As readers will be aware, I am both a town and district councillor for Littleham.

Last week, I attended the East Devon District Council cabinet meeting and spoke on the 'vanlifers' agenda item.

I put forward a suggestion which was supported by Exmouth Town Council at its last meeting on 6 February. The town council resolved that "EDDC should be asked to prioritise the scoping exercise for Foxholes car park for completion within three months."

What had been discussed was ways in which, following on from the camper van task and finish forum (TAFF), EDDC could expand the facilities at Foxholes for the numerous short-stay motorhome visits.

This was because Foxholes was deemed to have potential to become an approved overnight car park for visitors as it has scope to provide proper water and wastewater facilities being adjacent to a toilet block.

This would also bring in an additional income stream of funding to the district council, and be of help to our many camper van visitors using these facilities.

I am pleased that Cllr Mike Rosser saw the benefits of such a proposal, but it's unfortunate that Cllr Hookway was unwilling to consider this idea, especially as it was the brainchild of a former EDDC service lead for environment health and car parks.

The proposals for Foxholes are also supported by Devon County Cllr Christine Channon, who on a site visit last year indicated her approval and support to such a proposal, subject to a further scoping exercise by EDDC which has not happened.

It's really quite extraordinary to find that Cllr Hookway as a fellow ward member could not either support or go away and consider such a proposal as in this instance it's backed by both Exmouth Town Council and Devon County Council, which is really the way to go forward in local politics.

This situation also shows that EDDC does not really take the time to listen carefully to the views or resolutions of Exmouth Town Council.

Ultimately, I feel such actions may pave the way for a unitary authority to be given the green light, especially as this would enable Exmouth Town Council to have a greater say in how it manages its affairs.

For Exmouth, this could be a game-changing moment as it would have the opportunity to have more say in its affairs since the last local government reorganisation in 1972.

Over 51 years has passed, and so perhaps it's time to give this some thought especially as such a change would still enable people's voices to still be heard at a more local level.

What we cannot and should not accept as a town council, is for one authority to ignore the requests or suggestions made by another as we can see has happened in this situation.

Furthermore at the end of the day, the cabinet did not manage to find a long-term realistic solution for the plight of the vanlifers nor has it solved the Exmouth camper van issues raised in the Exmouth camper van TAFF.

I think on balance that residents and readers of this article will be confused and disappointed that decisions are not being made to bring them some form of decisive action where it's most needed in their community.

I wonder what will happen to the vanlifers after July, but of course with the elections to come in May, that will be a decision for another council to determine.

SEE ALSO: Council to turf out Exmouth 'vanlifers'