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Meet Your Deputy Mayor- Stephen Remington

We took the time to speak with councillors to learn more about their aims and aspirations as a member of the Looe Town Council, in addition to the hobbies and interests they have outside of work.

The aim of this series is for the reader to ‘meet’ the councillors from a personal perspective.

The series begins by introducing Stephen Remington, Deputy Mayor.

Aims and Aspirations: 

“How can we help?” is the question I like our Council to ask. Our first instinct should be to make it easier for people to find answers and make progress.

  • I’d like to help to coordinate volunteering to support our town, to develop initiatives that can help young people who want to settle or remain and build their working lives here, to ensure that those in need can find solutions. I want to help our Council run efficiently and support our excellent staff team.

 

  • We live in a historic and fascinating town in a beautiful natural environment; each year I’d love to see further improvements building on our inherited legacy. Our Neighbourhood Plan gives us excellent guidance.

 

  • Looe has several key organisations with specific roles and it has been great to see closer working among us. The creation of the new Looe Business Forum is most welcome. Working seamlessly together is surely the best way forward.

  • We also need, as a Council, to be robust about things that aren’t so good – anti-social behaviour and crime, homelessness, planning abuses, conflict between pedestrians and traffic. Our powers are limited but we should deploy them effectively!

Working Background

I’ve been a frequent visitor to friends in Looe since the 1970s but my working life has been widespread. My 20 years in the arts culminated with 14 years running Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London after which I ran Action for Blind People for two decades. The arts consolidated my internationalist beliefs and I brought many performing companies to London – dance, opera, music theatre and spectacle – from all parts of the World. Working with people living with sight loss taught me much about deprivation, poverty and exclusion while also inspiring me with heroic stories of rising above challenges and powering to success. I hope that some of my lifelong learning can be of use to our Town Council.

 

Hobbies and Interests 

 

Outside my Council duties I enjoy sailing, walking, reading, music, spending time with friends and family and travel. I have done a good deal of mountain walking, especially in the Highlands, in Spain and in the Black Forest. The climbs get tougher with age but the views from summits seem even greater for the effort.

I’m a hopeless cook and often can’t tell a weed from a flower. These are shortcomings that I have no plans to remedy despite my love of well prepared food and beautiful gardens.

 

If you feel you would be a suited councillor, the position is open and can be applied for via: enquiries@looetowncouncil.gov.uk

Quayside entre Markets 2024 JUNE onwards

Quayside Centre Sunday Market

Quayside Centre Sunday Markets

Closure Extension – Plaidy Lane, East Looe

Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 S.14: Temporary Prohibition of Traffic

Location:        Plaidy Lane, East Looe

Timing:           29th June 2024 to 30th August 2024 (24 hours)

Previously closed between:  (6th November 2023 to 28th June 2024)

Reason for Extension:  – works to clear landslip

Contact:          Cormac Solutions Ltd – Tel: 0300 1234222

The above closure has been approved and is now in progress.   Please click the following link to view a map and associated documents:

View on https://one.network/?tm=136343711

Looe Sea Swim Club 3

Looe Sea Swimmers Celebrate 10 year anniversary!

Looe Sea Swimmers celebrated their 10th anniversary on Sunday! To celebrate, the club headed to East Looe Beach and took part in a variety of activities from beach games to synchronised swimming.

Founder Guy Cooper took the time to tell us more about the club and the progressions it has made over the years.

Guy stated:

The club was mostly organised to encourage people to swim safely in a group as individually swimming can become unsafe at times. Since COVID, the group has grown exceptionally and currently has over 1,700 followers (around 60-80 regular attendees)’.

Sea Swimmers are an active, social group supporting both physical and mental health. The group play an active role in Looe’s community and are involved in a variety of activities beside swimming, this includes, Looe carnival, litter picks, beach cleans trips to Cornwall’s swimming spots, solstice celebrations and much more! Having been recently voted 4th best in the country for swimming spots, Looe is a fantastic spot for a sea swim with a regular number of people coming on holiday just to swim with the club! Looe Sea Swimmers have had people join from all over the world, including Australia, Canada, South Africa and more! The club are also involved in events such as St Michaels Mount swim, Drakes Island race, Looe Island swim and have previously been involved in the castle-to-castle event (from Pendennis Castle in Falmouth to St Mawes on the Roseland) to raise money for the RNLI.

If you are interested in finding out more, the group meet officially at least twice a week all year round and have a website with information on safety/kit needed/ events etc which can be accessed via: https://looeseaswimming.wixsite.com/welcome/about-us

 

 

Works

Emergency Closure – Barbican Hill, East Looe

Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 S.14: Temporary Prohibition of Traffic

Location:        Barbican Hill, East Looe

Timing:           Until 26th June 2024 (07:30 to 18:00 hours)

Reason for Emergency Closure: GAS ALTERATION 4M PUBLIC 6M PRIVATE

Contact:     Wales & West Utilities – Tel: 07989 151944

The above closure has been approved and is now in progress.   Please click the following link to view a map and associated documents:

View on https://one.network/?tm=139288538

Works

Road Closure – Sandplace Road, St Martin

Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 S.14: Temporary Prohibition of Traffic

Location:         Sandplace Road, St Martin, A387 Between Sandplace And Sandplace Road, Sandplace and A387 Between Junction South West Of Venton Vanes And The B3254 At Lime Kiln, Morval

Timing:            9th July 2024 to 10th July 2024 (19:00 to 07:00 hours)

Contact:          Cormac Solutions Ltd – Tel: 0300 1234 222.

The above closure has been approved.   Please click the following link to view a map and associated documents:

https://one.network/?tm=138384372

Emergency Road Closure – Sandplace Road, St Martin, Looe

Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 S.14: Temporary Prohibition of Traffic

Location:        Sandplace Road, St Martin

Timing:           19th June 2024 to 20th June 2024 (24 hours)

Reason for Emergency Closure: pole in danger of collapse

Contact:          Chris Slater at Freeflow Traffic Management – Tel: 07971 142611.

The above closure has been approved and is now in progress.   Please click the following link to view a map and associated documents:

View on https://one.network/?tm=139243504

Lily Atkinson jpeg

18 year old Lily from Looe, completes Initial Royal Navy Training!

On 14th June, 2024 we had the pleasure of attending The Royal Navy passing out parade at HMS Raleigh. Lily, who lives in Looe, completed her initial 10-week Navy training which involved numerous physical team challenges such as; assault course, obstacle course, fitness training, navigation training across Dartmoor, a naval swimming test and the most physical and demanding of all, the stretcher run, carrying an 80 kilo dummy on a stretcher at pace around the camp.

The training also included marching and weapon drill, firefighting, flood prevention, first aid, kit inspections and general Naval academic training.  At the end of this arduous but rewarding 10-week training period, Lily attended the passing out parade alongside her fellow class recruits, an event that marked the successful completion of Initial Royal Navy Training.  She will now attend her part 2 training in her chosen specialisation before being made available for her first sea appointment.

 

Lily aged 18, kindly spoke to us about her experience stating that ‘I’ve always wanted to join the Navy because of the travel opportunities and sense of adventure. When I was younger, I looked up to people in the Navy, but never really thought it was possible for me until around Secondary School. There were both high and low points on the journey so far, but it has all been worth it!’  Lily’s Mum, Mel said ‘I am immensely proud of Lily for following her dream, 12 months ago they claimed her medically unfit to join, yet here she is passing out!’ Lily is now hoping to train as a Sea Spec in the next steps of her training with ambitions to have a long-lasting career within the Royal Navy.

Lily Atkinson & Mum Headshot jpeg

Lily & Mum Mel at HMS Raleigh

 

Throughout this process Lily was trained and looked after by a professional team of training instructors within her allocated division.  She also received strong moral support from mum and family as well as from her divisional Mentors Dave Gregory and Chris Harwood.  Chris an is ex Royal Navy Officer and Looe Town Councillor who volunteers at HMS Raleigh to provide the additional support for the trainees and families wherever required.  Chris stated  ‘Having served in the Royal Navy for 34 years which included similar initial Naval training and a spell at Raleigh as a Part 1 Training Officer I can fully engage with what the recruits are undertaking and the huge rewards and emotion that come with the Passing Out Parade in front of their family and friends.  Well done Lily’.

Lily Atkinson, Mum and Chris jpeg

Chris, Lily and Mel at HMS Raleigh

Closure Order – Bodrigan Road, East Looe

Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 S.14: Temporary Prohibition of Traffic

Location:         Bodrigan Road, East Looe

Timing:            5th July 2024 to 5th July 2024 (09:30 to 15:30 hours)

Contact:          Sunbelt Rentals Ltd on 0370 0500 792, email: surveys@sunbeltrentals.co.uk

The above closure has been approved.   Please click the following link to view a map and associated documents:

https://one.network/?tm=138385018

Temporary Prohibition of Traffic Road From Tredinnick Lane End To Middle Trelowia And Onto Junction West Of Bickham, Widegates

Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 S.14: Temporary Prohibition of Traffic

Location:        Road From Tredinnick Lane End To Middle Trelowia And Onto Junction West Of Bickham, Widegates

Timing:           13th June 2024 to 19th June 2024 (24hours)

Reason for Emergency Closure: repair burst main

Contact:  South West Water on 0344 346 2020

The above closure has been approved and is now in progress.   Please click the following link to view a map and associated documents:

View on https://one.network/?tm=139178044