Moira Macdonald is the Labour Party Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Central Devon, we have a profile on her

Born in South Africa, and having lived in various countries in central Africa, Moira emigrated and settled in Devon in 1980. She became a Labour supporter and worked for a number of organisations during the Thatcher era. In particular, she helped form the first Exeter Women’s Centre and was, and still is, involved in trades union work with Nalgo and its successor UNISON. She is currently a coordinator and speaker for Fawcett Devon, an action group affiliated to The Fawcett Society, a national charity which campaigns to close equality gaps between women and men.

She lives with her partner in Exeter and is particularly interested in how rural areas can revitalise themselves as the 21st century advances.

A lifelong cyclist and a volunteer ranger with the sustainable transport charity Sustrans, Moira believes that access to work, local services and leisure is overly reliant on the motor car and that people need more choices available as to how they travel.

She said: “To connect meaningfully with people we need a different political landscape. The old left wing / right wing is now too simplistic. Problems of population, water supply, environmental degradation, climate change, sustainable energy and the impacts of ever more intricate science, medicine and technology: these create global issues that affect us locally.”

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Some 300 people attended the latest public meeting in Ivybridge to find out how to object to the proposed incinerator near the town centre.

There’s cross-party opposition to the proposed incinerator at New England Quarry – which is refreshing what with a General Election looming – and you wouldn’t want to make political mileage out of a practical issue where politicos can prove their worth. Labour, Lib Dems, Conservative and UKIP, were present bigging up their cross-party anti-incinerator group CAVIL.

The meeting highlighted all the ways that people can object to the incinerator on planning grounds – yup, it’s reached the planning stage.

Labour PPC for South West Devon Luke Pollard said: “The incinerator campaign started out as me and one resident leafleting Ivybridge about the incinerator and only six months on it is a community campaign properly taking the fight to Viridor. This is a very powerful statement of how communities can and are fighting back – and one I’m proud to be involved in.”

Lib Dem Anna Pascoe was at the Lib Dem party conference in Birmingham, but sent this message of support to the campaign:

“Local people have clearly spoken out against this incinerator application, time and time again. It’s crucial that Viridor start listening to us and the more letters of objection to the county council planning department, the more chance we have of achieving that goal. I’m sorry I couldn’t be here today, but I’m sure the resolve of residents to fight the so-called Energy from Waste plant is as strong as ever and would be happy to offer my planning committee experience if anyone would like advice on their letters of objection.

“As I said at the march before Christmas, incineration is a dirty and backwards-looking technology The residents of South Hams have a great recycling rate and to be rewarded with the threat of this incinerator is nothing short of an insult. What makes me even angrier is that Viridor has the money, resources and expertise to use green technologies  at this site. Instead, however, Viridor chooses to claim that burning waste, emitting gases and creating poisonous by-products is actually a great environmental option.

“Well, I don’t believe that and I’m sure you don’t either. Let’s use our objections to show a shrewd and insightful scrutiny of the incinerator planning application and highlight to the planning officers and councillors that it simply doesn’t stack up on environmental or transport grounds.

“We’ve tried to engage in dialogue with Viridor about this and I feel like that’s been a one-way conversation. Now it’s our time to have the final word and condemn this incinerator application for good.”

To find out how to object to the Viridor plans for in incinerator in Ivybirdge, pop over to Luke Pollard’s site, EcoIvy or even the PRSD

• Deadline for objections to Devon County Council, Monday, April 19

(Image from Save Our South Hams)

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Totnes Monster, the week-day radio show which plays all local music on Soundart Radio is a treat for your ears. The show’s Chris Mockridge put together a round up of some of the week’s best bits. Consider this your omnibus edition

What an incredible start! Series four kicked off with the Republic’s own Katie Marie

Local poet Richard Thomas almost convinced us that tea was a bad idea! As if! Pop the kettle on while he entertains

Awesome set from the Joyeux Bordels (apparently that’s naughty) check them out

The set that blew us all away this week from Matt Woffindale who taught us that square things don’t roll!

Plus, there’s loads of free live session mp3 downloads up this week check them out on the Totnes Monster site!

Looking forward to fantastic live music next week with Pete Winwood, Ergo Phizmiz, Chaz Thorogood and Tom Trant.

Happy listening, mornings from 10am on Soundart Radio

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The bitter row over development at Babbacombe Downs took another turn when the Torbay Development Agency admitted it didn’t consult a community partnership over the plans.

The controversy is over the redevelopment of public loos into a £400,000 fish restaurant on the Down. Torbay Development Agency chief executive Steve Parrock has officially apologised to the Babbacombe and St Marychurch Community Partnership over the lack of consultation.

Steve told the Herald Express: “Officers had intended to consult but I understand the scheduled meeting did not take place as envisaged.

“I can confirm the Babbacombe and St Marychurch Community Partnership was advised of the intention to seek private sector proposals via an email to stakeholders in May, 2008, and as far as I am aware no objections were received prior to the release of the current proposals in 2009.

“However, ‘notification’ does not constitute ‘consultation’ in my opinion. We should have consulted with the partnership but we didn’t and we apologise.”

Deputy mayor was keen to put the lack of proper procedures behind him and carry one regardless.

He said: “Let’s draw a line under all that and have proper consultation over the plans. We’re trying to help the Bay but if people don’t want it after seeing the detailed plans so be it. It will be up to the planning committee to decide.”

• Is the Babbacombe Downs conflict solely about the fish restaurant or are people also objecting to the high-handed manner of the council?

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Exeter City Council’s Empty Homes Service is scouring the city and beyond for much-needed housing.

The search for empty homes not only covers the city but also focuses on East Devon, Mid Devon and the Teignbridge area.

Exeter has nearly 50,000 dwellings, according to 2008 Council Tax figures, and 554 have been empty for over six months. The most common causes of properties becoming empty are occupants moving into care or dying, repossession or lack of funds to complete renovation projects.

The job of the council’s Empty Homes Service is simple: to get those homes back into use and help bring down the city’s housing waiting list, which currently stands at 5,700 households.

Part proof that the council is doing a good job in tracking down empty homes comes with the council being asked to carry out the same service outside of the city in East Devon, Mid Devon and Teignbridge. Each authority pays the city council a sum of money to carry out the service in their own area. The City Council also works closely with housing associations and providers in their search.

To find out more, contact Exeter’s Empty Homes Service at empty.homes@exeter.gov.uk or phone 01392 265685 or visit the website.

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Parliament has been in Strasbourg this week for four days of formal debates and votes. We had our first debate with external relations commissioner and EU high representative Baroness Catherine Ashton on foreign policy. I think she acquitted herself well.

Despite starting with virtually no support she has gathered good people around her and gave a competent, if not quite visionary, view of her plans to set up the EU diplomatic service which our governments committed themselves to in the Lisbon Treaty. She has taken a lot of flack, some of which a man would not have received. I appealed to colleagues, on International Women’s Day, at least to give her a fair hearing.

My week has involved meetings with Commissioners Hedegaard and de Gucht, responsible for climate change and trade respectively, to be briefed before my visit to Delhi next week in my new role as Chairman of Parliament’s delegation for relations with India; with EU Enlargement Commissioner Fuele, to discuss northern Cyprus; and with agriculture Commissioner Ciolos, to discuss applications from south west food producers for protected geographical origin status.

The latter may sound very technical, but readers from Devon and Cornwall might have picked up from local radio and TV that I marked St Piran’s day by taking up the cudgels to have the Cornish pasty recognised as a traditional local delicacy and protected from competition by cheap imports purporting to be Cornish. (OK, but it makes a change from some of the dossiers I work on.)

On Tuesday afternoon the Commission presented to parliament its post-Copenhagen strategy for reaching global agreement to combat climate change. It recognises that some progress was made in Copenhagen, recommits the EU to its own carbon reduction targets and EUR 2.4 bn in aid to help poor countries do the same and sets out ideas for persuading other countries to agree to the same.

There’s been some discussion here of the creation of a European Monetary Fund, along the lines of the IMF, to help countries like Greece if they get into trouble. Barroso confirmed at Question Time on Wednesday that the Commission would look into it. It would not be ready in time to help in Greece’s current difficulties, but it shows a recognition that some mechanism is needed to stop the failure of one euro-zone country dragging others down with it.

My weekend schedule has been hastily re-arranged to allow me to be at Lib Dem Party Conference in Birmingham on Saturday morning. I cannot yet tell you why, but it is thanks to success in something I’ve been working on in Brussels and Strasbourg for a while. If you follow the conference news you should pick it up.

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In case you missed the smarmy missive on the Western Morning News about Crealy’s activities during British Tourism Week we thought we let you know about it here because: tourism is important to the Devon economy; Crealy has been championing its environmental approach to tourism for years; and our very own Giles Chichester MEP could very well be partaking the Vortex triple tube watercoaster.

Crealy is hosting Parliamentary visits during British Tourism Week to big up its Double Summer Time campaign – which would entail moving UK clocks forward by two hours (GMT + 2) during the summer months, and one hour forward from the current time (GMT + 1) in the winter months.

They say the extra hour of daylight, particularly during the warm summer evenings, could be of huge benefit to leisure and tourism attractions around the UK and in particular Devon and the South West.

Tourism business contributes over £9 billions to the South West economy, employing 195,000 full-time and 68,000 part-time workers who comprise 10 per cent of total regional employment.

• Got any British Tourism Week events going on? Drop us a line.

(Image: Angela Wright, founder and managing director of Crealy Great Adventure Parks)

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This week, European ministers have passed a new EU funding facility for people who have lost their jobs and want to build their own business, but cannot gain access to credit.

The European Microfinance Facility will have a starting budget of about £90 million, but it should be able to leverage extra money – up to £450 million – from other international institutions such as the European Investment Bank. It is expected that the fund will be able to provide around 45,000 loans over the next eight years. Anyone accessing the fund will be given help with a business plan and coaching.

Entrepreneurs and so-called micro-enterprises are the lifeblood of the economy and they should be supported. Conservative MEPs supported this fund, although we had initially asked for it to be reallocated from another budget line. Now that it is in place, I want as many budding entrepreneurs in the South West to access it and I call on the British government to move swiftly to put in place a portal for people to access the funding.

Giles Chichester – Conservative MEP for South West England and Gibraltar

(image: European Investment Bank, by Zinneke used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported licence)

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There’s no singing for her supper – which is probably just as well – but maybe it would at least stop those pesky letters addressed to ‘Mr’ Anna Pascoe. This week South West Devon’s Lib Dem Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Anna Pascoe has been running around as usual, at work, campaigning and to prepare for the Plympton charity 10k.

Monday, March 1
March already and although it’s scary how fast the year is flying by, the prospect of light evenings starting this month put a smile on my face. The week began with a busy Monday at work, with the phone ringing off the hook all morning. Then it was off to Yealmpton Parish Rooms for our South West Devon team campaign meeting, finalising the General Election timeline. Only 66 days to go if it’s called for May 6! Arrived early enough to grab a pint of orange juice and lemonade and a packet of salt and vinegar in The Volunteer in lieu of dinner and was amused to be asked if I’d turned up for singing club! I reassured everyone that I wouldn’t be inflicting my tone-deaf warbling on them.

Tuesday, March 2
Worked on campaign admin in the morning and awaited the customary arrival of more lobbying letters on my doormat. Try not to get offended if more than half are addressed to “Mr” Anna Pascoe again. Also discovered via an email from a friendly American, with the same surname as me, that many lobby groups have presumably just been guessing what my email might be and sending him correspondence intended for me! Any lobby groups wondering why I haven’t replied, it’s because you have accidentally emailed a bloke in Colorado. Thanks.

Put in some gym and swim training for the Plymouth Round Table run and then headed off to work.

Wednesday, March 3
Another day at work ensued, working on our application for the Observer Ethical Awards and nursing an energy drink. Put in another gym session straight after work to stretch out those aching limbs. Then it was time to freshen up for a friend’s birthday meal and tuck in to some curry and garlic naan. Was nice to chat to one of her workmates about his support for the Lib Dems – unfortunately he was moving to Manchester at the weekend so unlikely to benefit from it any time soon!

Thursday, March 4
Got stuck in to the campaign admin first thing, and by lunchtime there were almost what you might describe as inroads made into my email inbox. I’d set aside the afternoon to finally pay a visit to some relatives for the first time this year, so after a spot of leafleting, went to see Aunty Thora and catch up. Then it was time for a training run before the dusk set in and then over to my Nan’s place. Nan is always one step ahead of me with the local knowledge, as she grew up in Brixton and then moved to Laira before travelling for my grandad’s naval posting. It always makes me smile and think of my Nan when I pass by the aptly-titled Memory Lane in Plymstock.

Friday, March 5
A Plymstock team meeting started off the day and then it was onto the campaign trail, meeting local business leaders and workers to chat about how the recession has been affecting them. The journey to Yealmpton late afternoon to meet some residents there was cut abruptly short with yet another punctured tyre. And yes, Reader, it was of course the new tyre that had been replaced just a couple of weeks ago during the Ivybridge Filham by election. By the time I had waited for roadside rescue I had missed the NEQ Taskforce meeting in Ivybridge as well, not the end to the week I had planned for!

Saturday, March 6
The morning started with leafleting and a strength training session in the gym – just two weeks until the Plympton charity 10k! The afternoon/evening shift at work followed, via Aunty Betty’s house, to pop in and say hello.

Sunday, March 7
Early to to rise before my shift at work to tackle some campaign work, and sure enough, another week was drawing to a close. Just time for a final run as the sun began to set and to look forward to another week of getting to know Plymstock, Plymouth and South Hams people (and hopefully no more punctures)!

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The environmental publisher Green Books is looking for a marketing and publicity manager

The Totnes publisher Green Books has a staff of seven people to market and publicise its books, and its is looking for a marketing and publicity manger who has a good understanding of the UK book trade and web marketing, including social networking; be efficient and productive, and have an interest in green issues.

The job is full time or four days per week by arrangement and is based in Totnes, Devon.

The closing date is Thursday, March 25 and to find out more check out the Green Books job page.

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