Meetings are held (unless a garden visit) in Rattery Village Hall TQ10 9LD @ 2.00pm – all welcome.

PROGRAMME 2026

All meetings start at 2.00 p.m. and cost £5 except 8th October

8th October 1.30 p.m.: Visit (£7.50 including tea and coffee) Burnham Nurseries Forches Cross Newton Abott for a guided tour of their outstanding orchid collection.

5th November: Penny Hammond. ‘Flowers of Croatia’

3rd December: Julian Sutton ‘A dream of winter’ plants to brighten up dark days.

PROGRAMME 2027

7th January: David Carver. ‘Miniature Narcissi- looking at true miniatures’

4th February: Kurt Vickery. ‘The flora of Chile’.

4th March: Ben Candin from Adventurous Plants ‘The plants of The Canary Islands’ plus members show and plant display.

1st April: Visit to Penny Hammond, 44 Highweek Village TQ12 1QQ and AGM. Penny has a large collection of Alpines and other interesting plants.

Alpine Society website: Local Groups – Alpine Garden Society

St Mary’s has been at the heart of Rattery for generations, but like many rural churches it faces questions about its long-term financial and practical viability and, unless circumstances change, it is likely to close within two to three years.

Rather than wait until decisions are forced upon us from outside, Rattery Parish Council (not the Parochial Church Council) is setting up a small St Mary’s Working Group. The purpose is not to form a committee which simply discusses what ought to happen, nor is it to campaign either to save or to close the church. The job of the Group is to make telephone calls, send emails, find documents, speak to the relevant organisations, obtain figures, sound out public opinion and, most importantly, establish the facts.

The Group will then bring that information together into a clear set of realistic options for St Mary’s. A report with findings, costs and implications will be published in advance of the Parish Assembly on 13^th April 2027 when we can discuss St Mary’s future on the basis of reliable information rather than assumptions.

This will be a working group in the literal sense. We are therefore looking for a small number of parishioners prepared to take on one or more research tasks and help to clarify the options. Among the topics that the Group will have to consider are: current finances; building condition & future costs; formal church closure and possible designation as a Festival Church; implications for the churchyard; experience elsewhere; the role of the Parish Council; grants and external funding; non-religious community use and income potential; community ownership/management; public opinion and community support.

To help you do not need to be a churchgoer or an expert. What matters is curiosity, willingness to do some practical investigation, and the ability to report clearly what you find.

If you would like to help, or would like to find out more information, please contact the Clerk to the Parish Council, Sharon Raggett at clerk@ratteryvillage.co.uk

From National Highways

We are carrying out essential joint replacement and drainage works on the A38 at Whitecleave and Mardle viaducts near Buckfastleigh   

We previously carried out short-term repair works to keep the bridges safe and operational. The current scheme will provide a full replacement of the bridge joints, delivering a long-term solution.

We are committed to ensuring that the region’s roads are fit for now and for the future. Our work will improve safety and reduce the risk of future unplanned closures. 

How we’ll be working

We’ll be working during the day with some of our noisier works at Whitecleave viaduct to limit disruption for local residents and businesses. The rest of our works will take place overnight to limit disruption to road users.   

To enable our teams to work safely, the A38 will have traffic management in place between Wednesday 02 September 2026 and Monday 25 January 2027.

Access to Buckfastleigh will be maintained throughout our works.

Please plan ahead and allow plenty of time for journeys:

Full overnight closures

Overnight closures of the A38 in both directions between Dart Bridge and Marley Head, plus associated slip roads. Full closures are Monday – Friday, 8pm – 6am, unless otherwise stated.

Wednesday 02 September – Thursday 03 September (8pm – 6am). Please note, westbound closure will start from Peartree for these two nights.

Friday 04 September – Friday 23 October (Monday – Friday, 8pm – 6am). There will be no overnight closures during October half term 26-30 October

Monday 02 November – Wednesday 04 November (8pm – 6am). Please note, westbound closure will start from Peartree.

Monday 14 December – Sunday 20 December (10.30pm – 6am). There will be no overnight closures over the Christmas and New Year period.

Monday 04 January – Monday 25 January  (Monday – Friday, 8pm – 6am) 

Well signed diversions will be in place via Dartington (A384, A385). 

Access will be maintained to properties directly within the closure area. 

Please follow the signed diversion routes rather than following sat navs or using local cut throughs. This will help to ensure that any disruption is kept to a minimum. 

Local traffic from Buckfastleigh wanting to travel westbound will still be able to join the A38 at the Dean Court Farm Shop on slip.

Lane closures

From 8.00pm Wednesday 02 September until 6.00am 21 December. 24/7 lane closures will be in place on the A38 in both directions at Buckfastleigh. A 40mph speed limit and average speed cameras will be in place. One narrow lane will remain open in each direction.

Temporary traffic lights

From 9.00am Thursday 17 September until 4.00pm Tuesday 22 September, inclusive. There will be temporary traffic signals in operation 24/7 on Old Totnes Road.

Dates may change at short notice due to poor weather conditions or operational reasons. If we’re unable to complete our work as planned, we may need to continue beyond the dates stated. 

We understand that roadworks can be frustrating, but we are working to complete these essential works as safely and efficiently as possible, with the least disruption to residents and the travelling public.   

More travel information   

To keep up to date with our work, please visit  https://nationalhighways.co.uk/roads-and-travel/road-projects/south-west/a38-corridor-exeter-to-plymouth/ or follow us on X at @HighwaysSWEST   

You can also check out our daily closures page,  sign up to our subscription service and receive regular emails on planned works.

Saturday 10 October – Harvest Supper

Saturday 19 December – Rattery Christmas extravaganza

Bidwell Brook Living Laboratory

There was a fantastic Research Symposium held in January in Rattery, bringing together around 35 people from various universities and organisations (including the Environment Agency) to talk all about the Bidwell Brook Living Laboratory. Read more (PDF file)

You may already know about the Bidwell Brook Partnership, a local organisation bringing together local people and organisations to make the Bidwell Valley even better for both wildlife and for those of us who are lucky enough to live and work here (see https://bidwellbrook.org/).  An important part of our activities has been working with various universities, with our team of ‘citizen scientists’. These are local people who are interested in helping in several different research projects, trialling new equipment/sensors etc.

The Symposium brought together the various researchers and organisations, so they could share information and findings, with the aim of the Bidwell Brook becoming a formally designated ‘Living Laboratory’. This would encourage further research, innovation and collaboration – as appropriate to local needs. We also talked about how to manage the mass of data becoming available and make it publicly accessible and understandable.

Local Involvement

Local people have already been involved in the research – big thanks to everyone who has helped so far. This year, there will be further opportunities, including workshops and more training for Citizen Scientists, with new research areas.

We will also be exploring some key questions, such as:

• What further research would be useful locally?
• Are you a local land/business owner who might like to find data/information to help you address a particular issue?
• Is there some monitoring equipment (that doesn’t already exist) that it would be useful for a University to (potentially) create?

We welcome all ideas – let us know, at: info@bidwellbrook.org

Why the Bidwell?

Apparently, the UK is considered to be a leader in Europe in citizen science and community engagement, and the Bidwell Brook is playing an amazingly important role. Here are some highlights from the discussions at the Research Symposium:

* The Bidwell Brook is of national and potentially international significance, with an ambition for it to become a UNESCO Geohydrology Demonstration Site (University of Plymouth)

* The project in the Bidwell has helped validate the new Bactiquick equipment for use by Citizen Scientists everywhere (Uni. of Plymouth)

* The Bidwell Brook is an exemplar of catchment monitoring (West Country Rivers Trust)

* The Bidwell is very important to answer how Citizen Science can most usefully be used (Uni. of Exeter)

* Data from the Bidwell is being used to create a digital twin in Sweden & Poland (Chelsea Technologies/Uni. of West of England)

* Nature-based solutions to help control water are being trialled in a farm in Dartington (West Country Rivers Trust)

* Data from Dartington Combined Sewage Outlets (CSO) is being used in a project for SWWater to understand their discharge impacts (Uni. of Exeter)

It’s brilliant that we have so much really useful work going on locally. Most importantly: our main reason for involvement is to obtain high quality information that we can use to help improve our local environment. Ideally, this will also be useful as examples to help elsewhere, nationally and internationally.  

The BBP is also working with other organisations on other exciting developments, including: supporting local landowners on landscape recovery; education initiatives, particularly with young people; and improving the wildlife corridor along the Bidwell.

For more details on these, do have a look at our website: https://bidwellbrook.org/     If you’d like to join in, in any way, we’d love to hear from you! info@bidwellbrook.org

Kim Howard, Bidwell Brook Partnership

Our friendly group meets weekly on Fridays from 10.15 to 11.45 in the Baptist Church Hall, Exeter Road, Ivybridge, PL21 0BQ for peer support, information, exercise and refreshments. £5 per week for the person living with Parkinson’s and free for carers. For more information contact Helen on 07528655419.

Parkinson’s UK Local Support website

If you are involved in running a small to medium sized business, a charity, a public sector body or a local community group, and you are concerned about the security of your computers, your IT systems, your website or your Social Media account, please allow me to sign-post you towards the South West’s Cyber Resilience Centre.

Please see here –  Home | Cyber Resilience Centre for the South West

The SW CRC is part of UK Policing’s TEAM CYBER UK and headed up by Steve Shepherd who was previously a Devon and Cornwall Police, Cyber Protect Officer.

The SW CRC is a not-for-profit organisation, funded by the Home Office and regional policing. The SW CRC exists to help South-West based small to medium sized businesses, organisations, charities, voluntary groups, and public sector bodies, with their Cyber Security.

Cyber Security can feel complicated, expensive, and unmanageable. It can be hard to know where to start, or how to improve resilience.  Professional Cyber Security support is often costly and for many, obtaining such assistance can be well beyond their financial means.  These regional CRC’s have been set up by Government to help those who find themselves in just that position.  

Much of what is on offer from the CRC is absolutely free.  If you are a sole trader / SME, a charity, public sector body or local community group, concerned about your IT set up, I would highly recommend you sign up with them.

 Should you wish to sign up you can do so here – Join Us | Cyber Resilience Centre for the South West

Alternatively, you can contact Steve Shepherd direct at –  steve.shepherd@swcrc.police.uk

I hope you find this information useful, but please also accept my apologies if you are already aware of the SW CRC.  

Lastly, please feel free to share this message across your wider network of associates, including SME’s, charities, small to medium sized organisations and voluntary groups in your own local area.

Thank you for taking the time to read this message.

Mick HARRISON

PSE 31015 

Cyber Protect Officer