Apologies for absence were received from Councillors R Clarke, L Hellyer, T Inch and P Lawrence.
No declarations of interest or requests for dispensations were received.
The Chair of Rail Future appealed to the Council to support his organisation’s ambition to reinstate a rail link to Bideford.
It was proposed by Councillor K Hind, seconded by Councillor S Inch and resolved to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 21 May 2026 as a correct record.
(Vote – For: 9, Against: 0, Abstention: 1)
The Council agreed to host the Bideford & District Community Archive for a presentation at a future Council meeting.
The Torridge Sector Inspector for Devon and Cornwall Police summarised recent crime statistics for Bideford and the wider Torridge district, and explained the Police’s response to illegal commercial activities, modern slavery and the illegal use of motor vehicles in the town centre and East-the-Water.
The Torridge Sector Inspector agreed to investigate the feasibility of spot action on illegal motoring activities in Bideford and highlighted the importance of reporting offences in order to provide the evidence base on the basis of which police resources could be deployed. The Council suggested appealing to residents via its social media channels to report any suspicious, criminal and/or illegal activities to Devon and Cornwall Police.
The Council considered the report by the Internal Auditor and noted that he had responded positively to internal control objective D in his report to the external auditor, but that he had commented that the Council had not met that control objective last year in his underlying qualitative report.
It was proposed by Councillor J Hellyer, seconded by Councillor D Bushby and resolved to note the report by the Internal Auditor for submission to the external auditor, subject to clarifying the Internal Auditor's treatment of internal control objective D.
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