Confused (dot) LEP?

Comment added also as post by Owl – who is also confused.

“It’s all very confusing (especially sorting out your NUTS 1,2&3).

The joint covering letter from the two LEPs (one of which appears to have its own joint committee just to confuse things further) says:

“We have put forward two submissions; one on behalf of Cornwall Council and Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership and another on behalf of the Heart of the South West Joint Committee and the HotSW Local Enterprise Partnership representing Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay.”

They also go on to say:

“We are submitting this joint letter as being neighbouring areas we have similar policy asks which the committee might find helpful to have highlighted as well as the nuances that are described in our two responses. There is no clear definition of what constitutes a region and we believe these two documents provide detailed insight into the complexity of this subject.”

So Cornwall (and the Scilly Isles) gets the joint forward plus a detailed response under the heading:

“Written evidence submitted by Cornwall Council and Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership, 2nd August 2019″ [4,342 words and four graphs – a lot of nuance and explanation of complexity particular to Cornwall in here. Good for them.]

The Heart of the South West joint letter is followed by…………….NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Couldn’t be bothered or just forgot to add it? Sadly, either way, the people of Devon and Somerset have lost out.”

Tory Party gangs up on “The Independent Group” in Exmouth about “transparency and “open-ness”

“… Despite remaining the largest single group on EDDC the Conservatives respect that electors wanted change based on a manifesto of Openness and Transparency repeatedly promised by the new administration comprised of some of those elected as Independent Councillors, but that promised change has stalled already.

He added “Little has changed since the election in May where the new administration says that their first priority has been to provide continuity, which begs the question as to what the previous Conservative administration was doing badly that needed change”.

In the case of Exmouth, Openness and Transparency has been ditched pretty quickly where the new administration did not bother consulting with Exmouth ward members or key stakeholders about their half-baked decision to close down the Exmouth Regeneration Board, replacing it with the Queens Drive Delivery Group.

Plans to hold the meetings of the new group in private have been heavily criticised by other councillors for the lack of Openness and Transparency, as well as the narrow remit of the proposed Group. …”

https://exmouth.nub.news/n/exmouth-deserves-better-than-this—conservative-chairman-speaks-out?

DevonLive’s attempt to talk up Cranbrook – own goal

UPDATE: in the couple of hours since the publication of this post, the comments on the DevonLive site have been cleaned up!

Hot on the heels of criticism of Cranbrook, DevonLive attempted to find some “good news” about it. However, it didn’t go quite to plan.

The first person they chose works in the local estate agent’s office – well, you’d hardley expect any criticism there – duh.

The second person had a few nice things to say about it and then rather spoilt it with this comment:

… It feels like they [houses] were just thrown up, to be honest, with cheap materials.” she says. “The walls are very thin. It is fine between our house and the neighbours but the inside walls are different. There is a lot of creaking and you don’t expect that with a new house. The garage roof was leaking too. That was fixed but it is leaking again now.

It would be nice to have a town centre,” she says. “They keep saying we’ll have one but we haven’t yet. This Co-op can’t really cope with the number of people. We like it here overall. The school facilities are very good and there are a lot of young families. We don’t have any plans to move and will stay for the foreseeable future.

“On the downside the trains are crowded and often don’t turn up at all. But they’ve just put more buses on and they are every 20 minutes to Exeter.”

The third person said:

“… The shop should be more affordable. Overall it is enjoyable but there is not enough to do for the teenagers. I have a teenage son and I don’t think there is anything here for him to do. Some of them hang around the shop and benches in the evening.

“The primary school is lovely but we have problems with communication with the college.”

Then comes journalism at its BEST! What makes Cranbrook so good?

The constant supply of new housing is clearly a selling point for Cranbrook. Young families in particular are attracted to homes built for modern-living, with fitted kitchens, double-glazing, reliable boilers and infrastructure, patio-doors to the garden, little or no upkeep worries.”

Er, sorry guys, Cranbrook Town Council just took on estate rent charges from developers for the whole town and council tax bills rose to cover them!

The journalist goes on, foot in mouth:

As of 2019 Cranbrook – a start-from-scratch development – is a market town without a market and a population to shop ratio of 1:5,000.”

THEN you come to the comments! Suffice to say, most are NOT complimentary, and some are VERY rude!

Better luck next time!

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/what-people-really-think-cranbrook-3285460#comments-section

East Devon Alliance only group submitting evidence to Parliament on Devon’s regional growth – our LEP just added its name to Cornwall’s evidence – for Cornwall and Plymouth!

East Devon Alliance submitted evidence to Treasury inquiry into regional growth: this wax pertinent, spwell-reasoned evidence. It was the ONLY submission solely on behalf of Devon:

https://eastdevonwatch.org/2019/09/05/parliament-publishes-evidence-from-east-devon-alliance-on-unrealistic-growth-figures-and-flaws-compounded-by-our-local-enterprise-partnership/

Cornwall and Cornwall and Isles of Scilly evidence (to which our Devon and Somerset LEP added its name only to a generic one-page “Joint Statement” covering letter) was skewed (as it should be) ONLY towards Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and Plymouth – concentrating on them being in the same EU region (NUTS2), and therefore not concerning itself with any other part of Devon:

http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/treasury-committee/regional-imbalances-in-the-uk/written/104187.html

Our LEP simply duplicated the generic one-page covering letter in the above Cornwall submission as its only contribution for itself:

http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/treasury-committee/regional-imbalances-in-the-uk/written/104182.html

“IT WILL TAKE UP TO 11 YEARS FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO REVERSE AUSTERITY”

“… The analysis shows that it will take almost a full parliament to reverse austerity in real terms (just taking into account inflation). Taking into account inflation and population growth means a full reversal will take 6 years. And to fully reverse the impacts of austerity as a percentage of GDP will take 11 years. …”

https://neweconomics.org/2019/09/it-will-take-up-to-11-years-for-the-government-to-reverse-austerity

No Devon towns in government list of those chosen to apply for funding

Why? Targeted at marginal seats in the event of an election.

Click to access list-of-100-places.pdf


Photo: Midweek Herald

Sheffield change to committee system moves on with resignation of deputy leader from her role so she can fight for it

“The deputy leader of Sheffield City Council has resigned after a petition was submitted calling for a referendum on the way the authority is run.

More than 26,000 people have backed calls for the authority to move from a strong leader model to a committee system of decision making.
By law a petition signed by 5% of voters – 20,092 – will trigger a vote.

Olivia Blake said she was stepping down from her role in order to back the petition.

A council spokesman said if the petition was deemed valid a city-wide vote would take place by May 2020.

Ms Blake said: “My preference was to resolve the debate on the council’s governance structure without the need for a referendum but now that it is almost certain to be held, it is time to take a public position on where we go next.

“I will take the side of the people. I will back the committee system. It is a starting point for a wider debate on how to rejuvenate our democracy, and it is important that Labour voices contribute to this debate.

“I have added my name to the It’s Our City petition, and will make further statements in the coming days about the role I intend to play in the upcoming referendum.”

Sheffield City Council has 84 elected councillors across 28 wards, but under the current model it is the council leader and nine cabinet members who make decisions on “the most significant issues”.

Co-chair of It’s Our City Ruth Hubbard said the existing system “places power in the hands of too few”.

“We want our city to work for all of us but at the moment it’s failing,” she said.

The council now has one month to verify the signatures on the petition.
James Henderson, director of Policy, performance and communications at Sheffield City Council, said: “If a valid petition is submitted by It’s Our City then we are required to hold a referendum on changing the council’s governance system.”

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-49450035?fbclid=IwAR13pWm5cfOFcDekyvYUqYphiPqdL9WYgeodFlf-W-DK_eOBRWuAfiyK2Hg#_=_

South West, which voted to leave the EU, slowest growing English region since the 2016 referendum”

South-west growth 0.25% since referendum, slowest of all regions since the referendum in 2016. Hello, Local Enterprise Partnership – HELLO! Any response? Any new figures? Any new ideas?

London’s financial services sector has been in recession since the third quarter of 2017, regional GDP figures from the Office for National Statistics have revealed.

In the 18 months to the end of last year the capital’s banking and asset management industry shrank 11 per cent. The ONS did not explain the slump but it is likely to be related to Brexit as banks and insurers downsized British operations and directed new investment overseas.

The regional GDP figures, which cover England and Wales, revealed that the South West, which voted to leave the EU, has been the slowest growing English region since the 2016 referendum. It grew 0.25 per cent between the second quarter of 2016 and the end of last year.

The figures, which start in the second quarter of 2012 and run to the final quarter of last year, show that London has grown the fastest, expanding 21 per cent, while the North East and South West have been slowest, at 5.5 per cent and 7 per cent respectively.

London’s success has been despite the downturn in the square mile. Financial services contributed £132 billion to GDP last year, 6.9 per cent of total output, with half of that from the capital. Of the industry’s 1.1 million jobs, 400,000 were in London last year, analysis by the House of Commons library showed. …”

“Stop the Coup Protest: this Saturday 7 September, Exeter, Bedford Square, 2 pm

Saturday 7 September 2019
Stop the Coup
Exeter
Bedford Square
2 pm.

Other events in Exeter coming up:

Saturday 14 September 2019

Extinction Rebellion – Fight for the Planet

Extinction Rebellion Exeter are again taking to the streets to march for the planet 10:30am on Saturday 14 September, meeting in Southernhay. Rebels will be marching in blue to represent a wave of water. This is to highlight:

– the global water crisis: as the climate warms, rains become erratic – lands flood with undrinkable water and water stress leads to water crisis for millions of individuals
– rising sea levels due to climate crisis: the threat of too much water. If the sea rises as it is projected to, the greatest achievement of the last two hundred years, our sewage system, will be swept aside; all the drinking water Exeter will be able to rely on will from the ancient medieval water course.

Friday 20 September 2019
Global Strike for Climate – Exeter

Hosted by Exeter Global Strike for Climate and 4 others
Friday, 20 September 2019 from 11:00-14:00
Bedford Square, Exeter
17 High Street, Exeter, Devon

Local “Experts” win the day in the battle of Woodbury Power Plant (but the war is not yet over)

From a correspondent – as positive as it is, Plutus Energy will almost certainly appeal so we must await a final outcome.

“East Devon District Council has rejected plans for the construction of 20 gas-fired electricity generators on grounds including that the scheme would be “inappropriate development in the open countryside”.

Acting against the recommendation of Planning officer EDDC`s Development Management committee, refused permission for the construction of “20 self-contained natural gas engine driven electricity generators”.

The scheme, proposed by applicant Plutus Energy, would have been built on land close to Woodbury Business Park, Woodbury.

The Key to the decision was Strategy 39 of the council’s local plan, which states the authority’s commitment to promoting the use of renewables and low carbon energy, as grounds for refusing the plans.

The planning report said that the proposed development “would be powered by natural gas and therefore it is important to recognise that this technology is a “facilitator of renewable energy” rather than a renewable technology or low carbon energy project itself and therefore there is little direct policy support within Strategy 39 for this proposal.”

However, it added that “whilst Strategy 39 of the local plan promotes renewable and low carbon energy, it does not in itself provide an “in principle” reason to refuse proposals for fossil fuel energy development.

Therefore, on balance, the Planning Officer considered that the adverse impacts from the scheme would “not significantly or demonstrably outweigh the benefits that would be derived from the scheme which would support the delivery of renewable and low carbon energy by providing back-up generation to help achieve the transition to a sustainable, low carbon future.”

However a team of local residents including an expert from commercial finance, a Professor who is recognised as a world expert of climate change, a solicitor, local councillors, planning experts spoke at the planning meeting with a very detailed forensic exposé of the proposed development that exposed that the far from “facilitating renewable energy it was would block any renewable energy being added to the National Grid, and rather than running at “only a few hours a day in winter time it would actually run over 3000 Hours a year, having a devastating effect on the area.

After a short debate, where the Legal Officer of the council recommended a referral because of the further information the committee voted against the proposal and the Legal Officers recommendation.

A statement from the council said the application had “proved controversial with the local community who raised a number of concerns regarding noise and pollution from the facility, as well as fears that a low carbon energy generation and storage facility was not being proposed, which would be consistent with addressing the climate change emergency declared by the council only a few weeks earlier.”

It added that the committee resolved to refuse the application on the basis that “it would be inappropriate development in the open countryside, with local plan policies only supporting renewable and low carbon energy projects in the open countryside” and a further reason for “related to concerns about the impact of the proposal on air quality in the locality.”

“Claire Wright is ‘ready for the fight’ if general election called”

“It’s been an extraordinary and unprecedented few weeks in politics.

A man without scruple is now our prime minister, aided and abetted by a reckless adviser and the most hardline rightwing cabinet we have ever seen in this country.

In practice this means selling the soul of our country and the union, by morphing into the Brexit Party.

Expelling 21 moderate Conservatives on Tuesday evening, including Winston Churchill’s grandson and father of the house, Ken Clarke, has meant that the transition of the Conservative Party into the Brexit Party is already complete.

It was clear from the moment he took office that Mr Johnson’s plan was for a general election, to drive through a no deal Brexit, yet to try and dupe the electorate into thinking he wanted an amended withdrawal agreement from the EU.

He already knew his request for removal of the Irish backstop was firmly opposed by both the Irish government and by default the EU on peace grounds.

But more staggering than anything else has been the determination with which this government has lied, duped, schemed and plotted to achieve its nefarious aims.

Boris Johnson seems to be a man without principle. He has one aim. Power.

We also have a chancellor who is claiming austerity is over following a decade of cuts and misery, imposed by his own Conservative government.

£100m stripped from Devon County Council alone, which has hit children, the poorest, elderly and disabled people and those who don’t have a voice more than anyone else. I’ve seen the impacts of austerity on residents in my ward and it’s deeply disturbing.

But now, despite a no deal Brexit firmly on the table and the economic hit the country will take – around five per cent at least and a potential recession – Sajid Javid has launched an opportunistic vote grabbing budget, which implies that the austerity agenda was never more than a decision for a government determined to shrink the welfare state.

East Devon’s MP Hugo Swire is at the very heart of this government, robustly defending every move Mr Johnson makes.

A passionate supporter of a no deal Brexit, Mr Swire is now the epitome of the newly formed hardline rightwing Conservative-Brexit Party.

So a general election looms. Where does this leave me? Well my team and I have been preparing for a year and are on standby for battle.

This will be my third general election in four years, from a platform of over 21,000 votes in 2017.

I’m ready for the fight to come and I’m ready to enter parliament as a new MP, filled with hope and a desire to work to my best ability on behalf of the people of the East Devon constituency.

For me, there will be no party whip, no wish for a highly paid ministerial position. Just working alongside like minded MPs, representing local people on the issues they tell me are most important to them. I can’t wait!”

It’s been an extraordinary and unprecedented few weeks in politics. A man without scruple is now our prime minister, aided and abetted by a reckless adviser and the most hardline rightwing cabinet we have ever seen in this country. In practice this means selling the soul of our country and the union, by morphing into the Brexit Party.

Expelling 21 moderate Conservatives on Tuesday evening, including Winston Churchill’s grandson and father of the house, Ken Clarke, has meant that the transition of the Conservative Party into the Brexit Party is already complete.

It was clear from the moment he took office that Mr Johnson’s plan was for a general election, to drive through a no deal Brexit, yet to try and dupe the electorate into thinking he wanted an amended withdrawal agreement from the EU. He already knew his request for removal of the Irish backstop was firmly opposed by both the Irish government and by default the EU on peace grounds. But more staggering than anything else has been the determination with which this government has lied, duped, schemed and plotted to achieve its nefarious aims.

Boris Johnson seems to be a man without principle. He has one aim. Power. We also have a chancellor who is claiming austerity is over following a decade of cuts and misery, imposed by his own Conservative government.

£100m stripped from Devon County Council alone, which has hit children, the poorest, elderly and disabled people and those who don’t have a voice more than anyone else. I’ve seen the impacts of austerity on residents in my ward and it’s deeply disturbing.

But now, despite a no deal Brexit firmly on the table and the economic hit the country will take – around five per cent at least and a potential recession – Sajid Javid has launched an opportunistic vote grabbing budget, which implies that the austerity agenda was never more than a decision for a government determined to shrink the welfare state. East Devon’s MP Hugo Swire is at the very heart of this government, robustly defending every move Mr Johnson makes.

A passionate supporter of a no deal Brexit, Mr Swire is now the epitome of the newly formed hardline rightwing Conservative-Brexit Party. So a general election looms. Where does this leave me? Well my team and I have been preparing for a year and are on standby for battle.

This will be my third general election in four years, from a platform of over 21,000 votes in 2017. I’m ready for the fight to come and I’m ready to enter parliament as a new MP, filled with hope and a desire to work to my best ability on behalf of the people of the East Devon constituency. For me, there will be no party whip, no wish for a highly paid ministerial position. Just working alongside like minded MPs, representing local people on the issues they tell me are most important to them. I can’t wait!”

https://exmouth.nub.news/n/claire-wright-is-ready-for-the-fight-if-general-election-called?fbclid=IwAR3fluSS9OIrKYG-Tc-lp2Ng7KwjZQ-3AbO-Njut_sSgOvyy2Y0b3CfqFj0

Parliament publishes evidence from East Devon Alliance on unrealistic growth figures and flaws compounded by our Local Enterprise Partnership

Presented to, and published by, the Treasury Committee on Regional Imbalances in the UK Economy Inquiry.

A top-notch forensic dissection of unattainable growth figures, plucked out of thin air by our Local Enterprise Partnership, and accommodated by our county and district councils without scrutiny:

http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/treasury-committee/regional-imbalances-in-the-uk/written/103800.html

Exmouth: Secret council meetings – a disagreement about transparency in the ruling group

An unworkable fudge agreed?

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/secrecy-concerns-over-new-group-3287544

“How ‘basic’ Cranbrook has gone from pioneering new town to almost unfit for purpose”

Anyone remember the “good old days” when the likes of Diviani, Twiss, Thomas and others extolled the virtues of the “new” town – and even got themselves not one but TWO awards for it? Many people wondered how that had come about at the time!
https://www.theexeterdaily.co.uk/news/uk-news/two-national-awards-cranbrook

Devon County Council pointed out its flaws FIVE ago in a 2014 in a damning reporht which identified ALL its current problems, but no-one at EDDC listened:
https://eastdevonwatch.org/2015/09/14/what-mainstream-media-isnt-telling-you-about-that-dcc-cranbrook-report/

Now the price is being paid – this is what you get when your government and your council is developer-led.

And what does the current council leader suggest: ANOTHER talking shop!

Owl thinks a few heads should roll first for the mess the council finds itself in … starting with lead officers CEO Mark Williams and Deputy CEO Richard Cohen who have masterminded the omnishambles …

“… East Devon District Council’s cabinet on Wednesday night heard that the legal agreement that plays a critical role in establishing the trigger points for the delivery of facilities has become ‘an inflexible legal document which was negotiated in a different financial era’ and some of the facilities were ‘no longer fit for purpose’.

Among the current obligations is the Cranbrook Consortium must provide a children’s centre at 2,500 occupations. Devon County Council has now served notice on the consortium and requires them to design, construct and complete them by either June 10, 2021, or when 2,500 homes are occupied.

Andy Wood, projects director, told the meeting: “We are therefore in danger of defaulting to a scenario that may not be fit for purpose or affordable over the longer term. Given the looming trigger points we are rapidly approaching the point of no return. …”

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/how-basic-cranbrook-gone-pioneering-3288218

EDA DCC Councillor Martin Shaw on fire service cuts

From his blog:

Yesterday I attended the private ‘masterclass’ for county councillors with Chief officers Ian Howell and Pete Bond – arranged instead of the public Scrutiny hearing which the Fire Service had refused to attend.

  • I protested about the over-complicated design of the consultation and the way it has closed off opportunities for the public to express views about particular stations – they said it was signed off by the Consultation Institute (I shall be writing to them) but like some members of the Fire Authority, I don’t think it is credible.
  • I challenged the misleading assumptions on which the calculations about ‘savings’ of life are based – they failed to respond.
  • I asked them if they accepted the estimate, based on their own data, that 600,000 people would have increased risk due to slower response times – this would include everyone in the Seaton and Colyton area – again they failed to answer.
  • I asked why they said it wasn’t about ‘cuts’, when papers presented to the Fire Authority showed clearly that saving money is a key driver.

Although I got to raise some other points about Colyton, I was cut off by the chair and didn’t get a chance to come back in. I’ll be writing up a full objection (and a paper for when this comes to Scrutiny – as I have insisted – on 25th September) and will post this here.

“Three things struck me even more forcefully, from this meeting and re-reading the papers in preparation for it:

  1. As with the hospital cuts, the bottom line here is asset-stripping. The sites represent over 80 per cent of the financial gains from the 8 proposed closures.
  2. Even more than with the hospital beds cuts, the ‘alternative’ ( in this case more ‘prevention’) is pathetically weakly developed. They’re selling off the family silver and not giving us any serious detail on what they’re offering instead. In all likelihood, they’ll pocket the gains and the prevention activity will barely materialise.
  3. Finally, they are worried about the high level of negative TV and press coverage – keep up the campaign!

Fire Service chiefs fail to answer questions at Devon County Council private briefing – but they are worried about the level of opposition

“Barratt Developments shares slide on gloomy outlook with end of lucrative ‘Help to Buy’ scheme that helped triple profit on each home feared”

“… as one eagle-eyed hack pointed out today, before the taxpayer-funded scheme, Barratt made £14,000 profit on each house it built. Now, after six years of Help to Buy, it makes more than £50,000 profit per house. …”

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-7426533/Barratt-shares-slide-investors-fear-end-lucrative-Help-Buy-scheme.html?ito=rss-flipboard