Gary's views

Gary's weekly views

Each week an article by Gary has appeared in the Plympton Plymstock and Ivybridge News in South West Devon. The articles are published here

A YEAR OF BIG DECISIONS

Can we really be halfway through the year already? Where did those six action-packed war-filled six months go? Maybe the second half of the year will just trickle slowly by and go out with a whimper.

But for all of us who live in the shadow of the city of Plymouth, I suspect not. I can think of at least three major decisions likely to affect all of our lives just around the corner.

Later this year, the City Council will choose its next chief executive – the person who will drive the local authority forward for the rest of the decade. Does that matter? Yes, immensely. Leadership is vital in any organisation; and if it is right at the top it will – ultimately - be right all the way through. The Council faces many critical challenges over coming days and we will all benefit if the next chief is a Churchill not a Chamberlain.

Secondly, we will soon see the revised plan from the South Hams Council including the controversial new town for Sherford valley. Almost nobody thinks that concreting over this beauty spot is a good idea – but we must remember that the Council only included it into the original plan because the Government twisted their arms.

We certainly do need new affordable houses for local people, but far better, surely, to sprinkle them around the towns and villages. Not only for young people who want to live where they were born, but also to keep the villages alive providing new pupils for villages schools. I hope that sanity will prevail and the revised plan will fit the needs of the area.

Finally, and back to Plymouth again: this is the year when local decision makers will decide whether to buy into the Macky plan now being put together for the regeneration of Plymouth. From the glimpses I have seen this plan could be the catalyst for revitalising the city and take us into the twenty-first century. It could bring more people to live in the city centre, taking the pressure off green fields; could provide more attractive buildings where people want to live; could give us a vibrant shopping centre we can be proud of; could give us better access to the jewel in the crown – our waterfront, and much more besides. If we seize the moment, Plymouth could finally achieve its full potential.

2003, then is a year of big decisions. Fingers crossed!

posted by Nigel on Thursday, July 10, 2003