home, on our Home from Home Scheme, but is now looking for her forever home. “Doris’s foster carer adores her, and says she is a wonderful and affectionate companion, who just sometimes needs a chance to settle. “As Doris is an ex-racing Greyhound, care maybe needed around small fluffy dogs, and when out and about Doris has been trained to happily wear a muzzle; as this keeps the local wildlife safe.”

Doris is happy to travel in a car that she knows, although initially with a new car she will need encouragement and treats. She is looking for a home with a garden or regular access to a secure field. Time left alone may need to be built up gradually. She will need a quiet home environment. Doris loves her bed and values her own space around it, and that will need to be respected.

Dogs Trust Ilfracombe is also calling on more people to offer a temporary home to dogs until they find their forever homes. Not only does this mean that the charity can support even more dogs, but it gives dogs waiting to find their forever family, like Doris, the chance to be cared for in a home environment. Fostering is a great opportunity for dog lovers to care for a dog in their home without the long-term commitment that comes with owning a dog. Dogs Trust covers all the essential costs whilst a dog is in a foster home, including vet bills, food, bedding, and toys. For more information about fostering, or if you think you could offer Doris a forever home, please visit https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/ rehoming/dogs/greyhound/1256464

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Meet Frankie, a large and handsome five year old tabby. A much loved pet since kittenhood he has always wanted to be the top cat at home, and in fact the whole street! He loved his human family and the dog who he shared them with but really does not like any other cats in his life. As time has passed this became quite stressful for him and his family so sadly it was decided that he would be far happier living in a quiet rural area with no other nearby cats he feels the need to dominate. He loves to go out hunting but once back home is a very friendly puss who enjoys human company. We think he would be suited to a home with older children as has had no experience of young ones. Although it has been a very painful decision for his family to give up this loving cat, they and us are hoping someone will be able to give Frankie the freedom and space he needs to be a happy puss once again.

For further information please contact:

T: 03453714203

E: barnstaplecats@hotmail.com

W: www.cats.org.uk/barnstaple

F: barnstaplecatsprotection

Reg charity; 203644 (England & Wales) SC037711 (Scotland)

Croyde Ocean Triathlon Showcases Stamina And Sustainability In First Event Under New Owners Plastic Free North Devon

The ninth “stunning and savage” Croyde Ocean Triathlon took place on Sunday 2 July with 419 competitors battling it out on the beautiful North Devon coastline.

The Croyde Ocean Triathlon is recognised as one of the UK’s most challenging and scenic events. It was one of 220 Triathlon’s “Top 23 must-do” triathlon challenges for 2019, and shortlisted for best triathlon in the UK for 2020.

The course involves a 1.5km ocean swim at Putsborough Sands, followed by a 38km road bike course and a 12km off-road run over hilly coastal terrain, taking in the sights of the North Devon UNESCO Biosphere, North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the newly designated North Devon World Surfing Reserve.

Unfortunately, due to the unfavorable sea conditions, the RNLI took the difficult decision to cancel the swim, so instead the athletes did a 2km beach run before taking on ‘The Hero of the Hill’ challenge up the steep ascent out of Putsborough Beach before hopping on their bikes.

This was the ninth year the event has taken place, and the first under the new ownership of local environmental charity Plastic Free North Devon, with 100% of profits from both the Croyde Ocean Triathlon and sister event the Exmoor Swim now going to charity.

Many of the competitors taking part today were raising sponsorship for Plastic Free North Devon, as well as local charities Children’s Hospice South West and Family Compass.

The overall winner in this year’s event was Hamish James who finished the course in 2h09m32s.

The youngest competitor was 17 and the oldest was 70.

Around 140 volunteers joined in on the day to help ensure the event ran smoothly and our local RNLI team who ended up cheering the beach runners on!

Race director Jo Hibberd said: “At 4am in the morning I looked out at the Atlantic Ocean with a huge sense of pride and privilege at being at the helm of this event. The local support we receive is incredible, our community simply rocks! There is an enormous team effort that makes this special triathlon take place every year. A big thanks to the competitors for supporting us and the volunteers for starting at 5am in the morning!”

The Plastic Free North Devon team has been closely involved with the event since its inception in 2015, and in 2018 the event was awarded the accolade of being the first plastic-free sports event of its kind by Surfers Against Sewage. The charity has created a robust sustainability plan that is being implemented over the next few years to make this event the leading light in sustainable sports events nationwide. Features of the plan include: onsite vendor stipulations, sports merchandise purchasing guidelines, single-use plastics ban on site, reusable coffee cup return scheme and athlete event guidance, to name but a few.

Plastic Free North Devon CEO Claire Moodie commented: “ I’m so proud to see this event unfold knowing that it is now a Plastic Free North Devon event raising vital funds for our charity. It was strange to be on the other side of the finish line but just as amazing. I’m always blown away at how many people give up their spare time to come and help us make this event happen, I love the energy they bring. I love sport, I love our community, I love looking after the planet and this event does it all in one and I can’t wait to see what next year brings.”

The main corporate sponsor for both events is North Devon based dryrobe®, a company on a mission to inspire, enable, and improve the experience of an active outdoor lifestyle for everyone, and whose recent B Corporation™ certification reflects their ongoing commitment to building a sustainable business with environmental protection at its core. Other tri sponsors include Ninety One, 79 Group, BornBound, solicitors Brewer, Harding and Rowe, and Putsborough Sands.

Next year’s event will take place on 14 July 2024 and for the first time a “Still Stunning but Less Savage” Mini Tri is on offer, featuring a 1k swim, 22k bike ride and 5k run. Early bird tickets go on sale from 22 July 2023 at croydeocean.co.uk when responding to adverts