Happy New Year! We wish to share a message from Mayor Stephen Remington:
So, the last of the tinsel is coming down, the twinkling lights going back in their cupboard and the extra kilos being addressed with remorse. 2026 has begun and I wish a very happy and successful year to our residents of all ages, our businesses and our visitors.
I’m lucky, as Mayor of Looe, that it’s not my job to address global turmoil or the state of our nation. My concern is for the town that I love and its people. I see my role being to nurture new ideas, work with others, encourage optimism, see potential, celebrate past achievements and look for new ones.
I believe 2026 can be a truly positive year for Looe. We have a great heritage as a coastal and fishing town and our enterprising mariners and businesses deftly adapt to change. Our tourist economy may be unpredictable but, even as it varies, visitors keep on coming and loving our place. And some special new initiatives have been happening. Gentle winds of change are blowing.
- Looe Business Forum began in April 2024 and now has 80 members across our economy, working together, supporting each other, sharing marketing, helping with security, keeping the town lively.
- Creative Looe started life in early 2025 and, with its Maritime Public Arts project and others in the pipeline, looks like delivering some real excitement this year.
- Our Primary and Community Academies are building new links with the wider town, including Creative Looe. The new Looe Youth Council will give our young people voice and influence.
- Fundraising for our wheeled sports facility – the skatepark – is about to launch.
- This year is the fiftieth anniversary of our twinning with Quiberon in Brittany and plans are in hand for exchanges and parallel events between our towns.
- Looe’s Christmas in Looe & New Year’s Eve celebrations have been brilliant and happy, with plans already developing for next time.
- Looe Volunteers are setting out to cover some of the essential tasks that statutory bodies can no longer afford to do. A big town clean-up before Easter is on the cards.
- Our Library & Community Hub promotes ever more opportunities for support and engagement.
- Dates are being announced for events and festivals that do so much for our community.
- New resources in the Police force for our patch support our own efforts, including new CCTV systems, to reduce shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.
I am proud to chair our Town Council and believe we may now have the youngest average age of councillors on record! Thanks to all, young and older, who give their time freely to serve our town, to the diligent Chairs of our three committees and to our skilled and dedicated staff team and volunteers. We will be working hard this year to be more open, accessible and relevant to all parts of our community.
Looe has around 90 clubs, organisations and charities – too many to single out any. Some are new, some long-established. Together they represent a strong movement of people engaged in countless positive ways. They offer sport, leisure, creativity, good causes, care and support, companionship, good cheer and much more.
I know many people live in loneliness or with illness, grief, hardship or other challenges. For you my optimism may sound hollow and I understand that. But there is love and compassion in Looe, with comfort and support never far away.
I’m full of hope for our town in the year ahead. Not every fresh idea will flourish. Not all sadness will be banished. But a new spirit is at work, a determination that Looe together is better than Looe divided. Let’s get this bandwagon rolling, fast enough to make a difference but gently enough to allow the hesitant or undecided to hop on board. Come on – join in!
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