Daily Archives: 20 Mar 2014

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

20 Mar 2014

Posted under

Budleigh Salterton

Budleigh and Ladram Bay on Environment Agency blacklist

.IMG

Last weekend’s Sunday Times article (16 March 2014, p. 19) lists two East Devon bathing beaches amongst 45 in the UK at risk of permanent closure because of sewage contamination. They could be “stripped of their designation as bathing waters from 2015. Visitors would be warned by prominent signs that the water was unsafe to bathe in”, the Environment Agency’s head of bathing waters, Christine Tuckett, told the newspaper.
“About a third of the pollution comes from agriculture, a third from point sources like sewage works and the rest is down to random factors like misconnected drains,” said Tuckett.

So what could the pollution sources be at Budleigh Salterton and Ladram Bay? Here’s a look, first, at Ladram Bay, where the expanding caravan site would be hard hit if its customers couldn’t swim from the lovely beach it leads to.
P1030032P1030038P1030048

P1030042

We’ll ask local residents about the Budleigh pollution problem, for a follow-up post.

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

20 Mar 2014

Posted under

Honiton/ Gittisham

News from Honiton (Part 2) . Thelma Hulbert Gallery not fit for purpose.

The record of the EDDC Cabinet decision (5th March, 2014) concerning the Thelma Hulbert Gallery (THG), Honiton, notes that Cllrs David Cox and Ian Thomas insisted that their votes against the recommendation ‘to set the Gallery on a sustainable footing’ were recorded. This unwonted move may be a first indication that previously loyal councillors are no longer prepared to automatically follow their Leader.

The Gallery, a favourite project of Cllr Paul Diviani, is fast losing money. EDDC are unwilling to reveal the scale of the losses, which are purported to be in the region of £120,000 per annum. This apparently does not take into account the officer time required to run the project, nor the cost of the building, nor the rates. The true annual cost of THG could therefore be closer to £200,000 (the anticipated saving in running costs achieved by relocating the District Council HQ to Skypark!).

During the Cabinet debate, the original business plan was described as being ‘overambitious’, and the gallery itself as ‘a significant liability’ to EDDC. The figure for annual visitors is believed to be around 8,000, made up largely of school parties. EDA has been reliably informed that adult visitor numbers per day can often be counted on the fingers of one hand. Does this mean that every visit is subsidised to the tune of £20-25 by the council tax payers of East Devon? The shop and cafe are reputedly cramped and very poor. And the enormously over-priced pieces of art on sale remain seriously unsold. If ever a building was not ‘fit for purpose’, it seems to be this one.

The 5th March 2014 Cabinet minutes, including Thelma Hulbert Gallery Business Plan-key decision pp 116-117, can be read at this link http://www.eastdevon.gov.uk/cabinet_agenda_mins_remit

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

20 Mar 2014

Posted under

Honiton/ Gittisham

News from Honiton (part 1)

A campaign to save a Honiton day centre from closure, made the front page of the Midweek Herald this week. EDA followers concerned by priorities in County Council cost-cutting might like to take a minute to sign the associated online petition, and ask friends to do so too. They just need to live in Devon to be able to sign. Honiton Town Councillor Sharon Pavey, who leads the campaign, is one of the signatories of the EDA Charter.
Details here: http://www.sharonpavey.org/save-st-michaels-day-centre

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

20 Mar 2014

Posted under

Misc

Local Government Ombudsman found EDDC at fault

The Chief Executive, Mark Williams, reported to Cabinet earlier this month, that the Ombudsman’s ‘recent finding of fault’ has been addressed by East Devon District Council. See page 109 at this link http://www.eastdevon.gov.uk/cabinet_mins_050314.pdf