Fox hunting

Well well, to paraphrase Teresa May, you couldn't make it up. I am, of course referring to Liam Fox desperately  clinging to his job despite a stack of evidence about his dodgy relationship with Adam Werritty. More amazing though, was the support for him from fellow Tories, including the Prime Minister in the face of all this evidence and 'bending' of the truth. Seriously marble-deficient characters like Peter Bone and Daniel Kawczynski, who don't seem to have grasped the basic difference between right and wrong, and somehow blame the media for Fox's resignation! What?

When the Fox scandal first broke I was staying in a 5-star hotel abroad. Unlike Adam Werritty though, I had flown Ryanair to get there, and paid for it myself. A few years ago when Dr Fox visited Torquay I sat in a room listening to him and was struck by the general unpleasantness of his right-wing views (I should point out that at the time I was not there as an adviser to Dr Fox, but merely a member of the audience on Question Time). Today I am thoroughly pleased to witness his demise - a clear reminder (as if we needed another one) of why it is very unwise to vote Tory - ever.

REGIME CHANGE

A few observations on the four months since Nick Bye packed his bags and left the Town Hall:
It seems that Gordon Oliver, the new mayor, understands that building more luxury holiday apartments and 'niche retail outlets' (awful phrase!) on prime publicly owned beauty spots is not going to regenerate the fortunes of the Bay, so thank God for that. There have been some terrible crimes against architecture perpetrated around the Bay over the years and I'm afraid what's gone has been lost for good, but I firmly believe that we should try and preserve as much as possible of our Victorian heritage. As our kids have now gone to university the idea of moving somewhere else briefly crossed our minds and Mrs H and myself made a few trips up the coast to check out other locations. We quickly realized that nowhere comes close to the natural beauty of Torbay, but that the most attractive places are those which have stood up to the developers' wrecking ball: Sidmouth emphasizes its Regency heritage and has a proper pedestrianised area; Seaton, on the other hand, is a dreadful collection of square boxes and flat roofs that would probably come second if it were in competition with Guantanamo Bay as a holiday destination.

It's also been interesting to note how the Herald Express has not been slow in attacking the new mayor and his policies. The Herald Express in general, and deputy editor Jim Parker in particular, were great supporters of Nick Bye's 'sell and build' policy, even though as a road to recovery it was a cul-de-sac which very few locals were in favour of. They clearly lament his passing, to the point that they've still given him a column in which to peddle the myths about the success of his administration. Can you imagine anything more tedious? I don't buy it or read it in the chip shop. Personally I was never keen on the 'Daily Mail' stance of the Herald Express, but it did at least provide a forum for daily debate, however biased. However, with the weekly publication and the revamped website I feel this has been lost, so from now on I will content myself with the odd rant here.

Another person who was going to solve all Torbay's ills but who seems to have faded into the background is the twice-unsuccessful Tory candidate Marcus Wood. It seems that without the prospect of a 65K job plus benefits his enthusiasm for the place and doing good has somewhat evaporated. In fact the domain where his blog was at www.marcus4torbay.org seems to have been sub-let to a purveyor of dodgy watches. No great loss to politics, but a strange state of affairs nevertheless. I had to track him down via his profile on LinkedIn, where he states he attended Thames Valley University from 1977-79, even though back in 1977 it was plain old Thames Valley College of HE. It was merged with several other institutions in 1990 to become part of the Polytechnic of West London, and that finally became a university in 1992, 13 years after Marcus had left. So, Tories bending the truth, eh? Whatever next? I suppose it will be millionaires like George Osborne talking about the recession and telling us 'we're all in it together'.

Even though we have had regime change for the better, we still need to be on our toes because there will be further conservation battles ahead - Oldway Mansion springs to mind - and other policies to drive tourists away, such as more unwanted parking meters. I have that feeling you get at the end of a horror movie, where the central character survives but the axe-wielding maniac gets away, and you just know he will reappear in a sequel. So beware folks, Chris Lewis may be lying low at the moment, but he is still out there ...

Dear residents of Torbay ...

I have grave concerns about what is happening in Torbay under the leadership of Nick Bye and the manner in which it is happening, and from the letters I read in the Herald Express and the people I talk to it seems that many others share these concerns. It appears that those elected to represent the people of Torbay are no longer listening to us. I have therefore set up this site so that collectively we may be heard. Please read my views below, and if you broadly agree with them, please click on link to gopetition.com on the left and leave your name, location and a comment if you wish. It is possible to sign the petition as 'anonymous', but obviously real names from Torquay, Paignton or Brixham will give it more weight.

Why a petition?
Well, it might not change a thing, but with thing going so badly in Torbay I can't just sit back, keep quiet and do nothing. It's a way of finding out just how many people feel the way I do. If very few people sign it I will stop writing to the Herald Express to air my views on the subject, and the Mayor can carry on with his plans - that's democracy, and at least I will have had my say. However, if thousands of people sign and we get close to the figure of 5283 (the number of votes polled by the Mayor in the election) we might just be able to have some positive effect on how local government operates. Remember that the Mayor backed down over charging the blind for audio books from the library, and on parking meters on Babbacombe Downs when a public outcry resulted in negative publicity.

A NIGHT MAYOR VISION

It must have now become apparent to even the most diehard supporter of the idea of an elected mayor what a disaster the whole 'experiment' has been. The flurry of letters from across the political spectrum and the strength of the views expressed therein suggest that people do not simply disagree with the finer details of the Mayoral Vision, but firmly believe that this is a strategy which will do nothing to solve the underlying problems that the area faces.

The Mayoral Vision
I am not against change at all; having lived in Manchester and Wolverhampton I've seen how development of former industrial sites can regenerate an area, and I agree that part of the problem is that Torbay has not moved with the times. However, what has been outlined in the Mayoral Vision is something put forward by a team of consultants, and has absolutely no substance as far as I can see. The consultants themselves have been quick to point this out, but many people seem to think that this 'vision' should be beyond scrutiny or criticism. I have included the video presentation below, so scroll down and judge for yourself.

Rock Walk
The damage is done now, and it will remain something of an eyesore for years to come, but regardless of what the council's 'experts' say, I am convinced that the safety issues could have been addressed without the wholesale destruction of the area. I think the lack of adequate diversion signs and the lack of warning given to traders around the harbour should have been a resignation issue for those responsible.

Torquay Town Centre and Parking Charges
As I see it the town is dying for three main reasons: out-of-town shopping with free parking at the Willows, competition from vastly superior shopping centres in nearby Plymouth and Exeter, and the Internet. The Rock Walk fiasco can now be added to that list, but I would argue that its effect is relatively small compared to the other reasons. Any talk of 'high-spending visitors' and 'niche retail' as a solution to the problem is complete and utter nonsense. A thriving retail environment can only be based on footfall (i.e. potential customers walking past your shop). The recent closures of BarMed and the Hogshead are evidence of this. Once footfall starts to decline in an area retailers look at their figures, and when they don't add up, they pull out. In turn this has a negative effect on footfall, and a vicious circle is created as footfall spirals downwards. Put simply, businesses fail because there aren't enough people in town spending money, and the number of people in town decreases because there are fewer and fewer businesses there to attract them. It's a very serious situation, and one which is fundamental to the overall sucess and attractiveness of the town. Drastic measures are required to halt the decline, and free parking for shoppers clearly has to be part of any strategy. The argument that the council cannot afford the loss in revenue does not hold water. This is a crisis, and the cash must be found to fund a revival. Money has to be moved from one budget to another if needs be; that's what would happen if the town was a private business, and that's what mayors and councillors are elected to do. Unfortunately the Mayor's view on parking is diametrically opposed to this argument. He refuses to make any reductions to parking charges, proposes to sell town centre car parks for high-rise development, and plans to introduce parking meters. The disastrous NCP contract should have taught us all a valuable lesson, and that is that imposing charges (in this case parking fines) leads to a change in behaviour, so you can't just assume that motorists who park on the road while it is free will automatically park there when they have to pay. The result is more likely to be more motorists parking in free residential areas and walking further.

Selling Land for Redevelopment
The Mayoral Vision makes much of large scale residential building development in prime locations around the harbour. This will produce revenue from the sale of land, but will surely create more problems for retailers if car parks are included in the sale. Such developments are unlikely to be affordable housing, so I fail to see any real benefits at all, except of course for the developers who can sell luxury apartments either as first or second homes.

The Balloon and Covenants on Land
Personally I am not against the idea of a balloon per se, but the siting of it at Torre Abbey seems crazy. The Mayor's attempt to bribe the Cary Estate with a £1,000 donation to charity was shameful, the Deputy Mayor's comments regarding covenants on land just beggar belief, and the way work has begun before all these things have been properly addressed seem to be indicative of the way the Mayor and his councillors are prepared to ignore the law and the will of the people.

The Casino
I'm very sceptical about the benefits this will bring, and very uneasy when the seafront or the Pavilion are mentioned as possible sites. I can't see how it will differ very much from the existing casino.

The Babbacombe Beach Development
The area of land involved in this sell-off seems to be steadily increasing, and the whole thing looks like privatisation in all but name.

Mayoral Vision

What's the alternative? When criticism of the Mayoral Vision is printed in the Herald Express a common retort is 'Well, I don't hear you coming up with any ideas'. Well, to my mind it's not really the place of the residents of Torbay to do the Mayor's job for him, but these are some of the things I would like form the basis of an alternative agenda:
1. Make the regeneration of Torquay as a retail and commercial centre a priority. Fundamental to this, I believe, is reduced or free parking for potential shoppers, and the cancellation of any plans for parking meters anywhere in the Bay.
2. End the spending on consultants. From the letters I have read in the Herald Express over the last thirteen years there are many local residents out there with a wealth of expertise and ideas who would, I'm sure, be glad to give their services for free. Torbay has a high percentage of retired people with all sorts of skills - we should be making use of this fantastic resource.
3. Stop making ridiculous promises about the future. The town's problems will not be solved by a series of unconnected developments like a hotel here and a casino there, and it is foolish to imply that this kind of thing, together with a positive attitude from the locals is the answer - it isn't.
4. If we must have a second casino in a prominent waterside position put it on the Living Coasts site. I believe Living Coasts has been attracting a great deal fewer visitors than was originally predicted, and will continue to lose money. The result will either be closure and another prime site empty again, or subsiding by the taxpayer.
5. Stop making ridiculous comparisons. In the 'city idea' in the Mayoral Vision Torbay is compared with Oxford because of its population. This is crazy: Torbay is not a year-round tourist attraction with the oldest university in the English-speaking world. On parking charges the Mayor compared Torbay with Brighton, a thriving university city just an hour from London.
6. Stop talking about how wonderful things will be in 10 or 20 years' time if we all think positively. The problems of today need to be solved sooner rather than later.
7. Consult local people and listen to them - hoteliers, shopkeepers, bar owners, etc.
8. Instead of trying to trying to attract mythical high-spending visitors, think about all-weather attractions which will be popular with locals and visitors alike. I think we should be focusing on children, because children are always accompanied by their parents, and when the kids are happy the parents are happy, so they come back.
9. Stop trying to earmark green areas around the Bay for sale and development. This is just a desperation tactic which will yield some cash in the short term, but will have disastrous consequences in the long-term.
I'm sure other people can think of many other things to add to my list, which is only meant to show that there are others ways to move the Bay forward.