Interestingly, Cornwall Council are trying to use European Law to overturn the decision – when Cornwall voted for Brexit! No doubt Cornwall Council will appeal!
Monthly Archives: November 2016
The great devolution swindle
Lincolnshire County Council in late October voted against having an elected mayor (see below).
Will it be back on the cards now Javid has said clearly ” No Mayor, No money”?
Imagine – this is a single county voting against it, where we are being forced to take a two-county deal – two counties with very different aims and objectives which would have one mayor deciding alone on differing priorities.
And has anyone worked out how much these extra tiers of government will cost, offset against the very small sums being offered over 30 years – sums already cut from local authority budgets and for which less is being handed back than taken away?
Has anyone thought about the effect of the myriad “partnership deals” each district and city has already signed with other devolution subsidiaries which may conflict with mayoral interests (eg Greater Exeter v. Somerset v devolved Somerset/Devon or the Strata IT project (4 councils) v a devolved authority IT project?). p
Here is what they said in Lincolnshire:
“Lincolnshire county councillors have decisively rejected a proposed devolution settlement and directly elected mayor.
A total of 43 councillors voted against the proposals at a meeting on Thursday, October 20 [2016], with 17 voting in favour and five abstentions.
Many councillors expressed their anger at the plans for an elected mayor, a perceived failure of government to listen to their concerns, and fears of two extra layers of local government bureaucracy. …
… Councillor Colin Davie, portfolio holder for economic development, was another high-profile dissenting voice.
He said: “What we have on the table is a dog’s breakfast of a deal. We have a contract that has holes in it, and if I was in the private sector, I would never sign a deal like this.””
Some universities’ “growth” may be financially unsustainable
Alongside business people with dubious business interests, our Local Enterprise Partnership has three leaders from further and higher education. All of them blindly follow the mantra that economic growth is the only thing that government should be concentrating on.
This is what Public Service Finances currently has to say about this sector:
“The financial sustainability of higher education is uncertain, according to the government’s university funding body.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England said its analysis of the latest financial forecasts submitted by higher education institutions showed some could prove unsustainable by 2018-19 due to inadequate surpluses, declining cash levels and increased borrowing. …
… Financial forecasts to 2018-19 showed a widening gap between the lowest and highest-performing institutions.
Surpluses were projected at 2.3-4.3% of total income, which HEFCE called “relatively small margins in which to operate, particularly in an uncertain external context”.
Student number projections showed predicted growth of 10.3% among home and EU students and a 26% increase in fee income from international students, to £4.8bn by 2018-19.
HEFCE warned the sector might find these goals hard to reach due to a declining cohort of 18-year-olds, uncertainty about EU students’ long-term eligibility for loans and grants and potential changes to student immigration rules.
“These challenges, taken together, could have a significant impact on the sector’s financial projections, even if the currently weaker pound assists in the recruitment of international students in the short term,” HEFCE said.
Universities and colleges expect to invest £17.8bn in infrastructure over the next four years, 51% more than the previous four-year average.
However, within this total though nearly a quarter intended to cut their infrastructure spend, even though across the whole sector £3.6bn still needed to be spent to bring non-residential buildings to a sound condition.
HEFCE said the sector’s trend of falling liquidity and increased borrowing had continued with borrowing expected to exceed liquidity levels by £3.9bn at July 2019.
It described this as “not sustainable in the long term”.”
http://www.publicfinance.co.uk/news/2016/11/hefce-issues-warning-university-finances
EDDC 2015/2016 accounts still not signed off by external auditors
Report from external auditors KPMG (page 10 of agenda papers). The auditors original statement was that they hoped to have concluded the outstanding matter by the end of October 2016. This has obviously not been possible.
“We received an objection to the Authority’s financial statements from a local elector. We are currently concluding the outcome of our work on the matters raised and, until this is completed, we are unable to issue our certificate. Once issued, the certificate will confirm that we have concluded the audit for 2015/16 in accordance with the requirements of the Local Audit & Accountability Act 2014 and the Code of Audit Practice.
We will report separately on the outcome of the objection to the Authority’s Audit & Governance Committee.”
The matter is now pushed on to the next Audit and Governance Committees on 5 January 2017. (page 42 of agenda):
When “Care at home” goes bad – often
“Complaints about care provided in people’s homes rose by a quarter over the last year, while those about care homes increased by a fifth, a report has found.
The local government ombudsman (LGO) received 2,969 complaints and inquiries about adult social care in 2015-16, up 6% on the previous year.
Of those, there was a 21% rise in complaints about residential care homes, while complaints about home care rose by 25%.
The report comes after the King’s Fund warned earlier this week that councils could face legal challenges from families for failing to provide good quality and appropriate care to the disabled and elderly.
The LGO found themes across the complaints it received on home care, including staff failing to turn up, being late, not staying long enough or cancelling visits.
Some people received visits from too many different carers, while there was also poor record-keeping.
Diviani votes against Claire Wright DCC motion to re-examine Honiton hospital closure
Reblogged from the site of Claire Wright, indefatiguable independent councillor fighting non-stop on health service cuts.
NOTE: EDDC Tory Leader Paul Diviani sabotaged her effort to “stop the clock” on cuts to re-examine the effects of closing Honiton and Okehampton hospitals.
REPORT FROM CLAIRE WRIGHT, DCC HEALTH SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
“• CCG does not know how many more staff it needs
• No answer (yet) to public health stated assumption that care at home costs the same as care in big hospitals
My proposal at yesterday’s health and wellbeing scrutiny committee meeting to suspend the consultation which proposes to halve the remaining community hospital beds in Eastern Devon, fell by two votes.
There was a packed public gallery. Several members of the public, including Di Fuller, chair of Sidmouth’s patient and public involvement group and Cathy Gardner, EDDC Independent councillor for Sidmouth spoke powerfully, expressing deep concerns about the bed losses.
Di Fuller said the consultation should be rejected as “invalid.”
Cathy Gardner called on the committee to demand more funding from central government.
Councillors, Kevin Ball and James McInnes from Okehampton made strong representations on behalf of the town relating to the hospital being excluded from the consultation.
(I am part of a sub-committee of health scrutiny that meets tomorrow to scope an investigation into the funding formula for Devon’s health services, which many people, including me believe is unfair, despite the government’s claims that Devon receives more funding than its fair share).
Staff from the NEW Devon Clinical Commissioning Group presented to the committee. They were Rob Sainsbury, Jenny McNeill and GPs – Joe Andrews and Simon Kerr.
We were shown a video of patients happy with the hospital at home scheme which operates in Exmouth and Budleigh Salterton only, as evidence that care in people’s homes work.
This to me didn’t seem to be adequate evidence given that hospital at home is limited to Exmouth and Budleigh Salterton, is consultant led and mirrors the kind of care one might expect in a hospital. It is a good service but expensive to run.
This is not what is being proposed for the remainder of Eastern Devon.
The four presenters tried their best to sell us their new model of care. Some of us weren’t convinced.
Cllr Andy Boyd was critical of the plans and other members asked questions about housing and various NHS procedures.
I asked how many more staff they would need to operate their new system. We heard they needed more “therapy staff” and other disciplines, but not how many more of each. We were told that a staff analysis was currently being carried out.
I said I was surprised that this information was not known, halfway through the consultation, with an expected figure of savings at around £5-£6m. How can the CCG be confident that the new system will save money when basic information is not known, such as how many staff are required?
Under the previous agenda item I had turned to page three of the October 2015 public health acuity audit – a document used by the CCG to back up its case for shutting beds, where it states as an assumption: “Caring for a patient in an acute care setting is either more expensive than, or at least as expensive as, caring for a patient in alternative setting, including at home.”
I asked for a reaction to this statement. Angela Pedder, Success Regime chief, said she would get back to me about it.
It is surprising that in a document the CCG is using to back up its case, where they say caring for people at home will save money, it states that this care costs the same as acute care (such as the care provided at the RD&E for example).
I raised the issue of Devon County Council’s adult social care budget being £5m overspent and how this overspend will need to be brought back to zero by April 2017. This will surely have a potentially significant impact on any NHS care that is provided in people’s homes.
But Rob Sainsbury said that social care packages could be organised in a different way to support care in people’s homes.
I said that earlier NHS (incorrect) statements about a third of community hospital beds not being used has now morphed into third of bed space not being used. If this is the case surely it is due to previous community hospital bed cuts over the years!
And the other CCG claim relating to Eastern Devon having far more beds than other parts of the county is surely because they have been cut in other parts of the county!
According to a public health audit from last year, there are 94 per cent bed occupancy levels in Eastern Devon. They are far from being half empty.
Finally, I raised the issue of a government watchdog – the Independent Reconfiguration Panel – that examined the Torrington Hospital case for bed losses. It stated in its response that communities must feel they have a genuine opportunity to influence the outcome of a consultation.
I proposed that the consultation be suspended while the CCG included both Honiton and Okehampton in the options to retain beds.
The proposal was seconded by Brian Greenslade but unfortunately was lost 5-7.
Instead, chair, Richard Westlake asked for urgent talks between the CCG and Honiton and Okehampton communities.
In other news, two motions calling for more funding to Devon’s NHS and for the Success Regime to be paused, were agreed by the committee and will go before full council in December.
To view the webcast see – https://devoncc.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/244717
To comment on the consultation email: d-ccg.yourfuturecare@nhs.net
The deadline is 6 January.
NHS: How to profit when excrement hitting the air conditioning
The NHS’ new “Success Regime” aims to put a firm brake on health spending, but it’s proving to be a bonanza for consultants on lucrative contracts who oversee the process. And some of these consultants are former senior NHS managers who received generous payoffs when their jobs disappeared as a result of the Tories’ top-down reorganisation of the health service in 2012.
There were a few wry smiles, therefore, at Monday evening’s public “consultation” in Sidmouth to discuss closing the town’s community hospital beds, when Dame Ruth Carnall, chair of the “Success Regime” which is monitoring these cuts, bemoaned the disastrous “fragmentary” effects of the 2012 Health and Social Care Act.
She may not like it, but as chief executive of NHS London which was abolished by the Act, she received a payoff in 2013 which included a £2.2 million pension pot.
Then with another former NHS executive she created consultants Carnall Farrar Ltd who were chosen by NEW Devon CCG to advise them on how to save money before she was appointed “Independent Chair” of the “Success Regime”. Rumours suggest this will net her several hundred thousands of pounds in fees!
See
https://nhsreality.wordpress.com/…/nhs-executives-rehired-as-consultants-after-payoff
Javid reiterates: no super-Mayor, no devolution
So that’s that – either Devon will be ruled by a Somerset super-mayor, or Somerset will be ruled by a Devon super-mayor or BOTH will be ruled by a super-dodgy-business-person with vested interests in one or both counties!
Speaking to the County Councils Network on Monday, the local government secretary said:
“… he was open to reorganisation proposals, such as that put forward by Buckinghamshire County Council to abolish its districts and form a county unitary.
This proposal was “exactly the kind of proactive, locally driven thinking I want to see”, he said.
While not committing commit himself on Buckinghamshire’s plan, he said: “Unitary status can be a great model…but I’m not for one moment saying it’s for everyone. This is not compulsory. It’s not going to be imposed.
However, he dashed hopes that he would allow devolution in county areas without the creation of elected mayoralties.
Former chancellor George Osborne had insisted on mayors as a condition of devolution deals but after his departure some county leaders hoped to change this policy.
Javid told the CCN: “I get that directly elected mayors aren’t universally popular within local government. And I know that’s especially true of the counties.”
He recognised arguments that counties were too large for one person to control but said: “I’m not going to devolve significant new powers and more taxpayers’ money without a corresponding increase in local accountability.”
Mayoralties would be “a real red line for me when it comes to negotiating devolution deals”, he added.”
Owl’s Midweek Herald competition – Spot the News!
Rules:
1. Examine each page of the Midweek Herald for REAL news.
2. Rehashed press releases do not count.
3. This includes puff jobs for the Thelma Hulbert Gallery.
4. Advertorials (advertising dressed up as news items) don’t count.
5. Fires in airing cupboards, sheds, etc immediately put out don’t count.
6. News reported from other news media doesn’t count.
7. EDDC’s official notices don’t count.
Good luck!
Seaton public meeting on bed cuts: East Devon Alliance asks MP troublesome questions!
“MP Neil Parish came under pressure to oppose the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement unless more money is allocated to the NHS to prevent community hospital bed closures when he attended a public meeting in Seaton on Friday.
The MP would not commit to a “Yes” or “No” answer, and said he is “hopeful” of not having to make that choice.
Having spoken passionately against a proposed reduction of beds in East Devon’s community hospitals at a packed Gateway last Friday, the MP was challenged by Colyton resident and former East Devon Alliance chairman Paul Arnott.
Mr Arnott said: “If in the Autumn Statement later this month more money is not provided [for the NHS], will you vote against that Autumn Statement?”
Mr Parish said he liked the question’s sting in the tail and went on to say: “The answer is that I will very much put pressure on both the Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Health to provide more money for Devon, and I will endeavour to get some more money.”
He stressed he had voted against the government before, and added: “I’m hopeful that we can get them to give some ground, so therefore it won’t put me in the position to have to vote against the government – but if they don’t budge at all, then you might find me in the other lobby.”
The public meeting had been called by Seaton doctors, town councillors and hospital league of friends members concerned about the possible closure of beds at Seaton Hospital.
The meeting was chaired by town councillor Martin Pigott and the panel included, among others, NEW Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Chief Officer Rebecca Harriott and Seaton Hospital League of Friends chairman Dr Mark Welland.
Councillor Pigott explained that the purpose of the meeting was “to raise questions and perhaps get answers”.
Currently there are a total of 143 beds spread across eight community hospitals in the area covered by NEW Devon CCG.
But health bosses announced drastic proposals that would see only 72 beds concentrated to three sites, with a shortlist of four options, and launched an ongoing public consultation.
It is this announcement that sparked campaigns around Devon to save the beds.
Mr Parish, for example, was heading to a similar meeting in Honiton straight after the Seaton one.
The CCG needs to save money and also says that many patients lose their independence, and could deteriorate physically if in a hospital bed, so would benefit from being cared for in their homes instead.
Campaigners and the CCG do agree that community hospital beds are needed, but are poles apart when it comes to numbers.
Ms Harriott told the meeting: “We rely on beds far more than other places in the country do.”
The concept of caring for patients at home as opposed to in hospital is being questioned by campaigners, but the CCG says it has evidence from around the UK that it works.
The CCG will have its own consultation sessions in Seaton on Thursday, November 24th. These will also be held in The Gateway, from 2pm-4.30pm and from 5.30pm to 8pm.
The four options presented by the CCG are:
Option A Beds at Tiverton (32), Seaton (24) and Exmouth (16)
Option B Beds at Tiverton (32), Sidmouth (24) and Exmouth (16)
Option C Beds at Tiverton (32), Seaton (24) and Exeter (16)
Option D Beds at Tiverton (32), Sidmouth (24) and Exeter (16).
A petition organised by the meeting organisers, supporting Option A, had amassed 800 signatures by last Friday.”
Feedback from bed cuts meetings: Sidmouth and Exmouth
SIDMOUTH (Robert Crick):
“The evening session in Sidmouth saw a chastened CCG and a more confident community pushing back relentlessly.
“CCG abandoned their Powerpoint sequence halfway through and never even put their Options forward for discussion or vote; but acknowledged that the NHS is in chaos and that the Health and Social Care Act had fragmented the system but added that the community care provision had been outdated and broken for a good 20 years. All agreed this needs urgent attention.
“Much scepticism about the way forward and anger about NHS Property Company stripping community assets entrusted to the Secretary of State in 1948, whose successor in 2012 kept the property but dropped the responsibility for delivering the care.
“Sterling work by James and Momentum Barnstaple with some support – in words – from Conservative Councillors, although the lead was taken by the Independent East Devon Alliance in the meeting. Many efforts made by the ‘facilitators’ to rule any ‘political’ questions out of order. Claims about the success of the ‘Sick Regime’ in North Devon were dropped and instead we were told that Plymouth has a good integrated health and social care package. Any evidence available?
“How do you provide care at home for those who are homeless or visiting or living in poverty? And many other trenchant questions. Much food for thought for the unfortunate CCG. Local GP challenged the 80 wise clinicians who had reached the absurd conclusions in the proposal. Much embarrassment.
“Please let Exmouth and other towns know that it was not a victory for Sidmouth Hospital but a successful push by Sidmouth community to rejectall proposed cuts until and unless the alternative is in place and tried and tested, which will require investment in staff recruitment, training and retention, morale restoration with full review of pay differential between managers and clinicians.
“Analogy: we are burning too much fossil fuel – so we will close down all the power stations next year while we consider how to invest in massive insulation and renewable energy programmes.”
EXMOUTH (Louise McAlister)
“Had to leave early but lots of critical questioning from participants.
Much anger (from me anyway) when we were told we have a rep from the CCG at our table to ‘help us frame our questions’. I immediately told her that we don’t require that. Instead we bombarded her with our own questions and then helped her consolidate them.
The CCG would be hard pressed to make claims for any support from the event.
Dr Mezjner (who I have met before as he is responsible for the non-existent Budleigh health hub) did a long speech basically demonising hospitals. Lots of claims, no evidence.”
How many tiers can “Local” Government take before it collapses?
Owl has lost count of the number of tiers and organisations and partnerships currently interfering in so-called “local” government, see:
https://eastdevonwatch.org/2016/11/03/unitary-councils-save-money-yet-a-few-years-ago-they-didnt/
Which leads to the question: just how many tiers of government do we NEED and how many can we AFFORD? And how many is too many?
For example, the savings by eliminating district councils, regional super-authorities and makeshift arrangements such as Greater Exeter would almost certainly be huge. You could still have flexible cooperative arrangements such as Strata, without having all the paraphernalia and bureaucracy.
Anyone campaigning for the County Council who includes on their platform local government reorganisation, with County and Parish Councils as the only tiers of local government might well be very popular. It would be possible to combine such a package with maximum localism/subsidiarity. For example, if the District Council was dissolved, all its responsibilities, where practicable, could be transferred to the lower tier councils for truly local management.
Removing two or three tiers of government would almost certainly produce enough savings to eliminate local NHS cuts and debts at a stroke. “Save the NHS by cutting local government bureaucracy” would be a heck of a slogan!
And the elimination of all that bureaucracy and repetitive form-filling and buck-passing could bring enormous efficiency savings and productivity.
In East Devon we would probably be immediately £15-20 million better off just with the cancellation of the new HQ at Honiton.
Whilst many staff would be transferred to town councils to continue to do the jobs that they presently perform, there would probably be a loss over time through natural wastage of perhaps 100 to 200 jobs, representing a cost saving of £3-5 million per annum. Plus reduced operational running costs of around £2 million.
This means a cash windfall of about £300-400 per household to everyone in the District, and average council tax bills would be about £130 lower.
But the big benefit would be in greater efficiency and local connectivity. A huge democratic boost.
Discuss!
Poor Hugo – he can’t let go of the past …
How he describes himself on Twitter:
“East Devon MP and former FCO Minister”
Owl – East Devon resident and former owlet.
Webcast link for this afternoon’s Devon County Council Health Scrutiny Committee
South-West to Paddington rail link upgrade shafted
The upgrade work was never going beyond Bristol but many of our local Tory MPs had lauded the decrease in travel time from the south-west that the upgrade was supposed to bring.
“Work to electrify key branch lines on rail routes to Oxford and Bristol has been suspended, the government has announced.
The troubled programme has been beset by delays and cost overruns, with its budget trebling to £2.8bn.
Although a review of the works by Network Rail in 2015 led to the project being replanned on a “more efficient footing”, on Tuesday the rail minister Paul Maynard announced that four parts of the programme would be indefinitely “deferred”. These are electrification of tracks between Oxford and Didcot Parkway, between Bath Spa and Bristol Temple Meads, between Bristol Temple Meads and the city’s Parkway station, and of the Thames Valley branch lines to Henley and Windsor.” …
Devolution: centrally-driven, centrally led, locally worthless
A report of a meeting of local Green Party and Devon United groups in south Devon:
“DEMOCRACY – LOCAL:
The meeting in Kingsbridge last week demonstrated, through the participation of a small, engaged and knowledgeable group, that the topic of Devolution has yet to excite a broader segment of the local population.
The group present, largely drawn from Totnes and Dartington with a majority representing the Open Democracy group, Devon United, engaged in a serious and considered debate of the merits and limitations of the present Devon County Council devolution prospectus.
The discussion was greatly facilitated by a thoughtful and grounding presentation from Professor Chris Balch who was able to set the present proposals in a broader historical and geographic context as well as highlighting some of the conclusions from his research on the role of the Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs).
The group, which included County and District Councillors from Green, LibDem and Tory parties, worked towards a conclusion which suggested action on two fronts:
1. The Constitutional Question – at some stage, if the present proposals are supported by Government in the Autumn statement, Devon and Somerset County Councils are bound to consult their resident populations more directly on their intention to create a Combined Authority for Devon and Somerset to incorporate the interests of County and District Councils and Unitary Authorities.
This consultation exercise is unlikely to lead to a local referendum, but there will be an opportunity, probably in the Spring 2017, for a concerted campaign by progressive parties and independent groups to express concerns about the formation of another tier of local Government and one which seeks to combine two Counties for the convenience of an unelected LEP.
As Julian Brazil so clearly stated in his opposition to this proposal, the Combined Authority would be directly in support of the highly problematic nuclear power station, Hinkley Point C as well a significant defence industries unidentified within an Aerospace label, both located in Somerset.
SDGP members are encouraged to join with Devon United and other progressive groups to mount an effective campaign of education and mobilisation once the consultation is announced.
The Economic Prospectus
– it is clear that DCC has no intention of consulting on the content of the Devolution Prospectus.
As Chris Balch pointed out, this is essentially aimed at meeting central Government’s requirements for economic growth through ‘high value added’ industrial sectors. The whole basis of the highly optimistic outcomes of the prospectus in terms of jobs and wages is assumed through growth of large scale enterprise in Exeter and Plymouth, in Data Analytics and Marine Industries respectively, and significant growth in housing.
The group agreed that an ‘alternative prospectus’, based on a broader understanding of the economy of the County and on progressive values and concerns could provide the basis for an election campaign by Green parties across Devon along with Independents and other progressive candidates.
At present a small group of Green party members from across Devon is working on such a prospectus and Robert Vint, for the LibDems, proposed that a broader alliance might engage with this work recognising established topics with democratic legitimacy.
Subsequent to the meeting Alan White and Georgina Allen, initiator of Devon United, have published a set of ideas on the South Devon Watch facebook page.
Common themes to emerge so far include:
Affordable Housing
Renewable Energy
Farming, fishing and food
Support for Micro- small and medium sized enterprises
Health and social services to recognise the population and geography of the County.
As one would expect from the Green Party’s core values, each of these topics combines economic with social and environmental implications, and that has to be emphasised in the alternative prospectus.
While there were a number of points of view expressed in the meeting towards differing geographical areas that might constitute an effective location for devolution of fiscal responsibilities and services, it was unanimously recognised that England is, by far the European country with the most centralised form of government. As the present proposals for devolution really do not address this issue, with primary negotiations clearly being with Government on their terms, the alternative prospectus also need to consider how we would intend to engage the relevant population in a discussion that could affect their lives far into the future.
The group at the meeting responded to a number of questions suggested by the notion of ‘Resilient Community’ fundamentally based on the recognition of identity with Place and People as the foundation for local politics. It was clear from the attendance at the meeting and many of the comments made that a politics based on Place and People needs to be rebalanced with the present politics based on party positions and power.
Members are encouraged to engage in the development of campaign strategy and support through attending relevant meetings and engaging in the growing discussion on social media.”
A response to PegasusLife Knowle extra documents
“URGENT:
Please comment on latest changes to 16/0872/MFUL not later than this FRIDAY 11 November by emailing planningcentral@eastdevon.gov.uk or writing to the Central Team at EDDC Knowle, Sidmouth.
Please send a copy to Heloise at Town Council on planningclerk@sidmouth.gov.uk
Revised drainage and bat mitigation reports and changes to Building E are available on the EDDC website and can be viewed at Council Offices.
Amendments to the design and footprint of Building E and associated landscaping:
EDDC’s Chief Planning Officer’s concerns about the “bulk, scale and massing” * of Buildings D and E resulting from their forward projection as well as their impact on the listed summerhouse and his recommendation that “Building E be set back “ to the existing office footprint “to remove the harm to the setting of the listed building” have received only a token response from PegasusLife, with minor and mainly cosmetic changes that do little to address the issues.
Although Building E has been set back a few metres it will be on higher ground and the equivalent of at least 60 feet high, dwarfing the listed folly. Its impact will be at least as serious as was the previous proposal, especially as ground levels will be raised as well. The two buildings D & E will dominate the park and in no way “tastefully ornament” the listed building.
(The recent growth of vegetation near the folly is a direct result of neglect on the part of the Council. Until recently the listed building has enjoyed a spacious green setting and this should have been and should be maintained.)
Drainage:
The excessive number of apartments and the bulk and massing of the buildings, particularly those on the lawn terraces, together with the steep slope of the internal road leading to the car park and raised ground levels will exacerbate the flood/drainage problems referred to in the latest drainage report. Planting a few small trees will in no way compensate for the large ones chopped down.
It would be hard to find a more obvious example of overdevelopment and unsustainable development than this.
(* see letter from Tibbalds 4 August 2016)
Call for £1 billion fund to protect community assets
“Community action charity Locality has called for a £1bn fund to safeguard public buildings and spaces under threat of sale.
It said in a report Places and Spaces – The future of community asset ownership
Click to access Locality-Places-and-spaces-report-final.pdf
that budget cuts were increasingly forcing local authorities to sell buildings and spaces instead of transferring them for continued use by local residents.
Locality chief executive Tony Armstrong said such sales were “short sighted” and “put communities at risk of permanently losing important public buildings and spaces for the sake of a quick buck.
“Transferring public assets to communities can safeguard them for generations to come,” he said.
Locality said the £1bn fund should comprise £500m from the Dormant Assets Commission, £200m from social investors, £125m each from central government and the Big Lottery Fund and £50m from other funders.
It would use 80% of its money for capital grants and finance, which Locality said was the equivalent of delivering one project per year in every English local authority, while 10% would be devoted to development planning and feasibility studies and the remainder to management and a national advice centre.
Armstrong said the problem of lost public facilities was particularly acute in less affluent areas, where people often lacked skills to negotiate taking facilities over and then running them.”
http://www.publicfinance.co.uk/news/2016/11/locality-calls-ps1bn-fund-protect-public-assets
“Save Our Hospital Services Devon” Facebook page massively popular
Massive amounts of useful information. Began in North Devon and spreading like wildfire
https://www.facebook.com/groups/999845120071233/?ref=ts&fref=ts
Chalk cliffs disappearing at high speed compared to past
East Devon’s chalk cliffs are between Seaton and Beer – perhaps time to look at a different kind of beach management plan.
Study reveals huge acceleration in erosion of England’s white cliffs
“Researchers analysed rocks from Beachy Head and Seaford Head in East Sussex and discovered that the cliff erosion rate over most of the past 7,000 years was just two-six centimetres a year. But the erosion rate over the past 150 years has been much higher at 22-32cm a year. …
… Hurst and his colleagues now aim to apply the technique to other parts of the UK coastline, including the stretch at Hinkley Point, the site of a large new nuclear power station.“
East Devon Watch 