Friday 04 December 2009, author: admin

Dear members,

Here for your information text of letter from Paul Wesley to Councillor Paula Black.

Totnes & District Chamber of Commerce
Chair:          Paul N.Wesley  tel: 01803 865794
Vice-Chair: Mike Sealey
Secretary:   Chris Phillipson
Treasurer:   David Guest

Dear Paula

I think that we are remarkably blessed here in Totnes with a wide range of individuals who have expertise, experience, commitment and lack of ego and who are eager to share those skills and work together towards a better future, specifically for this town and locality, in the belief that where they succeed the world might beat a path to our door and spread the word.

The amount of voluntary work these people do and the quality of their research and deposition has been, and continues to be, extraordinary. I am sure you are aware of the uniquely brilliant work carried out by the Strategy Group and the Town Council on the DPD, the ongoing attention to detail regarding the Baltic Warf development, the Southern Area Consultation process, the Allotments Association, the Festival and Carnival groups and the myriad specialist community groups. The list is endless and astounding. Added to all this we have the luxury of Transition Town Totnes and its long-term visions and activities. I am sure that it is this phenomenon above all others, which makes Totnes unique and a place to be immensely proud of.

You are also aware, partly because I gave you most of the documentation, of one of the most exhaustive examinations of traffic issues in the town which consisted of a three year, professionally mediated consultation which was the most democratic and inclusive process ever taken in Totnes. I refer to this not to suggest that things have stood still since that process but to underline the fact that an enormous amount of work has already been undertaken on the traffic concerns in the town. New proposals and consultations must, of course, continue but it would be perhaps insulting to ignore all the work that people have put into these issues to date.

Against this background I am sure you will not be surprised to hear that I was surprised by your front page feature in last week’s Totnes Times. Then again you expressed surprise at the results of your survey. To which I can only express surprise that you hadn’t done more research and consultation before committing to print. But enough surprise.

After the appearance of your article in the Totnes Times I was on the receiving end as the Chair of the Chamber of Commerce of an unprecedented number of angry visits and phone calls about the article.

And so when, last Thursday I set off to collect money from shopkeepers to help pay for the town’s Christmas lights, and after I had received their donation I said

‘I have two more unrelated questions. First, were you consulted at all about pedestrianisation and second are you in favour of pedestrianisation?’ I did not enter into discussion except when the individual requested.

Of the 17 shops in the High Street that I called on, 12 had not been consulted. Of those 12, 11 were against, some vehemently, several very angrily. Of the 6 who had been consulted, 2 were against pedestrianisation and 4 in favour of full or part pedestrianisation.

This is in no way, of course, a scientific survey but as all these shops are in the High Street (not the Narrows) I am puzzled as to why you said ‘ but what was more interesting as I walked down the High Street talking to independent traders…….. was that they supported a call to pedestrianisation, too. My random survey clearly conflicts with this. I will, of course, complete this survey in the High Street and forward the results.

In the Narrows so far it appears that the balance is slightly different. I have found several traders vehemently in favour of banning traffic and several even angrier about a proposed ban.

So far so inconclusive but I will keep going and forward the data to you. In the meantime how do we reconcile these contradictory findings? It seems to me that neither of us is presenting the full range and complexity of issues surrounding the Fore Street and High Street which have been researched in the past and upon which we must base any proposals for the future.

For example, if there was full pedestrianisation what would one do about access for the following vehicles: fire engines, ambulances, doctors’ calls to residents, residents access and deliveries, Royal Mail collections, Bob the Bus, vehicles for the disabled, etc. The list is over two dozen long.

Investigations into how deliveries could be made to shops without road access (as there is no back access) raised the suggestion that all deliveries take place before ten o’clock. But even if delivery companies could agree to this it poses the dilemma of what would happen if all the delivery vehicles of one day were crammed into that one hour or even an extra hour at 4 o’clock. What kind of chaotic jam would this create and how could it be cleared by ten o’clock?

It is clearly not enough to pose the question ‘ if you were King or Queen for the day/……..’. As a non car owning resident of the High Street I would love to wave your magic wand and see and hear no traffic outside my home. But my obligation and, I believe, yours too, is to consider the economic well-being of the whole community. You yourself attended the Civic Hall meeting where a very large representation of the businesses of the town expressed a vehement and unanimous opposition to a two-month road closure. Their concerns and reasoning are not irrelevant.

In my position as Chair of the Chamber of Commerce I believe it is my responsibility to work with every political party and grouping in the town to find and co-operate on areas of common concern, especially regarding the economic well-being of the area. I am ore than happy to include the Green Party in this brief, (as you know  I have made active efforts to do so) especially as it happens to be the only party that I have ever been a member of.

In the light of all this might I ask you to reconsider your decision not to work with the Traffic and Transport Community Forum and your equally puzzling decision not to accept the Chair of that group’s Strategy Subgroup? As you know this is a community group open to everyone in the town which works to reach a consensus on the full range of traffic related issues, including future developments in Fore Street and High Street.

I understand the need to raise the profile of your party whenever possible but I am sure that you understand that this strategy contains the danger of a divisive brand of politics rather than community cohesion and consensus. I am sure that it is the latter that you would prefer.

In this spirit I sincerely suggest that we meet and discuss these issues further so that the town can avoid some of the negatives that have arisen in the last week. Paula, I would be delighted to work with you as another ally in taking care of the economic and environmental needs of Totnes. I am more than happy to meet wherever, whenever and with whomever you should choose.

Looking forward to hearing from you.