Cllr Steve Horner

22/08/2026

In my recent post which was copied to Teignmouth and Shaldon Voice I am unable to reply or message anyone asking me questions. I appear to have been restricted. I have no idea if its Facebook doing it.

20/08/2026

By now many of you may have seen this publication which is for the 1000's of young men asylum seekers coming ashore uninvited, and being placed in our communities against our will. We know from the many crimes being committed by a proportion of these migrants that this document is not an academic exercise.

When I became a Councillor last year I saw protecting residents as my highest priority as an elected person, and so my motion submitted to TDC for 1-Transparency, 2-For protecting local people when we know nothing of their background, and 3-Pushing back on the Home Office and their agents who wish to place them in our community against our wishes.

I have made no secret of my lack of trust of our national government in these matters. It's time they listened to us and not try to silence us or our concerns.

16/08/2026

Many of you will already know that the NHS are planning to close Torbay Hospital as an acute medicine hospital, turning into little more than a cottage hospital department with some out patient services.

The process became obvious more than a year ago when the hospital tried to close the well nationally respected Out-of-Hours Cardiac unit at Torbay, and transfer it's workload to Exeter. Many local people got together and protested outside the hospital, including our very own (the late) Ann Widdecombe.

Former Nurse Susie Colley et al gathered other concerned people to challenge and pushback, and created the campaign now known as "Save Torbay Hospital". My wife (DCC Cllr Heather Horner) and I were invited to hear Susie speak at a public meeting of the Kingskerswell campaign group, and to provide support and spread the word.

Further evidence of plans for Torbay hospital to cease being an acute medicine hospital has come from hospital staff, and the rather opaque document "Our Strategy" The strategic plan for 2026 - 2031.

It's fluffy and misleading contents, when stripped of misleading language, still shows the essence of the ICB plans to transfer expert and emergency services to Exeter and Plymouth.

All three hospital Emergency departments are busy, often overwhelmed. In what universe does closing one of the busy ED's not impact on the remaining ones. We are seeing house building increase with increased population. In summer the population of the Torbay area doubles from 200,000 people to 400,000. Given the state and busyness of our roads, how many people will die to simply satisfy the Labour government's mania for centralisation. They have done this in London, but where accessing hospitals for emergencies is still reasonable and practical.

Across the country hospitals like Torbay's have been closed using the same dishonest dismantling methods.

I urge you to join the "Save Torbay Hospital" Campaign. It will ulimately need to go to the HIgh Court to prevent the unnecessary deaths that will result from butchering our Torbay Hospital. We will need to raise that money as a matter of urgency.

They didn't really listen to the people on Teignmouth Hospital, so it will need a higher order of support from the community to save Torbay hospital.

I, my wife (County Councillor Heather Horner) and indeed many councillors of all parties will be fighting to save our hospital.

Together we can save the hospital that may ultimately save us and our loved ones. Public meetings are now being organised across the area, including Shaldon and Teignmouth. Watch this space for dates and venues.

Save Torbay Hospital is dedicated to protecting and enhancing healthcare services at Torbay Hospital and within the wider community of Torbay and South Devon.We believe that every member of our community deserves timely, equitable, and effective healthcare, and we are committed to ensuring Torbay Ho...

28/07/2026

It was an interesting day at Forde House at the TDC Full Council meeting. We covered a range of issues including a motion to begin consultation for National Landscape designation of a section the River Teign estuary. Sadly there has been a lot of misinformation about the nature of the motion resulting in unnecessary concern to residents, who emailed me in their dozens.

This regulation would exclude the Port, harbour, Teignmouth, Shaldon and Riviera boatyard, yet afford significant protection to the section West of the bridge--from large scale house building and to place more anti-pollution obligations on South West Water and the Environment Agency.

Sadly, a discrete request by Cllr Jane Tayor for a one minute silence in the Chamber in memory of Ann Widdecombe was refused by the Chair.

11/07/2026

I attended the National Emergency Briefing last night at The Pavillions. I was disappointed by the blatant emotional sales pitch and call to action. In the film, we saw people and celebs share their fears. Those fears quickly spread to our audience.

An audience member noted that the worst-case warming paths in the film (like RCP8.5 and SSP5-8.5) are too extreme. Experts no longer view them as realistic. The extreme paths matches early claims from Al Gore that missed the mark. For instance, he predicted that Kilimanjaro would have no snow within ten years, and that sea levels would rise by meters in just a few decades.

The film presenters asked us to lobby our MPs. They want us to push for the fixes shown in the movie. However, we need more open debate first. We must inform people about the main issues. We need real answers that fix the problem without creating worse side effects.

Governments do not have all the answers. The current Net-Zero plan threatens to make us poorer. It denies us the funds we need to adapt to floods, protect farming, and safeguard our health, etc. Because of this, I am organising a series of open debates to share facts on the science and discuss practical choices. I will advertise dates in due course.

I want us to truly "inform, debate, and act." Right now, we need to focus more on becoming informed and having honest debates. We should not rush into action just because a political group eggs us on. This is not climate denial. It's a common-sense way to clamly make sound choices for our local area and our country.

18/06/2026

It’s important that the residents of Teignbridge, and indeed Devon realise that Local Government Reorganisation has far reaching consequences.

It’s quite likely that the Labour government will compel the new Unitary Authorities to reduce their indebtedness and budgets. Sale of assets is one such solution.

Its important we find ways of securing our parks etc. Town and Parish councils are an obvious steward for these assets, perhsos even the CTC model, but there are serious challenges ahead.

As you may be aware, over the weekend there have been some concerns raised on social media regarding statutory notices published in relation to disposal of some our public open spaces.

Teignbridge District Council has been reviewing its property and land portfolio for several years as part of its long-term plans for how we can most effectively run services and use our assets for the benefit of the community. These plans are aimed at reducing financial pressure on council services.

As part of this, the Council has been talking with partners, including town and parish councils, about the future of some assets so they can be managed locally where appropriate, or disposed of on the open market.

To comply with relevant legislation the Council is required to advertise any disposal of public open space for a period of two consecutive weeks.

This is a routine part of the process and helps make sure it is open and transparent.

The assets named in the notices are: Cromwell Way, Bovey Tracey; Palace Meadow, Chudleigh; Morningside, Dawlish; Heath Close, Heath Hill, Prince Rupert Way and Naseby Drive, Heathfield; and Ashburton Road and Courtenay Park, Newton Abbot.

The notices were issued on 28 May, and members of the public can send any objections or comments about the proposed disposals to Teignbridge Legal Services until 18 June.

We are sorry for any unnecessary alarm caused by the publication of these statutory notices.

05/05/2026

Beware there are scammers pretending to be a Veterans charity. They are after your personal data or to encourage you to make a donation--which will; never go to a Veteran's charity! https://www.facebook.com/share/r/18MmxkQGRH/

26/04/2026

This is a fraud site designed to twist and misrepresent Reform UK. Do not contribute and expose it every time you see a post from it.

26/04/2026

St. Michaels. Our church by the sea has served generations of people in the Teignmouth and the surrounding area for generations--in times of sadness and celibration. It embodies who we are as a people, and is such an amazing focal point for our community.

It's tower is a landmark seen from all over Teignmouth and beyond including from the sea. Although, the sea has in it's turn taken it's toll on the church's building materials.

St Michaels has shown years loving care of the people of Teignmouth, and I feel it's now it's time for the people of Teignmouth to show loving care for St. Michaels in this, its time of need.

However, it's not just an opportunity to repair and maintain the structure, but to improve it's utility and serve the community in an even more inclusive ways.

The amounts needed to repair and conserve the church are substantial but not insurmountable, but our immediate task is to raise money which would help release large grants from national and institutional charitable bodies.

This is a call for action, and I am asking the people who love Teignmouth and want to show that love by working with us to preserve our church to contact me [email protected], or by direct messaging me.

Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you.

19/04/2026

I’ve just passed Teignmouth Library. It’s on fire.

I’ve also contacted the CEO of Libraries Unlimited to let him know, and offer what support I can to help restore the Library.