MUSE

MP Richard Younger Ross, councillors, police, local businesses, and most importantly the fans, have all hailed the MUSE concert, a resounding success . The two night Muse extravaganza reverberated through the streets of our seaside town as the rock superstars finished their two-night home coming gig; which we've waited 10 years for. Fantastic coverage for MUSE and Teignmouth in the national press. The Daily Telegraph dug up Mayor Vince Fusco's embarrassing moment (we've all been trying not to talk about it) and the Guardian mentioned my attempt to have the band's name on the 'welcome to Teignmouth signs' a few years back.

Many of the fans have posted on message boards how friendly Teignmouth was - do visit us again. When you consider an estimated 30,000 people visited the town yet only 10 people were arrested over the two nights , the 'Seaside Rendezvous' really was special.

Community Ownership

The Isle of Skye ferry is owned by the people who use and run the ferry, through a 'community interest company'. Could this be a model for the Teignmouth and Shaldon Ferry? Neither public ownership by Teignbridge District Council or private ownership offer the guarantee, that the community and Teignmouth Town and Shaldon Parish Councils want to ensure that England's oldest ferry carries on.

Community interest companies (CIC) are a new type of limited company designed specifically for those wishing to operate for the benefit of the community rather than for the benefit of the owners of the company. This means that a CIC cannot be formed or used solely for the personal gain of a particular person, or group of people.

CICs can be limited by shares, or by guarantee, and will have a statutory “Asset Lock” to prevent the assets and profits being distributed, except as permitted by legislation. This ensures the assets and profits are retained within the CIC for community purposes, or transferred to another asset-locked organisation, such as another CIC or charity.

The recent history of the ferry shows how close it has come to being closed down in the past. When ferry operator Teignmouth & Shaldon Bridge Company was wound up in 1949, it looked like the end of the ferry, luckily a buyer was found. The ferry service was sold to a private individual - Mr W. Powell. Teignmouth Urban District Council (TUDC) had been approached to buy the ferry, but had flatly refused, not wishing to have a 'drain on the rates'. In 1952 TUDC did purchased the ferry service from the late Mr Powell’s estate, for £3,500, in order to keep the ferry service going. There was very strong opposition to buying the ferry, notably a petition by Teignmouth and Shaldon Ratepayers Association . In February 1968 TUDC discussed selling the ferry to (sic) 'private enterprise', but decided against an immediate sale.

Renewable Energy Grants

In 1995 Liberal Democrats introduced and pushed through the Home Energy Conservation Act, a bill written in consultation with Friends of the Earth and fuel poverty groups.

Government grants to householders of up to £2,500 (or 50% which ever is the lower) for solar, wind, hydro and other renewable energy systems. There are quite tough qualification criteria and I understand there is a long waiting list. http://www.government-grants.co.uk/renewable-energy-grants.shtml

If you want to save water, save energy, save money, and save the environment - for free!
you could fit an Eaga ShowerSmart unit, to your shower. The Eaga ShowerSmart fits easily to your existing shower unit and ensures a constant flow of 7.7 litres per minute, giving a full even jet and reducing fluctuation in the speed of the water flow.

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It is easy to install, once your free pack arrives, it takes seconds to install, without the need for a plumber. Simply undo your existing shower hose at the tap end, screw in your eaga ShowerSmart, with the provided washers on either end, finger tight, then screw the shower hose onto it. The eaga ShowerSmart is suitable for use with non-electric mixer showers or bath/shower mixer taps, provided they run off the mains water pressure. Follow this link to get your free ShowerSmart:- http://www.government-grants.co.uk/free-eaga-ShowerSmart.shtml

Transition Town Teignmouth

Meeting to set up a Teignmouth Transition Town group Tuesday 8th September, 7.30pm at Bitton House.

Green Tractor- Green Lifestyle

Whilst I was at Stokeinteignhead for the shop opening , along came Hugh on his lovingly restored antique tractor. Only this is tractor isn't for show, it's a working machine on Hugh's small holding. I have been distributing free energy saving lightbulbs via post offices and village halls in the rural ares and delivering them in the urban areas, I gave a box to the shop to give out to customers, then offered a pack to Hugh. "Energy saving lightbulbs Hugh, they'll save you money and help save the planet" I said, to which Hugh replied he didn't want them - he didn't use eclectic! In fact he hasn't got gas or mains water, now that is sustainable living.

Village Shop Re-opens

It was wonderful on Saturday to be invited to Stokeinteignhead. In 2008 Stokeinteignhead saw its village shop shut its doors after the closure of the post office. On Saturday to much fanfare and rejoicing the shop reopened - owned and run by the villagers themselves. The youngest and the oldest residentsof the village along with MP Richard Younger-Ross cut the ribbon. Over half the population of the village are now shareholders. £7000 has been raised in the village through loans following a public meeting in May attended by over 200 villagers. Brian Cooke and other committee members were extremely generous in thanking me, in reality the real heros are the committee and villagers themselves. See http://cllrdavidcox.blogspot.com/2008/11/stokeinteignhead-community-shop.html

MUSE - hometown gig

A chance meeting with MUSE lead singer Matt Bellamy by Terry Falcão (one of my councillor colleagues), last year has led to the band agreeing to do a hometown gig, to take place on the Den (a grass area by the seafront of their home town of Teignmouth). The rock trio, renowned for their spectacular live shows, are set to hold two concerts on the Den in September. Major concert promoter SJM Concerts Ltd has applied to Teignbridge Council for the premises licence for the two nights, for up to 15,000 people. The concerts will take place before Matt Bellamy, Chris Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard embark on a 10-week tour of America and Europe. Concerns have been raised by police over traffic and noise levels. However I believe we can thrash out matters so the group can perform work from their new album, ‘The Resistance’. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.