Where is Exmouth Common?
Monthly Archives: October 2019
Sidford Business Park already being touted for relocated Lidl
Or Alexandra Business Park – where its inadequate size and location for businesses was given as a reason for development of Sidford Business Park!
Shafted.
https://www.sidmouthherald.co.uk/news/sidmouth-lidl-relocation-possibility-raises-concerns-1-6335164
Independent councillor gets policy on car parking charges changed
“A motion put forward by councillor Paul Millar, to add car parking strategy to the list of policy areas which need the approval of full council, was approved on Wednesday (October 23).
Previously, final decisions on parking were made by the cabinet, which is made up of councillors from the ruling party.
As a result of Cllr Millar’s motion, cabinet can make recommendations to full council which will have the final say.
In its last meeting, cabinet decided to launch a consultation process on proposals to increase the hourly rate in East Devon car parks from £1 to £1.20.
The decision has been called in by the district council’s scrutiny committee which was due to hold an extraordinary meeting on Thursday (October 24).
A task and finish forum has also been set up to look at the issue.”
Tories pretend to try to solve problems they caused!
Er, who caused these problems?
“The housing secretary has warned that developers building poor-quality homes will have to “change their practices”.
Robert Jenrick called for a “systemic change” in Britain’s approach to planning and design, saying: “For too long there has been a misconception in the housebuilding industry that quality is the enemy of supply.
“In fact, experience shows us that it is those developments of the highest quality and the most attractive designs which are approved faster, sell faster and which are the most enduringly popular.”
Speaking at an event hosted by the Policy Exchange think tank and Create Streets, a research institute, he said: “Design now matters in this country and developers who bring forward poor-quality designs are going to have to change their practices.”
The government issued a national design guide this month setting out ten principles of good building. There was previously no accepted standard for new homes. The guide will be followed by a more detailed “national model design code” early next year. Local authorities will be encouraged to create their own versions of the code, giving communities a legal right to hold developers to account.
James Brokenshire, the former housing secretary, warned housebuilders in March that they must end “unacceptable” punitive costs and “nightmare” snagging problems in new homes if they wanted to continue to benefit from Help to Buy — the government-backed equity loan scheme that has supported home ownership. Some of its biggest housebuilder beneficiaries, such as Persimmon, have been criticised about the quality of their homes.
Mr Jenrick, 37, said that he would give “careful consideration” to how his department could use a revised version of the scheme in 2021 to stipulate improved build quality.
He also announced a “heritage preservation campaign” under which the government will commit £700,000 of funding for a campaign to encourage people to nominate buildings and assets in their local areas to be protected with listed status.”
Source: The Times
Local Enterprise Partnership: DCC scrutiny committee in crisis?
Comment as post:
“This positive change has long been requested by East Devon Alliance DCC Councillor Martin Shaw (Colyton and Seaton). See …
On 13 October I made a comment on the Heart of the South West (HotSW) Joint Scrutiny Committee meeting scheduled for the 17 October. I pointed out that attendance at this essential exercise in democracy had steadily fallen through the year from eleven to just five councillors [correction, should read six] and added my opinion that this scrutiny committee has all the appearance of being in crisis.
Sadly this view seems to have been confirmed from the October 17 meeting.
From the minutes and associated documents of this Joint Scrutiny meeting of 17 October attendance is recorded as follows, down again to a bare quorum of five:
(https://democracy.devon.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId=3572&x=1)
Present:
Councillor Jerry Brook Devon County Council (Chair)
Councillor Richard Hosking Devon County Council
Councillor Julian Brazil Devon County Council
Councillor Gareth Derrick Plymouth City Council
Councillor Barrie Spencer South Hams District Council
Apologies:
Councillor Ray Bloxham Devon County Council
Councillor Mike Lewis Somerset County Council
Councillor Jonny Morris Plymouth City Council
Absent:
Councillor Rod Williams Somerset County Council (Vice-Chair)
Councillor Ann Brown Somerset County Council
Councillor Simon Coles Somerset County Council
Councillor Lee Howgate Torbay Council
Councillor Karen Kennedy Torbay Council
Councillor Norman Cavill Taunton Deane Borough Council
Councillor Richard Chesterton Mid Devon District Council
Councillor Ian Dyer Sedgemoor District Council
[Only 16 councillors are listed though the Terms of Reference of the Scrutiny Committee sets the number at 17 – see Appendix 1 of the October briefing pack]
Three of these attendees: Councillors, Hoskins, Brazil and Derrick were also among the six attending the previous meeting in June. These Councillors deserve credit for taking their scrutiny responsibility seriously where the majority clearly have not. Note that not a single Councillor from Somerset attended. This is democratic deficit writ large.
As reported by Owl, the meeting did agreed that future meetings be webcast to continue to increase transparency of the Committee; and that public participation be adopted at future Committee meetings in line with Devon County Council’s public participation scheme. This is something that should have been included at the beginning but nevertheless represents progress.
In my comment I conjectured a number of reasons why members might find attendance to be a waste of their time and, mischievously, raised the rhetorical question as to whether HoTSW might be using creative administrative devises to make scrutiny difficult or seem unimportant. So it is interesting to read, from the minutes that among the topics discussed were the following:
1. the challenge of actively scrutinising the LEP when funds had already been allocated and projects begun;
2. the need for Scrutiny to have sight of policies before they are agreed and implemented by the LEP, to add value and effectiveness to the governance process;
3. the requirement of the Committee to scrutinise strategic documents and the cost effectiveness of the LEP.
These are excellent questions which would certainly have benefitted from members of the public being able to follow the details through webcasting. We now need to know the HotSW’s response.”
Young people – PLEASE register to vote then DO it
Go to: gov.uk/voting
Proof an expensive education isn’t always value for money
Boris Johnson’s handwriting and excuses for not meeting with select committees:
Committee chair Sarah Woolaston’s reply:
Berlin to freeze rents for 5 years
“… Berlin’s state cabinet has agreed on a rent freeze for five years to counter rising housing costs in the German capital.
The city’s leftwing coalition government wants to freeze the rent for apartments built before 2014, according to a report by the German news agency dpa.
Only a minority of Berliners own their homes or apartments and rent has been rising sharply in recent years, forcing many to move outside the city. …”
“Plan for fracking ‘years behind schedule’ and has cost taxpayer £32m”
Imagine what we could have done with £32m!
How did our MPs vote?
No surprises – both for exit, both for no scrutiny.
DCC opens up its Local Enterprise Partnership Scrutiny Commmittee to public scrutiny and participation
This positive change has long been requested by East Devon Alliance DCC Councillor Martin Shaw (Colyton and Seaton).
See minutes below for a full account of discussion at the meeting – about what is working well and (more importantly and interestingly) what is not:
https://democracy.devon.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId=3572&x=1
“UK to use £1bn meant for green energy to support fracking in Argentina”
“The UK is planning to invest in Argentina’s controversial oil shale industry using a £1bn export finance deal intended to support green energy, according to government documents seen by the Guardian.
UK Export Finance, the government’s foreign credit agency, promised in 2017 to offer loans totalling £1bn to help UK companies export their expertise in “infrastructure, green energy and healthcare” to invest in Argentina’s economy.
Instead official records, released through a freedom of information request, have revealed the government’s plan to prioritise support for major oil companies, including Shell and BP, which are fracking in Argentina’s vast Vaca Muerta shale heartlands.
One government memo, uncovered by Friends of the Earth, said that while Argentina’s clean energy sector was growing, it was “Argentina’s huge shale resources that offer the greatest potential” for the UK. …”
EDDC ex-Tory councillor doesn’t like the idea of a Jurassic National Park
Can leopards change their spots?
Interestingly, his objection seems to be entirely about losing control of housing development:
His objections seem eerily reminiscent of the objections raised when Paul Diviani was Leader of EDDC:
Surely not?
East Devon’s “North West Quadrant” of “linked villages” – or Exeter’s North East suburbs?
“The potential for strategic scale development in the North West Quadrant area of East Devon was identified and a network of linked villages, referred to as Clyst Villages, has been put forward
The concept of a ‘network of linked villages’ being built in the North West Quadrant area of East Devon will be investigated.
East Devon District Council’s Strategic Planning Committee on Tuesday morning unanimously recommends to the Cabinet that East Devon supports the Exeter and East Devon garden communities status.
The Exeter bid would see around 12,000 new homes built in the city as part of the Liveable Exeter vision and has already been agreed by their council. …”
“The villages of Poltimore, Huxham, Clyst St Mary, Clyst St George, Ebford, West Hill, Woodbury, Woodbury Salterton, Exton and Farringdon would be most likely to be included as ones that could be expanded further, based on them being in the quadrant and close to existing infrastructure….”
Cllr Philip Skinner said: “We are going to have the housing numbers whether we like it or not, and we cannot put off and delay this as there is a much bigger vision than just focusing on that. This is a really exciting project and I hope people grasp it with the enthusiasm that I have so we get the good things for the area that we live in.
“This is an extremely important document that we should be signing up to this now and I am bang up for seeing this comes forward in the right way.” …
https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/east-devon-could-getting-network-3454612
Hemingway designs for Exmouth on display 13-14 November: 4.5 hours to view materials, 2 hours for presentation of feedback
Doesn’t seem a lot of time for such an important project … and it sounds like “show and tell” rather rhan “show and listen”.
“Hemingway Design – tasked with creating a vision for the third phase of the seafront regeneration scheme – will outline the feedback they received from an online survey and how those views have guided the proposals.
The phase three site includes the former Exmouth Fun Park and the plot currently occupied by Harbour View Café.
People can view the exhibition materials on
Wednesday, November 13, from noon until 4.30pm at a public drop-in at the same venue.
The event, organised by Hemingway Design and supported by East Devon District Council, will take place between
5.30pm and 7.30pm on
Thursday, November 14, at Ocean.
The exhibition will also look at ways that these opportunities can be realistically implemented.
Commercial property advisors from Lambert Smith Hampton will be on hand to advise on deliverability of the proposals. …”
https://www.exmouthjournal.co.uk/news/hemingway-design-public-exhibition-event-1-6334227
“£14 Billion ‘wasted’ by the government on ‘botched’ outsourcing”
“The government has wasted at least £14 billion between 2016 and 2019 on poorly managed outsourcing contracts finds a report from the Reform Think Tank.
The report is based on an analysis of investigations by the National Audit Office NAO), Parliamentary Select Committees and other statutory bodies. The total value of the contracts investigated was £71.1 billion.
The Ministry of Defence accounts for 27 per cent of this waste. This includes a 17 year delay in the full decommissioning of nuclear submarines and a poorly planned army recruitment programme. This saw soldiers forced into backoffice jobs to clear an IT backlog created by an untested IT system created in partnership between the army and Capita.
Other examples include the vastly expensive liquidation of Carrillion, which cost the government at least £148 million as well as involving the time and resources of 14 government departments and public bodies.
Also the Department for Education continued to give Learndirect £105 million after the programme was rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted. This should have led to the funding being withdrawn.
A third of the government’s annual budget is spent on outsourced services, at a total of ££292 Billion.
Reform is now calling for an independent regulator of the outsourcing sector which – unlike the NAO or Select Committees would have the power to enforce change and impose sanctions on failing providers.
Senior Researcher and Reform procurement lead, Dr Joshua Pritchard said “Our public services cannot function without outsourcing. But when it goes wrong, it’s taxpayers who end up footing the bill
“The £14.3 billion wasted as a result of poorly drawn up and managed government contracts is inexcusable.
“We need a new regulator with the power to prevent public money being squandered because of totally avoidable mistakes.”
£14 Billion ‘wasted’ by the government on ‘botched’ outsourcing
“Seaside residents dominate personal debt league in England and Wales”
Owl says: Has anyone seen policies to reverse this trend from our Local Enterprise Partnership? Or even from EDDC? Or DCC?
Hint: development in Exmouth is the “traditional” kind the article points out as leading to problems.
“Seaside towns and cities dominate the list of areas with the highest numbers of people getting into serious difficulties with debt, according to new figures.
Scarborough, the largest resort on the Yorkshire coast, ranked second out of 347 local authorities in England and Wales for personal insolvencies, while Torbay in Devon – which includes the town of Torquay – came third, said the accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young.
Plymouth, on the south coast of Devon, was ranked fourth, while Blackpool was in sixth place.
However, it was the city of Stoke-on-Trent in the Midlands which had the highest rate of personal insolvencies, recording just over 51 per 10,000 adults in 2018. The national average was 25, said the firm.
The insolvency rate includes personal bankruptcies, debt relief orders and individual voluntary arrangements….
Other coastal locations or regions featured in the firm’s “top 20” included Weymouth and Portland in Dorset, which includes the resort of Weymouth, which was in 12th place (39.6 insolvencies per 10,000 adults); the Isle of Wight, in 13th place (39.3 per 10,000); Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, in 14th place (39.2 per 10,000); Cornwall, in 17th place (38.5 per 10,000); and Hastings in East Sussex, in 19th place (38 per 10,000).
The accountancy firm said many coastal towns outside south-east England had struggled to replace their traditional industries with faster growth sectors such as financial services and technology. …”
Bigger problems than Brexit?
“Lord Mervyn King calls for general election to provide mandate for either Leave or Remain.
Brexit is stopping Britain from addressing deep problems with its economy, a former Bank of England governor has warned.
Mervyn King called for an election and a new parliament to resolve the current impasse, claiming that “most people think that this has gone on for far too long and just have the view – ‘just do it’”.
He added that it did not matter whether people voted to remain or leave the European Union.
Lord King was speaking after MPs voted to delay a meaningful vote on the prime minister’s deal, forcing Boris Johnson to write to the EU to ask for a further extension to the Brexit process.
“It’s frustrating parliament can’t make up its mind and hasn’t been able to vote but let’s hope they do,” Lord King told Sky News after his speech at the International Monterary Fund’s annual meetings in Washington.
He warned the all-consuming nature of Brexit meant politicians were not looking at the UK’s underlying economic challenges.
“We have one of the lowest savings rates in the British economy of any country in the G20 save perhaps for Argentina. We’re not saving enough to finance our pensions or care for the elderly, or to finance infrastructure.
“These are the big challenges. What do we do about the education of 50 per cent of people who don’t go to college or university? It’s a great shame [Brexit] has dragged on so long.”
Although he claimed that Britain was “in the middle of the worst political and constitutional crisis for arguably several hundred years”, Lord King downplayed the impact Brexit could have on the UK and world economies.
“The decision to leave the EU is not likely to have a major impact on the UK economy in any way… I think there’s an awful lot of bogus quantification going on to justify positions held for other reasons,” he said. “I don’t honestly believe that Brexit has any great significance even for the rest of Europe, let alone the rest of the world. I don’t think the long-run economic consequences of the UK leaving the EU are particularly large.”
But he warned the global economy was in “great stagnation”, having grown more slowly and for a longer period than before the Great Depression of the 1930s, with levels of debt higher than they were before the 2008 financial crash.
Lord King, who governed the UK’s central bank for a decade until 2013, asserted the global economy would not be likely to suffer another financial crisis in the next 12 months.
But he warned of a global low-growth problem that wouldn’t be solved by another cut in interest rates, exacerbated by “extraordinary uncertainty”, and admitted “no one knows” whether another financial crisis is on the cards.
“We need a much wider set of policies to get out of this,” Lord King said.
The UK economy unexpectedly shrank 0.2 per cent in this year’s second financial quarter – its first contraction since 2012.”
Nearly 75% of government contractors are based in tax havens
“Almost three-quarters of companies who have been given major government contracts have operations based in tax havens, according to a new report.
Value Added, published on Sunday by the thinktank Demos, reveals that 25 of the government’s 34 strategic suppliers – organisations that receive £100m or more in revenue from the government – operate in offshore centres.
According to estimates, they account for about a fifth of total central government procurement spend. Of these, 19 had operations in jurisdictions included on the EU’s “blacklist” or “greylist” of countries that are considered to be non-compliant with EU international standards for “good tax behaviour”, according to the report.
The Labour MP and former chair of the public accounts committee, Margaret Hodge, said it was “perverse that the government continues to pay significant sums of taxpayer money to big corporations that practise tax avoidance on an alarming scale”.
There are claims that aggressive use of tax havens can distort competition.
The Labour peer, Lord Haskel, added: “For too long large international tech companies have failed to pay their fair share of tax while being rewarded with government contracts, leaving British companies at a competitive disadvantage.”
The Demos report states: “Large multinational companies, for example, continue to squeeze their tax contributions ever lower: the OECD estimates that US$100–$240bn (£78bn-£186bn) is lost globally in revenue each year from base erosion and profit shifting by multinational companies.” …”
East Devon Watch 