AFTER FOUR YEARS OF BATTLING THE SIDFORD INDUSTRIAL ESTATE IS STRUCK FROM LOCAL PLAN
The hugely controversial industrial estate, proposed at Sidford was today struck from EDDC’s Local Plan, following a proposal by Cllrs Stuart Hughes and Graham Troman.
The five hectare site was inserted into the Local Plan at the last minute when I was a member of the panel back in 2011.
It has taken local people four years of campaigning for the council to finally agree to delete it. Many votes of a similar nature have been taken in the past and have failed. Today’s got through.
The move took place at today’s extraordinary full council meeting to discuss revisions to the local plan.
I blasted the council for opting YET AGAIN for unevidenced and huge levels of growth that are contrary to consultants recommendations.
How many consultants have to tell EDDC that the right way forward is low growth before they actually listen? The answer is they never will listen. They (who I am not entirely sure) wants big big levels of development in East Devon – and so shall it be.
That is, until the planning inspector takes a look at it and wonders what on earth is going on.
A press release was issued by EDDC earlier this month which contained a grossly untrue statement about the planning inspector recommending the levels of growth that EDDC have opted for.
The planning inspector made no such recommendation. This was a disgraceful attempt to try and fool the public into believing that EDDC is doing the will of the planning inspector, who threw out the draft local plan last year.
See here for my blog earlier this week on what EDDC has done …. http://www.claire-wright.org/…/eddc_proposes_highest_housin…
Frankly, the council has sold the western end of the district off to the highest bidder. Villages like Clyst Honiton, Rockbeare and Blackhorse are set to be absolutely swamped in urban sprawl.
The council promised Rockbeare that it would be protected by a green wedge. If you saw the area that Cranbrook is set to expand now, massively south of the old A30, you would be shocked. Rockbeare is set to be lost amid bricks and concrete.
Whimple was supposed to have a green wedge to protect it from Cranbrook.
Not any more.
Whimple’s green wedge is proposed to have a great chunk eaten out of it as Cranbrook also sprawls to the east.
Given that councillors have never had the chance to question the consultants I moved an amendment that both sets of consultants are invited to the next overview and scrutiny committee meeting.
This amendment was argued against by the chief executive, who for some reason decided to mention my “parliamentary ambitions.”
It was voted down mainly by the conservative group.
My second amendment proposed an extension of the consultation period by two weeks, making a total of an eight week consultation period. This proposal was carried, despite some senior conservatives arguing against it.
Interestingly, I informed the council that Mid Devon District Council (which has been working with EDDC on this) has opted for a low growth scenario for its district. This is because Mid Devon councillors did not wish to concrete over any more of the countryside than they had to.
So why has EDDC opted for such a high growth level?(it is impossible to even match the levels to any figures in the reports!)
The chief executive said it was because East Devon is a “growth area.”
But I replied, the consultants knew this before they drafted their report didn’t they.
Yet they still recommended a preferred approach of significantly lower development, that is also in line with government growth projections.
Why oh why is EDDC doing this?
The Local Plan, with some minor amendments, was voted through by the majority of councillors.
East Devon Watch 
Yes indeed. Why?
Whilst Claire is a councillor and bound by the Code of Conduct, and thus unable to bring the council into disrepute by suggesting possible reasons, we members of the public are not so bound.
Since there is no logic, nor any democratic mandate from the last elections for the Tories to pursue a high-growth policy, and since I think it unlikely that most people in East Devon would like to see East Devon (and Teignbridge) become suburbs of Greater Exeter (perhaps eventually as far as Honiton – why stop at Whimple when you can extend further along the A30 before reaching the AONBs at Honiton), there seems to me only two possibilities for this fervour:
1. Some sort of political dogma that believes that high-growth is the right thing to do regardless of the consequences on the local electorate who they are supposed to represent; or
2. Undeclared personal gain by key individuals at EDDC.
I must declare that I have no evidence to support either of the above potential reasons, but these are the only two reasons that make sense and EDDC are certainly not explaining the reasons for their high-growth position to allay these sorts of supposition.
With the elections looming, as individuals we all need to think about whether we want high-growth and for western part of East Devon to become part of Greater Exeter (in which case vote Tory) or want a more considered restricted and considered approach to planning – in which case VOTE INDEPENDENT.
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