Garden grabbing - a good or a bad? In my view an entirely undesirable development following the Labour Government's decision to class gardens as Brownfield development sites. And we have seen the consequences. In Teignmouth we have seen the loss of many of our lovely Edwardian and Victorian villas, picked off by developers who look for large houses with substantial gardens which are not in a Conservation area or listed - Marlyn House in Landscore Road is a case in point. Developers applied to demolish and convert the house into 14 flats - just below the number which would have required the developers to include affordable housing - knowing full well that conservation status had been applied for but not yet granted. We have been left with a deteriorating building on a site which has already seen the developers destroy the boundary walls and site clearance well in hand - will the council now feel it has no choice but to grant permission?
But it is not only in our seaside towns but also in our rural villages we see the damage. In Holcolme we have seen the development of four houses, on the market for £500,000 each, built in the former garden of Red House, Fordens Lane. The development was fiercely opposed by residents, who while recognising the need for some development (the original proposal was for three bungalows) were very unhappy with what was finally built which was and remains totally out of keeping with this old and historic village. Their view was supported by the Council's Planning Committee. What happened? The decision was made by the Regional Authority in Bristol to build come what may without any consideration or understanding of the local community! Worse still perhaps is the decision in Ogwell to build 180 houses in Reynell Road. This was opposed, locally by residents and the council and regionally - only to be overruled by Ruth Kelly in London who approved this development on greenfield land.
We must change the planning regime so that decisions are made locally, based on local knowledge and need, not regionally at the dictate of bureaucrats. We need to abandon Labour's inappropriate density targets ( a minimum of 30 homes per hectare) and planning red tape and replace it with a "family friendly" housing strategy which builds houses with gardens for families, not cramped one and two bedroom flats, the consequence of which has been the total distortion of the housing market. There is now an over supply of flats, many now empty and an under supply of three and four bed roomed houses the consequence of which has been the inflation of house prices which have risen more than eight times the price of a flat - taking them well out of the reach of the lower and middle income earners.
As some of you will have seen, I expressed my views quite forcibly on the Politics Show today, broadcast by BBC South West!
And when I have not been on my soap box , I have been getting to as many summer fetes and shows as I can - but the weather has been terrible and so many have been cancelled after such a lot of hard work and planning - it is a great shame. Despite the rain, I made it to the Puppy Show in Denbury on Friday, 22nd, at the kind invitation of the South Devon Hunt. It was quite an event as the hounds came in couple by couple to be judged - and the rain it did rain! However the weather did not prevent it from being a truly excellent occasion with a marvellous spread for tea. The open garden event at Houndspool in Ashcombe to raise money for the church was again a pretty wet affair - but for those of us who made it, we were treated to a superb tour of Whetman's nurseries and came away very much more knowledgeable about how new breeds of Pinks are created, tested and commercialised.
The movers arrive tomorrow - so my next entry will be from Sandford Orleigh!
Sunday 24 June 2007
Saturday 23 June 2007
Europe - and a new home!
In 1975, politicians of all parties urged the UK electorate during the referendum campaign to support the continuing membership of the "Common Market" which stood explicitly for "free and undistorted competition". It now seems likely that the misleadingly titled "reform treaty", more accurately and honestly described as "the EU Constitution", will drop any reference whatsoever to free and undistorted competition. If that happens, it would be high time for the electorate of this country to to be given another opportunity through a referendum to decide whether or not they wished our membership of the European Union, which is now very different from what it was in 1975, to continue or not. Food for more than a little thought.
This is rather a late Blog entry....it has been chaotic! I exchanged and completed on my house purchase last Friday, the 15th! But at last I am the proud owner of Templer House in Sandford Orleigh overlooking the new hospital development in Newton Abbot. I feel very privileged to be somewhere of such local historical significance. Built in the 1830's by George Templer, the man responsible for building the granite tramway that brought granite from the quarries at Hay Tor on Dartmoor to the Stover Canal, it was later the residence of Samuel and Florence Baker, English explorers in Africa. Some of you may remember the building as a school before it was finally restored to its former glory and converted into five houses some six years ago. As exchange and completion were simultaneous, phone lines, utilities, removals all had to be organised very much at the last minute!
Notwithstanding all that, it was a pretty busy week across the constituency. Canvassing across Dawlish on Monday I was delighted to meet so many people and hear about the problems and frustrations - the bins are still full of maggots and only being emptied fortnightly and of course the housing issues - chronic and ongoing! I am delighted so many of the old traditions remain - including beating the bounds - again - this time on Tuesday in Kingsteignton. On Wednesday I visited a constituent in Bishopsteignton to hear about the problems the elderly are having finding and paying for care in community homes. The red tape is unbelievable leaving surviving relatives with huge bills for health and social care. Very small savings deny many any contribution to bills of some £2,000 a month. Worse, to save money it would seem, the Devon Primary Care Trust has downgraded the level of care they will fund by regrading downwards the level of care needed by individuals in local homes. The homes themselves are then clawing back the lost income from the state by increasing their charges for care to these residents.
No one knows it all. Over the weekend we had a training day for my campaign team across the constituency. Politics is changing and if we really want to make a difference we have to deserve being voted in. That means we need to demonstrate what life would be like if you voted for me and for the Conservatives...and actions speak louder than words. We had enormous fun and then rounded the day off by christening Templer House with a few bottles of champagne! Sunday was a great day - the Dawlish horse show in Starcross at Blackforest Farm was brilliant. The horse and hound competition saw many a young rider thwarted not by the skills of their ponies over the jumps - but their Spaniels and Jack Russels who refused to jump over or crawl under but had to be carried over!
This is rather a late Blog entry....it has been chaotic! I exchanged and completed on my house purchase last Friday, the 15th! But at last I am the proud owner of Templer House in Sandford Orleigh overlooking the new hospital development in Newton Abbot. I feel very privileged to be somewhere of such local historical significance. Built in the 1830's by George Templer, the man responsible for building the granite tramway that brought granite from the quarries at Hay Tor on Dartmoor to the Stover Canal, it was later the residence of Samuel and Florence Baker, English explorers in Africa. Some of you may remember the building as a school before it was finally restored to its former glory and converted into five houses some six years ago. As exchange and completion were simultaneous, phone lines, utilities, removals all had to be organised very much at the last minute!
Notwithstanding all that, it was a pretty busy week across the constituency. Canvassing across Dawlish on Monday I was delighted to meet so many people and hear about the problems and frustrations - the bins are still full of maggots and only being emptied fortnightly and of course the housing issues - chronic and ongoing! I am delighted so many of the old traditions remain - including beating the bounds - again - this time on Tuesday in Kingsteignton. On Wednesday I visited a constituent in Bishopsteignton to hear about the problems the elderly are having finding and paying for care in community homes. The red tape is unbelievable leaving surviving relatives with huge bills for health and social care. Very small savings deny many any contribution to bills of some £2,000 a month. Worse, to save money it would seem, the Devon Primary Care Trust has downgraded the level of care they will fund by regrading downwards the level of care needed by individuals in local homes. The homes themselves are then clawing back the lost income from the state by increasing their charges for care to these residents.
No one knows it all. Over the weekend we had a training day for my campaign team across the constituency. Politics is changing and if we really want to make a difference we have to deserve being voted in. That means we need to demonstrate what life would be like if you voted for me and for the Conservatives...and actions speak louder than words. We had enormous fun and then rounded the day off by christening Templer House with a few bottles of champagne! Sunday was a great day - the Dawlish horse show in Starcross at Blackforest Farm was brilliant. The horse and hound competition saw many a young rider thwarted not by the skills of their ponies over the jumps - but their Spaniels and Jack Russels who refused to jump over or crawl under but had to be carried over!
Monday 11 June 2007
Campaigning for Shopmobility
Shopmobility is one of our most valuable charities providing vital support to the elderly and less able. The Newton Abbot Shopmobility found itself in trouble - the end of lottery funding at the end of June will mean the end of the current level of service to residents. While Teignbridge District Council have provided some funding it is not enough. Unless Devon County Council or private donors can come up with new funding, the service will have to be severely curtailed. I met with the Shopmobility team and with Devon County Council on Thursday. There is some light but at the end of a very long tunnel - and no guarantees. The funding of all transport for the less able is being reviewed now but unless a better, simpler way can be found of administering those funds no increase in available funding is likely. While the council officers are on side, it is the members that need to be convinced - and I will be working with Shopmobility to gain members attention and commitment to change.
Shopmobility have a second problem - their location. Just by the multi-storey car park in Newton Abbot and the bus stop which has become their terminus absent anywhere else, you will find the entrance to Shopmobility. There is no crossing to the shopping centre - never mind a safe one! Buggy riders quite literally take their lives in their hands crossing between large buses with very poor visibility at the "launch point"on either side. Again I took Devon County Council to task. They had agreed to a crossing - only then to go back on their promise. Now the officers of Devon County Council have come up with an alternative place for the crossing - but Council members still have to be won over....and I shall be campaigning hard with Shopmobility and Access (the local campaign group for the less able) to help them see the wisdom of such a crossing.
On Friday I visited a lovely lady who has been having trouble getting a disabled car parking space outside her home. While anyone who is disabled is entitled to this, it would seem that if your disability is blindness, you are excluded! Why...because you can't drive.....yes but you can be driven and you still need easy access from your home to your car! The council have since seen sense but - get this - not only can they not say when the space will be provided so that neighbours can be consulted and got on side, they state that even when provided the resident cannot expect any help with enforcement from the police or the council! One has to ask then - what value does this "parking space" have? I shall be following progress!
Tuesday and Thursday were spent with local residents in Newton Abbot who are suffering intimidation and worse from local school children at Coombshead School. I joined residents at a meeting with the headmaster, the chair of the Board of Governors and the Mid Devon Advertiser. While many promises were made about fencing, access, school discipline and the residents complaints procedure, we have yet to see if these will be delivered on. The school is undergoing extensive building works which has put a lot of pressure on the school and the children - too little space for too many children - but that is no excuse for what has been happening. Recognising the constraints the school is working under, I will continue to work with the residents to ensure that the school, Devon County Council and the builders come up with a more acceptable approach to the problem which fairly recognises the rights of the local residents. If Coombshead School wishes to obtain trust status it will need to pull its socks up.
That apart, this week has been a round of committee meetings, coffee mornings, cream teas, local fetes and fairs and dog walking all in aid of good causes and/or the Conservative party. Teignmouth has been most high profile in my diary this week - a cream tea in aid of the League of Friends of the Hospital at Bitton House and a visit to the Orangery, an evening canvassing followed by a committee meeting. On Wednesday I attended a very wonderful garden party at Huntly in Bishopsteignton just down the road to which I felt very privileged to have been invited. Lots of interesting people, a great celebration of those who have fought for and given their lives to this country and a wonderful brass band. On Sunday I was in Coffinswell at a cream tea to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy sufferers.
And this coming week....I hope to exchange contracts finally on my new home in Newton Abbot - Sandford Orleigh to be precise -looking out over the new hospital site. Fingers crossed!
Shopmobility have a second problem - their location. Just by the multi-storey car park in Newton Abbot and the bus stop which has become their terminus absent anywhere else, you will find the entrance to Shopmobility. There is no crossing to the shopping centre - never mind a safe one! Buggy riders quite literally take their lives in their hands crossing between large buses with very poor visibility at the "launch point"on either side. Again I took Devon County Council to task. They had agreed to a crossing - only then to go back on their promise. Now the officers of Devon County Council have come up with an alternative place for the crossing - but Council members still have to be won over....and I shall be campaigning hard with Shopmobility and Access (the local campaign group for the less able) to help them see the wisdom of such a crossing.
On Friday I visited a lovely lady who has been having trouble getting a disabled car parking space outside her home. While anyone who is disabled is entitled to this, it would seem that if your disability is blindness, you are excluded! Why...because you can't drive.....yes but you can be driven and you still need easy access from your home to your car! The council have since seen sense but - get this - not only can they not say when the space will be provided so that neighbours can be consulted and got on side, they state that even when provided the resident cannot expect any help with enforcement from the police or the council! One has to ask then - what value does this "parking space" have? I shall be following progress!
Tuesday and Thursday were spent with local residents in Newton Abbot who are suffering intimidation and worse from local school children at Coombshead School. I joined residents at a meeting with the headmaster, the chair of the Board of Governors and the Mid Devon Advertiser. While many promises were made about fencing, access, school discipline and the residents complaints procedure, we have yet to see if these will be delivered on. The school is undergoing extensive building works which has put a lot of pressure on the school and the children - too little space for too many children - but that is no excuse for what has been happening. Recognising the constraints the school is working under, I will continue to work with the residents to ensure that the school, Devon County Council and the builders come up with a more acceptable approach to the problem which fairly recognises the rights of the local residents. If Coombshead School wishes to obtain trust status it will need to pull its socks up.
That apart, this week has been a round of committee meetings, coffee mornings, cream teas, local fetes and fairs and dog walking all in aid of good causes and/or the Conservative party. Teignmouth has been most high profile in my diary this week - a cream tea in aid of the League of Friends of the Hospital at Bitton House and a visit to the Orangery, an evening canvassing followed by a committee meeting. On Wednesday I attended a very wonderful garden party at Huntly in Bishopsteignton just down the road to which I felt very privileged to have been invited. Lots of interesting people, a great celebration of those who have fought for and given their lives to this country and a wonderful brass band. On Sunday I was in Coffinswell at a cream tea to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy sufferers.
And this coming week....I hope to exchange contracts finally on my new home in Newton Abbot - Sandford Orleigh to be precise -looking out over the new hospital site. Fingers crossed!
Saturday 2 June 2007
May Festivals and Fairs
The end of May and a remarkable Monday bank holiday - no rain! Shaldon held its long established Fair at which the May Queen for the year was crowned - alongside her princesses. She looked radiant and carried off her first official duties with great poise awarding prizes in a painting competition. Traditional stalls - and of course the cakes! - brought out many villagers and the Green was packed. I bought some truly yummy apricot flapjacks and was tempted by some interesting wooden- yes wooden roses. A dozen now sit on my bedroom windowsill. Richard Younger Ross was there but had no particular message to bring from Westminster -or indeed anywhere else.
The Ram Roasting Festival at Oakford Lawn in Kingsteignton was a huge success with long queues to get in. As usual despite reserves, the supply of roasted ram ran out! Lots to see and lots to do, from the bucking bronco, the donkey rides, maypole dancing, racing and of course the tug of war! Tony Beard the Wag from Widicombe did a great job - and of course crowned the May Queen, seven year old Robyn Pearson, whose great grandmother had been the Ram Roast May Queen 81 years ago. The local Conservatives ran a treasure hunt this year which was a great success....while the Liberal Democrats decided not to take a stall at all! And yes, I bought another cake - a very rich and moist Ginger Cake with lemon zest.
You are going to think I am a bit of a foodie - but there really is nothing like home made cakes....and local wine! This was English Wine Week. Old Walls Vineyard in Bishopsteignton and the new Kenton Vineyard offered tours and tastings alongside a number of others in South Devon. I think English wine has finally made its mark as a true quality competitor in the market and about time too!
On Thursday I attended a really excellent talk at the Town Hall in Newton Abbot organised by the Civic Society and Friends of the Museum- Michael Martyn has a rare gift of bringing the history of Newton Abbot to life. This time we were taken on a tour of the creation of and competition for educational establishments in Newton Abbot - indeed it was one of the attractions of living there. Quite fascinating with exhibits from the museum on show which had played a key part in the story!
On Friday I spent a couple of hours with the residents of the Churchills in Newton Abbot listening to their concerns about the behaviour of children around Coombeshead College. A residents meeting has been called for next week with the school to see what can be done to improve the situation which I shall be attending to see if we can find a solution.
And finally I have been out with the team canvassing again! Everyone complains politicians are only interested during an election - I am interested all of the time in doing what I can to help. I met a couple of families who really did have problems and I am working with them now to try to solve them. People are not just frustrated by the inadequate bin collections, the poor state of the roads and the generally poor upkeep of the town, but also by much bigger failures in social services, health care and the police. They have had enough!
The Ram Roasting Festival at Oakford Lawn in Kingsteignton was a huge success with long queues to get in. As usual despite reserves, the supply of roasted ram ran out! Lots to see and lots to do, from the bucking bronco, the donkey rides, maypole dancing, racing and of course the tug of war! Tony Beard the Wag from Widicombe did a great job - and of course crowned the May Queen, seven year old Robyn Pearson, whose great grandmother had been the Ram Roast May Queen 81 years ago. The local Conservatives ran a treasure hunt this year which was a great success....while the Liberal Democrats decided not to take a stall at all! And yes, I bought another cake - a very rich and moist Ginger Cake with lemon zest.
You are going to think I am a bit of a foodie - but there really is nothing like home made cakes....and local wine! This was English Wine Week. Old Walls Vineyard in Bishopsteignton and the new Kenton Vineyard offered tours and tastings alongside a number of others in South Devon. I think English wine has finally made its mark as a true quality competitor in the market and about time too!
On Thursday I attended a really excellent talk at the Town Hall in Newton Abbot organised by the Civic Society and Friends of the Museum- Michael Martyn has a rare gift of bringing the history of Newton Abbot to life. This time we were taken on a tour of the creation of and competition for educational establishments in Newton Abbot - indeed it was one of the attractions of living there. Quite fascinating with exhibits from the museum on show which had played a key part in the story!
On Friday I spent a couple of hours with the residents of the Churchills in Newton Abbot listening to their concerns about the behaviour of children around Coombeshead College. A residents meeting has been called for next week with the school to see what can be done to improve the situation which I shall be attending to see if we can find a solution.
And finally I have been out with the team canvassing again! Everyone complains politicians are only interested during an election - I am interested all of the time in doing what I can to help. I met a couple of families who really did have problems and I am working with them now to try to solve them. People are not just frustrated by the inadequate bin collections, the poor state of the roads and the generally poor upkeep of the town, but also by much bigger failures in social services, health care and the police. They have had enough!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
