MAYOR'S ACHIEVEMENTS: £80 MILLION SPENT SO FAR ...

Mr. Bye answered his critics recently in the Herald Express by listing changes incurred by him and his like minded councillors under the debatable umbrella of improvements! What he failed to list was the fact that they have borrowed eighty million pounds -- yes 80 million pounds and its not yet half way into into his term of office. Now a further 400,000 pounds to install parking meters, that eventually are supposed to show a profit, remember 400,000 pounds to break even (sounds reminiscent of that wonderful money maker the N.C.P.), to enforce his idea on the public Councillor Lewis indulges in emotional blackmail by offering the choice of meters or robbing the elderly and children of their just entitlements.Would it be reasonable to expect that in the second half of his term of office Mr. Bye and co. will increase the borrowing to an even more frightening figure, dispose of land that was bequeathed to the people, and leave shopkeepers bankrupt by parking meters that have yet to reach their potential? What a legacy to leave. Would not a mid-term vote of confidence be a way of silencing the critics? Have they got the confidence??

Sent to the Herald Express 21/04/08 by Mick Warner Lichfield Ave, Torquay


The great debate in The English Riviera is seaside town or Atlantis? Is Torquay ,Paignton and Brixham the English Riviera or Atlantis ? The Mayoral Vision is one of development for casinos on the seafront ,balloon attraction on Torquay Seafront, a Sydney Harbour-style Opera House and regeneration of Torquay town centre to become a city! The Government says it needs 20,000 new homes -it needs more affordable housing, yes it's the numbers that are the question. The English Rivera has been in decline for many years and a quick fix won't work even if it's a glossy brochure like Thomson's. It all costs money. At present there is a massive hole in the council coffers - £80m the council owes in loans already, and it is now proposing to borrow £400,000 more to install parking meters all over Torbay. Forty sites are up for sale and opposition is vocal and petitions are so common all over The English Rivera that WH Smiths are out of paper. Consultation meetings packed and 500 objections received by the council in writing alone. Is This Atlantis or is the Mayor light years too late to win this debate?

Sent to the Herald Express by Paul Raybould, South Street, Torquay.