Parish Plan
The Kingston Parish Plan was published in November 2007, with the overall aim of maintaining Kingston as a sustainable community. The Plan is the result of an extensive village consultation, during which 80% of households from occupied homes completed a detailed questionnaire. As part of the planning process the Kingston Parish Council commissioned an independent Housing Needs Survey from the Rural Housing Enabler, at the Community Council of Devon.
Both the Parish Plan and the Housing Needs Survey are available here.
Kingston Parish Plan 2007
Kingston Housing Needs Survey 2007
The Parish Plan is now almost complete. An Advisory Group was set up to implement the Plan on behalf of the Parish Council and a number of special interest groups, took on specific projects. The Advisory Group stood down in April 2011 and passed the ongoing actions back to the new Parish Council, elected in May 2011. The Terms of Reference for the Advisory Group are available here. Contact Cllr Judy Alloway on 01548 810692 for more information.
The Parish Plan Progress Report is here. It is updated at regular intervals. Last updated May 2011
Some key achievements:
March 16th 2009, the Kingston Local Lettings Plan (updated December 2011) finally went live. This Plan, which has been agreed by the Guinness Trust and Tor Homes Housing Associations and the South Hams District Council, now ensures that local Kingston people have priority when housing association properties becoming available for rent in the village. The definition of 'local' includes those living, or who have recently lived, in the village, those with close family connections to the village and serving members of the Kingston branch of the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service. Please note that only those who are are on the Housing Register will be eligible. The Plan operates within Devon Home Choice, the new approach to allocating homes across Devon. If you think you have a local connection and want to apply for a house in Kingston when one becomes available, contact any Cllr Judy Alloway on 01548 810692 and/or Paul Eeles of the SHDC Housing Advice Team based at Follaton House. This link will take you into the SHDC Housing Allocations Policy Website, or go directly into Devon Home Choice.
The purpose of the Local Lettings Plan is to contribute to the parish aim of maintaining a sustainable village community. The success of the Plan will be monitored by the organisations mentioned above and by Kingston Parish Council.
May 2009, Kingston Parish Council was successful in obtaining a small grant from the Big Lottery, Awards for All, to stimulate employment in the village through development of information to support and increase tourism. Free leaflets with maps and advice on a range of walks in the parish are now available through Kingsbridge and ModburyTourist Information Points, the Dolphin Inn and St James the Less Parish Church in Kingston. Large print versions are available on request from all distribution points where staff are available. A short braille statement on the walks can be obtained from the parish clerk on kingstonclerk@gmail.com An Orientation Board is now available in the village centre, on the back wall of the Reading Room. Leaflets are downloadable from this site and the National Trust presents information on their work and other items of interest in the local countryside, see under 'Walking in Kingston'. The project was completed in July 2010. Kingston is now in a position to join the Kingsbridge 'Walkers are Welcome' scheme.
June 2009, check out the new tab entitled 'Energy Saving Tips' on this site, to see a summary of the energy and water saving tips which have been published in the parish Newsletter. This is regularly updated and will help you save money and reduce Kingston's carbon footprint. This tab also provides information on new legislation about batteries and light bulbs.
October 2010, Active Kingston, a village community group which grew out of an initiative encouraged by the PPAG has succeeded in replacing the ageing play equipment on the village playing field with a new far more interesting play area for younger children, an adventure trail for older children, a zipwire and a log cabin and picnic area. These facilities were opened by Devon County Council Chair Christine Marsh and Seb Genders a young village resident on Oct 23. 2010. Active Kingston has now closed down and passed its remaining assets to the Kingston Parish Council.
February 2011 The village Tree Wardens are leading on a long term plan for planting trees and improving the hedgerows on the playing field in order to improve the environment and stimulate the diversity of wildlife. Children and young people in the village, with their families, planted a copse of over 300 new trees in National Tree Week, Nov 24-Dec 5 2010,which they will then look after for next few years. These trees will then be associated with their family name for as long as they survive. Tree Council funding supported this initiative and the Guinness Heritage supplied 300 bluebells also planted in autumn 2010. More spring bulbs are planned. A further consignment of over 400 small hedge whips from the Woodland Trust was planted in February 2011 and more planting is taking place during autumn 2011.
May 2011. The Advisory Group was successful in getting a further Big Lottery Awards for All grant to provide better access to the playing field and a small car parking area, completed in May 2011.
Implementing the Parish Plan December 2011