4th February 2010

Sidmouth Town Council round-up

IN the first meeting of 2010, Sidmouth Town Council discussed matters both large and small: from saving Salcombe Regis’ red phone box, to responding to the planned Unitary Proposal for Devon.

Stuart Hughes, vice-chairman for the town council, gave his round up of the latest issues and activities affecting the Sid Vale.

Unitary proposal

THE Boundary Committee has completed its review of Devon’s local government structure and has sent its proposals to the Secretary of State, recommending a unitary system to be introduced, “comprising the whole of the existing two-tier area of Devon”.

In response, the town council has sent its own letter to the Secretary of State, calling for the two-tier system to be left in place and for no changes to be made:

In this letter, sent on January 11th, the council said it had resolved its “desire to see the status quo maintained with regard to local government in Devon … for the sake of local democracy and the benefits of all inhabitants of Sidmouth, East Devon and Devon as a whole”.

The letter added that the town council thought that keeping the current system in place would be “more cost effective and save money in the long term. Over the last two years the country’s financial situation has altered dramatically and this is not the time to waste money on an unnecessary Unitary Devon”.

The Boundary Committee’s report is available on its website: www.boundarycommittee.org.uk, or telephone: 020 7271 0512.To make representations to the Secretary of State, you can email DevonStructures@communities.gsi.gov.uk or write to the Unitary Structures Team, Zone 3/J1, Eland House, Bressenden Place, London SW1E 5DU.

District council cuts

COUNCILLOR John Turner attended an East Devon District Council meeting in December, about potential cuts to services, forced by its reduced budget for 2010.

In Sidmouth, the proposed cuts cover a wide range of facilities and services, including maintenance of public parks and gardens, street cleaning, anti-graffiti and vandalism clean-up, and CCTV security.

EDDC carried out a public consultation for its proposals, which was completed on January 17th. It will present its cost-cutting plans to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at the beginning of February, following which the budget measures will be set on February 24th.
For full details of the proposed cuts, see page 1 & 2.

Electricity Charge for Ham Power Point

THE council has been landed with an unexpected electricity bill of nearly £4,000 - the annual total of the monthly standing charge for the new power point installed in the Ham last year.

The town clerk has asked Western Power to review this charge, particularly since the unit is only used infrequently.

Correspondence is ongoing but it is understood that the electricity company is considering a possible discount.

The main purpose of installing the 3-Phase power unit at the Ham last year was to have a permanent electricity supply available for Folk Week concerts in the main marquee and other special events, replacing the previous mobile generator, which was considered noisy and gave off unpleasant fumes.

Salcombe Regis Phone Box

BRITISH Telecom has told Salcombe Regis residents that if they want to keep their payphone in the traditional red kiosk they should adopt it.
However, in a letter that BT sent to Hugo Swire MP, it adds that if Salcombe Regis does adopt the kiosk it will remove the telephone

service, but if not the payphone will remain in place. The town council has resolved to write again to British Telecom, asking for clarification of the apparent contradiction in the company’s decision.

Twinning circle

JONATHON Pearce, secretary of Sidmouth Twinning Circle, sent a report to the council of the visit by Le Locle’s twinning circle members to Sidmouth last October.

The visit was declared a great success, and plans are already underway of what to do for the next return visit to Switzerland. Fundraising is being considered, to help run exchange visits between special activity groups that may exist in both towns.

Also, two committee members are planning to go to Le Locle during their summer holidays this year.

Sidmouth Town Council round-up

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