It's beginning to feel that mine so far seems a negative campaign. Obviously as a candidate not supported by a major political party it is important to demonstrate how and why I believe the status quo is not working for the best. I did not anticipate how much misleading information would emanate from the two main parties locally, potentially leaving false impressions that should not be allowed to stick.
Exmouth is a great place to live and to grow up. It is also becoming an increasingly popular destination to retire to. There is possibly a gap during the career development and working years.
The years since I first arrived here in 1977 have seen a number of changes.
The dormitory part of the town which has sprawled outwards over the past thirty years, seems more connected to Exeter than to Exmouth. Developed without thought for community facilities it has had a rather soulless feel. I think one achievement of the current town council is to go some way to reversing this.
The growth of the Exmouth Festival has also been significant in reviving the personality of the town as well as its culture, and in drawing the different parts together.
The docks and Rolle College, which were our most significant economic entities, have been closed down with developers in mind. Nothing has come along to take their place. We have lost an awful lot of jobs and a constant injection of young people as a result of this. The age balance and employment/career opportunities need constant attention.
Town and District planners should freeze any applications for supervised apartment blocks for incoming retired people. That is not to deny the elderly the right to retire here, but to put a brake on the ability of large companies to use our natural resources to draw them here in order to make profit which then goes out of the town. As well as creating a time bomb for the NHS locally. An important task facing the new authority should then be to assess the maximum level of these developments which we can sustain, and whether in fact we are already at saturation level.
The water sports businesses in the town have the potential to really take off. We have just missed out on a marvellous publicity coup when the provisional stag weekend plans of the Royal party were blown out of the water by someone blabbing to the press. If that had been allowed to happen discretely we would have been known worldwide as a premier destination for these activities.
When BBC presenter Jodie Kidd was given tuition here the Western Morning News quoted her instructor as saying 'we are the future of Exmouth, if allowed to get on with it'. I consider it a priority to engage with these important local businesses to see what obstacles they face and how they can be helped.
We also need to encourage more quality eating establishments etc rather than filling up for the sake of it with the likes of Bargain Booze.
More to follow.
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