Peter Cleasby is Exeter Observer’s transport correspondent.
After reading French and German at New College, Oxford he entered the civil service where he worked largely in policy development and business management across several departments, ending up as a deputy director in DEFRA.
On leaving the civil service, he freelanced as a policy, management and governance consultant and became a trustee of several national and local charities.
Exeter could do better - was there no alternative to closing so many public toilets?
Exeter City Council did not need to close thirteen public toilets to balance the books. The money to keep them open was available in reserves, but no mention of this option was made during public decision-making by councillors or officers.
Caught short - balancing the books in a hurry
Exeter City Council has unapologetically confirmed its decision to close 13 public toilets as a money-saving measure with full knowledge of its expected effect on residents and visitors. Can we expect other spending cuts to be handled the same way?
Clifton Hill sports centre – the background
Storm Emma met the Beast from the East and dumped a huge amount of snow on the roof of Exeter’s Clifton Hill sports centre, setting off a chain reaction which has ignited two campaigns and put Exeter City Council’s approaches to competence and openness into sharp focus.
What does your council know that you don’t know you don’t know?
Extracting information from councils is hard work but increasingly necessary for local democracy.
Is the Greater Exeter Strategic Plan GESPing for air?
The Greater Exeter Strategic Plan has been a long time in gestation. When it finally arrives, will it deliver?
