2016-2020
Individuals
- Children playing on the side streets have become a familiar sight again. Ball games and windows don’t mix well, but people are very tolerant as it is good to see the children outside. Many streets have benches on the pavements and have become social meeting places. Some streets have designated one side for skate boarders who impress with their acrobatics. Contrary to many peoples’ expectations, a study shows that having more children playing in the streets has led to a fall in reported crime.
- More producers in the district are bringing their products to market by horse and cart. Hitching posts and water troughs have been set up at the back of Civic Square and under the shade of the new orchard at the old market in Cistern Street.
- Bicycle delivery schemes are popular with local shops and shoppers, saving people carrying their shopping around with them and they can phone in orders to be delivered locally. People travel less; more are working from home and commute less; 20% of all journeys are now by bicycle. 30% of locally owned cars and 80% of taxis are electric & plug into the grid.
- More horses and donkeys are visible on the streets that are much quieter now. Farmers are using more horses and donkeys on the land and looking into some of the old horse drawn machinery.
Community
- Local towpaths in Totnes, Stoke Gabriel and Tuckenhay get a makeover by local community groups who want to improve local walks from the riverboat links.
- CVS initiates Health trip taxis as part of a local health forum with LINK initiative to help people access health and care services. Taxi drivers take a special training to learn how to assist passengers using their vehicles, which also get special fittings and can carry wheelchairs. Visitors to patients can also use these services, which are subsidised by the PCT.
- The Community Late Nite Bus service adds more journeys to the public services setting off at 10pm and working during the night until 7am to collect and deliver goods in the cool of the night. Late night revellers and early starters can catch this bus too.
Policy Makers & Service Providers
- In response to the major drop in car use and need for more growing space, SHDC closes the Old Market Car Park to cars and 50 car spaces are taken out from the main car park at Heath’s. Both areas have their tarmac broken up and are planted up for community orchards.
- Totnes Riverboat Connection comes on stream and is found to be popular for local distribution of goods and travel by school children. The new service links Dartmouth’s transport services bringing imports directly into T&D. The Travel hubs are proving very popular and attractive horse troughs and hitching posts are installed to increase access to all local transport options. Older bus shelters are given a retrofit to make them more comfortable and provide better shelter in line with the waiting rooms at Travel Hubs.
- Local government agencies and service providers get together on a major retrofit of all ‘outdated’ PSVs and their own fleets. These vehicles will be adapted for methane or methane /electric hybrid. Interest in joining the emergency services increases 5 fold when the new fleets of sleek electric vehicles come into use. Mountain bicycles replace 50% of police cars, and ambulances carry a full range of home birth delivery equipment.
- National Government introduces a Private Owners’ Car Licence requiring individual owners to pay an annual fee. Disabled drivers are excluded.
- In 2016, the Totnes – Stoke Gabriel cycle path is now extended right down to the coast, completing the final leg of the Dart Valley Cycle Path, this now extends from Buckfastleigh where it meets up with the National cycle route down to the coast. The Dart Valley Cycle Path following the course of the river Dart is voted the country’s most scenic cycle way and becomes a major tourist attraction, bringing in holidaymakers from all over the country.
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