- Peter Goldstraw – Chairman
- Peter Shaw
- Rob Harkness
- John Alker
- Jean McNulty
Returning to Dartmouth on a ferry across the Dart is the ideal platform from which to view our town and provides a few minutes of forced inactivity to appreciate the importance of “Our Green Environment” to the quality of life for those of us who live in Dartmouth. In better times, we have the visitors to remind us, jumping out of their cars to snap photos of this historic town, nestling in the bowl of agricultural land and woodlands which surround us.
Equally important is the patchwork of green spaces in Clifton, Hardness and Townstal, be it a park, an allotment, an orchard, a cemetery or just the green verges alongside the roads, where we can exercise, walk the dog, play games, have a picnic or sit in quiet reflection enjoying the views. This network of green spaces, within our Parish and beyond, are vitally important at this time of climate change, helping to protect and enhance biodiversity for small mammals, birds, bats, insects and plants.
The creation of a Neighbourhood Plan for Dartmouth gives us the opportunity to protect these sites by getting them designated as “Local Green Spaces”. During “Lock Down” many of us have made greater use of our local paths, or returned to cycling as a more sustainable method of transport or just an enjoyable form of exercise. There is, within the neighbourhood planning process, scope to plan new paths, perhaps to join up existing paths, and create more cycle ways. We need your assistance and support in listing all of the green spaces and suggesting where paths and cycle lanes can be created or expanded.
We need “local champions” to help accumulate the evidence for the value of such amenities to our community. If you wish to nominate your local green space, provide suggestions, or even to volunteer to be a “local champion” for a green space, path or cycle route, please contact us via this website. If you do not do it, it might not happen!
Topic Group members
Peter Shaw
Peter came to Dartmouth 15 years ago while still working as a freelance consultant in the people aspects of managing large scale change. He worked in a variety of organisations in the private, voluntary, and public sectors. In Dartmouth, he helped found the Friends of the Orchard then chaired its committee. He has been active at different times in the D&K Society, Townstal Community Partnership, and Dartmouth Rotary. He has a strong interest in the natural world.
Jean McNulty
After teaching Art for a while, I pursued a career in arts management spanning three decades.
Working for a number of arts organisations, I led several strategic regeneration projects in various
London boroughs. This usually involved working closely with local communities and partner
organisations to develop socially inclusive cultural strategies, training and employment initiatives in
the creative industry sector.
Rob Harkness
John Alker