Geoffrey Cox, Member of Parliament for Torridge and West Devon, officially unveiled Philup The Fish, the plaice for your plastic, in Westward Ho! on Saturday 18 May 2019.
Philup, the giant plastic gobbling fish, 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 in our seas.
The MP was also proud to open the Plastic Free Spring Fayre at the Pier House, hosted by ReFuse and ReUse, later that day.
Mr Cox expressed his support for the initiative, saying: “The movement to dramatically reduce our consumption of single use plastic items is backed widely by our seaside communities and is growing throughout the world. I was so pleased to see Westward Ho, not for the first time, pioneering the way for others with the superb plastic free fayre and Philup the plastic eating fish!”
While in Westward Ho!, the MP took the opportunity to discuss local issues with residents, councillors and the leader of the Conservatives on Torridge District Council, Dermot McGeough.
One of the issues raised was regarding the lack of disabled access onto the beach, and Mr Cox will now be writing to Torridge District Council, urging them to take action to provide safe and convenient disabled access to the beach from the slipway.
He said: “Everyone should be able to enjoy one of the finest beaches anywhere, yet I watched on Saturday as wheelchair users and local families with small children struggled to get onto the beach because of the lack of a proper ramp for them to do so. With the sands often several feet below the end of the slipway, it has become essential that action is taken to provide a solution.”
