MID Devon’s planners are launching a survey about current services and facilities within villages.

The survey will help it find out where residents in Mid Devon access local services, such as healthcare, shops, and recreation facilities.

It would also like to hear about how well rural areas are served by broadband and mobile telephone coverage, where publicly accessible electric vehicle charging points should be provided so that it can investigate these, and if there are community energy schemes in the local area.

Mid Devon District Council already has information about Post Offices, bus and rail services and local libraries, but it says comments about these services are welcomed.

MDDC says that feedback from the survey will help it better understand how well places in Mid Devon meet the needs of their communities.

It says this will be used to prepare a new Local Plan to guide the use and development of land across the district for the next 20 years and help us make local towns and villages more self-sufficient, climate friendly and move towards a net zero carbon future.

Councillor Steve Keable, Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Regeneration, said: “Over half the population of our district live in rural areas and so we want to work to make sure that our villages can continue to support vibrant, sustainable communities and provide for the needs of local people.

"By responding to this survey, you will be assisting us in ensuring that we have the best possible picture of the valued facilities which exist across the district.”

The public consultation will run until Friday, February 9 and can be accessed via: https://letstalk.middevon.gov.uk/rural-services .

MDDC says all comments received within the consultation period will be carefully considered to help it produce a new report on Mid Devon’s rural services, which will be published on the Council’s website in due course.

Past Rural Services Survey reports can be viewed on the Council’s website: https://www.middevon.gov.uk/residents/planning-policy/monitoring/rural-services/ .