Opinion: Residents' associations can work for you - read how

Last month readers will be aware I wrote about the Exmouth Cricket Club and its link into our Draft Council Plan 2021-2023. This month's article will focus on the ways residents can seek to influence the Council Plan itself and will talk specifically about an active residents' association in my ward in Littleham known as TARA (The Avenues Residents Association).

If we look at the emerging EDDC draft Council Plan it says at Para 5.8: "We will seek to involve more members of the public in the democratic process, thereby also strengthening local democracy. Public engagement through consultation will be undertaken whenever appropriate to ensure public opinion is properly and accurately represented," and at Para 5.17 it says: "We will continue to review, improve and find new ways to communicate in order to reach new and broader audiences".

Looking at these statements I would suggest that the first major impact TARA had in regard to the Council Plan was in 2017 when it produced a document which became known as "The Avenues Design Statement". This eventually became a respected supplementary planning document, parts of which were incorporated into the 2019 Exmouth Neighbourhood Plan under Policy EB2 "New development should be mindful of surrounding building styles and ensure a high level of design as exemplified in the Avenues Design Statement (2005)". So as readers can see this shows the input residents' associations can have in their dealings with bodies like the Council.

Moving forward to this year, TARA, like the EDDC, has looked to communicate with new and broader audiences whereby this August it has issued its own Survey Monkey questionnaire to consult with its residents about how they see life and in particular the state of the traffic in this part of Littleham. The Chair, Simon Davidson, was very pleased to note that they had received 350 responses which is a very healthy number indeed. Simon and his committee then had to go through each response and thereby sort out which tier of Council could best assist them with an attempt to resolve these queries.

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Simon is very clear to point out that this survey was not seeking to ban traffic in the Avenues but was looking at environmental issues and traffic calming measures. From the responses Simon and the Committee then came up with three distinct phases to manage the responses. The first being to identify recommendations for implementation, the second contained items for consideration should the Phase 1 items not deliver the required results, and lastly the third phase items that would be costly and / or less effective for environmental improvement and traffic calming.

The next step was of course, having got this far, to see what the Cllrs thought was both practical and possible, whilst considering the historical context to some of the issues raised. As the vast majority of the suggestions arising from the survey concerned the County Council, TARA then invited both DCC Cllr Christine Channon and myself as EDDC Cllr Ward Member and fellow local Avenue residents to a meeting to go through each of the three phases identified by TARA. This is a good example of how, if you do a survey as a residents' group, you can influence and get feedback from your local Cllrs.

The discussion centred on the three main phase one recommendations: firstly, namely to have a Littleham Traffic survey particularly around Littleham Cross because it was clear that some residents in, say, Barnfield Avenue, were concerned that it had become a rat run, whilst other residents in Buckingham Close were concerned about parking issues. There were concerns raised about the Co-Op delivery times at Littleham Cross so Simon and Cllr Channon agreed to meet up afterwards and do more research into this issue. Cllr Channon was keen to stress that a traffic survey must not be an excuse to simply move problems on elsewhere in Exmouth.

Secondly, It was agreed that there were two main ways traffic was slowed up without using yellow lines; firstly by parked cars and secondly by pinch points, for example in a limited number of places along Douglas Avenue. Simon was really pleased because Cllr Channon agreed to consider the possibility of doing a Littleham Traffic survey. So as readers can see, this is an example of good outcomes for residents who engage with the Council and their Cllrs.

Thirdly, TARA, as part of the wider Exmouth community, feels that there are opportunities to improve tourist business for traders, both within the town centre and along the beachfront, by changing and improving some of the road signs. Cllr Channon was asked to look at the road signage to see if something could be done for example to improve the signage and information from the Orcombe area, along Maer Road, Douglas Avenue, Rolle Road and Salterton Road to benefit the town centre and beachfront, including the routing of NCN2 which currently bypasses these areas completely. Cllr Channon suggested that this might be something that the Town Council and Exmouth Chamber of Commerce could also look into.

Looking at the Phase 2 responses, most of the discussions centred on the implementation of a 20-mph speed limit throughout the Avenues. However, although it was considered important to place 20 mph flashing signs at the Highway signs by the Deaf Academy warning that deaf children maybe crossing the road, it was not considered that this would be effective generally as sadly some people already ignore a 30 mile an hour speed limit.

Finally, Phase 3 discussed the possible use of so-called "bus gates", planters and bollards to restrict traffic flow, but these proposals were considered impractical and shelved.

TARA also asked for EDDC assistance regarding the planting of trees to replace some of the lost trees. Readers will be aware that the Avenues are famous for their tree-lined roads. The advice given was that they should first check to see whether any of the trees in the Avenue had TPOs. It was pointed out that the main problem with replanting trees is their ongoing maintenance. However, I agreed to look further into this issue as I consider there would be a community benefit.

In conclusion, TARA is a good practical example of a residents' association working closely with its EDDC and DCC Cllrs, as suggested by the EDDC Council Plan, and it presents an opportunity for public opinion to be properly and accurately represented.