http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2014/feb/05/storms-exmouth-coast-video
Daily Archives: 9 Feb 2016
“Relief fund” to benefit Tory shires including Devon and Dorset
“David Cameron has been accused of buying off Tory MPs threatening to block local government cuts, after it emerged that a new £300m relief fund will overwhelmingly help Conservative areas, including his own Oxfordshire council.”
Surrey – £24.1m
Hampshire – £18.7m
Hertfordshire – £15.6m
Essex – £13.9m
West Sussex – £12.4m
Kent – £11.4m
Buckinghamshire – £9.2m
Oxfordshire – £8.9m
Leicestershire – £6.6m
Cambridgeshire – £6.4m
Wiltshire – £6m
Warwickshire – £6m
North Yorkshire – £6m
Cheshire East – £5.9m
Dorset – £5.9m
Richmond upon Thames – £5.8m
Devon – £5.6m
Staffordshire – £5.6m
East Sussex – 5.4
Worcestershire – £5m
Councils not to get any “transition” funding over the two years include: Carlisle, Barnsley, Barrow-in-Furness, Bassetlaw, Birmingham, Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Bolsover, Bolton, Bradford, Burnley, Darlington, Derby, Doncaster, Dudley, Durham, Gateshead, Hackney, Haringey, Hartlepool, Hounslow, Islington, Knowsley, Lambeth, Lancaster, Leeds, Leicester, Lewisham, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Oldham, Preston, Redcar and Cleveland, Rochdale, Rotherham, Salford, Sandwell, South Tyneside, Southwark, St Helens, Stockton-on-Tees, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland, Wakefield, Walsall, Waltham Forest, Wigan, Wirral and Wolverhampton.
If you have relatives in the Labour-run north of England, you might want to suggest they move in with you! But beware, £5.6 million doesn’t go very far – though further than nothing!
Exmouth seafront: the battle continues – but who gagged whom and why?
“A gag on information regarding the Exmouth seafront development has been lifted.
East Devon District Council can now openly discuss the £18m project after winning a legal battle against two tenants.
Chris and Maureen Wright lost their court case against the district authority, as they fought to renew their expired leases. …”
… “The district authority refers to Exmouth’s under-performance and reliance on Exeter as reasons for carrying on with the project.
They hope it will attract families, couples on nights out, teenagers, water sports enthusiasts, rainy day and winter visitors and entice the ‘holiday park crowd’ into the town.
The redeveloped area would include eight eateries, including cafes, restaurants and bars.
There’s set to be three shops too, selling water sports clothes and equipment.
Councillor Andrew Moulding, deputy leader of the Council and Chairman of Exmouth Regeneration Board, said:
“This is an exciting time for the town and there are some great projects being brought forward by the council.
“We have an excellent track record of delivering good development for Exmouth and we are looking forward to re-energising the waterfront area with first rate leisure facilities for people of all ages to enjoy.”
The government’s new consultation guidelines
In order that no-one gets their hopes up with these new guidelines, Owl publishes the last sentence of this document first. It reads:
“This document does not have legal force and is subject to statutory and other legal requirements.”
Consultation Principles 2016
Consultations should be clear and concise
Use plain English and avoid acronyms. Be clear what questions you are asking and limit the number of questions to those that are necessary. Make them easy to understand and easy to answer. Avoid lengthy documents when possible and consider merging those on related topics.
Consultations should have purpose
Do not consult for the sake of it. Ask departmental lawyers whether you have a legal duty to consult. Take consultation responses into account when taking policy forward. Consult about policies or implementation plans when the development of the policies or plans is at a formative stage. Do not ask questions about issues on which you already have a final view.
Consultations should be informative
Give enough information to ensure that those consulted understand the issues and can give informed responses. Include validated assessments of the costs and benefits of the options being considered when possible; this might be required where proposals have an impact on business or the voluntary sector.
Consultations are only part of a process of engagement
Consider whether informal iterative consultation is appropriate, using new digital tools and open, collaborative approaches. Consultation is not just about formal documents and responses. It is an on-going process.
Consultations should last for a proportionate amount of time
Judge the length of the consultation on the basis of legal advice and taking into account the nature and impact of the proposal. Consulting for too long will unnecessarily delay policy development. Consulting too quickly will not give enough time for consideration and will reduce the quality of responses.
Consultations should be targeted
Consider the full range of people, business and voluntary bodies affected by the policy, and whether representative groups exist. Consider targeting specific groups if appropriate. Ensure they are aware of the consultation and can access it. Consider how to tailor consultation to the needs and preferences of particular groups, such as older people, younger people or people with disabilities that may not respond to traditional consultation methods.
Consultations should take account of the groups being consulted
Consult stakeholders in a way that suits them. Charities may need more time to respond than businesses, for example. When the consultation spans all or part of a holiday period, consider how this may affect consultation and take appropriate mitigating action.
Consultations should be agreed before publication
Seek collective agreement before publishing a written consultation, particularly when consulting on new policy proposals. Consultations should be published on gov.uk.
Consultation should facilitate scrutiny
Publish any response on the same page on gov.uk as the original consultation, and ensure it is clear when the government has responded to the consultation. Explain the responses that have been received from consultees and how these have informed the policy. State how many responses have been received.
Government responses to consultations should be published in a timely fashion
Publish responses within 12 weeks of the consultation or provide an explanation why this is not possible. Where consultation concerns a statutory instrument publish responses before or at the same time as the instrument is laid, except in exceptional circumstances. Allow appropriate time between closing the consultation and implementing policy or legislation.
Consultation exercises should not generally be launched during local or national election periods.
If exceptional circumstances make a consultation absolutely essential (for example, for safeguarding public health), departments should seek advice from the Propriety and Ethics team in the Cabinet Office.
This document does not have legal force and is subject to statutory and other legal requirements.
The “Budleigh Boys” and the history of AONB incursion – part 2
Following our earlier on how the “Budleigh Boys” councillors view their local AONB:
Owl has been surprised to receive quite a bit of correspondence on the subject and particularly about the AONB planning application that they so enthusiastically supported – at the caravan and camping site known as Pooh Cottage.
The site started life as a small cottage (2 bedrooms) on what was then called the Shortwood estate – in a very quiet and secluded rural setting which was purchased by a Ms Carter.
“Pooh Cottage”, as the house and site is now known, then began an expansion, some of it (see below) without benefit of any planning permission. It now comprises a large house, another building now split into two residential properties, a building erected as a horse’s stable and now a large bungalow, and three permanent “mobile homes”. A history of over 40 planning applications, retrospective application and enforcement orders, illustrate how the expansion continues.
The caravan site sprang up in the early 1990s. It started as a certificated site, with permission for 5 caravans on a stipulated number of days, but rapidly grew and grew in scope until in 2006, Ms Carter applied for a “Certificate of Lawfulness” for 47 caravans between 1st April until 31st October of each year, on the grounds that she had done so for 10 years, completely unhindered by any action from EDDC. This certificate was granted by EDDC – for a site considered by many to be entirely unsuitable and unsustainable to a large commercial enterprise.
Neighbours of the site, very concerned about how the site had grown and continued to grow, went to the Local Government Ombudsman, who found in their favour, and awarded them a large cash sum (from the pockets of the taxpayers of East Devon, of course) as “compensation” – though this was, of course, no help after the event. Unfortunately, the certificate cannot be rescinded without an Act of Parliament, which is obviously unfeasible.
The Ombudsman judged that EDDC had erroneously granted the Certificate of Lawfulness, and strongly censured their actions throughout the whole way in which they had handled the growth and expansion of Pooh Cottage “Holiday Park” and recommended that a very tight rein be kept on any planning excursions from Ms Carter in the future. This has not apparently happened, and the expansion continues, with repeated battles every season to limit the use of the site to the permitted terms. Councillors have supported expansion even after the Ombudsman’s remarks and when their officers have recommended refusal (see link above)
Throughout all these battles, the former “East Devon Business Forum” supported the owners of Pooh Cottage at every turn, saying that it brought jobs and prosperity to the area (though there seems to be little evidence of these jobs far).
A campaign was instituted some years ago by residents in the area to oust their then councillors, who both supported the business interests of the owners of the site throughout. Former councillors Florey and Franklin are no longer representives of the people of Budleigh Salterton.
However, the current councillors have continued to enthusiastically support expansion of the site with the exact same reasons former councillors used and which the Local Government Ombudsman criticised.
East Devon Watch 