Proud to show off some of the great things happening in our city
Published: 12 August 2021
I want to start with the recent Royal visit to Exeter and say how proud we were that His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales chose to come and visit the new Bus Station.
It was a proud day for the city. It was great that we very able to show the new station and leisure centre to Prince Charles, as well as demonstrate some of our Net Zero initiatives with our partners.
He was genuinely interested in the good work we are doing here in Exeter to help address climate change. It was great to be able to demonstrate this while recognising at the same time that there is still much to do.
Read more: Prince of Wales visits new Exeter Bus Station to see city’s Net Zero plans
Just a few days later we opened two very important facilities for the people of Exeter in the same weekend.
The reopening of the Riverside pool will be welcomed by everyone in the city. It was a big success and I was so pleased that we were able to welcome key workers, who played such an important role in the pandemic, to be the first in the pool. It was our way of saying a small thank you on behalf of everyone in the city for the incredible work they did - and continue to do – during the crisis.
It was great to see families spending quality time together in the pool – this is something we missed out on during lockdown. It was really refreshing to see mums and dads with their children in the pool together - these are memories that you hold on to throughout your life.
Read more: Key workers first in new look Riverside pool and health suite
This is what we are trying to do with our leisure offer here in Exeter – it’s all about improving quality of life by providing access to quality facilities for everyone to enjoy.
We’ll certainly see this with the opening of St Sidwell’s Point. Covid and supply issues have caused some delays but it will be open later this year and I know it will be an amazing facility for everyone in Exeter to enjoy.
The opening of the new Bus Station was an important moment for the city. We’ve finally got a modern station which is fit for purpose and will offer a great experience for the millions of passengers who use it every year. This is another major investment by the City Council, with a contribution from the South West Local Enterprise Partnership, and I was so pleased to see the new station open.
I need to apologise for the temporary suspension of the garden waste service. This has an impact on many of us, myself included as a keen gardener. We have staff shortages because of Covid and the national shortage of HGV drivers. But we hope to get operations back to normal as soon as possible.
Read more: Garden waste service suspended for two weeks
We are bringing in a pilot in the autumn for the kerbside collection of food waste, which is good news. We await further guidance from Government on the current consultation process for the consistency of kerbside collections, but for now we are encouraging residents to continue recycling their glass at the many bottle banks located across the city.
It is pleasing to see footfall in Exeter city centre rising and a lot of people enjoying themselves during the holidays. It is great to enjoy the relaxation of the regulations, but we must continue to be careful because cases of Covid are high in Exeter at the moment. We hope this is just a blip. The vaccination programme is still rolling out and we are working hard with businesses to make sure we continue to welcome people back safely.
Sport is very important to our city. On the back of our Olympic success, we continue through our Sports England pilot to encourage people of all ages to be active, and for the city to be one of the most active locations in the UK.
The new football season has started and we wish Exeter City well – it was great to see supporters back inside the ground at the weekend creating a great atmosphere. We also look forward to the new season for Exeter Chiefs, who continue to be one of the most successful teams in Europe. We are all hoping for another successful season – the whole city is behind our teams.