Exmouth

Or should it be issue? Once again we have a by election with the blue party using their usual badmouthing tactics as they are so bereft of ideas and policies of their own that their only way to campaign is on the back of a tissue of untruths and induendo's.
They have picked as their main issue in this by election the increase in allowances that the County Councillors have been awarded. They are only doing this because they have no policy that they are able to introduce or campaign for.
the simple thing that they aretrying to avaoid becoming an isue is one of their own making in East Devon where they the ruling party have run down the services they should be providing and are expecting the local Town Councils to pick up the costs involved to run them. As the leader of the Council stated "East Devon District Council will be capped if they increase their Council tax whereas the local parish and Town Councils will not, so they can increase their precepts and take on those tasks that East Devon can no longer provide!"
One other very important point is that they, the controlling party at East Devon, have every year awarded themselves an increase in Councillors allowances above that which was recomended by the independant review pannel.
POT CALLING KETTLE BLACK EH?

We now know that Plymouth uni are to close Rolle Col. Can we do anything to stop this happening or should we just sit back and see the heart of our Town fade away into the sunset taking the students and their colourfull ways to a place far away. Why is it going to happen? no doubt it is the ringing of cash tills. Some of my friends have asked why would the Uni want to relocate after spending so much money at the Exmouth Campus? Simply put an offer (£15m some one has suggested) has been made to relocate to Plymouth which is too good for them to turn down.
I suppose that this is better than the Welsh making an offer using regeneration money from the European fund as a bribe to move Plymouth to South Wales, although some may wish to make a contribution to help them on their way.

That Karime Hassan is hell bent on pushing his ideas for the Exmouth regeneration even though it is evident that there is a lot of opposition from the residents to his proposals. If we are to believe the press reports about the residents of Exeter who are disatisfied with the redevelopment being carried out there, is there any hope for Exmouth. Karime was after all the top honcho in Exeter before his appointment in East Devon. Are we to have to sit back and accept what he wants or will we have a chance to have a say in planning our Town?

Could traffic arriving from Bradham Lane in the left-hand lane be allowed to continue filtering left whilst the right-hand lane is turning right.

Seems these are the main questions as I see them.
Why do we want any redevelopment of the town ?
What do we want ?
When do we want this ?
Where do we want any development to take place ?

Until we can get EDDC to reply clearly to when and where we can't really deal with what !

With the loss of two National Health dentists in the last couple of months I wonder whether we should not consider ways of redressing this loss and making Exmouth one place in the South West where it's residents can obtain dental treatment under the National Health. A chance to make a national impact, serve Exmothians better and possibly show the way for other communities!
My proposal is that if we go ahead with a new supermarket we include a condition that a fully equipped, state of the art dental surgery, for at least two dentists, be incorporated. Dentists should then be invited to use this facility free of charge (costs paid by supermarket) provided that they retain at least say 75% national health clients on their books.
This is a really serious issue of concern to many in our community - if we're to make a difference this is the type of problem that we should be tackling.
What do you think - have you any other suggestions?

There has been a suggestion that any development of this site should not be for straight retail outlets but should be reserved for a combination of residential, office and parking utilising the land which was used for the old gas company site as overflow car parking.

Revisiting decisions is never easy but is sometimes necessary if there appear to be flaws in the original decision. Our Exmouth colour scheme causes me concern for the following reasons.
Street furniture is something that we need on our streets however it is not an ornament merely a utility. In devising a suitable colour scheme we should be seeking to achieve four things:

1. Camouflage the furniture so that it does not stand out against its background.
2. Reduce the on-going cost of maintenance (i.e. cleaning and re-painting).
3. Give an impression of smartness and quality.
4. Enable lettering on sign posts to stand out against the background colour.

The present light blue, that I first thought was undercoat, does none of these things. It makes a feature of rubbish bins and lamp posts, gets dirty quickly, is poor on signposts and, as I said above, looks as if it is awaiting a final coat.
I know that this was a genuine attempt to give Exmouth a distinctive appearance but I think it has failed and it grieves me to see us pushing ahead with it to the detriment of our town.

My view is that we should seek a dark primary colour (royal blue, emerald green or black) contrasted with a light colour of white, bright yellow, gold or silver for lettering and banding. Click on the links in the text to see examples of the way in which our street furniture stands out from its surroundings. Two final examples include "old-style" black lamposts in the Strand and, in Alexandra Terrace, blackand gold signpost and railings around the gardens. Notice how these look smarter and less obtrusive?

Finally, posts and other fittings with weatherproof non-corroding finishes should be left unpainted to reduce on maintenance costs.