Council Leader Phil Bialyk reflects on elections and future plans
Published: 8 August 2024
It’s been a while since my last column because of the elections we’ve had locally and nationally, and I want to start by saying it is great to be back and I thank the people in my ward who recently re-elected me. I also want to thank the voters who elected all the councillors in the city.
It is important that we all now work together for the benefit of everyone in Exeter. I’m naturally pleased that the Labour Group remains in control of the Council, and we’ve also had a general election which has brought change and I now hope will bring stability nationally. I would like to congratulate Steve Race, our new MP for Exeter, and I wish him well.
In doing so I ’d also like to publicly thank Ben Bradshaw for his 27 years of service to the people of Exeter as our MP – I think everyone will agree he worked hard for Exeter and did everything to bring Exeter to the forefront at every opportunity. We all wish him well in retirement.
We also have a new MP in the Exmouth and Exeter East seat David Reed, and I wish him every success. I will be working with both our MPs to ensure Exeter is represented and can benefit going forward.
Devolution has been discussed for some time and will now take prominence. We are not yet sure what that will look like, but I will be ensuring that Exeter maintains its status and has its say, and that we can bring proper investment into the city which will bring good jobs, good housing and good support to people in our city.
Despite having a new government will still have major financial challenges that we need to address, and we need to know what’s important to people. That’s why we recently launched the Exeter Residents Survey, which will ask how people feel about living in Exeter and the services provided by the Council. The results will help to assist us in the future delivery of services.
We’re also consulting on proposals to work with Exeter City Community Trust to greatly improve facilities at King George V playing fields while maintaining and enhancing public access. We will also consult on the lease at Exwick playing fields shortly. It is all about how we work with our partners to ensure we can create the best possible facilities for people. We will always ensure we maintain these spaces for public use while working with partners to create much-needed new facilities for Exeter.
This week we’ve been celebrating Housing Week. This is an opportunity for the Council to highlight the new housing we are creating for people in Exeter and the improvements we are carrying out to our existing stock, as well as the way in which we serve our tenants. There are various community events planned for residents and I hope as many people as possible can find time to take part.
It’s summer holiday time and there’s lots happening in Exeter as usual. The Red Coats recently won a Trip Advisor award which is well deserved, as did RAMM, Exeter Corn Exchange and the Underground Passages, which are all run by the Council. Our splash parks in Heavitree and St Thomas also provide free family entertainment and are hugely popular at this time of year.
Finally, the start of the new football season is almost here, and I would like to wish Exeter City well -the whole city is behind you as always and we wish you every success for the long season ahead.