Inwardleigh Parish Council

Inwardleigh is a rural parish in West Devon, about 2 miles north west of Okehampton. There are two main settlements, the villages of Inwardleigh and Folly Gate, and numerous scattered farms and hamlets. The main A386 Okehampton to Hatherleigh and Bideford road runs north-south through the parish.

Lithium Battery Disposal

Inwardleigh Parish Council supports the initiative being raised with regards to the disposal of lithium batteries. The campaign is to improve the safety of lithium batteries (used in e-bike and e-scooters) and their disposal. As you may be aware there have been a number of fires caused by Lithium batteries.

The major issue with lithium-ion batteries overheating is a phenomenon known as thermal runaway. In this process, the excessive heat promotes the chemical reaction that makes the battery work, thus creating even more heat and ever more chemical reactions in a disastrous spiral.  Lithium batteries are used by workmen with the current wire free tools, many ebikes and scooters as well. 

When disposing of Lithium-ion batteries and devices containing these batteries they should NOT go in household garbage or recycling bins.  Lithium-ion batteries SHOULD be taken to separate recycling places/centres. To prevent fires, tape battery terminals and/or place lithium-ion batteries in separate plastic bags.

We have been made aware of 169 instances across the England where fires have resulted from Lithium batteries and we therefore support the initiative raised by Lord Don Foster who has been campaigning on this issue in the House of Lord for better disposal.

Bus timetable Changes:-

Bus timetable changes Service 5A ( Okehampton – Hatherleigh – North Tawton – Crediton – Exeter):

The 13:50 bus operating Monday to Saturday from Okehampton will operate 30 minutes earlier.  

The 16:50 bus operating Monday to Saturday from Exeter, will depart 10 minutes later, to logically follow after a 5 bus, to ensure there is capacity for passengers travelling beyond Crediton.

Inwardleigh appears in the Domesday Book, where it is listed as belonging to Ingvar in 1066. Ingvar was a Viking thegn and member of the court of King Cnut, and held several estates across southern Britain. Inwardleigh – meaning Ingvar’s meadow – is derived from his name.

After the Norman Conquest the estates passed to Baldwin FitzGilbert, who accompanied William at Hastings, and who subsequently administered Devon from Exeter as Sheriff of Devon.

The estates were subsequently owned first by the Coffin or Coffyn family, and then by the Portman family.

St Petroc’s Church was built in the 14th century on an earlier Norman church, and has been restored in the nineteenth century, although much of the earlier building is intact.

Folly Gate, on the main road through the parish, was on the turnpike from Okehampton to Hatherleigh, and may take its name from a nearby house. In 1928 Folly Gate army aerodrome was opened for visiting RAF squadrons. During WW2 it was  a maintenance base and artillery spotter aircraft were based here. The airfield is now decommissioned and returned to agricultural use, but the WAAF quarters remain and have been converted to Folly Gate Village Hall.