Next meeting of the council will be held on:
Tuesday 24th November 2026
at
Templeton Village Hall - 7.30 p.m.
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Templeton Parish Council is comprised of five elected councillors.
Councillors contact details can be found on this website.
The Parish Council meets regularly every two months in Templeton Village Hall.
Dates of meetings are published in advance and members of the public and parish are welcome to attend.
Meetings commence with an opportunity for public questions regarding agenda items.
The agendas of upcoming meetings are published a week in advance and are displayed on the Parish Council website, village noticeboards and at Templeton Village Hall.
Parish Councils are required to make Statutory documents available.
Please contact our Parish Clerk for any further information -
clerk@templetonparishcouncil.org.uk
Mrs Alex Langley
Templeton Noticeboard
Important information for parishioners :
In fond memory of former parish councillors, Val Greenfield, Frank Saunders and Ken Reid.
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The Met Office has issued an Amber wind warning for the whole of Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and parts of West Devon ahead of the arrival of Storm Austen.
The storm is expected to bring a spell of very strong winds and heavy rain across southern areas of the UK late on Thursday and into Friday.
A wider Yellow warning for wind remains in place from Thursday evening into Friday and has been updated as confidence in the storm's track and strength increases.
Storm Austen is forecast to move across southern Britain late Thursday and during Friday morning, bringing the greatest risk of disruptive weather to southern and southwestern areas.
Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster Chris Bulmer said: “Storm Austen is expected to bring a spell of impactful weather to parts of the UK from Thursday night and through Friday. While there remains some uncertainty in the exact track of the storm, there is increasing confidence in the potential for disruptive winds across parts of southwest England, which is why an Amber warning has been issued - https://weather.metoffice.gov.uk/warnings-and-advice/uk-warnings#?date=2026-10-23
“Winds gusts could potentially reach 60-70 mph for a time, and these strong winds will be combined with spells of heavy rain. People in affected areas should keep up to date with the latest forecast and warnings as the event develops.”
Winds will gradually ease through Friday afternoon and evening.
A wet and windy weekend following Storm Austen
Looking beyond Storm Austen, the weather is expected to remain unsettled through the weekend and into next week. Another area of low pressure is likely to bring strong winds to northern parts of the UK during Saturday and Sunday, with the potential for further warnings.
RNLI urges public to stay safe near the coast
Those planning to visit the coast should take extra care, with large waves, strong winds and dangerous sea conditions possible.
RNLI Water Safety Manager, Ross Macleod said: "Storm Austen is set to bring potentially dangerous conditions so we’re asking the public to stay vigilant and not take unnecessary risks. If you plan to visit the coast or a waterside location, we urge you stay a safe distance from the water as conditions could knock you off your feet or wash you into the sea.
"If you find yourself in trouble in the water, remember to Float to Live: Lie back in the water with your head so far back that your ears are wet, extend your arms and legs and try to relax as best as you can until you get control of your breathing before then calling for help or swimming to safety.
"If you see someone else in danger – do not enter the water yourself as you could also end up in serious difficulty. Instead, remember phone, float, throw – phone 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard; tell the struggling person to float; throw them something buoyant, like a life ring."
Further advice on preparing for severe weather can be found through the Met Office https://weather.metoffice.gov.uk/warnings-and-advice/weatherready
READ MORE: https://weather.metoffice.gov.uk/warnings-and-advice/seasonal-advice/stay-safe-in-strong-wind
READ MORE: https://weather.metoffice.gov.uk/warnings-and-advice/seasonal-advice/stay-safe-in-heavy-rain
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No end in sight for Devon's hosepipe ban
Devon’s hosepipe ban could last until well into the New Year, councillors have been told. Reservoir levels are still low, and South West Water has already said it may have to restrict use still further in some parts of the county.
Devon, Cornwall and other parts of South West England are experiencing "severe drought" as experts say its 'something we have not seen for decades'. The South East is also affected as officials warn low reservoir levels will impact farming, people, communities, the economy and nature.
Alan Burrows, South West Water's director of environmental regulation, told a meeting of Torbay Council’s overview and scrutiny committee that the county would need to get as much as 130 per cent of its average annual rainfall for the rest of the year if levels were to be restored.
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Wimbleball Reservoir on Exmoor, he said, was still just 15.8 per cent full. Current figures show that no reservoir in the South West has more than 40 per cent of its full capacity.
Mr Burrows explained that after a wet January and February this year, there had been no significant rainfall until June. Easing restrictions would depend, he added, on how intense the rain was and where exactly it fell.
“We need a lot more than our normal rainfall,” he said.
September brought only about 65 per cent of the expected long-term average rainfall.
The Devon-wide hosepipe ban was activated on August 8, and SWW has applied for permission to impose restrictions on non-essential water use for businesses in places including Exeter, Exmouth, Crediton, Sidmouth, Tiverton and Honiton.
It could mean bans on watering plants on commercial premises; filling or maintaining certain non-domestic swimming pools and ponds; vehicle washing; cleaning non-domestic buildings and premises; cleaning industrial plant and dust suppression.
Mr Burrows said the water company could also apply to take more water than would normally be permitted to keep supplies going. This, however, would have an impact on the environment.
Latest figures for SWW’s largest reservoirs show that Roadford is 36.8 per cent full; Colliford is at 35 per cent; Stithians at 21.9 per cent and Burrator at 33.6 per cent.
https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/no-end-sight-devons-hosepipe-11200082
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The Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Act 2025
On 18th December 2025 the above (Amendment) received Royal Assent, making it law.
It updates and strengthens The Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act – in particular:
- The legislation has been extended to include roads and paths
- Under the new law a dog does not need to make physical contact with animals to commit an offence
- The maximum fine has been raised from £1,000 to an unlimited fine
- New powers allow a court to order an offender to pay expenses associated with seizing and detaining a dog
- Powers are introduced to enter and search premises to identify, seize and detain a dog for the prevention of future incidents, to collect samples or impressions, or seize any other evidence
- Please see Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Act - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament
Is my property at risk of flooding?
According to the Environment Agency, 6.3 million properties in England are at risk of flooding.
To find out if your home could be affected, there are a few things you can do:
- Use the long-term flood risk tool on the UK government website
- Check with your local council
- Check with your local flood authority (LLFA)
- Check if your home specifically is at risk by looking for blocked drains or pipes
- For an accurate answer get a flood-risk property survey on your home
- If you’re buying a new home, check the risk of flooding before you purchase
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https://www.registryoffice.uk/, a free resource designed to help residents find their nearest registry office and access clear information about births, deaths, marriages, and family history.
Important information for the community, that may be useful to signpost some of the relevant pages:
Order a Birth and Marriage Registration
All of the guides are free and written for the public. RegistryOffice.uk
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Details for Devon dental information, emergencies and out of hours service are below:
Mid Devon District Council has launched a new Business e-newsletter.
The e-newsletter will keep businesses informed about initiatives including grant schemes, training and events, as well as a roundup of information and useful resources to support them.
See link under Mid Devon Notices section above.
Scrap Metal collections at Templeton Parish Council
David Parker, Democratic Services Officer for MDDC recently attended a meeting of Templeton Parish Council and noted that we have a great scheme for collecting scrap metal and raising funds from the collection. A win win for our countryside. MDDC have shared our initiatives with town and parish councils incase should they wish to take up the idea.
Raising money from Scrap Metal Templeton is a small rural community in Mid Devon. Population 110. The village has an active parish council, village hall committee and parochial church council. There are several fundraising activities every year : village fetes, quizzes, safari suppers ,duck races and talent shows. These enable us to provide a village hall with a social club and bar and a village church. We have lots of activities including reading groups, gardening clubs, knot and natter and a thriving art club. In 2014 an initiative was started to collect scrap metal from the area. The village has now had four scrap metal events. We raised in 2012 £2346.30, in 2014 £1948, in 2019 £1693.41 and in 2024 £1740.06 . In total £7727.77 for the village. Since we started this event in 2012 we have filled 9 industrial size skips with general metal and four cattle trailers with aluminium, copper, brass and stainless steel. We are very proud of the volume of metal we have removed from our community and the impact on the environment of this quantity of recycling. This started with one person raising the idea and quickly involved the whole village. We use a publicity campaign raising awareness of the day encouraging people to collect everything from old pots and pans, old cables, rusty agricultural cast offs up to derelict aluminium caravans and a small car. We have tractors and trailers going around the village to collect large items and farmers bring their own scrap on trailers. We have a team who sort the scrap using powerful magnets to pull out copper, aluminium, steel and we bag this all separately. We have worked with the local scrap metal yard who supply the industrial size skips. they appreciate the sorting we do and we take the separated metals down in a cattle trailer. On the day we have a team providing bacon sandwiches and hot drinks. Lessons learnt • There were plenty of naysayers who said it would not work but if you have a great idea for raising funds do your research, collect the data, have a compelling story , convince some people and then have a go ! • It needs to involve the whole village from caterers to tractor drivers to metal sorters. • • Make friends with your local scrap metal yard and get the skips for free. • • Sort the metal to maximise the money. • • Collect large items and run the event for one Saturday morning so that there is a concentrated effort. • • This only works every few years and each time we have been amazed at how much metal has accumulated. • • We have not found a solution to disposing of fencing wire and barbed wire of which there is plenty lying around. Scrap metal yards do not like it and it is difficult to handle. Please contact us if you would like any more information - Templeton Parish Council
Community Travel Schemes in Devon
'helping you get from A to B'
All of the links below offer solutions to staying mobile if you are unable to drive and live in a rural area.
Please explore the links listed below if you have issues with transport,
they could provide you with a helpful solution:
https://www.traveldevon.info/accessibility/connecting-you/
https://www.traveldevon.info/accessibility/community-transport/community-bus-schemes/
https://www.traveldevon.info/accessibility/community-transport/shopmobility/:
https://www.traveldevon.info/accessibility/community-transport/ring-and-ride/
https://www.traveldevon.info/accessibility/community-transport/
Accessible Walks
The link below is a map with a list of accessible walks across Devon.
https://www.exploredevon.info/category/activities/walk/accessible-walks/
Texting 999 in case of an emergency and no signal:
Can I text 999?
Yes, you can send a text to 999 in an emergency. But why would you want to?
- In a remote environment in the mountains for example you may not be able to make a phone call but you may be able to send a text as they need less bandwidth to be sent. The problem with calls is that you need to ensure you’ll have proper reception during the length of the call. Sometimes signal quality is simply not good enough to allocate the necessary bandwidth for a voice call, but you can still send/receive texts because the bandwidth you need for that is really narrow.
- The emergency SMS service lets deaf, hard of hearing and speech-impaired people in the UK send an SMS text message to the UK 999 service where it will be passed to the police, ambulance, fire rescue, or coastguard.
So in an emergency situation being able to text 999 rather than phone them can save lives, potentially your own.
You will need to register your mobile phone before using the emergency SMS service. Following registration, by simply sending an SMS message to 999 you can call for help and the emergency services will be able to reply to you.
How to register your phone for text SMS
Register your mobile phone with the service before an emergency happens. Simply text ‘Register’ to 999. Wait for the reply so you know you are registered, usually you are asked to confirm that you’d like to register and the original message wasn’t sent by mistake. It is that simple.
When an emergency happens – If an emergency happens we advise you only to use SMS to contact the emergency services if you have no other option. This is because it will take longer than other methods such as calling 999, however if you can’t make the call, the text service is a valuable alternative.
What information should an emergency text message contain?
Create an SMS message containing the details below:
Which service? Need Ambulance, Coastguard, Fire Rescue, or Police
What? Briefly what is the problem
Where? Be as accurate as possible when giving the location. The better your information is the faster the emergency services will be able to send help. Using the App What3Words is a very easy and useful way to give your location, particularly in rural areas. Alternatively, the OSLocate app provides an immediate grid reference and is another valuable resource.
For more information about Outdoor First Aid courses contact us on our office email – courses@firstaidtrainingcooperative.co.uk
Please check here to see if you are entitled to pension credits
For more information on Pension Credits please use the link below :
https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit
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