Village unveils its blueprint for the future

AXMOUTH’S blueprint for the future was unveiled at a sparkling ceremony at the weekend.

Residents packed the village hall to celebrate the launch of their Parish Plan - mapping out their hopes for the community over the next ten years or so.

Amongst the issues it sets out to tackle are the village’s notorious traffic problems, provision for younger people, the natural and built environment, and how to encourage local businesses.

Plan chairman Jon Underwood was delighted by the successful launch, and the large turnout of locals.

He said: “I think this shows our strong community spirit. Despite being a small village we have a lot to be proud of. Axmouth has been settled for 2,000 years, and boasts an Iron Age hill fort, a 12th century church and numerous listed buildings.

“We also have a national nature reserve, part of the Jurassic Coast, the Axe Estuary plus a dozen locally important sites. There’s a lot here we all want to preserve, but there are also things we would like to add - more and better paths for example.”

The plan team made a giant commemorative cake, featuring their logo, which was cut by two of stars of the recent village pantomime - Ella Rapley and Jessie Spiller. Villagers then washed it down with several cases of a local sparkling cider.