My column in this week's Herald Express
PERHAPS it was a sense of nostalgia or more likely simply a case of wanting to be a witness at the final meeting of Torbay Council in Oldway Mansion that had me sitting quietly next to Steve Parrock, CEO of the Torbay Development Agency, at the back of the beautiful mirrored ballroom.
Oldway Mansion (pictured) has always been a special place for me and countless hours have been spent in the historic house and around the stunning landscaped gardens while pausing occasionally to watch generations of enthusiastic tennis players on warm afternoons.
The lovely tea rooms offering traditional scones and cream tea capture the quintessential Englishness of a summer day.
As many of you will know, Oldway Mansion is to be redeveloped into an upmarket hotel and the little woodland to the north has been cruelly axed into oblivion.
The immaculate bowling green and grass tennis court will in the not too distant future become a small housing estate changing the nature of Oldway Mansion for all time.
All this was very much in mind as I watched councillors take their places for the final council meeting at Oldway Mansion. At the end of the room sat chairman Roger Stringer dressed in a bright red robe and sparkling chain of office. Three rows of the ruling council group sat to the east and two rows of the opposition to the west. Each councillor had a microphone in front of them to record every word for posterity.
The meeting had been called to agree the 2013-14 revenue budget and capital investment plan for Torbay at a time when local councils are facing draconian funding cuts from central government. Numerous amendments had been tabled by the opposition but it soon became obvious that block voting would ensure the budget went through unscathed.
You would think that more folk would take an interest in the antics of their elected members in action but, sadly, there were less than 10 of us in the 'public gallery' and two of those were council officers. Of course, it is mostly tedious stuff unless you like that sort of thing. However, one or two councillors were really on form and provided some excellent entertainment.
Mayor Gordon Oliver was very worried about the central government cuts in council funding and explained that the gap was being partly filled by selling off unwanted assets. The trouble is that once they have been sold then future funding gaps will be harder to fill. He did say that he was very optimistic about the future for Torbay and that was good to hear.
Political points were being scored as Steve Darling accused the previous government of crashing the economy! These are hard and serious times which had Brixham councillor Mike Morey commenting upon the rise of local food banks as the hurtful funding cuts hit home and wondered whether we would soon be facing soup kitchens as too often those lucky enough to have jobs seemed to be getting part-time wages for full-time work!
It was serious stuff, to be truthful, and we all need to be aware of what is happening around us. It was obvious that all of our elected members were very concerned about the future of Torbay in these troubled times. But from the seemly bleak landscape came the youthful voice of Chris Lewis bringing humour through the thick fog of political rhetoric. His powerful oratory had all the hallmarks of a man with higher political ambitions and so we must watch with interest!
Walking back from Oldway, I noticed a local shop being once again emptied of stock. It had been a traditional shop that simply ran out of steam as the recession scorched the economic landscape. Its successor was a shop selling second-hand stuff but that too seems to have wandered off into the long grass.
That made me reflect upon what had motivated me to attend the final full council meeting at Oldway. It was that sense of unrest, the feeling that perhaps we face a paradigm change in society rather than a dip, double dip or treble dip.
As I walked along the road through half-closed, misty eyes I thought for a moment I could hear the haunting melody of the Ashokan Farewell in the distance as the doors of Oldway Mansion closed on the final Torbay Council meeting to be held there.
This is our town and our time which means we all need to keep our eye on the ball.
Keep the smile!
