Combe in the community

Community Involvement

Combe Estate is committed to contribute to community initiatives and to provide financial and non financial benefits which enhance the facilities of our immediate and neighbouring localities.

The Trustees and the Marker family are well aware of their role within the community as owner of such a large area of land. We must have regard to those who live and work on and around the estate as well as those who enjoy its beauty and natural resources.  There are also those who will come in the future and therefore we must consider to how best to plan for the next and future generations.

The Combe Estate takes this responsibility very seriously and to that end has, over the years, looked to provide the local community with various resources through either its charitable arm, The Marker Charitable Trust or simply through making property or other resources available to those who need it.

Examples of the role of the Combe in the community include the following:-

  • Allowing access to the woods at Beech Walk and Westgate for the public to walk and enjoy the woodland.
  • Granting a long term lease to Honiton Town Council for the woodland at Roundball at a peppercorn rent for the enjoyment of the people of the town.
  • Providing the land for the Village Hall in Gittisham at a peppercorn rent.
  • Donating land to the Church in Gittisham for an extension of the graveyard.
  • Providing a house, free of charge, for the vicar of Gittisham Parish.
  • Donating land to St Michaels Church, Honiton in order that a car parking area could be provided.
  • Providing land for the Gittisham playing field at a peppercorn rent.

In addition to the above, through the Marker Charitable Trust, donations in excess of £150,000 have been made to local charities, individuals and organisations over the last 25 years.

These range in size considerably and include donations to local schools for educational resources, school trips and building projects to the local hospital, St John’s Ambulance and of course projects such as the Beehive Centre and the Memory Cafe.

When assessing applications for support one of the primary criteria which is considered is whether the donation will deliver benefit within the LOCAL community. Consideration is then given to how it fits in with the other objectives that the estate has set for itself. Clearly not every application can be granted but where the objectives that the estate has set are met then more often than not a donation can be made.

To find out more about the Marker Charitable Trust or to enquire about sponsorship please contact us.

Here are some of the projects supported by Combe Estate over the last couple of years.

Hospis Care      The Beehive Honiton

 

Honiton Dementia Action Alliance