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October 2021 October 2021

LYMINGTON SEA WATER BATHS NEWS FROM WESTMINSTER

October is Conference season in politics, and I will
I have often thought that my small be heading to Manchester for the Conservative
musings in this column were as much Party Conference. Constituents have already been
about the people I met as the pools in touch with me to request that I meet with various
themselves. Here in a few sumptuous charities and organisations whilst I am there. One is
days in July 2015 I was to meet a the Alzheimer’s Society, who want to discuss the
recent X Factor singer, the guy who future of care, and find out more about dementia.
taught Frank Skinner to swim and My staff and I are all trained as Dementia Friends,
here in Lymington, Hugo Ambrose and I will certainly visit the Alzheimer’s Society stand
who with his friend Guy Quilter rowed to find out more. The recent news about an increase
the Atlantic in 2003 in their boat in funding for social care is a very important one,
Atlantic-Wholff named after the pair’s meaning that fewer people will have to sell their
homes to cover the costs of their care.
six children. Wonderful!
Another charity that many constituents have contacted me about are the
In a former life as a property developer, Hugo was living in London when he
rowed the Atlantic from Lugamara, Tenerife to Port St Charles in 59 days. Here was Guide Dogs for the Blind. Their current campaign is about the issues arising from
a successful businessman who began to re-evaluate his life. “If you spend 2 the use of e-scooters and electric bikes. There is currently a trial running in Poole
of “Beryl” e-scooters. This trial is backed by the Department for Travel, as part of
months naked you begin to question consumerism and capitalism” he told me.
His three sons were very young at the time but he and his wife Pauline decided to
get out of the rat race. Their first thought was Dorset but they came to Lymington
and decided “This will do”.

Putting their boys into local
schools, they bought a
house in Kings Saltern Road
overlooking the pool and
very quickly saw that it was
under-used. By then Hugo
was running his Lynx Sports
C o mp a n y a n d was
responsible for getting its Transforming Travel plans to reduce our reliance on cars. The scooters are
sponsorship for the “three speed-limited, and users have to have a full or provisional driving licence and be
blondes in a boat” Sara over 16. They are not allowed to be ridden on pavements or pedestrian areas,
Ayton, Sara Webb and but may be used on roads and cycle paths. Part of the reason for the trials is to
Pippa Wilson. He had establish whether they are a safe and viable option for general use in the future.
gained valuable experience in getting the money together for his Atlantic Whilst operators have to ensure that the e-scooters have a bell or horn to alert
adventure where they raised £100,000 for the Children in Need fund partially sighted and blind people to their presence, I will be interested to speak
to the Guide Dogs charity about their views on these trials. It remains the law
At the time the Lymington and Pennington Council was having problems justifying that privately owned e-scooters are not permitted on public roads, pavements
the £50,000 to £60,000 loss the baths was making each year and there were many and cycle paths, and I know that Dorset police are being very pro-active about
in the town including local councillors who would have been happy to fill it in and stopping riders, fining them and seizing their scooters.
close it for good. Hugo had a vision to make it a viable, sustainable asset whilst
retaining the fabric of the building. However, his good intentions were not trusted I’m delighted that along with the start of the new term came the increase in

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