Konsel an dre Heyl

Message from the Mayor

Home Page

Archived Messages

I am honoured to have been chosen to chair Hayle Town Council and to serve as mayor of Hayle in the coming year.

United States Congressman Tip O’Neill is noted for his observation that “All politics is local.” And, of course, town and parish politics is as local as it gets. Although our powers are few, and our budget tiny, we still strive to make an important difference to the people of Hayle. And making a difference is what, I believe, draws most people to politics. Robert Louis Stevenson wryly noted that: “Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary.” But perhaps experience in life is the best preparation.

On our town council we have people with experience in many walks of life: engineering, teaching, boat-building, the police, personnel management and entrepreneurship. Some can trace their Cornish ancestry back hundreds of years, while others have arrived more recently. Our debates, while sometimes spirited, are courteous and lead to well-reasoned conclusions. I have greatly enjoyed my time as a town councillor and it will now be a pleasure to chair these meetings.

The role of the mayor is to act as a representative of the council and I look forward to that.

My own interests lie in supporting the growth of quality jobs in Hayle and I shall continue to make that a priority. John F Kennedy said that “A rising tide lifts all boats” and having good local jobs will go a long way to increasing the standard of living in the town. We already have some success stories: Nixon Design-a brand and web development company; TigerX Studios- state-of-the-art computer animation experts; Infoteam on the Guildford Road Estate that provides maintenance for Sony Playstations for the whole of Europe; and we still have a foundry in Hayle – Terrill Brothers. And we hope the Wave Hub project and the harbour development will lead to many more.

It is always difficult to balance development and protection of the environment - and reasonable people can disagree on the relative priorities of the two. I know that our council will continue to debate these matters and try to help solve issues such as sand removal, improved service to Hayle station, traffic congestion and the restoration of sluicing.

This year I am confident that the council will be awarded Quality Status, thanks to the great efforts of our Town Clerk - and confirming the high standards set by the council and its staff.

Finally, I would like to thank fellow councillors for their support.