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PIRACY: FISHERMEN ROBBED AT SEA
See details:- Fishermen held up & robbed
ALL CHANGE ON BURGH ISLAND
With the recent change in ownership of Burgh Island has come a welcome change in management style. At a recent, very well-attended, Bigbury History Society event held by invitation in the Burgh Island Hotel’s spectacular Ganges Room, we were all treated both to a presentation by Duncan Gray, the Managing Director, and to some generous hospitality.
Duncan reviewed something of the hotel’s history but also revealed his far-sighted plans for redevelopment of the hotel and the Pilchard Inn, on the island, together with Warren Cottage and the Bay View cafe – which his business consortium has also purchased, on the mainland. Whilst maintaining the exclusivity of the hotel and developing its attractions as a high-class venue for social and business events, the plan is to welcome other visitors to the island, especially local people. Perhaps the most visible immediate manifestation of this plan are the changes to the Pilchard Inn, where the outside seating capacity has already been doubled, non-resident visitors are made welcome throughout the pub, and the basement cafe has been reopened.
Longer term, we were told amongst other things, about ambitious plans to develop the tidal Mermaid’s Pool, set amongst the island’s cliffs, which until recently had been used as a repository for unwanted junk and accumulated silt. For example, the natural shape of the rocks and good acoustics might make for a floating, under-lit stage in an amphitheatre similar to the iconic Minack Theatre in Cornwall. To widespread acclaim, the new owners have dropped the recently approved but highly controversial plans for a stand-alone hotel suite perched on the cliff top overlooking the Avon Estuary.
Local concerns about the future of Warren Cottage and the Bay View Cafe should be allayed because the future of both buildings now looks secure; Warren Cottage as residential accommodation for hotel staff and a revitalised, re-named Burgh View Cafe.
Plans are afoot to help develop closer local relationships by holding a fund-raising BBQ event in aid of the Hope Cove lifeboat in September – watch out for details!
See also :- https://www.devonlive.com/news/business/burgh-island-bought-with-pennies-1520038
Councils’ Transformation is Complete: SHDC/WDBC
A five year transformation programme by South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council is now complete, saving just under £4.5 million combined for both councils each year.
In 2013, South Hams District and West Devon Borough Councils recognised that they would together be facing a potential funding gap of £4.7 million over the five year period up to 2018. The councils were adamant that they did not want to cut front line services, so both authorities agreed to start an ambitious and challenging Transformation Programme (T18) to remodel how the councils worked.
The councils boldly challenged the traditional local government model, by being at the forefront of radical change and innovation. In 2007, the two councils began to share a Chief Executive, which started their journey into shared services. The next shake-up followed in 2011, when the Management team was streamlined and shared between both South Hams and West Devon.
In the next pioneering move, the T18 Transformation Programme began. The original Business Plan was approved in 2013 which aimed to continue to deliver quality services for their customers and communities. The Transformation Programme has been total and radical and has left no service untouched.
Since the T18 Programme started five years ago, the total annual savings realised are £2.9 million for the South Hams and £1.5 million for West Devon, with the majority of these savings made through staffing savings. Between 2014 and 2015, the majority of employees at both councils went through a rigorous recruitment process and the workforce was reduced by 30%. The overall yearly savings were the equivalent of 25% of the councils’ budgets.
West Devon Borough Council’s Leader, Cllr Philip Sanders, said: “Peoples’ lives, along with technology, are constantly changing and we must change with them. We have had a radical transformation in the way that the councils have worked for more than 40 years. Our workforce was reduced significantly and all staff roles changed to become flexible and responsive to the needs of the customer.
“A new agile way of working was introduced, with the creation of a hot desk environment in both the main offices. This new way of working also included the flexibility for staff to work on an agile basis. This way of working is an important factor in retaining key people.
The success of this project is testament to the skill and determination of the staff, and they have the thanks of all of the elected Council Members.”
Leader of South Hams District Council, Cllr John Tucker, said: “All of the changes which enable staff to work from any location, meant that during the recent Storm Emma, when other councils were unable to work and had to close, our workforce continued to operate from the safety of their own homes.
So, if you wanted to liaise with officers about Planning, Environmental Health, Benefits or Council Tax, among many of our other services, then you could continue to do so. With the exception of our manual workers who, along with local residents, were advised to stay off the roads, residents would not have noticed any reduction in our services.
“It really was a fantastic response by our team, with over 210 staff dialling in remotely to carry on with their daily work. I know that I speak for all of the Members of the Council, when I say that the staff have worked exceptionally hard to overcome the challenges that the transition has brought and we are thrilled at its success.”
The reduction of office-based staff has also meant a reduced need for lots of office accommodation, with many areas of our Council offices now leased to partner agencies.
ENDS
The dangers of ‘wild’ swimming
Boat owners and swimmers, please BEWARE
The Devon Avon is becoming increasingly popular for outdoor or ‘wild’ swimming but many swimmers seem oblivious to the dangers posed by their poor visibility to power boat owners, in particular. If you are wearing a dark wet suit, you will be almost invisible to boat users down at water level, especially if the water is choppy.
Please consider your personal safety when swimming in open water that is used for other recreational activities. Although organised events such as the Bantham ‘Swoosh’ are well supervised from a safety viewpoint and wild swimming websites generally offer extensive personal safety advice (see, for example, http://www.wildswimming.co.uk/health-safety/ ) they make surprisingly little mention of the need to make yourself visible by wearing brightly coloured headgear, for example.
Swimmers personal safety is their own responsibility but boat owners should be constantly on the look-out.
Sea Moor Lotto: two local organisations join up
The Aune Conservation Association, an environmental charity charged with conserving the Devonshire Avon, and Bigbury News, your parish news magazine, have both been accepted as worthy organisations for participation in the new SHDC/WDBC, Sea Moor Lotto. Tickets for the lotto will be available from 27th June to help support local causes of your choice. See the link below for more information:-
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