John Smith, of First Drive, Dawlish Road, Teignmouth, writes:
For 12 years, until June of this year, I served Kingsteignton as its county councillor. When I was not re-elected I decided that if at all possible, I would resist any temptation to embarrass my successor – as always, I want the best for Kingsteignton and Devon.
However, over the last few weeks, I have been mentioned by name in the context of the plans for a sports centre and velodrome for Teign School and Kingsteignton – I thought that I should put the record straight.
On April 23, I took proposals for these sports facilities to the county council executive (agenda item 1079(b) and the expenditure of £3.5 million, from the £10 million that had been allocated earlier, was approved. The committee agenda is still on the Devon County Council website, as is the full committee paper I presented and the minutes of the committee. There is no room for doubt on this matter.
I also made available £35,000 for the construction of a BMX facility (perhaps also with the capacity to be used by skateboarders) and had obtained consent from the landowner for the its construction. The supplier has already been paid for the purchase of the necessary materials and the manufacturers are waiting, presumably, for the instruction to proceed with the build.
I fully respect the right of any council administration, when it is formed, to re-evaluate and re-prioritise the plans of its predecessors. On this occasion the new Conservative council – presumably with the support of the new county councillor for Kingsteignton – has chosen to withdraw the funding from some parts of these projects.
I very much regret the change to our Liberal Democrat policy on service delivery, but recognise that it is only one part of the Conservative promise to make huge and continuing cuts.