Hele and its History

In the 19th Century the character and growth of Hele was forged by two industrial influences. Its situation on the river Culm and the existence of a grist mill made it a natural site for participation in the development and expansion of paper making. With the onset of the railways it became a centre for the collection and distribution of livestock and goods. Most of the existing buildings resulted from the success and wealth generated by these activities.

Conservation Society

Hele embraces three Parish Councils and two District Councils within Devon County. The Society was formed in 1991 by a small group of residents who were intent on ensuring that their concerns in safeguarding all aspects affecting the hamlet were taken into account at all levels in the local authority. The Society has maintained a membership of over thirty and its aims and objectives are listed in this leaflet.

The Society belongs to the following organizations:

Aims of the Hele Conservation Society

1. To safeguard the hamlet of Hele from inappropriate development.
2. To protect the wildlife and woodland environment in Hele.
3. To preserve the historic character of the hamlet.
4. To act as a focus for any other matter of concern in Hele including community and social activities and the encouragement of the participation of the young.

Activities

Environmental Work

The Society has been involved in protecting the natural features around Hele. We have been active in many Local Authority Consultation Strategy Plans. We have pursued road safety issues and planning policies.

We have worked with the Environment Agency and other organizations in the development of wildlife habitats in the surrounding area, such as our involvement in the improvement of the water quality of the river Culm and the construction of a Fish Pass; we have conducted surveys, one of which was of the trees in Hele, resulting in a number being protected by Tree Preservation Orders; other surveys were of the hedgerows and the Otter and Water Vole activities along the river. We monitor and care for the right of ways and footpaths in the area.

Tree planting and the Community Orchard

Our first activity on forming the Society was to plant a single Copper Beech tree in the very centre of Hele, with the agreement of the Paper Mill, the landowners. We wanted to make a statement that we were in Hele and were willing to care for and enhance our hamlet. In the following twelve years we have planted some 200 trees on Mill property and over 100 on other land in the hamlet. These have been to enhance the visual appearance of buildings, to create wildlife habitats, to add rare Devon Black Poplars along the river, to re-provide native Crab Apple trees along the roads and add to the historic avenue of London Plane trees in Hele.

The Society has restored a small derelict orchard in the centre of Hele, adding local variety apple trees. The aim is to provide a quiet place for residents and employees of the Mill and a place for children to learn and enjoy themselves along with an enhancement of its wildlife.
Recent achievements have included the creation of a copse of native trees called Weir Spinney and an otter meander area.

Community Composting

Our activities naturally produce green waste. So, consistent with our policies, our research discovered the Community Compost Initiative run by Devon County Council. We became an early member and the scheme has been extremely successful. We started with a few bins in the Community Orchard but have since moved to a larger site at the south-west end of Strathculm Road. It continues to grow, taking garden waste from Hele and the surrounding areas. We have achieved award-winning compost, a reduction of material to the local landfill and an added income for the work of our Society.

The Hele Paper Mill Archive

A number of our members have an interest in researching the history of Hele. It was evident that the Paper Mill would feature significantly. The Mill supported our initiative and the Society now holds a substantial amount of archive material. This has been used as a basis of a book published by one of the members of the Society. It is hoped that in the future a venue will be found for the display of the archives. This would also provide us with a meeting place for the Society and for the wider community in Hele.

Reproduced by kind permission of Ordnance Survey
© Crown Copyright NC/2004/28801

For further information and membership application please contact:-

DAVID ABRAHAMS
phone 01392 881457
email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

For further information on Composting and compost sales please contact:-

JOHN PARKER
on phone 01392 881570
or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it