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The Bradworthy Wind Turbines
Councillor
Christie's Weblog
From your Torridge District Councillor Peter Christie
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21st June '09
Torridge councillors have just been told that the council has managed to achieve an underspend of some £144,000 on last year’s budget – not a massive saving in terms of the council’s overall spending but a real move in the right direction. Unfortunately at the same time we also heard that the Government was probably going to reduce their vital contribution to Torridge’s costs by up to 40% in 2 year’s time. As councillor Steve Clarke pointed out a reduction like this could see 30% of Torridge’s staff having to be laid off. Councillor Bob Hicks then pointed out that redundancy payments could wipe out any accumulated savings – indeed there could also be a steep rise in council tax. One thing that may save money is the possible abandonment of hugely expensive plans to set up a Unitary council – where the district and county councils are replaced by one supersized body. The recent change in the Devon political set-up has seen existing support from the county evaporating but the government will have the final say.
When Asda was given its planning to build at Bideford one of the planning obligations they had to meet was to provide a six-figure sum to Devon county council to go towards road improvements down Clovelly Road and Meddon Street. Up until recently the only thing put in place was the mini roundabout at the bottom of Torridge Hill. Now, however, road calming in the form of ‘triangular blocks of concrete’, as one of my correspondents puts it, has appeared by Blights Garage on down. I know that other councillors have also been approached by people complaining about these things – which do actually appear dangerous to me – and I know that local taxi-drivers haven’t been too impressed by the works. As I noted above the scheme emanates from the county council so it will be interesting to see how our two new Bideford county councillors will respond to this subject of contention.
Following the recent county council elections Bideford is now represented by two non-Bidefordians. Be that as it may one of them, Sam Robinson, did attend his first town council meeting this June and I asked him about the current storm-in-a-teacup over the Bideford town signs at Orchard Hill about which the new Mayor of Northam is getting so agitated. Mr. Robinson was very diplomatic – probably because he is also a Northam town councillor and clearly is in a cleft stick over this. Perhaps I should have mentioned moves, on at least two occasions, for Bideford to take over the Orchard Hill area – given that the Link Road now seems to be the ‘natural’ boundary perhaps we ought to annex the Hill? Talking of signs Bideford is soon to get new cream and burgundy town signs on all its road approaches. You may recall councillor Caroline Church, our ex-Mayor, trying to get some pictorial signs put in place but the town council, having been faced with a rather intransigent county council, decided to go with these less ornate ones which will still have our crest on them – though where the one between Northam and Bideford will go has yet to be decided!
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