Smalltown and Dullbridge Missing Person Tim Teepee has expressed his disappointment with Sadgebore District Council’s attempt to Re-Imagine Dullbridge (RID).
Speaking to SomersetClive from a secret location somewhere in the world, Tim told us “This bid for Government money from the second round of the Level-It Fund shows a distinct lack of imagination from the officers at Sadgebore.
It appears that all they have done is look at previous successful bids and put together a hotchpotch of ideas culled from those, but have only included the ideas which they think are easily achievable. That’s why their RID bid mostly focuses on planting trees, as that’s about the only thing they think they can do.
However, given the inability of the local council in the area – hold on I need to consult my notes – yes, given the inability of Smalltown and Dullbridge Town Council to plant any trees for Queen Victoria II’s Titanium Jubilee, I have grave doubts as to whether this objective is attainable.
Additionally, previous successful bids have included input from local businesses, residents and stakeholders. Take, for example, the SDC initiative to improve local public transport – I would have expected to see the bid include at the very least a promise of cooperation from Last Bus, rather than the limited two word suggestion of ‘Better buses’.
I suppose, given that Sadgebore didn’t think to apply for the funding sooner than a month before the deadline, they’ve done the best they can in the limited time available, but I do not feel that I can support it. You can’t put a plaster on a broken arm and expect it to heal.
Besides, where are the balloons and ‘We ❤️ Tim Teepee’ banners? A few of those spread throughout Dullbridge would brighten the place considerably. That’s the sort of bid I would support.”
A spokesperson for Sadgebore District Council said “We are beyond disappointed that Tim Teepee feels he can’t support this bid. He had ample opportunity to put forward his own ideas for balloons and banners, but was too busy offering support to whoever was or will be Prime Minister to bother. Despite our bid being so hastily thrown together and being devoid of detail or ideas, he should still give it his backing, because, after all, Dullbridge is in his constituency.”
A decision on the allocation of funding is expected to be made in the next few months.