Gary's views

SCOUTS

Isn’t it amazing that the scout movement has survived into the twenty first century, not just survived but is flourishing. I attended a packed meeting at Ivybridge Community Centre on Sunday to witness hundreds (it seemed) of scouts beavers and cubs renewing their promises in front of each other and their families. They entered proudly in neat formation behind their flags and paraded out again in slightly less order at the end.

Promising to do a good deed every day and to remember your duty to our Queen and to God, how old-fashioned is that? But how wonderful and these young people were sincere in their commitments.

The scout movement, started by one man’s vision over 100 years ago in radically different days – has updated itself; new uniforms, opening its ranks to include girls, embracing some more modern language and rules, but the values and the traditions remain. Respect, duty, kindness, be prepared, the changeless principles roll on.

These young people will always benefit from the truths they learn whilst collecting their badges and singing around the campfire.

In chatting to some of them afterwards, it was obvious how much they enjoyed their involvement. The movement has a robust, healthy innocence about it. We all owe a huge debt of gratitude to the adults who give up their time – stacks of it in many cases – to lead and mould these fine young lives. I gather that there is in some parts of this area a waiting list of young people who wish to join, but not yet enough adult leaders, an opportunity for some of you who know how to light a fire by rubbing your knees together, or whatever they do.

It is easy to lose heart at the state of the world today, all that selfish, superficial, consumer-led stuff that fills our lives. But we need not. I am a great believer in the ability of the human spirit to adapt and overcome. There is still a yearning for traditional values – traditional because they are timeless and they work. And they can still be outworked in a modern context.

We do not need any more law in this country, or more money spent on welfare. How much more would we all benefit from a renewed emphasis at every level of society on the meaningful values that the scout movement embraces.

I was never a scout. On Sunday I began to wish that I had been.

WATERMARK

It was a joy to open the Watermark building in the centre of Ivybridge this week. This £4.5 million complex, with state of the art library and ICT suite, coffee shop, multi-purpose hall/cinema and start up office units will revitalize this important town. We all know that during the eighties Ivybridge was the fastest growing town in Europe and, shamefully, hundreds of houses were built without putting in place the necessary infrastructure. Now the town council is setting about levering in the facilities that can provide that vital heartbeat at the centre. The Watermark building will be a great success and is well worth a visit.

This experience leads me onto two points. The first is that community facilities, reflecting the wishes of local people, do matter. Chaddlewood is another example of a rapid growth area where too little regard was given to where the people might gather, with the community centre being tagged on almost as an afterthought. The proposed new town at Sherford on the other hand, if it ever does get built, will have most of its infrastructure put in place up front. It is crucial to have places to meet, put on community and cultural events to foster those relationships and shared activities that bind an area together.

Secondly, I congratulate the Ivybridge town council on taking the lead in getting this project built. It was a struggle to find the necessary funding, but other councils all chipped in to get the job done. This is an impressive town council, very rooted in what local people want.

Whatever happens to the future shape of local government in Devon, councils that are close to their people and deliver good services should be allowed to continue. Although, Plympton and Plymstock have now been part of Plymouth council for many years, I am coming to the view that these areas would benefit from a council similar to Ivybridge – with a small budget and some decision making capacity, to make sure that the voice of the community is heard. I am not certain that the existing area committee structure works as well as a full blown parish council would work. There is scope under current law to set up new parish councils, so it is worthy of further thought.

For now, well done the people of Ivybridge for creating such an impressive facility at the heart of the town. May the Watermark go from strength to strength!

BADGERS

Badgers are noble and attractive creatures, made popular by the enchanting story of the Wind in the Willows, but I strongly support a cull of their numbers in designated areas of the country, especially Devon.

The science now demonstrates that badgers are almost certainly responsible for infecting herds of dairy cattle with bovine tuberculosis. This is the nasty disease that we had virtually eradicated from the UK, but in the last decade we have seen it creep back in. Cases of TB have increased in this region by 18% between 2006 and 2007. I met with a group of local dairy farmers recently and their fear of this killer disease affecting their farms was palpable.

Every few months dairy cows are tested to see whether any in their midst have contracted TB and if there is even one reactor, the whole herd is slaughtered. I remember these occasions from my own childhood and they are full of stress for farmers and cattle alike.

It is easy to recognise the financial devastation this causes to the farmer concerned, but what is less commonly considered is the emotional impact of seeing your life’s work wiped out in a single day. The financial compensation never takes this into account and just imagine how hard it must be to get going again.

TB is an unpleasant experience for badgers as well, infected animals taking a long time to die in pain in the wild. My father, a retired dairy farmer, always puts a simple point to me. Why do the animal rights people think it is OK for cows to be slaughtered, but badgers cannot be touched? If they looked like rats, he says, nobody would bat an eyelid.

Their numbers have grown exponentially in recent years and the rise in over-crowded sets might be why TB is on the march.

After many difficult years, the next decade could be a better time for British farmers as global demand for dairy products, meat and cereals takes off and prices for them begin to rise. We are well placed to meet some of that demand and to underpin our own food security; but only if we can finally overcome the blight of TB.

It is an unpleasant decision to exterminate so many of these fine creatures, but government is about making difficult decisions for the greater good. It is time to cull and give our farmers a chance. What do you think?