Nick Bye: 'Days when investment was unlocked by a good breakfast, traffic jam and a natter about Manchester United'

Phil Woolas, the former Labour MP and Minister of State for Local Government (amongst other roles) was a good friend of Torbay,  so I was very sorry to read of his recent death at far too young an age. 

He was elected as member of Parliament for Oldham East and Saddleworth in 1997 and served until 2010 exactly matching the New Labour years of government under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

It all seems quite a long time ago now but the first ten years or so were something of a golden age in terms of economic growth at least which in turn provided the opportunity for government to increase spending in a relatively painless fashion with steadily increasing tax revenues without the necessity of increasing tax rates. The present government can only dream of such a scenario.

Phil Woolas held his local government role at a fortunate time and seemed keen to help those places like Torbay which could put forward a good case for help.

With the assistance of our Totnes and Torbay MPs it was arranged Yours Truly as a recently elected Mayor of Torbay (and having an elected Mayor was a very New Labour kind of thing which undoubtedly opened doors) should meet with the Minister of State, accompanied by the Council's Chief Executive Elizabeth Raikes.

It was the only time in the five and a bit years I served in the role that I travelled to London First Class at the Council's expense; it was only one of two occasions when I travelled to London by train at the Council's expense regardless of class. 

The other occasion was to participate in a brief "meet and greet" with the then new in office Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles in 2010 after the Conservatives entered power with the Liberal Democrats as coalition partners. 

Eric Pickles was no fan of elected Mayors and I was no fan of Eric Pickles, now Baron Pickles (so somebody must be) and was therefore reluctant to put my hand in my own pocket when I could think of other more worthwhile causes.

Phil Woolas by contrast was a good listener, seemed to take note of our plans for the future of the Bay and indicated he would consider support for individual projects which would contribute to our ambition for regeneration. 

Shortly afterwards he accepted our invitation to visit Torbay and was our guest for breakfast at the Berry Head Hotel, Brixham, where we made our pitch for support for the new fish quay and adjacent employment units. 

There really should be a further plaque on the wall at this splendid establishment commemorating it as the birth place of the renaissance of the town's fishing industry. 

The breakfast went very well indeed, much assisted by the goodwill which had been established the night before by our Deputy Mayor Kevin Carroll, another Northerner who was happy to stay up late with the Minister talking about football in general and Manchester United in particular. 

Such bonds are the stuff which unlock government funds and shortly after the visit we received confirmation of money on its way to match our own Torbay Council contribution and the funds from the European Union. Those were the days indeed!

Driving Phil Woolas back to Newton Abbot to catch his train we got stuck in the usual (at the time) congestion at the top of Hamelin Way, very nearly causing him to miss his train and doubtless important business back in Westminster. 

Of course it gave us a wonderful opportunity to make the case for what was then called the "Kingskerswll By Pass" pointing out how could you expect a place to grow and prosper if we were cut off from the main road system? 

Little by little we began to make progress through the planning, public inquiry and procurement stages until the de facto go ahead in early 2011 and completion in December 2015.

So I remember Phil Woolas fondly and although his political career came to an end in an unfortunate manner as the result of an election tribunal, the first of its kind for 100 years apparently,  he certainly deserves credit for his good works in this neck of the woods.

Whether I get any credit for missing an important but impromptu Town Hall/Cabinet meeting the morning after I scribble these few words, in favour of attending a Preparing for Adulthood conference at the South Devon College remains to be seen.

The Cabinet meeting is to determine whether Torbay Council should sell a large chunk of land at Edginswell to the Torbay and South Devon (Hospital) Trust for short term use as parking and in the longer term to be the base for ancillary services therefore freeing up space at the main hospital site for future investment in health facilities. 

I see this purchase, assuming it is approved, as a vote of confidence in the future of health services in Torbay. In any case the hospital is by far our largest employer so why wouldn't we support them in this way?

Having written most of this article in a somewhat nostalgic vein I could add "my" Edginswell Business Park completed circa 15 years ago and now home to 1,000 jobs was entirely financed by the private sector: I could write those were the days indeed (again).

But those days have long gone and for whatever reason the remaining land has been vacant, with the exception of the Wickes store, with little prospect of anything happening there ever since TESCO lost their appeal to build a large supermarket. I have full confidence my Cabinet colleagues will make the right decision.

As Lead Member for Children's Services I feel I should be showing my support for our Parent/Carers Forum, SEND Family Voice who are holding this important conference at the University Centre, South Devon College, outlining different pathways for youngsters with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities into adulthood so they can have fulfilling lives and thrive.

Pathways into adulthood is one of our priority action areas in our SEND Improvement Plan and frankly something I should learn more about. Given I have not yet worked out how to be in two places at once, I have made my decision to spend time at the South Devon College and will leave the hard chairs in the Town Hall for others to fill on this occasion.