Adam Symons News
Tavistock makes a difference
Adam volunteers to pick litter
Wednesday 31 October 2007
Never has volunteering been made
so easy as this Friday's 'Make a Difference Day' in Tavistock. Lib Dem PPC for
the area, Adam Symons, will be rolling up his sleeves to pick some serious
litter, and help make Tavistock a better place to live.
The litter picking event,
organised to celebrate volunteering as part of 'Make a Difference Day' has been
organised by Tavistock Volunteer Centre. At 11am, volunteers from throughout the
area will descend on Tavistock Meadows, armed with litter picking sticks and
plastic bags, to clean up the area.
Adam said, 'Volunteering is one
way in which people can give back something to the community. I have been
involved with youth mentoring and conservation in the past, so I am always keen
to promote people getting involved. The serious side of this is that we can all
get involved, and every bit counts! On the lighter side, I hope to enjoy it and
get a chance to meet similarly motivated people.'
Postal strike continues to hit Local Residents
Paying extra for a poorer
service
Thursday 25 October 2007
News that the backlog from the
postal strike is “one third to one half”
not dealt with as yet comes as no surprise to some Bideford residents. As
complaints continue to be received, the local Parliamentary Candidate asks
“Is this a Government ploy to destroy the postal
service?”
Sending letters by special
delivery used to ensure that things got their on time. However the experience of
one local lady just shows the kind of mess the system is in at the moment. Helen
Bone, from Lime Grove, Bideford, paid £2 extra on top of the normal £8 on Friday
12th October to send a letter by special delivery to ensure it got to her
mortgage company by Saturday. Ten days later, the letter finally arrived.
Helen said,
“I was furious. I paid extra just to make sure that these sensitive
documents got to the mortgage company, and they don't even turn up. What's the
point. Royal Mail seem to be in turmoil with backlogs.”
Helen complained to her local
Parliamentary Candidate, Adam Symons, who, having written a letter of complaint
to John Hutton, minister responsible for Royal Mail said, “Without in any way
taking sides in respect of the dispute this is appalling. Royal Mail has already
saved wages due to the dispute and, that aside, they owe a duty of care to the
public. This was an urgent letter to a mortgage company that included her
boyfriend's passport. The Government seems be allowing this essential service to
be run down. Together with Post Office closures in our local area, one must ask
'Is this a Government ploy to destroy the postal service?'”
Adam is asking if there are any
other local residents who have been badly affected to contact him, as he is
compiling a list of complaints to send to John Hutton. Either contact Adam by
, or write to him at 24 High Street, Bideford, EX39 2AN.
Councillors survey affordable sites
Focus on Holsworthy area
Monday 22 October 2007
Holsworthy provided a focal point
for a day-long visit to potential affordable housing sites in the area. Local
landowners welcomed councillors on Friday to view potential exception sites, and
get an idea of the viability of each site.
Faced with high house prices, and
below average wages, many young people are having to move out of their villages
to be able to afford a place to live. Torridge District Council's affordable
housing working group, together with ward councillors and the Holsworthy
Community Property Trust went out to identify potential sites to help meet the
needs of local people.
Sites were focused around the
Holsworthy area, and included sites in Bradworthy, Pyworthy, Pancrasweek,
Chilsworthy, Milton Damerel, Sutcombe, Shebbear, Black Torrington, Ashwater,
Bradford, Thornbury and Sheepwash.
Des Shadrick, District Councillor
for Holsworthy and organiser of the day said, 'Affordable housing is one of the
great challenges facing councils throughout the South-west. With rising house
prices, and low wages, ensuring that local people don’t have to move away from
their local area is a key priority.’
'Just such an example of what the
problems are was found in Thornbury. A young couple, both of whom were working,
could get a maximum mortgage of £69,000. Average house prices in the village are
£220,000.'
Each site was assessed in terms
of its potential to deliver local needs affordable housing, together with the
potential barriers such as highways issues and wildlife. Local needs affordable
housing is designed to provide decent housing at a reasonable price while
keeping housing in the local community.
Adam Symons, Ward Councillor for
Bradworthy and member of the Affordable Housing Working Group said, ‘Not every
site will be suitable. However, by working with land-owners, we can help to
bring forward sites to meet the needs of our village communities. House prices
are far to high for many to afford, so we will try to bridge the gap with these
exception sites.’
Affordable Housing Plans for Hartland
Residents have their say
Saturday 20 October 2007
Friday evening saw residents in
the parish of Hartland flocking to come and give their opinions on a proposed
affordable housing development specifically for local people. The design display
gave people the opportunity to view the scheme, and give comments back to the
developers.
Twelve homes are being proposed
by Sarsen Housing Association, a member of the Aster Group, for local needs
affordable housing. Identified as an ‘ exception site’, the mixture of rented
and shared equity properties will only be available for people in the parish of
Hartland.
Designed to blend in with the
local environment, the one, two, three and four bedroom properties meet a
minimum Sustainable Homes rating of three – far above building regulation
standards. With super-insulation, energy and water saving technologies, the
homes are designed to ensure that costs for the residents are also kept to a
minimum.
Martyn Watts, Area Development
Manager for Aster Group said, ‘It is our intention to bring high quality homes
to the Parish of Hartland that will help the sustainability of the local
community. The house will be built using modern methods of construction and will
be highly insulated homes that will result in low heating bills for the
residents.’
Adam Symons, Ward Councillor for
Hartland and member of the Affordable Housing Working Group said, ‘It is great
to see that new local needs housing is being provided, especially ones designed
to reduce their impact on the environment. I know a lot of local people have
struggled to find housing in the village, and I hope that this will be a real
help to enable young families to stay in Hartland.’
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