Teignbridge meetings are starting up again online, which is helpful. The waste collection services including kerbside recycling have continued uninterrupted and many residents have been showing their appreciation. The only exception is textiles which are on hold. Emptying the bins is pretty important during a health crisis. The recycling centres are reopening and TDC are still taking new subscriptions for the green bin service.

In the first round of government support for local councils TDC were awarded around £60,000 which sounds a lot, but barely covers the lost revenue from car parks for a week. In round 2 TDC was allotted around 1.3 million which is much better. Current estimates of the lost revenue in TDC are around 11 million, so there are still some serious problems to solve. These figures are all in the public domain.

The local plan consultation is active. A great deal of work has been done on this by my fellow Councillors and there are some very welcome changes including much stronger climate change measures. Zero carbon buildings makes a welcome return. This plan should never have been scrapped nationally in 2015 and I welcome its return in Teignbridge. Comments on the plan are welcome.