General Discussion

Dawlish NE Councillor Martin Wrigley, Leader of Teignbridge District Council and Teignbridge Liberal Democrats is already wasting tax payers money with his plans for Queen St Newton Abbot, against the will of local traders and residents. Now he and the Tory run County Council his administration is in league with will likely waste another £200,000 of public money in the courts. See the announcement below from QSTAR - The Queen Street Traders and Residents Association.

Wrigley wants to become our next MP. Don't believe the spin and misinformation in the run up to the General Election. He doesn't deserve your vote - He's worse than Tory, Anne-Marie Morris - he's part of the problem, not the solution.

Wrigley oversees a Council that doesn't listen to its people whether its Queen St, Market Square, the Alexandra Theatre, the protection of green belt and ecologically important sites from overdevelopment and in recent news he runs a Council that allows Cllrs to bully, threaten and  intimidate Council staff. Hardly surprising given little has changed in the past 16 months since the damning LGO report into TDC which highlighted human rights breaches of an opposition Cllr who dared to challenge the Lib Dem hierarchy. Wrigley and his party are certainly not Democrats.

Liam Mullone of the SDA reports that; "at the Lib Dem Executive meeting (May 8th), council leader / Newton Abbot Parliamentary hopeful Martin Wrigley said 'Everything you read on Facebook about Queen Street is a lie'. Well when he's finished calling the people who make Newton Abbot a town liars I guess he can come to terms with the truth of organised opposition."

ANNOUNCEMENT FROM QSTAR

----- The Queen Street Traders and Residents Association (QSTAR) was hopeful that after the letters from Newton Abbot Town Council and Federation of Small Business calling for Teignbridge District Council (TDC) and Devon County Council (DCC) to halt the planned changes to Queen Street, that both councils would re-engage with traders and residents. Sadly both letters have been ignored. Our representations to TDC Full Council meetings have similarly been swept aside and there has been no engagement from either authority regarding the very important concerns raised. Sadly the association has therefore been left with no other option than to instruct solicitors.

We are pleased to report that QSTAR is now represented by Lodders, one of the top two legal practices in the Midlands and the firm who represented the traders in their successful challenge to reverse the DCC plans for Totnes High Street. It is a matter of record that the legal challenge by Lodders forced DCC to reverse its plans in Totnes and the council had to pay more than £200,000 in legal fees after a failed appeal of the judgment. Lodders has issued our association with initial advice which notes there are four areas which leave the scheme open to challenge. They will be issuing a letter to DCC to clarify this position, which the association hopes will focus the minds of both councils and persuade them of a need to pause the works and engage with QSTAR in a constructive manner.

Funds will be required for a legal challenge. QSTAR is pleased to report that Ashley Dawes of Dawes Accountants, based at the bottom of Queen Street, has stepped forward to be the Association Treasurer. The association will be opening a bank account in anticipation of a crowdfunding campaign to support the legal challenge that could follow if DCC and TDC fail to correct the scheme.

In the meantime our association is again asking DCC and TDC to pause the scheme and engage in discussions with QSTAR. A scheme altered to satisfy traders and residents could avoid unnecessary disruption and expense to everyone involved. We aim to have an update in the coming weeks, including the details of the failures that Lodders have outlined and the next steps we can take. Queen Street Traders And Residents Association