The Use of The Ham

Jun 18, 2020 | Policy & Procedure

Hiring The Ham

The Ham is a big green space by the river, surrounded by trees, and with a fantastic view of the Dart. Residents and visitors alike enjoy to walk (with and without dogs), to sit on the benches and take in the view, to have a picnic, to let the kids play in the playground. There is a car park owned and run by the Parish Council with all profits going back in to help pay for community projects such as maintaining and improving the Ham. There is also a toilet block.

Because of its location, the Parish Council receives a number of enquiries a year to hire out The Ham for bookings.  This is permitted subject to the Parish Council’s ‘Use of the Ham’ policy.

If you are interested in hiring The Ham, you can download all the relevant guides and forms from this page.  If you have any questions having read the material, please get in touch with the Clerk.

Please note:
– the Parish Council only meets once per month and any requests are dealt with alongside other council business.  If you’d like some guidance about how long it will take for an application to be considered, please contact the Clerk.
– the guidance information and forms below are currently being reviewed, with updates expected in May 2026.

Ham Hire guidance and forms

  • 1. The ‘Use of the Ham’ policy (PDF).  This lays out what is permitted and how the Parish Council makes decisions on applications.
  • 2.  ‘Ham Hire Information Sheet‘ (PDF) which is self explanatory
  • 3. ‘Ham Hire Agreement’. This is ‘the form’ that needs to be filled out, and so is available as an MS Word Document for ease of filling in, but is also available as a PDF (which is not editable, but can be printed and filled out by hand if needs be).
  • 4. ‘Ham Hire Fee Schedule’ (PDF) which provides guidance on any fees levied.
  • 5. ‘Ham Hire Terms and Conditions’ (PDF).  Agreement of these is a requirement of hire.
  • 6. ‘The Ham Map’ (PDF) All hire requests are expected to submit a layout plan with your ‘Ham Hire Agreement’ form.  If you don’t have the ability to do this digitally, you can print out the map and draw your layout plan on it, take a picture and send it along with your application.
  • 7. All applications are required to submit a risk assessment.  A template is provided with some guidance included if you need it.

 

Parish Emergency Plan

Jan 20, 2020 | Policy & Procedure

What to do and how to prepare for an unforeseen emergency situation in the parish

Dittisham Parish Council has and been looking at ways to help the parish become as resilient as possible in the face of an unforeseen emergency.

The principal measures that would be taken are described in the Parish Emergency Plan that is kept updated and can be found here on this website.

Our countryside location and narrow lanes combine to inevitably lengthen response times by the Emergency Services and so we have established a Parish Emergency Team that may be able to help check and, if possible clear, access for the Emergency Services when they arrive.

You can download the Dittisham Parish Emergency Plan (2024 Version G) from this page as a PDF.

Grant Application Form and Grant Awarding Policy

Sep 12, 2019 | Policy & Procedure

Dittisham Parish Council has a grant policy in place which it refers to when requests for grant funding are made.

You can download Dittisham Parish Council’s Grant Policy here.  This was last updated in 2020.

If you would like to make an application for a grant, the 2025 Dittisham Parish Council Grant Application Form can be downloaded here.
2025 DPC Grant application Form PDF Format (PDF)
2025 DPC Grant application form Word Format (DOC)

Please note that a Parish Council’s financial year runs from 1st April – 31st March.  So that the Parish Council can budget for the grants it distributes, the Grant Policy requests that applications are received by November of the current financial year, ahead of those grants being paid out once the new financial year begins.