Blog

Date 31st July 2007

Well here we are the last day of July and what a way to finish the month with the question that everyone wants to know the answer to....is Sidford a village or not??         Well I must admit I have always had my doubts but now with the information I have received from Terry Lee I am confident when I say NO it isn't and I have been correct when I say the community of Sidford. To be a village there must be a Parish Church and St Peters Church is a Chapel of Ease. The Parish is St Giles and St Peter, Sidbury which encompasses the community of Sidford. Bet you can't wait for the August blog.

Date 30th July 2007

Unfortunately for Sidbury United FC it wasn't to be they lost 3-1 in the final and Sandhurst Town FC won the Hayden Rollason trophy. His father Peter who lives at Honiton was there to present the trophy. This was a great weekend of football and if Hayden who tragically lost his life when he was hit on the A38 was with us he would have been impressed by the high standard of play and everyone involved should be congratulated. Devon County Council's Executive will be looking to adopt a new Street Lighting Policy when they meet tomorrow and I firmly believe that one of the more important aspects of the policy is the involvement of local members and discussions with town and parish councils and communities.

Date 29th July 2007

The football season is just around the corner and as President of Sidbury United FC I must say that I was impressed with the sides 8 - 2 win over Ottery St Mary yesterday. The win has propelled them into todays final of the Hayden Rollason Four Team Tournament where they will play Sandhurst Town FC who beat Sidmouth. The final starts at 3.00pm

 Date 28th July 2007

Heard an interesting news story on Radio 5 live about a local authority from the midlands area that is greasing the lower branches of trees to prevent dog owners from using them to strengthen their dogs jaws. I do hope that we don't consider such a move here in Devon, we have after all got our sight on becoming England's greenest county not greasy one.

Date 27th July 2007

Several people have contacted me re my blog listing of 23rd July where I mentioned the leaves on the trees that are already starting to turn brown thinking that autumn has arrived. It is really strange however it also appears that the Swallows and House Martins have also been fooled and are already getting together ready to fly back to South Africa. This is worrying as usually these birds have three broods per summer and therefore their numbers will be fewer. It also means that there will be more flies and other flying insects around. If Exeter do get the go ahead for Unitary then how about Devon County Council moving out to Cranbrook along with East Devon District Council now that is something to think about.

Date 26th July 2007

And so Exeter appear to have been given Unitary Status however this isn't all cut and dried as the Government want further work carried out on their financial case. This would seem to suggest that the County were correct when they said that the financial case didn't add up. The County will now have to decide whether or not it should seek a judicial review and I'm not prepared to take any bets on what it will decide to do...just watch this space.

Date 25th July 2007

Well today's the day when we shall find out whether or not Exeter has been granted Unitary Status. The decision is due at around 11.00am, and my personal view is that it shouldn't as its bid didn't stack up it would also weaken the rest of the County. Anyway we shall just have to wait and see. I'm trying to find out what the law states  re the parking up of a box trailer on the busy A 375 leading into Sidmouth, as I am surprised that there hasn't been a crash in Arcot Road. Well take a look for yourself!! Photo can be seen on the Hughes Report.

Date 24th July 2007

Banners over the highway is an interesting subject. Permission has to be granted by the County Council and those applying must have the appropriate public liability insurance, the banners are allowed as long as they are for a one off event such as fete, carnival, flower show etc...the banner must only be displayed 10 days prior to the event taking place and taken down immediately afterwards. That's all well and good but how on earth did the Charles Vance Play Season slip through the net their banner has already been up for four weeks and could well be there until the end of September denying other local organisations from displaying their banners.

Date 23rd July 2007

Climate Change has well and truly arrived if you listen to Frances Wilson who gives the weather forecast on SKY. According to him all the rain that has been lashing the country for the last month is down to the jet stream that has slipped several hundreds of miles south and is now on top of us. This weather is by all accounts set to continue for the next three months with the odd sunny day...how nice. I have also been advised that it was a twister that hit Sidford fete on Saturday afternoon and finally John Hart leader of the Conservative group at County Hall mentioned the heather on Woodbury Common is now flowering whereas it used to be September and that the leaves on the trees are already starting to turn brown...now that is frightening.

Date 22nd July 2007

Well this is by far the most lousy July I can recall and I do feel sorry for the Sidford Hall Committee who put a vast amount of time and effort into organising their summer fete which I officially opened yesterday. It didn't just rain it lashed it down and the wind during one downpour was horrendous. Lets just keep our fingers crossed that the weather will improve however the Met Office are predicting this sort of weather indefinitely.  

Date 21st July 2007

The Napoli is now in two pieces, the gas main that caused all the traffic chaos at Sidford Cross has been repaired and thank goodness we didn't get all the rain that has caused grief to so many people in other parts of the country. What's more today is by and large going to be a dry one, it does however look as though the majority of  British citizens will most probably miss any sun that is on offer and will be engrossed in the latest Harry Potter novel having waited up until Midnight to get their hands on a copy. Ah well ABRACADABRA.

Date 20th July 2007

The weekend is almost with us again and the words on everybody's lips are 'is it going to be dry' I certainly hope so as I've been invited to open the Sidford Social Hall Summer Fete on the Sidford Recreation Field at 3.00pm. The hall committee have done a Stirling job in raising the necessary funding required to carry out the re-roofing of the hall and monies raised tomorrow will go into the coffers to preserve this well used asset. There's plenty of stalls and entertainment along with a B.B.Q. so hopefully I shall catch up with many of my blog readers there....including Dave from County Hall?

Date 19th July 2007

Enforcing 20mph speed limits is of concern to many residents and I and other councillors are always receiving letters and emails about the issue. The Police whilst quite happy to enforce the 30 and 40mph limits are not prepared to enforce the lower speed unless physical calming measures are in place, although the Government in promoting road safety advise that lower speed limits should be introduced in the vicinity of schools and shopping areas. Fellow county councillor Roger Giles and I shall be taking a notice of motion to the Council meeting today calling for the Government to help address this anomaly.

 Date 18th July 2007

Well they set off the cutting charges on the deck of the MSC NAPOLI  however the ship still appears to be holding together and that according to the experts is all down to the longitudinal joists 'try saying that after a good night out' and tugs are being used to maintain opposing stresses in the hope that the two halves will separate. If that doesn't work then another big bang is proposed for this afternoon and yet another big crowd gathering is guaranteed....is there more rain forecast?? This has certainly been the wettest July that I can recall anyway whatever happens to the MSC NAPOLI today and lets hope boons will be put in place to prevent more oil coming up on the beaches I promise that I won't mention it in tomorrow's blog.

Date 17th July 2007

Well today's the day when the MSC NAPOLI will separate in two sections with a little help from the MCA who are going to set up and carry out a controlled explosion by setting up a cutting charge across the deck. This all will happen at around 2.00pm. Riveting stuff if you'll excuse the pun anyway I expect there will be thousands gathered to see the event which will at least put some money into the local businesses who are all having an horrendous year thanks to the weather.   

Date 16th July 2007

Recycling is now becoming the biggest single issue I am contacted on as a District councillor. Luke Morrison from Sidbury who works at the Forte Cafe has raised the issue of why the District won't collect either glass, or tin/aluminium cans from this business. Well in short the recycling scheme isn't available to businesses which does seem a bit of a nonsense seeing as we are desperately trying to increase our collection figures. I have advised Luke to see if either the District or County Council will provided can and glass recycling banks near to the Forte which would also encourage others to do their bit rather than put in the rubbish bins and end up in landfill. 

Date 15th July 2007

Rain and more rain that's all we appear to have had this summer I keep waking up believing I'm the man from Atlantis with his webbed feet. I was interested to hear that the new PM now wants Councils to build/provide more houses themselves to rent, the government have now done a complete circle. Well it sounds better than 'U turn'.

 Date 14th July 2007

The question surely must be are we going to have any summer at all this year? Many fund raising Fete's, BBQ's, Summer Fair's etc have already been cancelled and to many organisations these are their lifelines. Local Authorities used to help many small groups by providing grants but with Central Government cutting council funding these too have unfortunately become a casualty and have had to be cut. The National Lottery is another waste of time with all the money ending up in the big cities. The only ray of hope to many has been the County Councillors Community fund and it has been a delight to have been in a position to help. The latest request for help that I have received is from the Sid Valley Horticultural Society who this year are celebrating their 79th Anniversary and their Show will be held on the 18th August at 2.00pm at Sidford Sports Field.

Date 13th July 2007

And so it looks as though the MSC NAPOLI has broken its back and several reports have been banded around about a 3 metre crack. It isn't surprising some of the images shown on television when the ship first got into trouble in French waters appeared to show that there was a fault just in front of the accommodation block. Anyway the most important thing now is to get it taken away as soon as possible and before the winter storms arrive which could be at the end of August.

Date 12th July 2007

The County Council's Road Safety Officer for East Devon area has been checking the casualty data relating to Sidmouth over the last three years and not surprisingly a number of incidents have involved elderly drivers or pedestrians. We have spoken about this issue and have agreed that it would be a good idea to offer elderly drivers educational sessions which would be aimed at keeping them driving longer. Anyone who knows anybody that would benefit from an educational session please let me know. It is proposed to find a venue for about 20 people at a time. I believe that this is an excellent idea and if successful could be rolled out to other areas of Devon. 

Date 11th July 2007

Been to the big smoke deputising for John Hart at the CCN County Council Network Executive. Its amazing what you learn from attending these meetings especially about Local Government Finance...for instance if our rural roads weren't in a bad enough state as it is well things could get much worse as the Government now want to change the way highway maintenance funding is distributed between Local Authorities with a proposed move towards GIS data and a different method of defining what constitutes urban areas. Urban areas would be those places with a population of more than 10,000, whereas the current definition involves those settlements with 30 or 40mph speed limits. If all this goes ahead Devon's revenue highway maintenance Formula Spending Share would reduce by some £1.476m at a time when it is already clearly inadequate. We need to seriously consider lobbying our Minister for the South West Ben Bradshaw and lets see if he has any balls in this new position. WATCH THIS SPACE

Date 10th July 2007

Isn't it amazing how technology had evolved over the last 20years. I can recall when I first got elected to the District Council 16 years ago that I was the only councillor on the authority to have there own fax machine and the council itself only had a  handful. Now we nearly all have computers and email is by far the quickest way to get answers to questions fast. Soon every mobile phone will be able to receive emails and the internet now that is progress, it is also frightening where its all going to end.

Date 9th July 2007

The A3052 claimed another young life this weekend and whilst at present I am unaware of the reasoning behind the crash I am only too well aware of the frequency of crashes and firmly believe that consideration should be given to the implementation of a 50mph speed limit between Trow Hill where you come out of the 40mph and Seaton Down Hill where the 40mph begins as you drop down towards Colyford. The section of 50mph between Halfway House and Cat and Fiddle has seen a drop in the number of crashes along that stretch and has therefore made the road safer.

Date 8th July 2007

Two reasonably dry days on the trot...is summer on its way? Received some positive feedback from residents supporting me in seeking the listing of Alma Bridge. The next step must be to hopefully get the Town Council on board and so I shall be requesting that the issue be included on the August agenda. If you have any information that you think would help then please contact me.

Date 7th July 2007

Took the opportunity to visit Howell Road Fire Station in Exeter it really is in a very bad state and desperately needs replacing at the earliest opportunity as we have seen with our schools in Devon those pupils who are taught in Horsa huts perform at a lower level than those taught in new purpose built classrooms. The same applies here to our fire fighters who's morale is understandably extremely low. Now instead of imposing efficiency savings on local government, fire and rescue and police authorities how about the Government and certainly the South West Minister taking a serious look at what's going on down here and arranging for a better budget settlement next year?

Date 6th July 2007

Over the last few weeks I have received numerous calls from Sidford residents regarding the street lights in Sidford High Street that have be on 24/7. Having both reported the problem and called for an explanation what the problem was and why had it taken so long to sort out, the answer was simple Western Power Distribution had been carrying out works to power cables on the old Sidford Service Station and had made the lights live 24/7 and didn't tell anybody at County Hall.....this surely isn't good enough. The lights are to be fitted with photocells by SEC next week and then they will work properly...the only good thing about this is that it will be WPD who will have to pay for the additional energy that has been used.

Date 5th July 2007

I'm getting really excited about the possibility of the Alma Bridge being listed and have already commenced collating the information required for consideration by English Heritage. The present bridge was built in 1902 and was designed by local architect R.W. Sampson. The bridge replaced the original structure which was 24" wide and 125' long and cost £26.50p to build in 1854 it was called the Alma Bridge after the battle of Alma, fought and won that year in the course of the Crimean War. Are you impressed? More info required please let me know if you have any.

Date 4th July 2007

Went the 'Morning with Eurostar' presentation at the Abode Hotel in Exeter yesterday. On the 14th November the service ceases operating out of Waterloo and will run from St.Pancaras International where the journey times to Paris will be slashed by 20 minutes to 2hrs 15mins. The Eurostar will travel at 186mph and will operate 17 daily services to Paris and 10 to Brussells there is even a service that goes direct to Euro Disney. Certainly sounds very impressive. If you want to find out more then visit their website at eurostar.com/highspeed1 

Date 3rd July 2007

I don't usually include photo's on the BLOG however I am today as you will never believe it.....Skating is one of the activities that is band from the Esplanade and this not only applies to youngsters but also pensioners. Don't laugh because here it is a photo of our skating pensioner. Anybody know who it is??
                           
    Well he's got all the gear and was the topic of conversation on the Esplanade.

Date 2nd July 2007

There is always something to look forward to on the first Monday of the month...yes questions to County and District Councillors at the Town Council meeting. Tonight I have four questions to answer and have spent several hours checking my facts are correct and ploughing through saved emails and files on the computer. It does make you wonder how we used to cope before this technology came along. Anyway the questions on Residents Parking in Fortfield Terrace, Park and Ride, one way in High Street and traffic orders for Manor Road will be answered and I shall include the latest on the online 'Hughes Report'.

Date 1st July 2007

And so a new month has arrived and with it new challenges and decisions to be made.
I was taken back a bit when I was informed that the Alma Bridge wasn't listed and I have therefore taken the first steps to see if this can be rectified in emailing East Devon's Conservation and Heritage Officer and by return came the full run down on the procedure. If you feel that the bridge should be listed or have/know any history on it then do let me know. This is going to take a little time to research so 'Watch this space'.

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