Letter published in Sidmouth Herald:
Sir,
The seemingly heavy-handed ‘regeneration’ of nearby coastal towns does not bode well for Sidmouth. The sell-off in Seaton has left it dominated by Tesco, and it appears to me a loose agreement to build affordable homes has been broken since the supermarket giant fell on hard times.
I believe things are not looking good, either, in Exmouth. The plans presented to the public there, for a seafront leisure complex, bear little resemblance to the residential development now proposed. Long-established small businesses have apparently been swept aside.
This week, EDDC’s regeneration team have turned their attention to Sidmouth, with an agreement to do a £10,000 ‘scoping report’ for the eastern end of the town, with the Town Council contributing £2,000. This arrangement suggests who is likely to have the most say.
Fortunately, much of the ‘scoping’ has already been done, voluntarily, by local organisations. In 2006, the Vision Group for Sidmouth presented EDDC with a detailed study on behalf of the town’s “residents, visitors and businesses”. More recently, the Save the Drill Hall campaign produced
architect’s plans of how that building could be transformed.
And right now, in a new and timely initiative, an international architecture competition has been launched, based on what local people want, — and don’t want. The
simple questions in phase 1-public consultation , can be completed at this link:
http://www.easterntownpartnership.com
Find out more at a free public Information drop-in session, this Saturday , 9 Jan, 10-12noon, Leigh Browne Room, Old Meeting Dissenters’ Chapel (opposite High Street post office).
Best of all, the new Sidmouth Town Council are beginning work on a Neighbourhood Plan to establish what the town needs. If EDDC looks and listens, it could get the ‘regeneration’ right for THIS coastal town.
Jackie Green
Sidmouth
East Devon Watch 
East Devon District Council ” scoping reports” are NEVER! NEVER like the end product! If they were, Seaton would now have affordable housing, a leisure centre and a hotel on a site which now has only housing – none of it affordable. There were lots of lovely picture gsimulations of wide boulevards, lots of trees and open spaces , with ” special emphasis” on design for the seaside location. What we have is Bovis clone homes and a bog standard over-sized Tesco. Good luck Sidmouth – you will need it.
EDDC wants only income from business rates and council tax and no pesky expenditure on open spaces or trees or anything that improves quality of life. Scope – what scope!
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As folk in Exmouth now know, what EDDC “consults” on, isn’t what you get. Sidmouth, be warned. Once they’ve ruined the park at Knowle with 7 multi-storey “carpark style” blocks, who’s to say the Eastern Town won’t get high-rise expensive flats, a Premier Inn, etc?
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As EDDC Leader, Paul Diviani, said when he became leader in 2011 (see http://www.viewfrompublishing.co.uk/news_view/11056/22/1/east-devon-new-leaders-take-the-helm-at ) “Whilst the election results speak for themselves, we need to enable better lines of communication. The cynical view of the last Government – decide, consult, do it all anyway – is not my approach.”
Yeah – right!!
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It is up to us to hold them to their consultation results.
Some people think you get the best results from barter, a bit of give and take, and with reasonable people that is true.
However, I think we have a lot of evidence which shows that EDDC sees any willingness to compromise as weakness to be exploited; therefore we need to pay attention, and draw attention, to the smallest of details.
Once small details are locked in place it has huge effects on the possible potential outcomes, it we don’t set up the small details then they will. It is a bit like the proverb about looking after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves.
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