COUNCILLOR Roy Connelly (Letters June 20) seems to have undergone a post-electoral conversion on the road to Grenofen, I am made of sterner stuff. Tom Greeves (ibid) is dead right: I was excluded from the little caucus of county officers and carefully selected protesters, assembled a few weeks ago to cobble together a minimal modification to the hated, dangerous, wasteful and obstructive Grenofen Gateway.
That 'dialogue', as Cllr Connelly calls it, only happened because I had put down a motion for the Partnership Committee of June 10, instructing officers to remove it. The Highways hierarchy were desperately afraid that I might just win the vote.
The insignificant tweaks expensively undertaken just three days before the meeting were nothing more than a political exercise in cutting me off at the knees at your readers' expense.
That's why I didn't move my motion on June 10. I fully intend to bring it back; but, if I am to succeed, I need public support. I invite those of your readers who support Tom Greeves' position (and mine) to write to the Director of Environment at County Hall Exeter or email him ([email protected]">[email protected]), copy to me, please ([email protected]">[email protected]).
A fistful of letters will help a lot when I take the issue up again at Partnership Committee in September.
I am sorry that it is taking so long to get rid of the appalling Gateway, after which, by the way, traffic speeds near the Whitchurch School have actually increased according to DCC's own report. It is greatly to Cllr Connelly's discredit that he has so easily been persuaded to abandon his pre-election commitment to getting it scrapped. I hope he will vote with me at Partnership Committee in September. No doubt you will let your readers know.
Roger W Mathew
Town and Borough Councillor
currently vice-chairman, West Devon Partnership committee