Radio Devon this morning:
Note that he says his council only got involved in September 2015.
Hear him try to slither over the total lack of public consultation.
Listen to a man desperately trying to defend the indefensible!
Daily Archives: 4 Mar 2016
Remember that promise of a “cost neutral” new HQ?
“Many of the workspace opportunities had previously been delayed owing to the previous uncertainties around the office relocation project and the cost of finance; …
Yet another hokey-cokey for EDDC: sell assets – no, invest in them!
From Minutes of the last Asset Management Forum:
“The recent Treasury Management review had indicated that EDDC should be looking at using some of its reserves to invest in assets to make a better return on the assets and reserves.”
Another chance to meet your LEP helpers – this time with your EU problems
But, of course, if we do Brexit, this will not be all that useful!
Technical Assistance European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) Applicants
Register now for European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Information Events
April 2016 will see the launch of a new round of ERDF funding opportunities. In the Heart of the South West, monies are expected to be available to support:
Initiatives to further innovation in the marine, environmental futures, big data and healthy ageing areas of economic activity in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay only;
Activity to support the start-up and growth of social enterprises in the Heart of the South West;
Enterprise/incubation space in the Heart of the South West where the market has failed to provide and there is evidenced unmet demand;
Activity to support SMEs to take advantage of new digital technologies in the Heart of the South West.
To aid potential applicants in preparing for and engaging with these ERDF funding opportunities, the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership is holding two half-day ERDF information and networking events.
Events will take place from 13.30 to 16.30 on:
Wednesday 16 March 2016 at the Westpoint Centre, Clyst St Mary, Exeter, EX5 1DJ;
Thursday 17 March at Taunton Rugby Football Club, Hyde Park, Hyde Lane, Taunton, TA2 8BU
Local businesses: LEP volunteers will show you how to make you more productive and successful ….
Heart of the South West Pop-Up Business Cafes
Exeter – 5 April 2016:
Fresha Limited
23 Bittern Road
Sowton
Exeter
Devon
EX2 7LW
tel : 01392 44 77 01
fax : 01392 44 77 02
18 April 2016
Organised in the lead-up to the Growth Hub, from March until the end of April, HotSW LEP will run a series of Pop-Up Business Cafés at established café venues across the area. These will be informal events co-hosted with a local business organisation offering free, one-to-one ‘no pressure, no sales pitch’ advice from volunteer business experts. The Business Cafés are for budding and experienced business leaders and entrepreneurs.
The business cafés aim to raise awareness of the benefits of business support and the range of support available to them locally to make their organisation more productive and successful.
The service is a forerunner to the main service for all element of the Growth Hub which will start very soon. The HotSW website will be regularly updated with the latest events in your area, in the meantime the following events have been arranged:
March
Tue 15 – Shaul’s Café, Bridgwater
Wed 16 – Plymouth Science Park
Thu 17 – Riverside Café, Taunton
Fri 18 – Jelly Café, Newton Abbot & Yeovil Innovation Centre
Tue 22 – Plymouth Skills Summit – Guildhall, Plymouth
Thu 24 – Rumpus Cosy – Plymouth Social Enterprise Network Focus
April
1 April – Old Church School, Frome
5 April – Wavemark, Ivybridge
6 April – Fresha Café, Exeter
12 April – Lilico’s, Barnstaple
13 April – Gerties Café, Bideford
19 April – Enterprise Hub, Tavistock
The Pop-Up Business Cafés will run from 8am to 12 mid-day.
http://us4.campaign-archive1.com/?u=4e59660292bd6b4a5c7d7b8a7&id=dae36e0b59&e=fa5cdb1f18
Devolution: pennies drop, the backlash begins …
“A bid to win fresh powers from Westminster has been submitted to the Government after every council in Devon and Somerset gave the document support.
Council chiefs and business leaders in Devon and Somerset have submitted their “prospectus for productivity” in the hope that devolved powers will boost jobs and growth.
They say they a “devolution revolution” would result in higher productivity and better-paid jobs, improved road, rail and broadband links and more homes.
However, business leaders have criticised the move as “dangerous” and likely to hike business rates and council tax bills to pay for the new responsibilities.
Tim Jones, chairman of the Devon and Cornwall Business Council, said: “The agenda has yet to clarify just what the implications are going to be for the business community.
“The business rates just don’t add up. There may be no growth or revenue may go down.
“In poor rural areas reductions could be 15 to 20% and those figures are not speculative.
“Local taxation could go up – we have already seen authorities putting up council tax and don’t want to see a never-ending spiral of increases.”
“Heathy” towns
A correspondent writes:
“Readers of this blog may like to know the details of the Health Initiative that the NHS and EDDC have come up with to enrol Cranbrook as one of the ten new healthy towns.
It’s this: “Cranbrook will look at how healthy lifestyles can be taught in schools”
No surprise Simon Jenkins made the comment, in the article quoted in the earlier blog, that the boss of the NHS might have lost the plot.
Makes you wonder how much time and effort went into cooking this one up?
For information the other towns are:
Darlington, Co Durham
Whitehill and Bordon, Hampshire
Whyndyke Farm, Fylde, Lancashire
Halton Lea, Runcorn, Cheshire
Northstowe, Cambridgeshire
Bicester, Oxfordshire
Barton Park, Oxfordshire
Barking Riverside, London
Ebbsfleet Garden City, Kent”
Broadband in some English villages slower than on Everest!
Dan Howdle … warned that “digital black holes” risked economic decline as businesses needed an online presence.
… “These often beautiful, scenic locations will become ghost towns,” he said.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-35718107
Perhaps our new super-devolved Devon and Somerset Local Enterprise Partnership could divert some of the vast sums of our money they are pledging to the Hinkley Point power station that may never be built to this good cause that will no doubt promote “economic growth”, though perhaps not for the people they would rather it went to.
Rural communications: tall mobile phone masts may not need planning permission
“Mobile phone masts in excess of 50ft in height could appear in rural communities across [the coountryside].
That’s according to the Local Government Association that say under new government proposals it allow them to be built across the country without the need for planning permission.
They say the Government is looking at relaxing planning rules to make it easier for mobile phone operators to install taller phone masts in a bid to plug the reception shortage in “not-spot” areas where there is no phone signal.
They warn that if that happens the move could open the door to mobile phone masts cropping up in beauty spots, historic locations and next to schools.
The LGA wants the government to work with councils and communities to identify and address coverage blackspots.
Council leaders say rural areas need to be able to access 21st century technology but that the installation of masts should be a decision for councils to make in consultation with local residents.”
http://www.itv.com/news/central/2016-03-02/warnings-over-relaxed-rules-for-mobile-phone-masts/
East Devon Watch 