23 November 2023

 

SAVE Queen Street Facebook Page

So a week has passed since the disgraceful actions of the Mayor of Newton Abbot Town Council, at the Full Council Meeting on the 15th November. I had passed this onto the paper, but it chose to ignore my piece and the many other members of the public present who were horrified by the institutional bullying on display. So here is what the paper chose not to run.

What was most concerning about the Newton Abbot Town Council Meeting on Wednesday 15th November was that the many traders and residents who had attended, desperate to raise their real concerns for the future of Newton Abbot, were silenced and intimidated by the Chair of the meeting Councillor David Corney-Walker, and the majority of Councillors present were just fine with this. What is the point of a Town Council if it is not to react to the concerns of its residents and traders? It is accepted that the residents, not aware of the procedures, had not given 48 hours notice to speak, but the Chair could have stood down the 'standing orders' and allowed them to explain their well founded fears that the Queen Street pedestrianisation plan will kill off their businesses. But the Chair inexplicably began with violent communication from the outset, screaming and hammering with the volume dial at 11. Firstly this was aimed forcefully at local business woman and community volunteer Rosemary Whitbread, then towards South Devon Alliance Cllr Janet Bradford. When the only Councillor in their twenties, SDA's Alex Hall, made a number of reasonable attempts to clarify how the meeting was being run, his points of order were ignored and he was silenced. SDA's Cllr Mike Ryan explained that after the treatment of his co councillors and the public, he didn't feel able to put forward his report. That is how intimidation plays out. Perhaps the other Town Councillors present thought it perfectly reasonable that a male dominated Council intimidate older women and the youngest Councillor, as they attempt to raise valid concerns relating to the future of Newton Abbot.

It would be good not to lose sight of the points the Queen Street Residents and Traders Association were attempting to air. Whilst Cllr Jackie Hook was given ample council airtime to present her report, which from what I could interpret outlined how she thinks bankrupting Newton Abbot is a price worth paying to fulfil her 'ideology' to take cars off Queen Street, and the evidence to support that is she can 'smell pollution'. The actual facts of TDC's air traffic reports demonstrate that air pollution in other areas in Newton Abbot is dangerous to health, and under the new plans, these will become worse. Baseless assertions that pop and shop doesn't work have been laid to rest. Though the meeting wasn't allowed to hear this - Devon County Council earns circa £75k per year from Queen Street one hour parking bays (most of which will be removed). That is a lot of popping and shopping. A worrying fact is that traders experienced takings reduced by £700 to £1000 per day when the road was closed for survey. Most of the traders concluded they wouldn't survive this plan. Market Square, with its 33% vacancy rate, gives a view of the pedestrianised future. Queen Street has a 6% vacancy rate and is positively flourishing. The consultation results for the pedestrianisation plans have been consistently misrepresente, where in fact they clearly demonstrated that there were consistent objections (76/24%) to the removal of parking and access to Queen Street.

The meeting was such an affront to democracy it seemed the only responses on offer were fight or flight. Before Cllr Mullone was invited to speak, all but one of the Queen Street traders and residents had flown the meeting in disgust. The fact that Cllr Mullone swore in his speech was both unsurprising, given the depths the meeting had sunk to, and a gift to some as they could leap to their feet in 'faux shock'. It's fine to stand by plans that kill off a town, bully and intimidate those who dare to call it out, but if a councillor (predictably) swears, their world falls in. The 'establishment' has constantly tried to portray Cllr Mullone as a thug, rather than an articulate skilled (former Times) journalist who they are not willing to accept processes things differently to them. There are huge concerns with how the Chair introduced Cllr Mullone through to the point Cllr Colin Parker was on his feet proclaiming that Cllr Mullone 'should be banned from future meetings of Newton Abbot Town Council'. Equally that, without any reflection, Cllr Bullivant would propose Cllr Mullone for a Standards Procedure. There seems to be a collective failure by these two Town and District Councillors to reflect on the stinging rebuke delivered by the Local Government Ombudsman earlier this year for TDC's serious Standards Procedures failures. Not least that they need to operate within the law. Freedom of Speech is something they don't value and actively aim to suppress. The failures are systemic and, if it is at all possible, the whole Town Council needs to reflect on this.

But that is of course all a distraction. Which Newton Abbot, Teignbridge and Devon County Councils will welcome. Queen Street pedestrianisation is a scheme that, if allowed to proceed, will be a nail in the coffin of Newton Abbot. It is also a political hill that, if they continue their frivolous ascent of, Councillor Hook will end her local councillor career on and will also lay to rest any ambitions that Martin Wrigely has to be the MP for Newton Abbot. It really doesn't have to be this way.