Readers know Owl bangs on about our LEP promising to double growth in Devon and Somerset up to 2030. Their figures then go on to be embedded in many Devon and Somerset council growth strategies.
Now we read (Sunday Telegraph Business – paywall) that the Office of Budget Responsibility believes that “growth” will “flatline for [at least] a decade, reaching as little as 2% over that period.
Will the Greater Exeter Strategic Plan (public consultation about which is being postponed until after 2019 local elections – a very ominous sign) use LEP figures or more pessimistic government forecasts?
And then there’s the effect of Brexit ……!
East Devon Watch 
Come on Owl, get real!!!
How will the LEP leadership and / or the EDDC leadership & Senior Officers and / or the Greater Exeter leadership justify they ridiculously high salaries if it is not for the high growth projections that make their roles worthwhile.
If we were only looking for a total of 2% growth over the next 12 years, then what would be the point of paying eye watering amounts of money to these people? How could that possibly be justified?
And once one local council / quango breaks ranks and admits that these growth figures are utter fantasy then the whole house of cards will fall down, and the individual who knocked it over will never be able to show his face at the masonic lodge ever again.
No – surely it is far better for the status-quo to be maintained, however morally corrupt it is?
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