Daily Archives: 12 Mar 2016

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12 Mar 2016

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Devolution, Economy, Hinkley C, Local Enterprise Partnership

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Devolution: where are the new jobs coming from?

“About 25,000 jobs are expected to be created during construction of the power plant, as well as 900 permanent jobs during its 60-year operation.”

http://www.northdevonjournal.co.uk/North-Devon-risk-Hinkley-Point-nuclear-reactor/story-26128750-detail/story.html

163,000 new jobs by 2030
http://www.heartofswlep.co.uk/news/devolution

So, this means that up to 2030 Devon and Somerset has to create around 147,000 jobs in 15 years (163,000 minus 26,000 even though 25,000 of these jobs will be temporary and with two Hinkley sites closing most of the 900 permanent jobs will probably go to redundant workers from the old sites)

147,000 jobs in 15 years equals around 9,800 new jobs in Devon and Somerset each and every year over and above those being created at Hinkley C.

The LEP says:

LABOUR MARKET

“There were 11,292 JSA claimants (1.1% of the working age population, compared to UK 1.8%) across the Heart of the SW in July 2015. This is a minor increase of 0.4% from June 2015, but a 22.2% fall since July 2014. The most significant reduction over the year has been experienced in Somerset (-34.0%), followed by Torbay (-26.1%), Devon (-20.2%) then Plymouth (9.7%). Devon and Somerset continue to have the lowest claimant rates across the sub-region (both 0.8%, compared to Torbay and Plymouth 1.9% and 2.0% respectively). This has contributed to the HotSW ranking among the best performing LEPs in the country in JSA claimant terms (14th out of 39)”

There is no way that 163,000 jobs can be taken up by every unemployed person in Devon and Somerset – indeed employing EVERY unemployed person in the area would soak up about a year’s worth of the new jobs specified.

This means that around 90% of the new jobs must be filled from outside the LEP area at a time where EVERY LEP is making similar claims about the number of jobs it expects to create.

And let us not forget that many of the 25,900 jobs at Hinkley C will go to French and Chinese workers.

The maths just don’t work. Good luck with that.

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12 Mar 2016

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Accountability, Coastal erosion, Economy, EDDC, Hinkley C

A bumper Overview Committee agenda: flooding, coastal management, boundary review and engagement with business

Agenda items include:

Devon Local Flood Risk Management Strategy – Delivery Update to East Devon District Council Overview Committee – March 2016

Coastal Protection

Boundary Committee Review (which includes an interesting survey, completed by EDDC councillors on what they do, how long they spend doing it and how satisfied they are with what they are doing). With one (anonymous, of course) councillor commenting:

“The public get good value from EDDC compared to the BBC licence fee! ”

(Anyone else fancy opting out of council tax at this rather stupid remark?)

and another saying

“The public prefer to lobby councillors than talk to officers”

(er, no, councillors, most of the time officers refuse to talk to us and YOU therefore are our only conduit to officers).

and an agenda item on “business engagement” which always brings Owl out in spots recalling the last business engagement scenario – the East Devon Business Forum!

Some interesting remarks in the report”

“In helping to meet the identified need for business growth in East Devon, an even more pressing requirement emerged. It became apparent that the number of Devon businesses registered on the Hinkley Point C Supply Chain portal – a requirement of contracting to Europe’s biggest engineering project – were critically low compared to Somerset. ”

Er, not really surprising when you factor in geographical location and transport costs!

and

“East Devon is a low wage and low productivity area with a high proportion of residents retired or in seasonal and part-time work. The West End of the district is experiencing new jobs growth as the Growth Point sites gradually start to build out, but elsewhere in the district the job situation is less certain. Business Parks such as Greendale and Hill Barton are nearing capacity and house prices make change of use from employment to residential an incentive for landowners and developers. This does not make for sustainable or balanced economic growth for much of the district.”

Click to access 220316-overview-agenda-combined.pdf

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12 Mar 2016

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Beach huts, EDDC, Exmouth

Exmouth seafront and beach huts: citizens meeting on 14 March at 7 pm

From Facebook:

… Hi Exmouth residents. You may have notices that Exmouth Town Council and EDDC are trying to destroy Exmouth Seafront by building a shopping an leisure complex on the actual seafront. Not only will it include another cinema, but apartments which locals will not be able to afford. On top of this they want to build a water sports complex in an area of the beach that has no swimming due to the strong current. It also means the loss of two blocks of Beach Huts on top of those of us who cannot afford the rise, so have had to give up our huts.

If you feel as strongly as I do about the complete incompetence of both councils on consultation over which many locals do not want, or will be able to be a part of there is a meeting at the

Telfer Building
at Exmouth Community College on
14th March at 7pm.
Please attend if you can to voice your concerns.

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12 Mar 2016

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Accountability, Beach huts, Chardstock, Dunkeswell, Paul Diviani, Scrutiny, Transparency

Beach huts, Dunkeswell and Chardstock: meeting of Scrutiny Committee on 17 March 6 pm

A most interesting agenda for the next Scrutiny Committee:

The beach hut omnishambles shambles on .. graphs, pie charts, illustrate how best to fleece beach hut renters …

A most interesting section on why Dunkeswell and Chardstock were added to the Local Plan at the last minute (and removed by the Inspector at the last second).  A tale of meetings between Diviani and Moulding (the latter unable to attend the meeting and having sent in a written report), of an eloquent developer coincidentally having the same views as Moulding and the unfortunate absence due to sickness of Diviani when the decision was made ….

What’s that smell?

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12 Mar 2016

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Accountability, Devolution, Local Enterprise Partnership

LEP – conflict of interest?

Our Local Enterprise Partnership has decided to invest heavily in the controversial Hinkley C nuclear power plant. One of the members of our LEP is Nicholas Ames of Supacat in Dunkeswell:

http://www.heartofswlep.co.uk/chief-executive-and-non-executive-directors

Here is an article on the company’s diversification:

“Supacat Ltd is an innovative engineering and design house that has a pedigree of producing and supporting high-mobility, all-terrain vehicles.

Having recently embarked on a strategy of diversification, the nuclear industry was identified as being alike in its approach to engineering design within a process driven environment and has therefore been agreed as one strand of diversification for Supacat Ltd.

By engaging with the Skills Academy the company is demonstrating its commitment to investing in the development of its people and processes in line with the growth in the UK’s nuclear decommissioning and new build programmes. “

https://www.nsan.co.uk/news/supacat-ltd-expand-nuclear

He also worked in the past for Serco which has been given a contract by the LEP.

“He left PwC and joined Serco Group in 1998 where he made the transition to General Management. Nick spent much of this time being responsible for parts of the Mainland Europe operations of the business. He was also seconded to a Private Equity organisation looking at ways of using the Private Equity model with the change management skills of Serco.”

http://www.heartofswlep.co.uk/chief-executive-and-non-executive-directors

Serco Vocational Training will be working with small and medium enterprise (SME) businesses across the region to identify and address training and development needs through the ESF funded ‘Skills for Growth’ Project.

http://www.heartofswlep.co.uk/news/lep-drive-growth-through-skills-training

We have no way of knowing if he excused himself from either of these decisions or whether the LEP followed its conflict of interest procedures as no agendas or minutes of their meetings are published.