Every fortnight Kevin writes a “Kev’s Column” for the Herald Express and you can read the latest edition (Published on Wednesday 9th January 2018) below:
Kev’s Column:
High St Fund
The challenges facing our High Streets have been all to visible over the festive period.
Growth in online shopping and the ability to access many services via the internet has changed for good how many people do things they once headed to their local high street for. This leaves many Town Centres, including Torquay and Paignton facing a need for urgent change and investment to reshape themselves for the 21st Century.
The Government has announced the launch of a £675m Future High Streets Fund to provide co-funding towards improvements to town centre infrastructure, including increasing access to high streets, reducing congestion, supporting development around high streets and enabling housing and new workspaces to be created.
Ministers have also published a Call for Proposals inviting local authorities, including Torbay Council, to set out the challenges facing their high streets and town centres, along with their strategic approach to bring transformative change to them at an expression of interest stage for the fund. The Government will assess these before deciding which places should move forward to develop business cases bidding for capital funding.
Sorting out the issues in our Town Centres is vital to the economic future of our bay, hence it is essential Torbay Council gets a strong bid into this fund.
CPR
Just over a year ago a close relative of mine collapsed in the early hours of the morning, thankfully her young Son could help his Dad deliver CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) thanks to what he had learned at Sea Cadets.
Basic First Aid and CPR skills can be vital at any age hence I welcome the Government announcement confirming children will be taught basic first aid in all schools under proposals due to be rolled out from 2020.
Several charities including the Red Cross and St John Ambulance do a great job teaching many people the basic skills which could save a life, yet this news will ensure it becomes a skill all ages are familiar with.
Torre Post Office
After a successful campaign to save it from closure it was great to see refurbishment work get underway at Torre Post Office.
The branch is getting a complete makeover having been taken over by Carters who run the nearby convenience store. The new look Torre Post Office is scheduled to reopen on Monday.
I was pleased to work with the Torre & Upton Community Partnership on the campaign, including securing a debate in Parliament about it. A sign of what can be achieved with team work.
Brexit
As Parliament returned this week the debate about Brexit has restarted.
Given the events of recent months it is impossible to predict exactly what will happen next week, yet parliament must decide the future soon.
Surgery Times
My next surgeries will be on Saturday 12th January from 11am till 1pm at Preston Baptist Church, 62 Old Torquay Rd, Paignton, TQ3 2RB and Friday 18th January from 3pm till 5pm at The Windmill Centre, Pendennis Road, Torquay TQ2 7QB.
Just call 01803 214 989 or e-mail me at [email protected] to book a slot. You can drop in, but appointments are recommended to avoid a long wait or disappointment. My team also run drop in surgery sessions Mon to Friday 10am -1pm at 5-7 East St, Torquay, TQ2 5SD.
