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Devon County & East Devon Logos Hughes Report - Online News Letter

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Welcome to this the online version of the 'HUGHES REPORT' which many of you have received through your letter boxes during the last 12 months. Unlike the hard copy which concentrated on areas of the division/ward, the online version will cover all of the Sidmouth Sidford electoral division/ward and will be regularly updated on issues that I have been working on in and around the area.

10/04/09  FORTESCUE will soon be put well and truly on the map when the calming scheme is implemented at either end of the hamlet. Part of the scheme is the provision of Fortescue signs with the wording 'Please drive slowly' to the north will be a priority system and the the south buff strips on the road with SLOW marked between them.

30/03/09  STOWFORD RISE COMMUNITY CENTRE
At long last it finally looks as though the Stowford Rise Community Centre is going to be built. Having secured £250k from the proceeds of the sale of Exeter Airport and with the substantial 106 funding agreement agreed as part of the new Waitrose development by East Devon plus the £20k from the Town Council.....and having also made the case for the Sidmouth Childrens Centre to be sited at Stowford Rise who will also bring a substantial amount of funding to the table plus the involvement of the PCT we are looking at a total figure approaching £1.0million.
We now need to set up a steering group/ management committee to oversee the initial build stage and to also manage the finished community centre.... interested in helping? if you are give me a call on 578414

3/03/09  AIRPORT FUNDING HELPS LOCAL PRE-SCHOOL
I am delighted to have been in a position to help and support the Sidmouth Pre-school who are based at All Saints School in their efforts to provide shelter to the youngsters who attend through the County Council's local community fund scheme where every councillor was given £25,000 to help projects in their area. I have also provided funding £5,000 towards the restoration of Kennaway House which was on top of the £60,000 which I put forward and supported for the final phase of restoration works.

 

12/02/09  FUNDING FOR REPLACEMENT YOUTH SHELTER

I have made a commitment to make available/put a bid into the County Council for a replacement/upgraded facility for our young people at the Manstone playing fields... this was discussed at the Sidmouth Town Youth Council and I am delighted that I am in the position to make it happen. Hopefully following agreement being given by the Town Council's Trustees it wont be too long before this facility is provided.

11/01/09  DROPPED FOOTWAY IN LYMEBOURNE PARK

The saga of the dropped footway that was put in to help those with disabilities get around Lymebourne Park and then was removed as the local residents weren't happy with the location will be sorted with the dropped footway being put in as near as possible to the first site. Work should be carried out in February. 

22/10/08  REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL BUS STOP

Having received representations over difficulties some elderly passengers are at present experiencing having alighted from the 157 service in Alexandria Road where they have to walk some considerable distance home with shopping I have called for an additional bus stop to be provided at the top (Station Road) end of Alexandria Road. There are some drivers who do stop there for passengers to alight however there are also some who don't. 

 

16/10/08  AGREEMENT REACHED ON FINAL PIECE IN SIDFORD JIGSAW

I and I'm sure the residents of Sidford will be celebrating this week when they read/ hear the news that the final piece in the quality of life highway/footway improvement works in Sidford that I called for when the County Council abandoned the by-pass scheme are at last reaching a conclusion.
Agreement has now been reached with the landowner of Porch Cottage in Church Street where it is required to move the wall back to enable the footway to be widened. This is the narrowest section of footway where several pedestrians have been hit by passing vehicles mirrors and there have also been incidents where vehicles have mounted the footway.
This is brilliant news and the residents of Sidford who take their lives in their hands walking along this narrow footway that slopes towards the highway are going to be delighted. This has been a long drawn out saga and at long last it looks as though it is reaching a happy conclusion and because the landowner has reached an agreement with the County Council there will be no long protracted compulsory purchase involved which I was dreading.

It is now hoped that work on the final piece in the jigsaw will begin in early 2009 which will be a great way to start the new year.

15/09/08  Go ahead given for Sidford Road Puffin Crossing. I am delighted to be able to report that at the East Devon Highways and Traffic Orders Committee that I Chair the committee unanimously agreed to the provision of this much needed crossing at the rear entrance to Sidmouth College (Clayhill Lane) at a cost of £60,000.
It only seems like yesterday that having called for a crossing  that  a site meeting took place with myself Paul Wilson (Traffic Engineer) and Dennis Simmonds D&C Police and agreement was reached that something needed to be done. The crossing when implemented will also be of considerable benefit to pedestrians crossing the A375 and also St Nicholas and Sidmouth Infants schools who's walking buses take this route. I am hoping that the crossing will be in place by Christmas.... so lets keep our fingers crossed.

  22/05/08  Sidmouth FolkWeek dances towards success

DANCE GROUPS from the UK and abroad will be performing in Devon this August thanks to a grant from Devon County Council.

The Council is giving £10,000 to the Sidmouth FolkWeek.
The money will specifically be used to support the event's dance programme which features visitors from France, Latvia and the Isle of Man.

Sidmouth FolkWeek is the modern name for a event, that started as a small-scale dance festival. It is believed to be the longest surviving folk festival of its kind in the UK having run continuously since 1954, and regularly sets standards that others like to emulate. Over the years it has grown to encompass most aspects of folk music, dance and related genres.

FolkWeek will this year be offering over 700 separate events over eight days. From the top names in folk, to dancing and workshops, the festival covers sounds ranging from the Irish fiddle, Northumbrian pipes and hurdy gurdy to electric guitar and the human voice.

Sidmouth County Councillor Stuart Hughes said: "I am delighted that the County Council has agreed to make a considerable donation towards this year's Folk Festival. The event is the biggest in Europe and plays an important role in Sidmouth's calendar, attracting visitors from all over the world. Its continuation is therefore vital for the local economy and the £10,000 from the County Council will go along way to ensure this goal."

The event has been praised in the new edition of the Rough Guide to Great Britain, and is listed as 'best event' in Frommer's 2008 Family Guide to Devon and Cornwall.

Sidmouth Folk week runs from 1 - 8 August. For further information go to http://www.sidmouthfolkweek.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

The cheque for £10,000 will be presented to Chris Cook (Dance Display Organiser), Barry Lister (SFW Charity Director) and Eddie Upton (Artistic Director) by Cllr Sheila Hobden and Cllr Stuart Hughes on Friday 4th July at 10.30am at Connaught Gardens, Sidmouth.

 

 

22/05/08 Presentation notes to Sidmouth Vision Group
Thank you for inviting me to your meeting and may I say just how much I welcome the work and the dedication the vision group carries out… I only hope that you don’t get too frustrated in the time it seems to take to get anything done or see any action being taken by the local authorities.

  When I first got elected to both East Devon in 1991 and  the County Council in 1993 I thought that I was going to change things and get things done overnight….. I soon found out that this wasn’t the case.

  I also soon learn’t how to ensure that if I was going to be instrumental in getting things done and by that I mean larger schemes that I had to set about it at an  early stage and get those schemes included in future LTP’s however before that happened agreement had to be sought by other parties affected by the scheme.

  One such scheme is of course the second phase of the Byes Cycleway from Sid Park Road to Sidford….. I actually laid down the marker for this scheme and set around the long process to get it included in the LTP on the completion of the first phase from Sid Park Road to Salcombe Road eight to nine years ago.

  That is how long it has taken to get this scheme up and running however  it still isn’t completed for whilst we have the Sid Park to Primley leg open, the most important section through to Sidford and the link to Fortescue Road will now not be started until September as there are still some outstanding issues to be agreed by one of the land owners.

  I shall certainly be pleased to see this scheme completed as it will provide a safe off road route to the Community College for the pupils young and old. It will also be beneficial to tourism and our local economy and will hopefully encourage more local residents to get on their bikes and cycle into Sidmouth which will reduce the amount of cars and congestion in the town centre.

  Whist on the subject of Cycleways there has been a vast amount of media coverage regarding a scheme from Feniton to Sidmouth which my fellow County Councillor Rogers Giles is leading on with myself looking after the Sidmouth section from the Bowd of this proposal.

  What I can tell you is that a bid has been submitted for some proceeds from the sale of Exeter Airport towards this scheme and that I spent an afternoon with the Officer overseeing this scheme to determine what would be the best option off road and on road for the Sidmouth section.

I felt that to do this scheme any justice that it needed to link up with the Byes Cycleway  and therefore the route we looked at off road from the Bowd would follow the old railway line down to the old railway bridge across Ice House Lane and then drop down to Woolbrook Road where a cycle lane would be marked on the highway down to the Manstone Lane Alexandria Road junction…. The cycleway would then go down through Long Park (which is in the ownership of East Devon and agreement would be needed from them) to Sidford Road where a Toucan Crossing would be installed which I also know would be welcomed by the  residents of Lymebourne Park who have bent my ear for a safe crossing point. A new access point would then be made through the bank into Lymebourne Park where the cycleway would then go through to Lymebourne Lane it would then drop down through and link up with the Byes Cycleway.    This is what is known as forward visioning and you heard about it first this evening.  Of course prior to any work being carried out there will be a proactive consultation exercise carried out and the necessary planning permission will be required as was the case for the Byes Scheme.

  Park and Ride

Well this is something I first called for for Sidmouth back in 1991…..   17 years ago and as yet it hasn’t materialised… however it is rewarding to think that now everyone appears to be  coming round to my way of thinking… that if you are going to seriously improve the shopping experience in our town both Park and Ride along with Pedestrianisation or at least partial pedestrianisation is the way ahead…. After all it works everywhere else it has been implemented.

  When I attended a previous Vision Group meeting with Devon County Council’s Traffic Engineer Paul Wilson I mentioned that PB Consultants had carried out a survey and prepared a report in which an area of land was mentioned that had been identified for both Park and Ride and Industrial uses. This area of land is at the top of Woolbrook Road as you drive towards Stowford Corner on the A3052.

The Par and Ride site could accommodate 500 cars and provide a bus interchange facility.

I mentioned this at the meeting the local District Councillors had to discuss the LDF at East Devon .

I also believe that this site could well accommodate a state of the art CARC Civic Amenity Site which would replace the current facility at Woods Farm.

I have spoken to the County Recycling Officer about this and I understand he has had some preliminary talks with Persimmon Homes who own the land and hope at some stage to carry out some more development in the area.

When you consider that there will most probably be a requirement for Sidmouth to take another 1,000 properties you can see just how important it is to get all the cards in order and at an early stage.

  At the last Vision Group meeting I attended I also spoke of my vision for Pedestrianisation and also touched on changing the flow of vehicles in the town which would help relieve the current sometimes grid locked situation.

  I am quite happy to lay both of these concepts on the table once again (both in the past have been featured in Kingsley Squire articles in the Sidmouth Herald) at a future date however I don’t believe that this is the forum and therefore what I should like to say in finishing my presentation is that:-

  IF WE ARE SERIOUS ABOUT IMPROVING SIDMOUTH’S ENVIRONMENT AND BELIEVE THAT  PARK AND RIDE AND EITHER FULL OR PARTIAL PEDESTRIANISATION OF THE TOWN IS THE WAY TO ACHIEVE THIS ….. THEN IT NEEDS TO BE IDENTIFIED NOW IF ITS GOING TO STAND ANY CHANCE OF INCLUSION IN THE NEXT LTP 2012 – 2016

WE SHALL NEED TO DRAW UP A MINI SCHEME BRIEF

AND THAT IS WAY VISION GROUP MEMBERS AS THE LOCAL COUNTY COUNCILLOR IN MY LOCAL LEADERSHIP ROLE I BELIEVE THAT IT IS  NOW TIME TO GET ALL PARTIES TOGETHER AROUND THE TABLE INCLUDING REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE TOWN COUNCIL, DISTRICT COUNCIL, CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HOSPILTALITY ASSOCIATION, POLICE AND THIS GROUP ETC  AND COMMENCE PREPARATION WORK ON THE WAY AHEAD.

  WE HAVE DONE ENOUGH TALKING ITS NOW TIME FOR ACTION LETS GET ON WITH IT.


2/05/08 
Flashing Warning School signs in Woolbrook Road advising drivers to take extra care and watch out for children going to and from St Nicholas School will be in situ within the next three weeks. These signs which I called for will also benefit children who attend Sidmouth Infants.

27/03/08  They always say that all good things come to those who wait and I am delighted to report that 18 months on from a meeting that I held with Stagecoach Devon in Exeter regarding the possibility of re-routing the 157 Coast Link service to take in Woolbrook Road  (service operates between Sidmouth and Exmouth) that Stagecoach have now agreed to the suggestion and  Woolbrook Road will be included in the route from May 19th 2008.

11/01/08 (UPDATE) 
At long last work will start on the 1st February  on the first of two phases to take the Byes cycle track through to Sidford. The first phase will see the completion of the section between Sid Park Road and Primley and then hopefully if the funding is secured through the Transport Plan the phase from Primley to Sidford along with the Fortescue link will be carried out later in the 08/09 financial year.

02/11/07 (UPDATE) The Traffic Order that I agreed to pay for out of my Locality budget has now been advertised. This will address several community concerns including the section of highway between Alexandria Road and Arcot Road where vehicles parking at present cause considerable problem especially for those egressing from Arcot Park. It is proposed to put in a length of double yellow lines. Two other areas of concern that will be included on the order which will be advertised in due course are the problems bus drivers have negotiating the Triangle through cars parking on double yellow lines and where it is proposed to put in a section of no loading unloading restriction. Also the top of High Street at the Gateway to the town where inconsiderate motorists park across the footway this too it is being looked to put in a section of no loading unloading restriction. The visibility issue at the top of Sid Park Road has also been included in this order.

11/01/08 (UPDATE) Work on the long awaited traffic calming scheme on Stowford Rise which compises of two Table Top junctions at Chambers Close and Bakers Close and a raised junction at Lock Close has now been completed the contractors are now putting the finishing touches to all the remaining drop kebs on Stowford Rise and these should be finished by the end of January 08.

8/10/07 I have provided the funding from my locality/community budget for the County Council to carry out the marking of a disabled Blue Badge space and other spaces for the Sidford Social Hall. This issue was raised during the audit carried out on the hall.At present there is no parking provision for Blue Badge holders at this venue. The marking of this and the other bays will make better use of the space available for parking at this local social facility.

4/9/07  £1,500 will kick start campaign for Sidmouth CCTV system. My locality/community budget has certainly been of considerable help to many organisations in and around my electoral division. I have been promoting the benefits of CCTV for more years than I can remember and we have all seen other towns installing systems to combat crime. Sidmouth's weakness in not having a CCTV system of its own has seen us becoming the magnet for the travelling criminal/s. It now looks as though things will change with the Chamber of Commerce picking up the baton and running with it. The town council have earmarked £10k and I have committed £1,500 from my locality budget to kick start the fund raising campaign which is looking for £40,000 in total which will give Sidmouth an excellent system.

28/8/07  Defibrillator will help save lives at Rugby Club. I am delighted that thanks to my locality/community budget I am in a position to help Sidmouth Rugby Football Club purchase a top of the range defibrillator. This surely must be one of the most important pieces of first aid equipment that sports clubs should own in helping save the lives of players or spectators who have suffered from a heart attack. The club have raised £300 towards the defibrillator themselves and  I shall be presenting the cheque to the club  for the balance of £979 within the next two weeks.

20/8/07  Call for wooden Fire Escapes to be replaced. Following the tragic fire at the Newquay Hotel where guests who were vacating the burning building then had to contend with a blazing wooden fire escape, I am calling on the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority to make representation to the Government through the LGA for legislation/policy to be implemented at the earliest opportunity for ALL wooden fire escapes to be replaced by those made of steel. Community Safety is of such a high priority and in this day and age there shouldn't be any wooden fire escapes on any hotel or public building.

14/8/07 Town Council support my calls for listing Alma Bridge and A3052 speed reduction. I was delighted with the unanimous support given by the Town Council to my calls to list the Alma Bridge. (see Hughes Report 2/7/07) This bridge is part of Sidmouth's history and provides a vital link in connecting those who live on the east of the river Sid to the town. It is also our gateway to the SW Coast Path FP 120. We now have to hope that English Heritage will agree to the listing of the bridge.
As for the reduction of speed limit to 50mph on the A3052 between Trow Hill and Seaton Down Hill whilst this received support through the casting vote of the Chairman Tom Cox I am delighted with the result as this adds weight to the move that will hopefully lead to a reduction in crashes/or less serious crashes.

9/8/07
Request for bus stop at Sidmouth Garden Centre Having received several requests from Sidmouth residents who at present have great difficulty in getting to the Sidmouth Garden Centre on the A3052, I have written to the County Council's Transport section requesting that consideration be given to providing an additional Bus Stop outside the garden centre. 

 1/8/07Sid Valley Horticultural Society Roger Giles and I have joined forces once again in providing £250 towards the Sid Valley Horticultural Society 79th Annual Gardening and Craft Show on Saturday 18th August at SidfordSports Field Byes Lane. As I have mentioned many times in my blog there are many organisations such as this one that are feeling the heat from ever increasing costs to put these shows on and both Roger and myself are delighted that through our locality/community budget we have been able to help towards the running costs and hope that the show is successful.

1/8/07
Playdays. I made a donation from my Community/locality budget towards the Playdays "Our Streets Too' which was held at Lower Brook Meadow on Friday 3rd August between 12.00 Noon and 3.00pm all children from the Sid Valley were invited to attend for three hours of traditional fun and games and a good time was had by one and all.

25/7/07
Trailer Danger on A375 I have requested some information on the law re the parking up of a boxed trailer on the A375 Arcot Road as I feel that this is creating a danger to drivers of vehicles heading in both directions.


25/7/07
 Traffic Order to overcome problems in Arcot Road? I have called for a traffic order to be raised at the earliest opportunity for a length of dbl yellow lines to be provided on the south side of Arcot Road between the junction of Alexandria Road and Arcot Park junction with Arcot Road. This would alleviate the danger that currently exist for the drivers of vehicles egressing from Arcot Park who's visibility is impaired by parked vehicles in this section of road. This traffic order could also pick up the issue highlighted below. (I have indicated that I would be prepared to put some of my community funding towards this traffic order). I have received confirmation from the County's Traffic Engineer that the Police and Town Council will be consulted on their views for both issues.                           

19/7/07
Crash highlights problem junction. The problems that exist at the Winslade Road, Arcot Road/Temple Street junction were highlighted through a crash earlier this evening. I have now contacted the traffic engineer to establish where we are with the removal of two on street parking places on the eastern side of Temple Street which would help improve the situation there.
                           

18/7/07 Community Fund in action at Appletree. I received an invitation to the Appletree Pre-School based at Sidmouth Infants School to see just how the money that I provided them with out of my Community fund budget to purchase a computer system and wooden play house was benefiting the youngsters. It was amazing to see how at such a young age they were already well in control of the mouse and accessing information on the computer, they will be taking this experience right through their years at school and I am delighted that I have been in a position to make IT happen for them.
           
             Watching the children using IT         In the wooden play house

17/7/07 Update
Sidford High Street street lighting. Street lighting all working properly however we now have the inconvenience of the traffic light being out whilst the gas company are working in Sidford Road due to a major gas leak and the hold-ups are horrendous.

19/7/07 Sidmouth Radway Pelican Crossing. This crossing which is over 20 years old has been malfunctioning far too frequently recently and is reaching the end of its life. I have called for it to be replaced with a PUFIN Pedestrian User Friendly INtelligent type.  The officers are now to bid for the funding as the upgrade will cost almost £30k and hopefully if they are successful the new crossing will be in situ before the end of the financial year.
  
11/7/07
Sidford.  The solar powered Speed Visor that I called for as part of the improvements in the village when the County sold off the Relief Road land is now in situ  in Church Street and is already playing its role in helping reduce the speed of vehicles coming into Sidford from the east.
Land acquisition negotiations to widen the footway outside Porch Cottages is moving very slowly and this will no doubt delay the scheme taking place. The funding necessary was agreed by the East Devon Highways and Traffic Orders Committee back in March.

8/7/07 A3052 50mph extension? I have requested that consideration should be given to implementing a further section of 50mph speed limit on the A3052 between Trow Hill as you go out from the 40mph limit through to Seaton Down Hill where the 40mph begins as you drop down to Colyford. This would I believe help considerably in reducing the amount of crashes on this section of road. It would also tie in with the 50mph speed limit to the west of Newton Poppleford between Halfway House and Cat and Fiddle.                                                                         
 

6/7/07 Sidford High Street street lighting. Having received numerous calls from local residents of Sidford regarding the street lighting in High Street that had been on 24/7 for two - three weeks, I reported the problem and left a message with the County Council's Street Lighting Engineer Mark Johnson who has now been back to me and has explained what was the cause of the problem. In his email to me he said:- 'It appears that Western Power Distribution have carried out works in the High Street to do with a disused garage (Sidford Service Station), whilst there they replaced a large amount of overhead service supplies. This in turn has meant that the street lighting supply has been made live 24/7. In their wisdom they failed to inform us Devon County Council of this fact!!!' 
SEC will be attending site within the next few days to install photocells to the lanterns and return them to normal operation.
I also raised the issue of who would be paying for the energy/electricity that has been burning away 24/7 and have been assured that the additional energy used is down to Western Power Distribution.

4/7/07 High Street to remain two way. I can now confirm that the top section of High Street between All Saints Road and Blackmore Drive is to remain two way. Having looked into the pro's and con's the traffic engineers have taken on board the concerns being expressed from the undertakers who would have had to have driven their hearses  through the town if made one way, the health centre/doctors surgery and those using the library. This move would have contributed to the gridlock that regularly occurs in the town especially during the summer months. Consideration is to be given to introducing a length of no loading/unloading restriction on the west side of High Street between Blackmore Drive and the entrance to the indoor market. This would help in preventing the hold up's that presently occur when vehicles are parked in this section of road.

2/7/07
Alma Bridge listing?   I was taken back when I heard that the Alma Bridge wasn't listed I certainly believe that it warrants it and have therefore set the ball in motion by contacting the District Council's Conservation and Heritage Officer who has given me the full SP and here they are. The normal principles of selection criteria are:
architectural interest; historic interest; close historical associations; and group value.
Age and rarity are also factors and this would normally include all pre 1840 structures. The younger the building or structure their selection becomes more selective.
Requests to list a building etc are now dealt with by English Heritage and should be accompanied by a full justification for the listing; a location plan; nearby listed buildings (of which there are none in this instance); detailed photographs; information about the bridge (date etc); function: historical associations; name of architect if known; group value in the street scene etc.
If you have any information that would help in the process of getting ALMA listed then please contact me on either Sidmouth 578414 or mobile 07725 708891

Sidford Playgroup receive funding. I was delighted to have been able to provide the £725 required for the Sidford Playgroup to purchase a laptop computer for administration purposes and also some inflatable building bricks for the children to play with. This funding came out of my Community budget and all the Sidmouth Pre-schools as well as other organisations have now benefited from some funding.
                   
       Presenting cheque for £725 to Janice May Chairperson of Sidford Playgroup


Fortescue Road update 28/6/07: The Area Engineer Tony Matthews and I held an interesting meeting with the residents representative of Fortescue regarding their concerns over speeding motorists and other related  safety issues. It was quite clear that the removal of street lighting to enable 30mph repeater signs wasn't an option. Speed checks will however be carried out to gauge the level of speeding and horse riders warning signs are to be erected. The residents are also concerned and quite rightly so over the amount of HGV's that are using Fortescue/Sid Road  to the town and I do believe that a weight limit should be introduced at the earliest opportunity. The residents will hopefully be carrying out a HGV survey which will indicate how many drivers are taking this route into Sidmouth. One resident had drawn up a scheme for two pinch points in Fortescue Road which would provide a priority system, this is to be evaluated.
Fortescue is actually signed from the A3052 as it is a hamlet, I am therefore seeking the erection of Fortescue signs with "please drive slowly' these along with rumble strips should at least draw drivers attention to the fact that they should slow down and take extra care.

Community Fund. Sidbury United FC and Sidford Playgroup are the latest recipients to benefit from my Community/locality budget. Having teamed up with fellow County Councillor Roger Giles who went halves Sidbury United have received £1,000 to provide a metalled path and hard standing which will enable those with disabilities and in wheelchairs to be able to watch the forthcoming seasons fixtures at the Sidford ground. There will also be enough money left to replace the dugouts.
Sidford Playgroup are to receive £725 from my funding which will provide a much needed laptop for administration and blow up bricks for the toddlers.  (SEE ABOVE)

6/7/07Alma Bridge  maintenance work that I called for is almost finished. All the wooden framework has been re-varnished/stained and as has the work on the underside. The bridge is so important as it not only the gateway to the SW Coast Path FP120 but also is the lifeline of residents who live east of the Sid.
Photos:- As it was and how it is looking now.
                

20 mph zone for town and Esplanade? The implementation of a 20mph zone which would cover the town and Esplanade could be moving a step closer following a meeting of the Sidmouth Traffic Management Group that I chair and has representation on it from both the town and district council's. Local resident John Mullin's who has been championing the cause for the 20mph zone addressed the meeting where it was agreed that an Environment audit would be carried out to see if the area being considered would be achievable. More news on this in weeks to come.

Update 8/7/07 Woolbrook Footway Enhancement completed. The finishing touches were being carried out the new slabbed/pavier footway in the Woolbrook Centre and what an improvement it has made. The carriageway is due to be reconstructed during the October half term holidays. The footways in Balfours have now been resurfaced/reconstructed.

The floral Fire Engine
along with the hanging baskets which I provided the funding for through my Community budget are now in situ outside the Fire and Ambulance Station in Woolbrook Road and hopefully will receive top marks from the judges later this summer and help Sidmouth pull off another award.

Sidford to Sid Park Cycle Track. The planning permission for the second phase of the cycle track has now been granted by the County Council's Development Control Committee. There were several areas that had to be addressed one of which was raised by the Environment Agency who weren't happy with the proposal for an additional bridge over the Woolbrook for cyclists and therefore there will be a new bridge with shared use. I certainly look forward to the scheme progressing as it will provide a safe off road route for cyclists to both the town and community college.

 

Stuart Hughes
Green Line
Stuart has represented the Sidmouth Sidford Ward on the District Council since 1991 and the County Council since 1993.

At County he is at present Chairman of the Environment Economy and Culture Overview Scrutiny Committee and at East Devon is the Communications Portfolio holder.

He is also a Sidmouth Town Councillor and member of the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority, a govenor of Sidmouth Infants and President of Sidbury United FC.

His spare time is taken up organising Sidmouth Carnival and helping run the Tango Juvenile Carnival Club.
Green Line
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