Sailing through Life

Shaldon Sailing Club is riding the crest of a wave after they were awarded a £4000 by Devon County Council.The early Christmas present will fund the capital costs of refurbishing the clubhouse. I’m very pleased to have helped the club win this funding, and putting them in touch with other funders.

The DevonC.C. grant is the last part of an ambitious plan by Shaldon Sailing Club to increase participation in sailing. Shaldon Sailing Club, working with Teignmouth Community Association, will be providing young people, from all walks of life, a sailing experience during the summer holidays. Many young people from Teignmouth Shaldon and Bishopsteignton will now get the chance to sail, especially those who do not ordinarily get the opportunity. Learning to sail is great fun, but also can help to develop character, build self-esteem and teamwork.”

Boxing Day Dip

With about a hundred other people, many in fancy dress, I went for a for a Boxing Day ‘dip’ in the sea by the pier. My daughter and niece, dressed as Hawaiians, and fellow councillor Terry Falcão -dressed in a suit (well he is a solicitor!) braved the cold and went into the sea; all to raise money for the RNLI. Our MP Richard Younger-Ross judged the best fancy dress costume – Richard chose a couple dressed as Adam and Eve, though there wasn’t much of a costume to judge!
Then it was over to Shaldon to watch the three-legged race around the village, my nephew was taking part in the children’s race; a really great event with some amazing costumes. The three-legged racers have to drink a pint at each pub in the village, sadly there was one less stop this year, the popular Shipwrights’ Arms having closed.

Keep it local

Teignmouth, has a host of unique and friendly shops, Bishopsteignton and Shaldon are fortunate to have thriving local shops. Both villages have a chemist, general store and post office, it is always a case of use them or loose them.

Teignmouth Traders' Association have made a great effort to brighten up Teignmouth for Christmas; I've supported them with 1,000 grant and the town council agreed to match their fund raising. Our local shops and businesses need our support more than ever. Local shops boost the local economy, provide genuine choice and are a good environmental option. The most important thing you can do is to buy more from your local shops - choosing local products wherever possible.

You can find out more about your local shops by clicking on the link for the Teignmouth Traders site; the Bishopsteignton and Shaldon village sites list village businesses. (on the right under 'Links')

Fish Quay Agreement

The feasibility study has been completed and there is agreement on regeneration of the Fish Quay and Gayles Hill area . The project group - consisting of the Teign Fishermen & Watermen's Association Chairman Nigel Roberts and Vice-chairman Barry Wilson, Teignbridge District Council, my neighbouring Devon county councillor Chris Bray and myself, have agreed to move ahead with phase 1. We've had great support from Steve Bailey, Fisheries Funding Officer who's enthusiasm, humour and 'can do' attitude, has helped us reach this stage.

Chris Bray and I have already netted £450 000 for the project through a Devon County Council fund . The project will regenerate the Teign’s fishing and mariculture industries, including a new Fish Quay, Fishrmen’s stores and ice plant. There will be a boost for the sea leisure industry, retail and training sectors. The scheme is a partnership between the County Councillors, Teignbridge District Council and Teign Fishermen and Watermen’s Association (TFWA).

Teignmouth & Shaldon Museum Gets Cash Boost

Liberal Democrat Devon County Council has successfully bid for vital funding for the Teignmouth and Shaldon Museum on behalf of Teign Heritage.The project to create a new heritage centre at the museum will receive £376,676 funding from the new Sea Change fund, jointly managed by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) and Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS), which will enable the £1million architecturally significant scheme to go ahead.

Council Fights the Credit Crunch

Liberal Democrat led Devon County Council is responding to the economic downturn with a £5 million capital investment in the local economy. The £5 million capital investment is aimed at encouraging economic growth by supporting key projects. The funds will be allocated over three years with £1.7 million proposed for Devon Employment Space Strategy, £1.4 million for Skypark (a science park by Exeter Airport), £700,000 towards ICT Strategy, £450,000 for Renewable Energy for Devon and £750,000 for community infrastructure in coastal towns. Tim Jones, the Chairman of Devon and Cornwall Business Council has welcomed the funding. He described it as “a timely intervention that recognises the gravity of the current economic circumstances. Strategic investment in these sectors will give a massive boost of confidence to kickstart the initiatives and encourage the private sector to follow suit.".
The County Council Executive is to look at accessing EU funding to help the development of small businesses
Also DCC recognising the difficulties facing Devon’s small businesses, DCC itself is reducing its payment terms to creditors from the industry standard 30 days, down to 20 days.This means that the Council will endeavour to pay its suppliers 10 days sooner than previously to help businesses with their cash flows.
The announcement follows a report in the Financial Times last month that the retail giant Tesco has decided to extend its payment terms to non-food suppliers from 30 days to 60 days, effective from next month. DCC pays out approximately £400 million to suppliers per annum, so reducing their payment terms is expected to help businesses considerably.

Napoli Inquiry

I am one of the two Devon County Council representatives on the Napoli Inquiry chaired by Professor Ian Mercer.

On 18 January 2007, the MSC Napoli was on passage in the English Channel, loaded with 2,318 containers and bound for South Africa when she suffered a catastrophic hull failure and got into severe difficulties. Working with the French authorities, the SOSREP (Secretary of State’s Representative for Maritime Salvage and Intervention) decided that the ship was in danger of breaking up and polluting the English Channel and should be towed to Portland Harbour.
As the Napoli was towed towards Portland, the condition of the ship deteriorated rapidly, it was decided to beach the Napoli at Branscombe in order to avert a potential environmental catastrophe. There then followed a period of looting on the beach, as containers from the Napoli washed up on the shore; described by one villager as like something out of 'Mad Max'.

We have just completed a week of taking witness statements, reading hefty tombs of technical information and evidence. It will be a few weeks before we submit our final report. It’s been a really interesting experience; there are some important lesions to be learnt in dealing with emergencies.