I’m fed up with all the stories about ‘phone hacking’.

The phrase ‘phone hacking’ is very emotive as it implies that there is an ability to hack into live phone calls. This is simply not the case – unless of course you’re GCHQ!

Phones weren’t hacked, voicemail boxes were. There’s a very big difference.

The voicemail boxes were only hacked because the owners didn’t change their default passwords! Or if they did change them they used easily guessable codes.

NDDC have launched a redesigned website.

I have to say I think the previous site was better, but maybe once I’m used to it my opinion will change.

Malcolm Gingell, the Town Clerk, announces his resignation at the Town Council meeting!

Somewhere else that Max can explore:

I recently had a discussion with someone about apprenticeships and decided to ask the North Devon District Council (NDDC) how may apprentices they employ. I received the answer today following a Freedom of Information request.

Q: How many apprentices does the Council currently employ?
A: Two

Q: What type of apprenticeship are they (e.g. Business and Administration, Local taxation, and benefits etc.) and at what level (Intermediate, Advanced, Higher) using the definitions employed by the Skills Funding Agency?
A:  Both are Business and Administration apprentices. One has just started Level 3 (Advanced) after successfully completing Level 2. The other has recently started Level 2 (Intermediate).

Q:  Are the apprentices paid the national minimum rate for apprentices or are they paid at a higher rate?
A: The apprentices are paid £10,000 per annum, which increases to £11,159 per annum in year two. [Difficult to convert to the apprenticeship minimum wage but it would appear that the apprentices are being more than the minimum rate for apprentices.]

Q: For non-apprentices, is NDDC’s minimum wage the national minimum wage or the Living Wage?
A: Staff are paid on the National Joint Council for Local Government Services (NJC) payscale.  This is above the national minimum wage and, for most staff, is above the living wage also.

Strictly Come Dancing came to South Molton on Saturday Night when the South Molton branch of Cancer Research UK put on a show at the South Molton Community College.

Preparations started way back in October when the couples started to practise their routines, and culminated in the finale on Saturday night when twelve couples took part.  Very well done to Tracey Hulland and Jack Friendship who were voted the winners by the audience and well done to all the other couples as well..

Mervyn Way gave a very creditable performance as a judge, although unfortunately didn’t take part as a dancer!  Perhaps next time round.

Congratulations to June Williams and all those who helped organise this very successful fund raiser – more than £4,000 was raised!

We’re promised a repeat performance in two years time. So start practising your dance routines now!

I spotted this cabinet at the Station Road entrance to Pathfields this morning. It’s good news, as this is a BT Infinity cabinet which means that super fast broadband will be coming to Pathfields in the not too distant future. Hopefully other such cabinets will be sprouting up in other parts of South Molton shortly!

This is the sort of practice that I hate. An emergency number that won’t be included in any telephone price plans and that could cost 40p a minute (or more) from mobile phones! South West Water ought to be ashamed of themselves.

If North Devon District Council’s (NDDC) capital expenditure programme can be relied on, then the central car park in South Molton should be resurfaced next financial year.

NDDC have the following items for South Molton  in their capital expenditure budget at present:

2014/15
South Molton Car Park Extension (Sheep Pens) £30,000

2015/16
Demolition at South Molton Recycle £75,000
South Molton Car Park Extension (Sheep Pens) £96,126
South Molton Car Park resurfacing £200,000

2016/17
Nothing

2017/18
Nothing

So it looks likes there’s no chance of the Cattle Market moving to Pathfields for quite a while yet!

Councillor Greenslade is obviously a very busy man, but surely he reads his e-mail?

I sent him the following over a week ago (Friday 13 February 2015) and am still awaiting a response:

“Dear Councillor Greenslade,

I’m absolutely dismayed by what’s happening to the Local Plan, and its potential effect on South Molton:

• The first iteration that went out to consultation in January 2013 showed 1,100 new dwellings for South Molton and 30 hectares of employment land.
• The second iteration, published in June 2014, had an increase in dwellings of about 10% to 1,208 and a decrease in employment land of about 40% – to just 17.6 hectares.
• The proposed amendments that were endorsed by the NDDC Executive on Tuesday 10 February show a further increase in housing to 1,240 and a further considerable decrease in employment land to 10.8 hectares, albeit with an additional 1.5 hectares being allocated to a re-located cattle market.

Why does it appear that the NDDC Executive and NDDC planning officers have totally ignored the views of local residents who quite clearly wanted fewer houses and more employment land?

Were South Molton Town Council consulted at any stage before these latest modifications? If so, when?

It seems that the Local Plan won’t actually be adopted until 2016! Why has there been such an inordinate delay?

It appears to me that North Devon District Council treats South Molton and its residents with complete and utter disdain as shown by these ill-considered  changes to the Local Plan and the Tesco debacle.

Yours faithfully,

Marc Cornelius”

I’ve put an updated plan of the proposals here.