THE woman who has led Sticklepath Parish Council since its inception 13 years ago has stepped down from the job.
Anne Bowden took on the pioneering role of chairman of the parish council following a boundary review in the 1980s. Prior to this, the village was within the Sampford Courtenay parish.
The businesswoman, who is well-known locally and nationally for her award-winning hostas, is now handing the job over to Cllr Paul Grey and becoming vice-chairman.
'I felt it was only right that someone else should do it after 13 years,' she said. 'It has been an enjoyable experience and Sticklepath is a very special community.'
She said it had been nice to be involved in the council since the beginning.
'We have achieved quite a lot in the village such as getting a playing field for the children,' she said.
'Everybody was very pleased when Sticklepath got its own parish council because we were very much on the edge of Sampford Courtenay parish and the majority of the councillors came from Sampford Courtenay.'
Mrs Bowden said the forming of Sticklepath Parish Council coincided with the opening of the A30 bypass and the Dartmoor National Park boundary changes which saw the village included in the national park.
From the word go the parish council has always been very keen to make the local community feel involved and in order to attract people to the annual parish meetings, exhibitions, discussions on controversial local issues and special events have been added to the evening's agenda to interest people.
The average attendance at Sticklepath's annual parish meetings is between 30 and 40 out of a population of 300.
Mrs Bowden said she and the council had been very fortunate in that the clerk Robin Brindley had also been there since the beginning and was a great help.