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4 Aug 2017

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Accountability, Developers/ Development, Planning System, Transparency

Ombudsman complains about council thwarting its inquiries

“A critical new report has found that council bosses tried to frustrate and delay an investigation into a housing estate which should never have been built.

In September last year the Plymouth Herald revealed how councillors were misled when approving plans for the controversial Dunstone Gardens estate in Elburton.

A collection of 16 homes were eventually erected without proper permission, sparking a major inquiry by the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO).

Now five years on from the first application to build on the site, a detailed report exposes how Plymouth City Council repeatedly tried to thwart the inquiry, before publicly questioning its findings.

LGO chairman Michael King said: “In the course of the investigations we met with considerable resistance from the council, which was unnecessary and disappointing.

“This frustrated and delayed our efforts to progress the case.

“We were eventually able to confirm that the council had failed to properly publicise a planning application; was unclear about the site boundary; did not give proper consideration to the complainants’ amenity; did not consider drainage arrangements properly; and listed the wrong plans in the decision notice.”

The LGO recommended nearby homes should be re-valued and told the council to pay the difference.

PCC was also asked to sort out issues with drainage, which caused water to run from the new estate into nearby gardens, and to offer extra training to members of the planning committee.

“Despite the evidential basis for these conclusions and recommendations being very clearly set out in the report, it was even more disappointing that the council chose to publicly question those findings in a subsequent press release,” Mr King (above) said.

“To date, the council has confirmed compliance with several of the recommendations and I welcome the action taken, but has yet to satisfy us in relation to the drainage arrangements.

“We remain in correspondence about the matter and the council has recently confirmed the further steps it will take.

“I hope this will address our outstanding concerns without the need for further formal action on our part; we will keep the situation under careful review.

“The adversarial response from the council in this case was disappointing. However, I note that you invested in training in complaint handling during the year. I hope that this will be of assistance in avoiding similar problems in the coming year, and provide the basis for a constructive relationship in the year ahead.”

A Plymouth City Council spokeswoman said they “accepted in full” the LGO’s recommendations.

“There are lessons to be learned from the way in which this planning application was considered,” she said.

“Improvements to existing processes to address some of the issues highlighted by the report have already been implemented.

“The LGO annual report acknowledges the action the city council has promptly taken to address a number of the recommendations which the LGO now accepts the city council has complied with, following correspondence setting out the actions we have been taking earlier in the year.

“On the issue of drainage, we confirmed to the LGO the actions we are taking on 28 April and 5 June following their confirmation of the one outstanding issue they considered still needed to be addressed.

“This is being implemented in conjunction with the property owners and we expect this case to be closed very shortly because the city council would have responded in full to all the LGO recommendations.”

http://www.devonlive.com/council-bosses-tried-to-frustrate-and-delay-housing-estate-investigation/story-30469565-detail/story.html

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4 Aug 2017

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Accountability, Affordable and Social Housing, Democracy, Developers/ Development

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Should empty homes bought for investment be requisitioned?

“If people hoarded food the way they hoard homes, hungry people would riot. No wonder proposals to help councils requisition empty properties are popular.

This week the Guardian revealed the names of some of owners of the 1,652 empty properties in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea , after the names, addresses and council tax details were accidentally sent in response to a freedom of information request.

Some familiar names crop up – the Candys, of course, via an offshore company; former New York mayor, Michael Bloomberg; and a string of sheikhs and oligarchs. As of 2016, there were 2,753 households on the council’s waiting list.

For some, the link between empty homes and homelessness is moot: the two are unrelated and no links and correlations should be drawn between them. This misunderstands the reason homes are left empty. Most people buy homes to live in, with good reason; the chances are that your home, rented or bought, is what you will spend the most money on in your lifetime.

Most people don’t have the capital sloshing around to buy two homes, let alone one to leave empty. So to buy homes to leave empty is to treat them as money-making machines; the wealthy increasingly view housing as a liquid investment, due to its low volatility. This may change slightly, though not substantially, with warnings that the top end of the market is tailing off.

But it also changes how we view housing as a nation. After the Grenfell Tower fire, when scores of families were left homeless, and still remain in hotel accommodation, the idea floated by Jeremy Corbyn that we might requisition empty homes to temporarily house survivors was met with shrieking from the commentariat and political classes alike. The idea, they said, was ludicrous, communist and made a mockery of property rights. As it happened, the public disagreed: 59% of those polled by YouGov agreed with Corbyn’s proposal and only half as many opposed it.

The requisitioning argument, and revelations on empty homes in Kensington, reveals the battle lines being drawn on housing in the UK. What matters more, our human right to shelter, or people’s right to use property as equity?

Treating housing as an asset is not benign. Hoarding homes pushes prices up, and encourages market supply to boost what is most profitable – luxury flats that can be left empty and flogged when the market is booming, not family homes that can be bought on a modest income. And when land values soar as a result of a keen market interest in buying up property, unscrupulous local authorities eye up the land social housing is built on, and consider whether turfing out council tenants to make a quick buck on the ground homes stand on is worth a punt.

The public seems to be accepting the idea that a right to shelter should trump a right to profiteering: the histrionic claims that requisitioning empty homes will lead to families being turfed out of their properties reveals there is no proper argument to be made for letting homes lie empty while people sleep on the streets.

We accepted homelessness while the rich left houses empty. No more
No one will be kicked out of a home they live in, but consistently allowing people to hoard an asset that is in short supply has no ethical argument behind it. If people hoarded food the way they hoard homes, hungry people would riot. The outcry over the revelations of these empty homes and support for Corbyn’s proposal to boost powers for councils to requisition empty properties, shows the public is in agreement.”

https://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2017/aug/04/right-shelter-trump-profiteering-corbyn-housing

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4 Aug 2017

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Accountability, DCC, EDDC, Independent Councillors, Newton Poppleford, Stuart Hughes, Transport (local)

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Tory councillor agrees with comments by Independent councillor – a first?

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East Devon Watch

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3 Aug 2017

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Affordable and Social Housing, Austerity cuts, EDDC, Inequality, Knowle/Honiton/Exmouth relocation

EDDC leaves elderly tenants marooned – again

No money for better facilities for elderly tenants, olenty of money for luxurious new offices for themselves?

“Fearful residents at a block of sheltered housing flats in Exmouth have spoken of their frustration after being left without a means of getting up or down the stairs – again.

A newly-installed lift at Morgan Court, in Rolle Road, has been broken for the last fortnight and a stairlift has now been removed.

The Journal previously reported in July how ‘trapped’ residents had waited three months for the lifts to be installed.

Elderly and vulnerable tenants with mobility problems living in upstairs flats say they have been unable to leave their homes to go shopping or attend vital doctors’ appointments.

Building owner East Devon District Council (EDDC) has blamed its contractor. A council spokeswoman said: “It would be an understatement to say that we are deeply disappointed in the service provided [by the contractor]. By leaving the flats without a lift and by removing the stairlifts, they have let us down badly by potentially putting our tenants, some of whom are extremely frail and vulnerable, at risk.”

Mary Snell, 84, who lives on the top floor of Morgan Court, needs to take 33 tablets a day and says she frequently needs to get to the doctors.

“It’s very frustrating – I can’t get out or do anything,” she told the Journal.

“They took away the stairlift and I think there were some people who had gone out and couldn’t get back in.”

Another top floor resident, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: “We’ve now been without a lift for 14 days and now they’ve taken the stairlift away, so we’re totally trapped in.”

Another resident, who lives on the first floor, has threatened to write a letter to the Government over the matter, which she fears could result in someone dying.

The woman added: “If there’s a fire it will cause a death. This has been six months now and we still can’t get out of these flats. Morgan Court residents have had enough – this is cruelty, and it has got to stop.

“We just want to get back to normality.”

An EDDC spokeswoman said: “We have been in constant contact with our contractor at all levels to ensure that they immediately rectify the fault with the new lift, which had only just been installed. We anticipate that the lift will be fully operational later today (Wednesday, August 2) as an engineer is replacing a faulty part.

“In the meantime, a team of our officers are continuing to work on site at Morgan Court, as we have been doing so over the last few days, to support residents through this immensely inconvenient situation with any access requirements, temporary housing, support issues and to keep them fully briefed on the situation. We will continue to monitor the lift closely over the next few days, in case any further problems arise.

“For our tenants to be without a lift, or even a stairlift, is simply not acceptable and we are looking into taking further action [against the contractor] for their unsatisfactory installation and poor project management. In the meantime, we apologise to our customers for the inconvenience and distress that the lack of a lift at Morgan Court may have caused them. Our priority is keeping tenants safe and we are working hard to ensure that this situation is not allowed to happen again.”

http://www.exmouthjournal.co.uk/news/morgan-court-residents-trapped-1-5134239

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3 Aug 2017

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Austerity cuts, Health and Social Care (local), Inequality, NHS (local), PegasusLife, Privatisation

Shortage of care home beds in Devon – except for the rich, of course

Too ill to be cared for at home or in community-bedless Devon? Tough.

But no worries for the rich in their luxurious “assisted living” apartments in places like Pegasus in Sidmouth and Millbrook Village in Exeter!

And even there no use having beds if there are no carers to take care of people post-Brexit.

“Devon and the South West is heading for a major shortfall in care home beds, a leading property expert has warned.

The region will need to create 1,350 beds a year to offset closures and pressures from an ageing population.

Anthony Oldfield, director at property consultancy JLL, which has an office in Exeter, said: “Even before we take into account the impact of bed closures, the care home sector needs to double the delivery of new beds. Demand for private pay stock set to increase across all regions of the UK, not just the wealthy prime markets, as a result of historic house price growth and no change in the threshold for publicly funded care since 2010.

“The election showed what an emotive subject social care and how it is going to be funded can be. But it is essential that the government reaches a sustainable solution as to how social care is to be funded in a way that doesn’t pass the burden to a shrinking working age population.”

JLL estimates that there will be a shortfall of nearly 3,000 care home beds in 2018 based on the current development pipeline and anticipated increase in demand due to growing demographics in the UK.

Just within the South West, the forecasts suggest a need for an extra 15,100 beds by 2026, or roughly 151 beds per year. With just over 1,200 beds lost in the market in 2016, the regional build rate could actually be closer to 1,350 new beds per year in order to offset home closures.

At the same time that demand is rising, the pipeline of planned developments in the South West suggests that just 700 beds will be built during 2018.

With about 77% of all care home beds built before modern quality standards were adopted in 2002, there is an urgent need for new development to meet demand and improve living standards for future care home residents.

Mr Oldfield said that priority should be given to care home provision in planning policy.

“A change of mindset is required that sees the development of care homes as an imperative for society and ensures that applications are resolved in a timely manner and without the frustrations that many operators report. “Attendant to reforms contained in the green paper should perhaps be protection or classification of land allocated to retirement living developments to ensure that the right type of housing is being built in the right locations. This would enable people to extend the period of independent living.”

http://www.devonlive.com/care-home-bed-build-has-to-double-to-offset-major-shortfall/story-30468122-detail/story.html

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East Devon Watch

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3 Aug 2017

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Accountability, Democracy, Honiton/ Gittisham

Do you want to fight for Honiton? Vacancies for 6 town councillors

Want to fight for your hospital and against inappropriate development?

6 vacancies on Honiton Town Council.

You can stand as an Independent and/or for East Devon Alliance if you distrust the mainstream parties.

Good training for district and/or county should you want to fight more and higher!

Details of how to stand:

http://www.devonlive.com/by-elections-will-be-held-to-replace-six-councillors-who-resigned-in-mass-walk-out/story-30468700-detail/story.html

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East Devon Watch

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3 Aug 2017

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Accountability, EDDC, Exmouth, Grenadier, Philip Skinner, Regeneration, Spin

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Exmouth: development or World Heritage status?

“Save Exmouth Seafront campaigners are urging both East Devon District Council and its preferred developer Grenadier Estates to re-consider the building of a Water Sports centre after concern that its location will ‘threaten the entire existence of a World Heritage Site’. …

Nick Hookway, Save Exmouth Seafront spokesman, said: “SES has recently been made aware of concerns raised within the management of the UNESCO world heritage site, “The Jurassic Coast” regarding the proposed “Water Sports” development on Queen’s Drive.

“Such concerns centre on any inappropriate developments that could be clearly seen from any vantage point within the world heritage centre, “The Jurassic Coast”.

“By standing at the Geoneedle on Orcombe Point, the proposed “Water Sports” centre would be clearly visible as it would be situated on a curve that juts out into the Estuary.”SES members posed the question: “Is this council prepared to deal with the hostile global criticism that any adverse impacts from this application may lead to?”

Read more Lyme Regis beach closed after hand grenade is discovered

Professor Malcolm Hart, Vice-Chair of the Science and Conservation Advisory Group of the World Heritage Site, “The Jurassic Coast” has recently stated: “In the case of Exmouth and the River Exe, the views to the west and north are spectacular and continue onwards the geology of the site… Clearly one does not want to nibble away at the ends (or the middle) of the site in any way and so what one can see from Orcombe point and Maer Rocks IS important.”

Mr Hookway added: “On the basis of this new information, SES now urges both EDDC and its preferred developer Grenadier Estates to re-consider the building of a Water Sports centre in such a prominent, environmentally sensitive location. For such a development risks destroying the vista from Orcombe Point and threatens the entire existence of the World Heritage Site “The Jurassic Coast”.

“No doubt South West businesses reliant upon Tourism and those whose jobs depend upon visiting tourists would also wish to raise their concerns with Cllr Skinner. Indeed in attempting “Regeneration”, Cllr Skinner through his cavalier and ill-considered actions may actually achieve “Degeneration” instead. What a legacy that would be.”

http://www.devonlive.com/exmouth-water-sports-centre-could-destroy-world-heritage-site-8217-claim-made/story-30468313-detail/story.html

East Devon District Council’s response was … blah, blah, blah – best read it for yourself … predictable … developer led … etc

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East Devon Watch

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3 Aug 2017

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Accountability, EDDC, Inequality, Rural communications, Rural communities

300,000 homes in South-West with no internet access

And EDDC plans to become an “internet based” council! Inequality? You bet.

“Almost 300,000 homes in the South West don’t have access to the Internet, it has been revealed.

Latest data from the ONS reveals the shocking numbers of offline households in the region.”

http://www.devonlive.com/this-is-how-many-south-west-homes-don-t-have-the-internet/story-30468378-detail/story.html

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East Devon Watch

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3 Aug 2017

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Democracy, Privatisation, Sustainability

The (ir)responsibility of politicians

This long article is about the crisis in prisons. But the last four paragraphs quoted here could be about anything that is the responsibility of politicians:

“Who allowed this systematic irresponsibility? Civil servants could no doubt have been more robust in their advice. But the truth is that Grayling and Gove [and here add names of other ministers] at least did not broach any challenge. Any senior officials that they felt were obstructing their plans or raising awkward questions were edged out. It’s tough to push back when your job is at stake.

No doubt some governors and prison officers could have done more to raise problems and find solutions – but most of them had crises to manage.

The only conclusion I can really draw is that the blame lies with the politicians. They cut prison budgets without having a good understanding of the likely impact, then carried on cutting long after those consequences were clear. They focused on pet projects rather than getting the basics right.

They were supported in doing so from the very top. Cameron and Osborne [and now May and Hammond] made the call that people didn’t much care about the condition of our prisons [hospitals/schools/environment], and if budgets were to be cut this was a place to cut particularly deeply. They ignored signs that the system was creaking, and forgot that changing your justice secretary [or any minister except Hunt where no-one wanted his job] every 18 months is a sure-fire way to create problems. Most important, they forgot that there is no better symbol that government is out of control than riots [bed shortages/failing schools/concrete jungles] within the facilities they are meant to run.”

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/02/prisoners-rioting-serial-ministerial-incompetence-justice-chris-grayling-michael-gove

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East Devon Watch

Posted on

2 Aug 2017

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Health and Social Care (local), Honiton/ Gittisham, NHS (local), Sarah Randall Johnson, Seaton/ Colyford / Colyton, Spin

Eastern Devon – your new fantasy health care after hospitals closed

“… Dr Sonja Manton, director of strategy for both Devon Clinical Commissioning Groups, said: “The current model of care is not sustainable either clinically or financially, so we have to look at doing something differently.

“We are extremely grateful to the Devon Health Scrutiny Committee members for the time they have put in to reviewing our plans in order to feel assured about the changes we are making. We thank them for their diligence and constructive challenge. Their insight was invaluable.

“We are now ready to move to the next step and start the final preparations of implementation and making the changes we have proposed.”

The Your Future Care proposals, which were subject to a 13-week public consultation that closed earlier this year, set out to move away from the existing bed-based model of care. Instead it focuses on a model of care that proactively averts health crises and promotes independence and wellbeing. By redirecting and reinvesting some existing bed-based resources, community services can be enhanced to support more home-based care by establishing:

Comprehensive Assessment
Single Point of Access
Urgent Community Response

The net result of this new approach will mean a reduction in inpatient beds in community hospitals in the Eastern* locality of Devon and an increase in community-based staff to support Out of Hospital Care.

Deputy Chief Executive/Chief Nurse of the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust, Em Wilkinson-Brice, said: “The endorsement from the members of the committee coupled with the clinical recommendation to proceed from the assurance panel, will support public confidence that our plans are not only safe but will provide improved care.

“By moving to this model of care, we can help more people to have a better outcome – ensuring that across the whole of Eastern Devon everyone has access to safe, reliable services that promote independence and support people to live their life to the fullest.”

A significant amount of implementation planning including engagement with the workforce, stakeholders and local communities has already been undertaken and now that these two important milestones have been reached, the RD&E will, for the benefit of staff and patients, ensure that the move to provide more care and support in people’s homes is done in a safe and timely manner. In order to achieve this, the RD&E will continue to work closely with staff, partner organisations and communities to take a phased approach to implementation.

Further information specific to each of the four community hospitals will be provided in due course.

*The Eastern locality includes Exeter, East Devon, Mid Devon and parts of West Devon including Okehampton”

http://devonccg.newsweaver.com/GPNewsletter/un6s1ilvrc3qm5yxda10xa?email=true&a=2&p=1797435&t=289800

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East Devon Watch

Posted on

2 Aug 2017

Posted under

Accountability, Democracy, Scrutiny, Transparency

“What does democracy require of England’s local governments?”

“Local governments should engage the wide participation of local citizens in their governance via voting in regular elections, and an open interest group and local consultation process.

Local voting systems should accurately convert parties’ vote shares into seats on councils, and should be open to new parties entering into competition.

As far as possible, consistent with the need for efficient scales of operation, local government areas and institutions should provide an effective expression of local and community identities that are important in civil society (and not just in administrative terms).

Local governments should be genuinely independent centres of decision-making, with sufficient own financial revenues and policy autonomy to be able to make meaningful choices on behalf of their citizens.

Within councils the key decision-makers should be clearly identifiable by the public and media. They should be subject to regular and effective scrutiny from the council members as a whole, and publicly answerable to local citizens and media.

Local governments are typically subject to some supervision on key aspects of their conduct and policies, in England directly by UK government in Whitehall. But they should enjoy a degree of constitutional protection (or ‘entrenchment’) for key roles, and an assurance that cannot simply be abolished, bypassed or fully programmed by their supervisory tier of government.

The principle of subsidiarity says that policy issues that can be effectively handled in decentralised ways should be allocated to the lowest tier of government, closest to citizens.”

http://www.democraticaudit.com/2017/08/02/audit-2017-how-democratic-is-local-government-in-england/

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East Devon Watch

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2 Aug 2017

Posted under

Accountability, Corruption, Developers/ Development, Environment (local), Freedom of Information and EIA, Planning System, Sleaze, Sustainability

Planning decisions must take air quality into account – so a council falsified the data

NOT the developer, the COUNCIL. Do we need any better evidence that it appears some councils no longer work for us but DO appear to work for (andcan be corrupted by) developers?

Cheshire East is the council that has suspended its CEO, its Financial Officer and Chief Legal Officer for unknown reasons. The CEO formerly worked at Torbay.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-39495102

Though, of course, suspension is a neutral act and doesnot imply guilt.

http://www.knutsfordguardian.co.uk/news/15416114.Second_senior_management_suspension_as_Cheshire_East_Council_investigates_misconduct_allegations/

On that air pollution scandal:

“A local authority has admitted its air pollution data was deliberately manipulated for three years to make it look cleaner.

Cheshire East council apologised after serious errors were made in air quality readings from 2012 to 2014.

It is reviewing planning applications amid fears falsified data may have affected decisions in at least five towns. It said it would reveal the full list of sites affected this week.

When considering planning applications councillors have to look at several factors, including whether a development will introduce new sources of air pollution or release large amounts of dust during construction.

Government’s air quality plan branded inadequate by city leaders
“It is clear that these errors are the result of deliberate and systematic manipulation of data from a number of diffusion tubes,” a statement on the council website said.

Sean Hannaby, the director of planning and sustainable development, said: “On behalf of the council I would like to sincerely apologise in respect of these findings, we would like to assure everyone that we have done everything we can to rectify these failings.”

He added: “There are no immediate health protection measures needed as a result of these errors.”

Cheshire East council, like all other authorities, monitors nitrogen dioxide levels on sites throughout the borough as part of work to improve air quality. The information is then submitted to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Oliver Hayes, a Friends of the Earth air pollution campaigner, said the fact that the data was falsified was outrageous. He said: “Residents will rightly be wondering what this means for their and their families’ health. The council needs to be fully transparent about how far the numbers were manipulated and what impact this has had on the local area.”

He added: “If this is happening in Cheshire East, where else across the country are pollution figures being lied about? … National and local government need to get serious about dealing with this invisible killer, not just cooking the books and hoping the issue will go away.”

An internal review by council auditors last year found the air quality data submitted was different to the original data from the council’s monitoring equipment. It prompted an external investigation, the results of which were released last week.

The falsified data was from testing stations spread over a wide geographical area, according to the report. It noted: “The air quality team have reviewed their internal processes and procedures to ensure that the risk of data adjustment is minimised. There are now a number of quality control measures in place.”

Cheshire police said officers would review the case to establish if any criminal offences occurred.

A Defra spokesperson said: “We are aware of this issue and understand the local authority is now considering its response to the investigation.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/02/cheshire-east-council-admits-falsifying-air-pollution-data

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East Devon Watch

Posted on

2 Aug 2017

Posted under

Accountability, Austerity cuts, Health and Social Care (local), NHS (local)

“Care homes face ‘huge shortfall’ in available beds” and more beds will be needed in hospitals!

“Up to 3,000 elderly people will not be able to get beds in UK care homes by the end of next year, research suggests.

Research commissioned by BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours programme reveals a huge shortfall in the number of beds available.

Increasing demand from an ageing population could see that grow to more than 70,000 beds in nine years’ time.

The Department of Health said local authorities in England had been given an extra £2bn to help fund social care.

But in the past three years one in 20 UK care home beds has closed, and research suggests not enough are being added to fill the gap. …

The research, carried out by property consultants JLL, found that since 2002 an average of 7,000 new care home beds had opened in the UK every year, but by 2026 there would be an additional 14,000 people needing residential care home places per year.

Lead researcher James Kingdom said: “We’re currently building half the number of care home beds every year that we need.”

“There are more people living longer.

“We know that over the course of the next decade there is going to be 2.5 million more over-65s, and as a result that means there is going to be demand for care home beds.

“To fix that, we need to double the rate of delivery”. …

In the past three years, 21,500 care beds have closed in the UK.

People in the care industry worry that as bed capacity decreases and demand increases, there will be more pressure on NHS beds as elderly people are admitted to hospital because they can’t cope at home.

The government estimates this already costs the NHS in England £900m a year.
Pete Calveley, from Barchester Health Care, said it was an increasing feature of the health and social care environment because there was not enough capacity in the community.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40791919

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East Devon Watch

Posted on

1 Aug 2017

Posted under

Accountability, Affordable and Social Housing, Asset sweating, Developers/ Development, EDDC, Regeneration, Sidmouth/ Sidford/ Sidbury

Alternative vision for Sidmouth’s Port Royal

To see drawings link to the original link at the end of this post.

“Sidmouth Town Council and East Devon District Council (EDDC) have released a preliminary idea that shows the lifeboat station, sailing club and other facilities incorporated into a single building that could stand five storeys high.

Graham Cooper’s alternative vision – created in a personal capacity – is to build on what is there, rather than ‘destroy’ Sidmouth’s heritage as a fishing town and block views of the sea.

Mr Cooper, who entered an architecture competition last year to ‘re-imagine’ Port Royal, said: “In everybody’s mind, five storeys is too large. EDDC might say that it’s just an idea, but that’s what it’s put into the public domain as a ‘proposal’. It’s not ‘scaremongering’ to suggest it’s almost like a Trojan horse.

“The consultants are only proposing to include community assets that are already there. It doesn’t add anything, except holiday apartments.

“We want other options. An alternative would be to make incremental changes – to refurbish and repurpose what’s there.

“A lot of people have said there should be a performance area, but we already have the Drill Hall.

“The fishing area is a piece of history. That fishing compound is what eastern town used to be like.

“A big building is a form of cultural cleansing – it’s clearing out the heritage that is there. You shouldn’t destroy things unless you have a better solution.”

Mr Cooper proposed adding a further floor and balcony to the sailing club, with canopies extending over the boat yard and to the east of the Drill Hall linking it to the toilets.

The maximum height would be below that of Trinity Court, the four-storey block adjacent.

Mr Cooper added: “I think the Drill Hall would make a great flexible event space, café and bar, with a gallery in the basement shooting range.

“The top floor added to the sailing club would make a fabulous fish restaurant!”

In response, Sidmouth Town Council and EDDC said in a joint statement: “We are currently consulting on the findings of the independent consultants and we must stress that there are no proposals, no plans and no schemes currently being put forward.

“We are delighted to have so far received 159 responses to the consultation and responses are welcome from the public up to the closing date of Monday, July 31.”

http://www.sidmouthherald.co.uk/news/graham-shares-alternative-vision-for-port-royal-1-5129254

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