Geoffrey attended the official opening of the new slipway and the re-hoisting of the Blue Flag at Westward Ho! today, Wednesday, 12 August 2020.
The MP has been working closely with Torridge District Council and the other statutory authorities over recent months, convening a series of meetings in order to facilitate the reconstruction of the slipway and enable disabled access on to the beach.
“Having convened a series of meetings to discuss and promote a solution to the lack of access to Westward Ho beach particularly for the disabled, the elderly and families with very young children, I am delighted to see those discussions now bear fruit. The reconstruction of the slipway will provide an easy way down onto the beach for many years to come. This is a concrete example of what can be achieved when we all, MP, local councillors and statutory agencies work together with the public to solve an obvious problem.”
During his visit, Mr Cox was also asked to officially unveil Philupa, the new plastic eating fish.
The giant plastic gobbling fish, who has replaced the storm damaged Philup, is now a resident in Westward Ho! and is designed to be filled with plastic bottles, which will then be taken away by Torridge District Council to be recycled, in order to raise awareness of plastic pollution.
“I am really pleased to see that Westward Ho! is continuing to lead the way in its work to reduce plastic pollution in our seas and to raise awareness of this issue. It is an essential task, if we are to reduce our consumption of single use plastic items, and I am sure that Philippa will play an important part in this locally.”
Images: Raymond Goldsmith
