According to the Environment Agency, over two million people in England live and work in properties at risk of flooding from rivers or the sea, whilst more face flood threats from groundwater, surface water, sewers, and reservoirs.

At Gocompare, we have put together a guide to preparing for a flood and protecting your property -https://www.gocompare.com/household-tips/limiting-flood-risk-and-damage/

In extreme conditions you won't be able to stop flood water, and you should always put personal safety above attempts to protect property and possessions. Despite this, there are steps that you can take to keep water out, to buy yourself time to preserve property and possessions, and to limit the damage that flood water does.

It’s the time of year again for West Devon residents to renew their garden waste service to make sure that their grass clippings, weeds and pruned garden waste is collected once a fortnight.

An annual subscription to West Devon Borough Council’s Garden Waste Collection Service starts again on 1 April and you are now able to sign up for the service. Each subscription provides four generous reusable sacks, which are collected every fortnight on the same day of the week as your other waste collections.

Cllr Lynn Daniel, West Devon Lead Member for Environment, said: “Not only is our £40 fee for our garden waste service great value for money, it’s so convenient for anyone who likes to look after their garden but is unable to home compost. When you’re tackling jobs like tending to flowerbeds or simply mowing the lawn, being able to put the waste straight into a sack for collection from outside your home is reassuring and makes those tasks feel so much easier.”

All current subscriptions will end on 31March 2022. If you are an existing subscriber then you will need to renew before 1 April 2022 to be able to carry on using the service without interruption.

If you are new to the Garden Waste Service, we will aim to deliver your sacks within ten working days of signing up. You can begin using the service as soon as you receive them.

The annual cost of £40 applies for fortnightly collections, running from 1 April until 31 March each year, excluding the two weeks over the Christmas period when the service is suspended.

For more information and to sign up, visit: www.westdevon.gov.uk/article/7685/Garden-Waste-Service

Due to Covid 19 restrictions the Council has delegated authority to the Clerk in consultation with the Chairman and other councillors, to take any actions necessary with associated expenditure to protect the interests of the community and ensure council business continuity, informed by consultation with the members of the council. The scheme of delegation will be reviewed no later than May 2022. The council will not hold meetings until further notice. please contact the clerk if you wish to raise any matters with the councillors.