Daily Archives: 2 May 2015

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2 May 2015

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EDDC, Feniton/ Talaton, Flooding, Graham Brown, Independent Councillors

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Feniton, tanks, the stump and ex-Councillor Brown – oh, and voting!

The latest blog post of Independent Councillor Susie Bond:

It’s been a fascinating run up to the 2015 election.

I’ve enjoyed dropping off my leaflets to the houses in Feniton, Gittisham and Buckerell and chatting to those who were at home and had time to talk to me. People are really engaged with this election and want to talk about national issues as much as local ones … and there was a lot of interest in the ‘rise of the Independents’, as one resident described it.

There were several recurring themes which were of concern to everyone in my ward … planning inevitably being at the top of the list.

On the stump, Question 1:

What about the attenuation tanks?

This is a continuing issue in Feniton, where developer Wainhomes eventually succumbed to pressure from me, the Parish Council, EDDC and the media, and provided the attenuation tanks which were required of them following the planning inquiry in 2012. However, the Parish Council is not happy with the system the developer was forced to install and has grave concerns that the tanks will fail. This is an unresolved issue and a great worry to those who live ‘downstream’ of the site.

There is quite reasonably very little faith in developers and the promises they make to sweeten the offer of concreting over precious sites. Residents still bemoan the loss of the tennis courts which were such a feature of life in Feniton before the developer of the existing Acland Park site bulldozed them in pursuit of profit. Promises were made that they would be reinstated, but the tennis courts never reappeared.

On the stump, Question 2:

Whatever happened to the Graham Brown affair?

The police investigation into former Councillor Graham Brown was closed with no action taken in 2014 as there was insufficient evidence to take the case forward. End of story.

My concern is not with the individual, but what process allowed anyone whose main source of income was building and development to be put in a position of such authority (he was for some time Chairman of the Local Development Framework panel, the committee set up to steer the Council towards adoption of a Local Plan, identifying possible sites for development and deciding on strategic allocations for development within the district), and who must have found it extremely difficult not to confuse the two roles. I have called on a number of occasions for an internal inquiry at EDDC to look into the lapse in decision-making which allowed this to happen. Each time I posed the question, I was met with the response that the matter was in the hands of the police and therefore any internal investigation would be inappropriate.

At the full Council meeting in February, and given that the police investigation had concluded, I asked the question again.

I was surprised on this occasion when my request for an internal inquiry was met with the minimal response, ‘Why?’, with no further explanation. In other words, whether the former councillor was charged with any misdemeanour or not, EDDC never had any intention of conducting a full internal inquiry.

Something to think about for the next council.

On the stump, Question 3:

What is the East Devon Alliance?

There was lots of interest on the doorstep in this umbrella organisation formed to support independent candidates.

It’s a lonely business being an Independent.

I chose to stand as an Independent in 2013 so that I was not constrained by party politics which, to my mind, should have no business in local government. But standing alone means that you don’t have the backup of the party machine to write your leaflet for you and even pay for it to be printed, as well as the advice of those who have been councillors before.

Had it existed at that time, I would have welcomed the help and advice of the East Devon Alliance to steer me through the minefield of the election process. Two years on and EDA candidates have the support of their leader, Cllr Ben Ingham, whose 25 years of experience is invaluable to those who don’t know how the system works. Their excellent website (http://www.eastdevonalliance.org.uk/) has given the candidates an on-line profile and their YouTube videos have reached a wide audience.

Once elected, every ‘Independent EDA’ candidate will work hard in their ward and represent that ward at Council. No Party Whip to ‘encourage’ them to vote in a particular way and no question of being lambasted by senior party figures if they fail to conform.

Final thoughts

Don’t forget to voteBut whatever the issues and whatever hue your politics, the main thing is to make your voice heard and Remember To Vote. The turnout at elections has fallen steadily from an all-time high of 83% in 1950 to just 65% in 2010, reflecting disillusionment and mistrust of party politics.

If you want to change the status quo, Thursday 7 May is the day to make a difference!

https://susiebond.wordpress.com/2015/05/02/on-the-stump/

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2 May 2015

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Axminster, Democracy, East Devon Tories, EDDC, Environment (local), Independent Councillors, Latest news, National Planning Policy Framework, Neighbourhood Plans, Planning System, Transparency, Voting

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Local Tories show their true colours

Andrew Moulding and Steph Jones’s election leaflet issued in Axminster, seems designed to misinform.

AxmstrLeaflet

A close look at the leaflet (above..click to enlarge) reveals some apparent misconceptions and economies with the truth:

Moulding/ Jones: Imply East Devon Alliance is centred in Sidmouth.
Incorrect: EDA Chair lives in Colyton; Vice-Chair in Feniton; vast majority of East Devon Alliance Independent candidates are from other parts of the District.

Moulding/Jones: Suggest Knowle is just adapted bedrooms and bathrooms.
Incorrect: Only the old part, which was once used as a hotel, then as flats.  No serious attempt has been made to market this individually to fund update of the newer building, which consists of purpose built offices in 1970-80s, with outside space for extension if required.

Moulding/Jones:  Move will save £6m over 20 years.
Figures are disputed ( posts on http://www.saveoursidmouth.com may explain why ‘Sidmouth’ is a painful subject for EDDC Deputy Leader, Cllr Moulding) – and some withheld documents concerning office relocation are still under legal review (Tribunal decision imminent: Information Commissioner and J. Woodward vs East Devon District Council).

Moulding/Jones: Why Honiton and Exmouth? “Because Honiton is more central, and Exmouth is the largest town.”
Then why did they previously support Skypark (which could not be less central) and selling the site in Honiton? In reality, a newbuild office at Honiton is just the fall-back plan, as the Honiton site couldn’t be sold for enough money to make a move to Skypark financially viable. And Exmouth has only now come into the equation, as space at the Town Hall has become available. The leaflet makes no mention of the issues of running a split site; nor of existing air pollution problems where the £7m newbuild HQ at Honiton would be sited (no such problem in Knowle parkland!), etc.,etc. 

Moulding/Jones; Why is Local Plan taking so long? “Because we want to get it right”
Or is it because EDDC are struggling, having got it so wrong in the past, and exasperating the Inspector, who rejected the previous one? (Remember the 53 ‘minor changes’ which the Inspector found to be ‘major’? SIN blogged the story: https://sidmouthindependentnews.wordpress.com/2013/11/30/sum-thing-amiss/)

Moulding/ Jones: Why so much new housing in Axminster? “Because you wanted it!!”
Who are ‘you’? Does it embellish the town and help it to thrive? Or is it symptomatic of consequences when deciding where to build the massive number of new houses EDDC has chosen to opt for?

Moulding/Jones:  Do you have a plan for the future of Axminster. “Yes, we have a vision.”
Who are ‘we’, and has the vision, with no neighbourhood plan yet in place, been led by speculative development?

This leaflet, along with quotes from Hugo Swire in the local press yesterday (https://eastdevonwatch.org/2015/05/02/east-devon-alliance-responds-to-hugo-swire-misinformation/), show tired tactics which are looking rather stale. On May 7th, East Devon voters may well show they’ve had enough of them.

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2 May 2015

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Claire Wright, East Devon Alliance, General Election, Hugo Swire, Independent Councillors

East Devon Alliance is not standing for Parliament, Hugo! Stick to facts

From a correspondent:

“Hugo Swire manages to mix a tiny bit of truth with some outright misinformation when he says, “There is no doubt that Claire Wright and the EDA are one and the same – I don’t know how they manage to say they are independent when it is a registered party.”

Firstly, the East Devon Alliance is NOT a party in the usual sense – they needed to register with the Electoral Commission in order to get a shared group name on the ballot paper. This has been stated on the home-page of their web site for several months, so Hugo has no excuse for being misleading about it (which by the way is against the rules set by the Electoral Commission who require candidates to be completely factual).

It is also wrong to associate Claire Wright with the East Devon Alliance – again their home page makes it clear that their registration with the Electoral Commission is only for local government and not central government elections. Indeed a quick search for Claire Wright on the EDA website shows only two mentions which are not in quotes from the press – where she endorses the EDA candidates standing to replace her as Councillor in Ottery Rural, and pictured with their candidate for Budleigh, Les Cotton. So, by failing to check his facts before opening his mouth, Hugo has misled again.

That said, there is obviously some common ground between Claire Wright and the EDA. Each are standing as Independents. Each believes in open and transparent local government, each are fearless in exposing the secrecy and poor quality decisions made by the Conservative leadership at EDDC, a leadership which Hugh Swire has himself criticised for their plans to relocate from the Knowle, originally to Skypark, and now to Honiton and Exmouth.

But the most obvious similarity between Claire Wright and the EDA is that they are both looking very electable, and that the local Conservative party is both so scared of losing and so lacking in their own policies for East Devon that they are panicked into making wild accusations which are easily provable as totally wrong. Shame on them!”

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2 May 2015

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East Devon Electoral/Returning Officer, Hugo Swire, Independent Councillors

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East Devon Alliance responds to Hugo Swire “misinformation”

Dear Hugo Swire

In a Western Morning News interview with Phil Goodwin, published online on 1st May 2015, you state, “There is no doubt that Claire Wright and the EDA are one and the same – I don’t know how they manage to say they are independent when it is a registered party”.

We would be grateful if you now desist in attempting to influence the District Council election with this misinformation. I am Chairman of the East Devon Alliance and whether you are or are not returned as the member for East Devon to Parliament is of no matter to me, my vice chairman, treasurer or communications director. None of us live in your former constituency.

If you visit our website and read our extensive literature – indeed, watch our videos – your name does not occur once. We have taken great pains to defend ourselves from the moment when someone such as you casually concocts the canard that Mrs Wright and we are co-campaigners with the intent of denigrating both her and us.

It would be worth your taking the time to properly research your subject. As Independents we have allied under an umbrella because many of your operatives in the local Conservative party in East Devon are unfit to wear the national rosette. Standing as an Independent in very many of the towns and villages is to be the subject of tactics unfit for our nation’s political life. In the self-evident lack of public faith in East Devon District Council – well-known matters which you have disdained to engage with – is the epitome of our failing democracy. Our alliance is precisely how it will be rebuilt, and it is at moments such as this that we can defend ourselves from untruths such as yours. What is the East Devon Alliance but a manifestation of the Localism your party professes to support?

Your sources should have told you – as could the Electoral Commission – that we specifically chose to register with them in the category of groups precluded from campaigning in national elections. I have not spoken for Mrs Wright or even seen her campaign literature; I live in Colyton, on the eastern edge of Neil Parish’s patch. I have not attended any of your joint hustings, being too busy with the district election.

I am aware, however, that she has consistently tried to address the well-recorded problems at EDDC with courage and determination. If you had bothered to attend any of the meetings at which she was shouted down by the sexist goons on the Conservative side I like to think you may have been alerted to the public disgust with them – and with your party in the District – rather sooner, and that you would have been man enough to intervene.

To conclude, we are not “one and the same”, and we are registered as a party because despite 5 years to do so your government has not found the time to move on with recommendations emerging from select committees that local campaigning groups such as us should not, of course, have to register centrally at the Electoral Commission. Please desist from making false statements about us and fight your own battles rather than those of your district underlings who, you must surely realise, have done so much to have created your current predicament.

Signed Paul Arnott
eastdevonalliance.org.uk