But, unfortunately, its “shareholders” are not allowed to talk to it:
In the past Councillor Diviani has also referred to EDDC as a business and officers have referred to developers as its clients.
Our only role as “stakeholders” appears to be to vote them in or out in 2015. Other than that, we should, apparently, be shut up.
District council bosses have refuted claims their Local Plan was not ready to be submitted last August – or the continuing delay in confirming the blueprint means East Devon is set for a developers’ free-for-all
Campaigners last week branded the authority ‘shambolic’ and called for a ‘root and branch reform’.
Councillor Andrew Moulding, East Devon District Council (EDDC) cabinet member for strategic development and partnerships, said: “The inspector’s response to our plan was one that has been replicated across the country.
“A paper produced last month by consultancy Nathaniel Litchfield & Partners (NLP) found that local plans are taking longer to get through the examination process and more are being delayed because of problems over housing assessment.
“Their review of 109 local plans that had been examined since the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) came into force two years ago found that many have effectively stalled because of the NPPF’s requirement for authorities to meet ‘objectively assessed needs’ for housing. The consultancy reported that just 40 of the 109 plans have been found sound, while a quarter of these are subject to immediate or early review, chiefly because of housing issues. Some 15 plans have been withdrawn, with the main reason being the provision of housing. The consultancy also noted that more plans were in difficulty after failing to meet the ‘duty to cooperate’ requirement.
“More than 50 per cent of English local planning authorities outside London have yet to formally publish local plans since the introduction of the NPPF. Inspectors want to avoid future challenges and potential judicial reviews and therefore look for objectively assessed information contained in local plans.”
Cllr Moulding said warnings of a developers’ free-for-all were ‘scaremongering by those who have an agenda of belittling the council’s efforts’. He claimed the council has an ‘enviable record’ when it comes to defending and winning planning appeals.
“Experience shows that our policy of saying ‘yes’ to sustainable development and ‘no’ to over-development is standing us in good stead,” he added. “We remain confident that the latest version of the plan is not too far off being a document that finds favour with the planning inspector, once we have completed the extra work he has requested. In this, we are in the company of a good number of other English local authorities that are working hard to find the right balance between housing demand and quality of life.”
l What do you think?
Email us your thoughts at sidmouth.letters@archant.co.uk.
EDDC refutes campaigners’ Local Plan criticism – News – Sidmouth Herald
An excellent You Tube video made in response to DCC’s planned cuts to its youth budget:
Do they really think we can’t work out what is going on?
http://www.sidmouthherald.co.uk/news/news/what_a_net_loss_1_3571579
However, with the majority we have in control at the moment and its support for developers ahead of communities, we can do nothing.
And once again, he points to figures apparently having no evidence behind them:
Click to access cilletterno1.pdf
Reminds me of an old saying: “I’m always in the excrement, it’s only the depth that varies”.
Tory Whip Phil Twiss is claiming once again on Claire Wright’s blog (comment left on 22/04/ 14) that he never whips.
He makes no mention, though, of the familiar range of ‘sticks and carrots’ that are used to produce an obedient majority that will rubber stamp key decisions. Incentives and disincentives include:
1. Patronage. ‘Juicy jobs’ (with bigger allowances) are given to faithful supporters or dangled before potentially awkward members.
2. Sacking. The occasional rebel is quickly removed from power. Cllr Stuart Hughes committed the dual sins of setting up an ‘in-depth study’ (Business TAFF) of the relationship between EDDC and the East Devon Business Forum, and of challenging the leadership’s aspiration to move the Council HQ from the Knowle. Predictably he was dismissed in May 2013 as chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and from all his other positions, because he was “too busy” according to Cllr Twiss. Stuart Hughes had a blunter explanation: he said it was the result of the “arrogant and spineless leadership” of EDDC.
3. Arm Twissting. Short of sacking, councillors who break ranks are leaned on by the formidable Mr Twiss. Tory councillor Mike Allen, former chair of the Local Plan Panel, is a case in point. At a meeting of the Council on 24 July last year, he accused the Chief Executive of “not having a grip on the Local Plan” and “not understanding” National Planning Policy guidelines. Mr Twiss sprang to his feet immediately to slap down the critic: the CEO must be right, he said, as “he’s a qualified solicitor, and you’re not!” Reliable sources report that, after the meeting, the riot act was read to Mike Allen. He has not repeated his criticisms, and, despite their severity, there is no reference to them in the minutes of the meeting.
4. Group meetings. Often, private, unminuted, meetings are held before big decisions are made to ensure that everyone is on side. For example, the Tory Group assembled in advance of the Development Management Committee meeting of 5th February last year to discuss the lack of a five-year land supply. The result was predictable: the docile Tory majority on the committee sat mute until they voted en bloc when the chairman decreed. They thus meekly endorsed a crucial element of the Local Plan which the Inspector has found to be unsound, leaving East Devon vulnerable as a result.
Finally, given the majority on the Council that his Party currently has, it is surprising that Cllr Twiss spends so much energy trying to discredit the opposition. The most indiscreet example was his insulting suggestion in the Sidmouth Herald that Independents are invariably “single issue” councillors “holding back progress and directly disadvantaging their communities.”
We might expect a little more humility from the Tory whip, given that in the 2011 local elections he received only 813 votes in his Honiton ward. For comparison, at the same election, Independent councillor Roger Giles, whom Cllr Twiss accuses of rarely doing “anything tangible and beneficial for his local community”, polled 1546 votes in Ottery St Mary Town Ward.
Over on claire-wright.org the popular Independent councillor is being given a very hard time by Tory Whip/Not the Tory Whip Phil Twiss for daring to disagree with him and his party as he smarts from having to defend the indefensible when one of EDDC’s leading Conservative lights (Councillor Bloxham) attempted to bring in complex bureaucratic rules to gag the public at Development Management Meetings (rules so complex and comprehensive it took him 27 minutes to explain them).
He would do well to note the pronouncement of HIS boss and Whip, Eric Pickles, who has today said in an article about how he is thinking of prosecuting five councils for using the council newspapers for political purposes:
Eric Pickles said:
“Localism needs robust and independent scrutiny by the press and public, and municipal state-produced newspapers suppress that. ‘Town Hall Pravdas’ not only waste taxpayers’ money unnecessarily, they undermine free speech.
“I have given written notice to councils most clearly breaching the Publicity Code, noting that Parliament has passed new laws to tackle this abuse. We are prepared to take further action against any council that undermines local democracy – whatever the political colour.”
A few snippets from the Cranbrook Herald for April 2014:
GP surgery COULD (not would) be open by “the end of the year”
There will be a meeting for “sponsors” of the new education campus
The local PCSO has been set a target of 350 “likes” on his Facebook page
Concerns raised over SkyPark bus service
Children at the Primary School have opened a sweet shop which has generated more than £200 in profit
When asked what they would like to see in Cranbrook, a selection of three residents said:
“I would like to see the park up and running soon as the children really have nowhere they can go and play. I would also like to see the shops built as I don’t drive and it is difficult for me to get my essential shopping every week”.
“I would like to see a few shops and a few takeaways. As far as my children are concerned … they can’t wait for the playground to be open. I also think a skatepark would be a really good idea so that he could play with his scooter somewhere instead of the pavements.”
“As a dog owner it would be nice to have some bins … a pub would be nice … as would a cashpoint and a local shop”.
Front Page Headline in the “Cranbrook Herald” April 2014:
What do we want? Buses on Sunday! Residents urged to petition Devon County Council
The article goes on to say thatLena Wilding, sales negotiator for Persimmon Homes, said that potential house buyers interested inb a move to Cranbrook have enquired about the Sunday public transport situation in the town.
Residents have been urged to write to Devon County Council requesting a Sunday bus service.
Would that it were so simple! If it were, buses would already be planned for Skypark from all over the district!
Tread carefully and do not make the mistakes of your predecessor …
http://eastdevon.gov.uk/communications_and_consultation.htm?newsid=1076
… and who represents the National Farmers Union (past representative Disgraced Ex-Councillor Graham Brown, now airbrushed out of history at EDDC).
… and who represents local developers …
… and who represents EDDC!
Closing date 24 April 2014
Click to access newton-poppleford-harpford-by-election-notice-of-election.pdf
Excerpt from article published by the Daily Telegraph
Britain will face another scandal like Mid Staffs, in which hundreds of patients died needlessly, unless there is a cultural “revolution”, the Public Administration select committee says in a report released on Monday.
MPs say public bodies are increasingly resorting to using “euphemistic” terms such as review, appeal and feedback to describe complaints, a practice that should be banned. They urge David Cameron to create a new minister for complaints to champion those with grievances and overhaul the way that the public sector is run.
Bernard Jenkin, the committee chairman, says: “There needs to be a revolution in the way public services are run, and how the public perceives government.
“As things are, most people believe there is no point in complaining.
“The shocking collapse of care at Mid Staffs hospital should be a warning to the whole public sector that too many managers in public services are in denial about what their customers and staff think about them.
“Unless and until we have a culture of leadership in public services that listens to, values and responds to complaints there will always be the potential for tragedies like Mid-Staffs. Opportunities to improve services and public confidence will be missed again and again.”
Across government, the report finds repeated evidence that officials have failed to deal with complaints in good time, make “grudging” apologies or fail to resolve issues entirely.
It suggests that every government department should be forced to publish information about how many complaints it has handled and resolved each year, alongside details of the lessons learned.
“The aim is not to create bureaucracy or a tick box exercise, but to achieve a greater level of transparency,” it says.
The report also criticises ministers for failing to respond to MPs raising concerns on behalf of their constituents quickly enough or to take up complaints themselves.
A WATCHDOG has criticised City of York Council for failing to make background papers available for public inspection before it launched its draft Local Plan last summer.
The Local Government Ombudsman, giving its provisional view on a complaint about the authority, also said that by not finalising some papers before a meeting, the council had left itself open to allegations of intentionally withholding information from the public.
It has also recommended that the council should finalise background papers before public meetings and make them available for inspection before such meetings in accordance with regulations, and that the council should provide training to relevant staff to ensure they are fully aware of the requirements of regulations.
The complaint was made by local economic development adviser Gwen Swinburn, who on May 14 last year asked to see a report which she considered was a background paper to the Local Plan preferred options.
The Ombudsman said the council told her it was not yet able to share the report but all the supporting documents and studies would be made available on June 5, when the public consultation on the Plan would start.
“It explained that it was finalising and checking some of the studies to ensure the information was organised and presented in a co-ordinated and coherent way,” said the Ombudsman. “The report was then made available on June 5.”
Th Ombudsman said Ms Swinburn claimed that when the background papers were made available in June, it was clear from the dates that some of them had been finalised before April and the council failed to comply with regulation requirements by not making all the background papers available before a cabinet meeting on April 30.
“I consider that, on the balance of probabilities, at least one of the background documents had been finalised before the Cabinet meeting on April 30 and therefore should have been made available for inspection by members of the public,” it said.
“This was administrative fault. I will reconsider this view if the council is able to provide evidence to show that each of the background documents had not been finalised before April 30.”
Ms Swinburn said she had complained to the Ombudsman because she believed there was a growing disregard for democracy at the authority and she was pleased by the provisional view.
Council director Darren Richardson said: “We are looking at the Ombudsman’s provisional comments and will be preparing a response to this soon. Until this has been carried out, we’re unable to add any further comment at this stage.”
An awareness day to garner support for a campaign against proposals by Devon County Council to cut its youth budget was held in Exmouth.
Dozens of people signed a petition against the plan at an event in the Strand hosted by some of the teenagers who will be affected.
The Save Devon Youth Services campaign is being led by Alfie Weaver, 17, from Sidmouth, and George Downs, 16, from Exmouth, who is also a member of the Youth Parliament, with help from Paige Wonnacott, 17, from Exeter.
On Saturday, April 19, with fellow campaigners, they staged an awareness day and petition signing in the Strand which was supported by the East Devon Alliance.
This Saturday, April 26, they are hoping as many people as possible will support their campaign at a protest march taking place from Princesshay to County Hall at 11am.
From comments on Sidmouth Independent News today:
The council has issued its revised screening opinion on the need for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). To no great surprise, they still maintain that there is no need for an EIA to be provided with this application, despite the potential cumulative effects of development at King Alfred Way (40 houses), Badger Close (46 houses, going to an appeal hearing on May 13th) and Waterleat (up to 17 houses) in the village.
Clinton Devon Estates’ proposed mitigation of the environmental impact of the development is to ‘manage access’ on the common, which Natural England have accepted. They have said that will be done through signposting and promotion of less sensitive routes, but personally I suspect that the recent fencing of the common with razor-sharp barbed wire is also intended to play a role.
Not only is the wire itself dangerous to walkers and dogs, but its purpose is to allow a herd of wild ponies to graze the common, including giving them unrestricted access across public footpaths. At times, these ponies will charge from one place to another as a herd, and woe betide anyone or anything that gets in their way. They are making the common increasingly unwelcoming to dog walkers, horse riders and walkers, especially those with young children, which is a great pity.
East Devon Watch 