PARISH councillors were continuing efforts to make Exmoor village Timberscombe a more eco-friendly village, chairman Katherine Attwater said in her annual report. 

Cllr Attwater, who took over in February following the resignation of Peter Pilkington, said Timberscombe was part of the ‘No Mow May’ campaign again this year and more wildflowers had also been planted on road verges.

She said a few wildflowers were visible last summer and it was hoped there would be a better showing this year.

Selective mowing of the grass would continue again this year, but councillors had listened to the ‘many divergent views on this’ and amended the plans accordingly.

Wildlife mapping of Timberscombe had been completed and a large biodiversity map was now on show in the village hall.

Cllr Attwater said a follow up to the mapping project was planned for later in the year by West Somerset Together.

She said: “Once again, the village was given free trees to plant and these were distributed to villagers to plant on their property.

“The village now has a Parish Online website to map the village resources and assets and the council would be very keen to speak to anybody interested in helping to develop this site.

“Throughout the year the parish council has organised village maintenance, including the cutting of hedges and grass, and the clearing of roadside weeds.

“We contract the emptying of the dog and rubbish bins and the filling of the salt bins and bags.”

Cllr Attwater said speeding traffic had long been an issue in Timberscombe and a parish survey carried out by Mr Pilkington indicated that a Speed Indicator Device (SID) was the most popular proposal to help tackle it.

Three members of the parish council had met Somerset Council highways offiicers to check proposed sites for a SID, which parish councillors planned to purchase.

However, Cllr Attwater said it was not a simple issue because of the numerous regulations governing the placement and type of SID the parish could have.

She said: “We are currently awaiting highways’ feedback before purchasing the SID.”

Cllr Attwater said a 20 mph speed limit also proved popular in the survey, but highways officers had instructed the parish council to remove ‘20 is plenty’ signs which had been put up.

She said the parish council had also received complaints from riders about abuse and dangerous driving around horses and riders on the roads.

Cllr Attwater said: “While we had the Somerset highways team on site, we took the opportunity to discuss other road issues.

“We are hopeful that highways will approve ‘horse in road’ signs for the Bickham bend and near the Methodist Chapel.

“The police have suggested that body cameras would be helpful for riders, as they are able to prosecute bad behaviour using body camera footage.”