Owl believes that when voters removed Conservative overall control at EDDC in last May’s election, they voted for change. Ben Ingham’s regime hasn’t delivered.

Eileen Wragg, East Devon district councillor, Exmouth Journal March 4 2020:

We know that National and Local Governments inherit the legacies left by their predecessors, and that the tangles which are left behind have to be unravelled.

However, for the past four years, I have been asking EDDC, both the previous and the present administrations, where the funding for the new seafront road, reportedly costing £3.1m, was going to come from.

I was told that the contributors would be Devon County Council (DCC) and the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and that their contributions would be match-funded by the national Coastal Communities Fund.

DCC informed me that there would definitely be no financial help from them, similarly the LEP would not be providing any assistance. Therefore, there would be nothing to match-fund it to.
As readers will know, the road has now been built, but the mystery of where the funding has come from remains. At a recent meeting with the projects manager at EDDC, again I asked how the road was being paid for and was told that the actual cost of construction was £600,000, but that with other costs, the final total was £1.5m, less than half of the original stated sum.

Furthermore, I was told by the projects manager that the monies were coming from the Premier Inn development. What?!!

It was widely reported by EDDC that the money from the sale of the Elizabeth Hall had been used to pay for the new Mamhead Slipway.

So the question remains, how is the new road to nowhere being paid for? I asked the question, yet again, at Full Council on February 26, but no-one has unravelled the answer yet.
If councillors are unable to ascertain the truth, is it any wonder that there is mistrust among our constituents? Hence my resorting to writing this column, which might hopefully elicit an explanation. Oh what a tangled web it is!

Residents in the constituency of Devon East are unaccustomed to their MP speaking in parliament on local issues (or indeed speaking at all). Owl thinks they might be interested in reading a small extract from Monday’s Hansard which records Simon Jupp’s intervention and puts it in context.

From an earlier post:

I decided to stand to be a member of the Transport Select Committee and was successfully elected on February 4. I plan to use this new platform to scrutinise the government’s transport plans and highlight the need for investment in the South West. I can’t back HS2 when the main and branch railway lines in Devon simply are not fit for purpose. (Simon Jupp)

High Speed Rail (West Midlands – Crewe) Bill: Revival – Debate Hansard 2nd March extracts:

9.25 pm

Chris Loder (West Dorset) (Con)

As someone who worked in the railway industry for 20 years, I come to this debate from the opposite direction to my hon. Friend the Member for The Cotswolds (Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown). I was a firm supporter of HS2 and believed it was the right thing to do, but I am afraid I have become much more sceptical of the project.

That said, the Government’s decision has been made, and so has the strategy for HS2. West Dorset has one of the worst rail frequencies in the country—the line between ​Yeovil, Dorchester and Weymouth has one of the worst frequencies—and, for those of us in the wider south-west, it is important that the Government Front Bench understands we have great concerns that HS2, and particularly phase 2a, should not deflect the Government’s attention and their requirement to deliver the infrastructure projects we require in the south-west.

Simon Jupp (East Devon) (Con)

Warm words for the south-west are welcome, but cold, hard cash is what is needed. The south-west voted for this Government en masse, and it is time we also saw the chequebook.

Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)

Order. There is very little time left, and I made it clear at the beginning that this is not about other constituencies. The hon. Gentleman can refer to his constituency, but this is about a very specific matter.

Chris Loder

I equally want to make sure that we are as supportive of the Government as possible. Those of us who are moving in this debate need to be absolutely assured so, in his summing up, I would like to hear the Minister give us the confirmation and assurance that HS2, particularly phase 2a, will not affect the Government’s previous commitments to deliver schemes such as the A303 and Great Western diversion resilience for the people who supported them.

……………………

The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Andrew Stephenson)

I should like to reply to as many of the issues raised today as I can while discussing the motion. First, I am grateful to all right hon. and hon. Members who have taken part in the debate this evening. In his speech, the Prime Minister made it clear that things at HS2 need to change, and decisive action is being taken to restore discipline to the programme. I have been appointed to oversee High Speed 2, Northern Powerhouse Rail and the trans-Pennine route upgrade, ensuring that there is one Minister dedicated to focusing on this project, allowing many of the other issues that have ​been raised in the debate, such as the issues in the south-west, to be focused on by my ministerial colleagues in the Department.

This was a highly procedural debate and ended:

Question put and agreed to.

Ordered,

That if a Bill is presented to this House in this session in the same terms as those in which the High Speed Rail (West Midlands – Crewe) Bill stood at the last stage of its proceedings in this House in the 2019 session—

(a) the Bill so presented shall be deemed to have passed through all its stages in this House, and

(b) the Standing Orders and practice of the House applicable to the Bill, so far as complied with or dispensed with in the 2019 session, shall be deemed to have been complied with or (as the case may be) dispensed with in this session.

That the above Orders be Standing Orders of the House.

Comment by Owl: Obviously investment in our region is welcome but who would be the payee on any cheque? Great South West, Heart of the South West or who? And what would they spend it on?

Owl – beware creating sink corners on new estates!

Daniel Clark  www.devonlive.com

Fears over creating a ‘social housing hub’ has led to developers being asked to make changes to plans for 33 new homes on the edge of Exeter.

Applicants Eagle One MMlll had hoped to build 33 new homes on phase 8 of the Redhayes/Tithebarn Green development close to the Exeter Science Park.

Their scheme went before East Devon District Council’s Development Management Committee on Tuesday morning as the Local Plan only allocates 1,500 new homes to be built in the area North of Blackhorse/Redhayes, but granting this application would have taken the number to 1,513.

However while the additional 13 homes did not unduly concern the committee, they were unhappy with the eight affordable homes being ‘stuck in the corner’.

Chris Rose, the council’s Development Manager, told the committee that while council policy says that affordable housing should be ‘pepper-potted’ across the development, the registered provider had preferred the affordable units are all located in the North West corner and are not dispersed throughout the development ‘for ease of maintenance’ and had declined to move them to the western boundary of the site.

But Cllr Paul Hayward said that it was not as if they would have to travel immense distance and this was just creating a social housing hub.

He added: “This looks to be developers building a new private estate and they are obliged to have some affordable, so they cram them in the corner in an antisocial way so it doesn’t affect the viability of the rest of the site.

“It is an attempt to keep the residents in the social blocks away from everyone else. By deliberately sticking them in a corner, they are still stuck in a corner, and can leave and go without ever bothering anyone else in the development. This is unacceptable.”

He called for the application to be deferred to allow for some material changes to the layout of the site to take place, including more amenity space or more pepper potting of the affordable housing units.

Cllr Eileen Wragg had called for the committee to refuse the application, calling the developer’s reasons for not ‘pepper-potting’ were disingenuous, but Henry Gordon Lennox, the council’s Strategic Lead for Governance and Licensing, said that a deferral to allow further negotiations rather than the refusal route would be the better route to go down, and that if they still didn’t agree to any changes then the committee could then decide to refuse.

Cllr David Key said that it would be ‘ridiculous’ to refuse when negotiations with the applicants could overcome the problems, and that if they won any appeal, ‘they can do what they want and we’ve lost everything’.

The proposal to refuse the application was lost by 11 votes to three, with councillors then voting by 13 votes to one abstention to defer the application to allow further discussions over the layout of the development and over issues of biodiversity to take place.

At this month’s Cabinet meeting, councillors will consider a report that reflects on the move and what it has achieved.

Owl has some questions (and could on with more):

Q. 1. Has the move has saved money on running costs? Difficult to know whether or not any money has been saved, and if so how much. The Knowle was deliberately neglected for more than a decade and running costs were deliberately obfuscated during that time too. So, in Owl’s opinion, there is no way to make like for like comparison.

Q. 2. Final payment for the old site of £9M is 20% more than the original offer of £7.5M, does this represent tough negotiating and good value? Owl understands that information released by EDDC through FOI, estimated this site, with planning approval, would have a “developable value” of £50M. It would be usual for a developer to pay up to a third of this for the purchase of the land i.e. just up to £16.7M.

Q. 3. Will the costs of the abortive move “getting the ducks in a row” to Skypark of around £700K be counted in the Cabinet evaluation?

Q. 4. Is the market value of the new building more or less than its cost?

Francesca Evans  lyme-online.co.uk

EAST Devon District Council has reflected on the positive effects of its move to Blackdown House in Honiton after one year in residence

It is now a year since the council moved from its former headquarters at the Knowle in Sidmouth to purpose-built, modern offices in Honiton and refurbished premises in Exmouth.
At the council’s March Cabinet meeting, councillors will consider a report that reflects on the move and what it has achieved.

Having spent more than 40 years in Sidmouth, East Devon District Council reports that in just one year the move to its new offices has saved money, reduced the authority’s environmental impact and been a positive change for its workforce.

The organisation has just succeeded in achieving Investor in People’s Platinum level accreditation – the highest award possible and something only 2% of organisations achieve.
In addition, the council’s brand new building has achieved a BREEAM ‘Very Good’ sustainability rating.

On top of this, the contract negotiated with the buyers of its old Knowle site has given the council a final payment of £9million, which is 20% higher (£1.5million in cash) than the original offer price of £7.5million.

The council has not had to take up any long term borrowing to fund the Blackdown House project. All the savings go back into the council’s operation and services rather than on any debt repayment or interest.

Over the years, the council has attracted a significant amount of criticism for its decision to invest in modern offices. However, it says it has already proved to have been a good decision, achieving savings every year from year one, as well making a positive environmental impact and a modern workplace

.
Cllr Geoff Pook, portfolio holder for asset management said: “Financially, environmentally and operationally the council has made the right move. We are now based in twin sites: in the heart of Exmouth, our biggest town by far, and in Honiton, a central point in the geography of East Devon.

“The first year of operation at the new offices has already given the council an annual saving of £192,000 compared to its previous Sidmouth headquarters. This saving and future savings will go back into running the council and delivering its services.

“By leaving its old Sidmouth offices the council has also avoided £1.94million of repair and maintenance costs, which would have been needed to keep the old building going.

“The climate is benefitting as well. By making the move from its outdated offices, in the first year alone, East Devon has reduced its CO2 emissions by 80% and cut its water, electricity and gas bills by 44% overall.”

Owl would like to hear from other candidates.

Labour members in Devon and Cornwall have selected Gareth Derrick as their candidate for May’s election for the Police and Crime Commissioner. Mr Derrick, who served for over three decades in the Royal Navy is currently a Councillor on Plymouth City Council and stood as Parliamentary candidate for South East Cornwall in 2017 and 2019. He narrowly lost to incumbent Police Commissioner Alison Hernandez in 2016.

Speaking about his selection, Gareth Derrick said:

“I’m delighted to have been selected again by Labour members in Devon and Cornwall to be the candidate for Police and Crime Commissioner.

“As a member of Devon and Cornwall’s Police and Crime Panel, I have been able to see exactly what the current Tory Commissioner is doing, and in that time what have we seen? Violent crime doubled, prosecution rates at historic lows and community policing decimated – all as a result of Conservative policies.

“I’m standing because I want to restore integrity to the strategic leadership of policing and to make the force more effective in preventing crime. Without that the public will continue to lose confidence in this vital public service. Having served in the Royal Navy for over 30 years I am passionate about keeping our country and our communities safe.

“I’m looking forward to outlining my vision for policing in Devon in Cornwall over the coming weeks and months, setting out how I’ll restore trust and confidence in the role of Police and Crime Commissioner.”

As part of his energetic campaign Gareth will be meeting voters and community leaders in a series of “Meet and Greet” sessions on Thursday 5th March, at Pebbles Café in Seaton (3:15 pm), The George Hotel in Axminster (5:00 pm) and The Beehive bar in Honiton (6:30 pm).

 Further details and campaign news updates can be found at the website www.garethderrick.org 

The Mother of all Monopolies – Winston S. Churchill – 1909. 

“Roads are made, streets are made, services are improved, electric light turns night into day, water is brought from reservoirs a hundred miles off in the mountains – and all the while the landlord sits still. Every one of those improvements is effected by the labour and cost of other people and the taxpayers. To not one of those improvements does the land monopolist, as a land monopolist, contribute, and yet by every one of them the value of his land is enhanced. He renders no service to the community, he contributes nothing to the general welfare, he contributes nothing to the process from which his own enrichment is derived … the unearned increment on the land is reaped by the land monopolist in exact proportion, not to the service, but to the disservice done.”

Leilani Farha,  UN special rapporteur on adequate housing.  www.theguardian.com

A few weeks ago in Auckland, while getting into a cab, a colleague and I were having an animated discussion about the merits of a capital gains tax. Before greeting us, the driver chimed in with his dislike for any tax on profits from the sale of property. An interesting start to the ride. A few questions later and the cabbie revealed that he owned four properties in addition to his family home. Welcome to New Zealand.

Or should I say, welcome to the world?

Globally, residential property remains one of the hottest commodities, with assets valued at $162 trillion, a dizzying amount that is almost three times the value of every single country’s GDP combined. While individual investors want a piece of the pie, it’s largely being driven by multinational institutional investors with unprecedented amounts of capital: private equity, pension funds and asset management firms. It’s called the financialisation of housing, and it’s coming to a neighbourhood near you.

What I’ve found over the past six years as UN special rapporteur – having visited Nigeria, India, Chile, Korea, Egypt, Portugal and New Zealand, among others – is that while every country has its own particularities regarding housing there’s an overriding common thread: cities are unaffordable for ordinary people and they are being pushed out of their homes and communities.

On the surface, the problem is that rents are just too damn high. Dig a little deeper, and you’ll find that those rent prices are the product of a global financial trend towards residential property investment, supported by governments.

In essence, treating housing as a commodity is creating a global crisis witnessed in Hong Kong, London and New York, but also in Auckland, Lagos and Buenos Aires.

On the business side, it goes like this: big financial investors (private equity firms, pension funds and multinational asset management firms) survey city landscapes looking for “undervalued” properties they can swoop in and purchase to add to their investment portfolio. Once the transaction – the purchase of hundreds or even thousands of units in one fell swoop – is complete, they set about reaping profits to satisfy their investors and to generate more capital to do it all again.

In many cases, units are soon renovated, whether necessary or not. If the renovations alone don’t drive the tenants out – and in some cases, that appears to be the intention – then they are used to justify rent increases, making the place unaffordable to those living there. In other cases, billions of dollars are invested in apartments that are then rented out for short-stay tourists, or that sit empty, accruing gains and hiding capital while serving no social function.

All of this is happening with the active participation of governments. Legislators the world over have marched to the beat of the International Monetary Fund’s drum by suspending expenditure on social housing or selling it off, and weakening tenant protections such as rent caps and lease terms.

Meanwhile investors are favoured through offers of “golden visas” and tax advantages for those engaged in the purchasing of residential property, regardless of whether they intend to live there. Investors either have a seat at the political table or have a stranglehold on political decision-making.

In Spain, the city of Madrid sold more than 1,800 social housing units to Blackstone – one of the world’s leading investment firms – at a reduced price following the global financial crisis. As of last year, the value of those units had risen by 227%. It has been estimated that rent in those social housing units has increased by almost 50%. Blackstone has also been allowed to purchase the nationalised mortgage broker group, Anticipa, as well as 112,000 residential mortgages from Catalunya Caixa (again at a discounted rate); both purchases are worth billions of euros.

In the affluent London borough of Kensington and Chelsea – where the Grenfell Tower fire happened – the number of vacant units increased by 40% between 2013 and 2014. I’ve been told repeatedly by British politicians that London property is an export product for the UK, which is borne out by the facts: by 2015, more than 36,000 properties in the UK capital were held by shell companies registered in offshore havens such as Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Isle of Man and Jersey. A 2017 report demonstrates that overseas ownership is steadily increasing, making up at least one third of sales in central London boroughs.

In Lagos in Nigeria you’ll find thousands of luxury and high-end homes standing vacant, shells for corrupt money and absentee owners; meanwhile almost 70% of the urban population in the country live in slums, most of which lack even a toilet. The government’s response is to stand by idly, allowing the free flow of corrupt money into residential real estate.

In the neighbourhood of Cerro Baron, in Valparaíso – one of the poorest jurisdictions in Chile and one of the most visited by tourists for its coastal location and association with the poet, Pablo Neruda – residents are being evicted and homes demolished to make way for luxury condominiums, most of which stand vacant, and few of which are owned by local residents; a reflection of the gross inequality that marks a country whose economy has been firmly based in neoliberalism since the Pinochet years.

These are just a few examples of a global housing crisis, experienced in just about every city across the planet, and the focus of a documentary film, Push, released in the UK this week. It’s an unsustainable path, the consequences of which are dire. There are now at least 1.8 billion people living in grossly inadequate housing. Informal settlements in poorer countries and tent encampments in richer ones are flourishing because people have nowhere affordable to live. In the most affluent countries, I meet students and working families living in motels, shelters and cars. One doesn’t have to be a UN rapporteur to know that homelessness is deadly, results in preventable illnesses and is an assault on dignity. Homeless people are traumatised and suffer deeply, their human rights are repeatedly violated, but states continue to act with virtual impunity.

There is, however, some pushback. City residents around the world – from Cape Town, Berlin and Hong Kong to Copenhagen, Santiago and Los Angeles – have started to demand government accountability for housing-related human rights. And their demands are clear – governments must reclaim housing as a human right by stepping back in and developing strategies that regulate investing in housing, protect existing public and affordable housing, and create accessible homes through innovative means.

It only took a 20-minute ride across Auckland for that cab driver to concede that in the light of the housing crisis, a capital gains tax in New Zealand might not be a bad idea. But in the six years I’ve been engaging with governments as rapporteur, I’ve seen too few victories. States must do more, they must do better and they must do it now. People in cities can’t wait.

Lifeline services for the elderly in Budleigh Salterton have taken another hit today as Age Concern announced it is closing its day centre.

Following on the heels of the imminent closure of the Abbeyfield Shandford, Budleigh Salterton Age Concern has confirmed the current facilities provided at the health and wellbeing hub will end on April 30.

Daniel Wilkins  www.exmouthjournal.co.uk

Following on the heels of the imminent closure of the Abbeyfield Shandford, Budleigh Salterton Age Concern has confirmed the current facilities provided at the health and wellbeing hub will end on April 30.

The charity provides a drop-in service for people over the age of 50 on weekdays, and day care at least two days a week, at the former Budleigh Hospital in East Budleigh Road.

Former Budleigh GP Graham Taylor, chairman of Age Concern, said he is ‘extremely disappointed’ that the service is going to close, but hopes its lunch club can continue ‘in one form or another’

Dr Taylor said their service has become ‘economically unsustainable’.

He said: “The charity is an established part of Budleigh Salterton life, giving elderly people in the local community a great service.

“However, in the present climate when care is focusing increasingly on assisting clients in their own homes rather than in day centres, our provision at the hub has become economically unsustainable.”

Age Concern said the welfare of its clients is of ‘paramount importance’ and it will do ‘everything possible’ to provide suitable alternatives.

Dr Taylor said: “It is appreciated how much anxiety such a change will cause, but the trustees and staff will be available to talk through the process with clients and members of their families.

“Trustees will offer support and information and where needed assist with making referrals to Social Services for assessments.”

The charity will offer full redundancy payments to its staff to help them secure new career opportunities.

Dr Taylor added: “The Trustees are hugely grateful for the valuable contribution made by the team of volunteers without whose loyal support, Age Concern could not have been so successful over the last 30 years.”

According to Age Concern Budleigh Salterton, Westbank, which runs the hub, said it is going to make ‘every effort’ to reduce the impact of the change for existing clients, and will be seeking to make use of the space vacated by the charity to meet the future needs of older people.

Owl believes there is a backstory to this that readers should be aware of.

There are two environmental sites of European significance in East Devon: the Exe Estuary and the Pebblebed Heath. These sites are so special that local authorities have a legal duty to ensure no adverse effects occur from increased recreational demand as a result of new developments. Putting it crudely a way has to be found to stop members of the public visiting these site as frequently as they do as there will be a lot more people around. This concerns not just dog walkers, it includes recreational use of the Exe Estuary for activities like kite surfing!

A “mitigation” study was carried out c 2013. The main mitigation measures suggested was the creation of Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) to divert visitors to somewhere less sensitive.

EDDC put forward initial plans for expansion and enhancement of the Clyst Valley and in something they called the “Valley Parks” around Exmouth. However EDDC shot themselves in the foot by granting planning permission for residential development on land that forms part of the Exmouth Valley Parks whilst the proposal was under consideration. Only the Clyst Valley remains.
We are fast running out of greenspace in East Devon. EDDC has agreed with its neighbouring authorities of Exeter City Council and Teignbridge District Council to levy Habitat Mitigation contributions from housing development within 10Km of each zone, increasing in any overlapping zones, see:

Click to access new-hab-reg-rates-pdf-aug-19.pdf

Owl would like to point out the obvious: green space is finite and money can’t create it out of thin air.

Becca Gliddon eastdevonnews.co.uk 

Countryside paths and lanes around Cranbrook, Broadclyst and Pinhoe will be improved to create a network of walking and cycling routes linking up local green beauty spots.

East Devon District Council (EDDC) said the Routes for Roots project was another step towards bringing the Clyst Valley Regional Park to life, planting trees and creating traffic-free trails.

The aim of the Clyst Valley Trail was to ‘form the backbone’ of a network, linking the Exe Estuary Trail with the Exe Valley Way, the council said.

EDDC called the regional park – half the size of Exeter – a ‘vital breathing space’, encouraging local people to get active outside and ‘discover hidden gems’ on their doorstep.

Councillor Geoff Jung, EDDC portfolio holder for the environment, said the council hoped opening up countryside to all would help combat loneliness in the elderly and isolated, and encourage young people outside.

He hoped the link-up network would persuade parents with children to play outside, and the older generation to explore and visit areas of historical interest.

And as a follow-on from Great Trees in the Clyst Valley, where volunteers planted 2,700 trees, people can sign-up to become Friends of the Clyst Valley.

Cllr Jung said: “We’ve thought carefully and creatively about how we can help people explore wonderful places such as Cranbrook Country Park and Ashclyst Forest.”

The project has secured funding of £98,800 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, EDDC, LiveWest, Move More Cranbrook, National Trust, Active Devon and Devon County Council.

The district council said the project will:

• encourage people to ‘get out there’ and discover the countryside with an ‘exciting’ range of guided walks on a variety of different themes. including wildlife, art, history and archaeology.
• encourage communities to explore and record their own historic routes, with a series of local history roadshows and the creation of community maps.
• get young people playing and socialising outdoors through activities like bushcraft, archery, and live action role-play.
• train volunteers to monitor conditions of paths and routes so they can be prioritised for maintenance and improvement.
• create new permissive paths.
• plant a new generation of trees to reduce flooding, improve water and air quality and protect crucial wildlife habitats.
• install improved signs, gates and path surfaces.
• record historical features such as routes, mills, leats and water meadows.
• install new public art showing the history of the area, such as the Cranbrook archer.

For more information, and to become a Friend of the Clyst Valley, see here 

A Cornish woman speaks out: “Second homes are bad. We know this. It’s why there’s such a thing as the Cornwall Community Foundation, a charity set up by second home owners to make them feel better about destroying communities, perpetuating gross economic inequality and contributing to the housing crisis. But there’s something missing from this guilt list, something rarely mentioned in the context of housing: climate change.”

Catrina Davies  www.thetimes.co.uk

Second home ownership has risen by almost a third in 20 years. In 2018 two thirds of all the houses sold around Padstow (David Cameron’s occasional abode) were bought for second homes. The Resolution Foundation has estimated that one in ten Britons owns a second home while four in ten own no property at all. In some parts of Pembrokeshire 70 per cent of the houses are second homes. No coincidence, perhaps, that Cornwall and west Wales are the two most economically deprived regions in northern Europe.

So far, so depressing, but what’s it got to do with climate change? First, wasted energy. I grew up in west Cornwall, working as an author, musician and occasional gardener and cleaner but I can only afford to stay there as an adult by living in a shed with no insulation and no central heating. I found it deeply dispiriting therefore when I went to clean someone’s second home on a Saturday morning in December to find the five-bed house, which has been empty for four months, 15C warmer than my own place.

I found that the oil-fired boiler was linked to a thermostat which was set to 19C. Walking home I noticed the vents belonging to all the empty houses on the cliff chuffing out steam like Thomas the Tank Engine. I assume it’s because granite cottages smell damp if they’re not lived in.

I don’t have a fridge, partly because they cost a lot in electricity and partly because HFCs, the chemicals used in fridges and air conditioning, are up to 9,000 times more warming for the atmosphere than CO2. Yet all the empty houses have family-sized fridge freezers and I’ve only ever had one client turn theirs off when the house is empty. Most second homes have lights that come on automatically every night and winking burglar alarms.

Incredibly, 6,650 of Cornwall’s 8,808 registered holiday lets pay zero towards local services. The most recent study in July 2018 estimates that Cornwall council loses £13 million in tax revenue because of second homes. Set this against the council’s projected budget deficit of £17.3 million by 2023-24. Factor in a promise to spend £16 million tackling climate change, and weep.

Catrina Davies is the author of Homesick: Why I Live in a Shed, published by Riverrun

Richard Gannon whose 100-year-old mother Jessie has lived at Shandford, Budleigh, for nearly two years, is quoted as saying.: “It [moving] would her kill without a shadow of doubt and I’d expect several deaths quite quickly,” he said. “You simply can’t disrupt someone’s life at 100. It took her three months to acclimatise and she is now fine and happy.”

Owl has reported on the proposed closure of Shandford, Budleigh, a number of times. Now a home in Axminster is involved as well. Owl understands that the question of the Budleigh home being no longer viable was challenged at the public meeting called by Simon Jupp MP a few weeks ago on the basis of local knowledge.  Also queried was the question: on what authority were those making decisions on behalf of the community acting, the “Shandford Volunteer Group”? locals don’t see anywhere else in Budleigh where any assets released by a sale could be employed to provide residential care for the local elderly to better effect.

Simon Jupp has told residents’ relatives and friends of Shandford that he has asked Abbeyfield a number of searching questions. Owl understands they have not yet heard the result.

Owl fears time is running out.

Anita Merritt  www.devonlive.com 

New care homes are being sought for elderly people in Devon after a care provider has announced it is closing two homes.

Abbeyfield, a charity and registered housing association, has conducted a review of all of its 120 centrally managed nationwide and 22 were identified as requiring significant improvements and closure consultations were opened.

Of those, 19 homes have been confirmed for closure, including two in Devon – Abbeyfield House in Axminster and Abbeyfield Shandford in Budleigh Salterton.

In a last ditch attempt to save the latter from closure, a petition has been launched on In Your Area to try and stop 21 elderly residents, including some who are aged 100 or over, having to move.

Following a consultation last year, it was announced last month that long-established Shandford will close its doors on March 31.

Last October, Devon Live reported how devastated residents and families of those living at the feared its closure could result in the deaths of those who are very old and vulnerable.

Abbeyfield have said money from the potential sale of the site and legacy funds will be used ‘for the benefit of older people in Budleigh Salterton’.

It first revealed it was reviewing the service in January 2019, and then stated it would continue to be provided.

However, in September it began a consultation into the future of the home which employs 35 staff. It promoted a petition to be launched which was signed by hundreds of local residents.

Following the confirmation of its closure, another petition has been launched in the hope the decision can be reversed. It has been shared on In Your Area.

It has been instigated by Richard Gannon whose 100-year-old mother Jessie has lived at the home for nearly two years. She moved from sheltered housing in Axminster, which is also owned by Abbeyfield and has also been confirmed as closing.

Speaking last year he said: “It would her kill without a shadow of doubt and I’d expect several deaths quite quickly,” he said. “You simply can’t disrupt someone’s life at 100. It took her three months to acclimatise and she is now fine and happy.”

Explaining the reasons for the closure of Shandford, a spokesperson for Abbeyfield said:“The decision to close it was taken after an 18 month review into the viability of the home that was carried out by independent experts.

“This was followed by a lengthy consultation period which was extended to allow a local volunteer group to explore options for returning the home to trustee ownership. Unfortunately, they unanimously agreed that this was not a viable option.

“All decisions taken by The Abbeyfield Society are made with the best interests of residents at its heart. We firmly believe that the size and layout of the home is no longer suitable for the increasingly complex needs of current and future residents, and that it is impossible for us to complete necessary renovations to ensure the homer is fit for purpose in the future.

“The Abbeyfield Society will not make any financial gain from the sale of the property. All funds raised will be reinvested for the benefit of elderly people living in Budleigh Salterton and nearby communities, in line with the legal agreements made when Abbeyfield took ownership of the building.”

Abbeyfield have stated they only received one offer for the take-over of the home. 

A spokesperson said: “This was made by a group that wanted to turn the home into supported living, which would have been unsuitable as Shandford is a care home which requires different accreditation and very different regulatory standards.

“It would not have been suitable for the residents at the home who have specific care requirements.”

The care provider has also confirmed it is legally bound to find alternative accommodation for all residents and that they have been assessed by the local authority to determine their individual care needs and to secure a suitable alternative care home.

The spokesperson added: “The date we are aiming for is March 31, but we won’t be moving residents until Devon County Council can properly assess their needs and we find them a care placement can properly care for them. Their safety has to be the top priority so no sale would take place until we find them all suitable new homes.”

Abbeyfield has hired an additional manager to assist the current home manager to assist with additional duties and to support residents through the closure process.

The spokesperson continued: “The new manager is experienced and will help to ensure the safety and wellbeing of residents. Timescales for closure have been unaffected by his arrival and continue to be based on finding suitable alternative care placements for the residents.” 

Shandford had been run under trustee management until 2012 when the Abbeyfield Society took over. The former trustees of Shandford care home asked a volunteer group of local people to explore the viability of returning the home to trustee management as an alternative to the closure proposed by The Abbeyfield Society

The group included former professionals in areas including care home management, finance, medicine, property and law. 

A spokesperson for Shandford Volunteer Group said: “Abbeyfield delayed the closure to give the group time for their considerations and supplied confidential financial, property and other data so that due diligence could be undertaken.

“Sadly, we reached the conclusion after an exhaustive analysis that returning the home to trustee management was not viable, a decision which was taken with great reluctance but was, significantly, unanimous.

“Any proceeds from sale of the home and remaining legacy funds will revert to the original local charity and will be used for the benefit of elderly people of limited means in Budleigh Salterton and surrounding villages. The volunteer group is now focused on assessing the options for using these funds to best effect.”

“Abbeyfield and it’s member societies operate or support over 450 services nationally, with several Abbeyfield branded homes in Devon remaining open”.

The second Abbeyfield care home which is in the process of closing has eight residents who are being found new homes. The high cost of maintaining the historic building – built in 1797 – is one of the factors behind the proposal to shut it.

The main reason give by Abbeyfield is the building, partly because of its age and the small room sizes, requires significant renovations to bring it in line with best-practice standards.

A spokesperson said: “We do not see a viable way of completing these renovations while maintaining a sustainable service.”

The home has eight rooms and a bedroom flat. It’s supported housing allows elderly residents to live independently in their own space.

Abbeyfield and it’s member societies operate or support over 450 services nationally, with several Abbeyfield branded homes in Devon remaining open.

An example of disruptive thinking in Whitehall, and it doesn’t get more disruptive than this ! – Owl.

One of the Government’s most senior officials has made the incendiary suggestion that Britain does not need its own farming industry.

Glen Owen www.dailymail.co.uk 

One of the Government’s most senior officials has made the incendiary suggestion that Britain does not need its own farming industry.

In leaked emails obtained by The Mail on Sunday, powerful Treasury adviser Tim Leunig argues that the food sector is not ‘critically important’ to the economy – and that agriculture and fishery production ‘certainly isn’t’. 

In his astonishing remarks – which comes as the UK prepares to enter crunch post-Brexit trade talks with Donald Trump – Dr Leunig implies that the UK could follow the example of Singapore ‘which is rich without having its own agricultural sector’.

Dr Leunig is a long-standing colleague of Boris Johnson‘s No 10 enforcer Dominic Cummings, and his intervention exemplifies the radical thinking within Boris Johnson’s inner circle against bastions of the Establishment such as the Civil Service and the BBC.

A senior economic adviser to new Chancellor Rishi Sunak has argued that Britain could become ‘like Singapore’ and import all our food.

In his controversial comments, he also suggests farmers should not be given tax breaks denied to other industries.

Last night, a bullish Boris Johnson said: ‘We have the best negotiators in the business.’ And he vowed to ‘drive a hard bargain’ with President Donald Trump which would trade ‘Scottish smoked salmon for Stetson hats’.

Dr Leunig, an associate professor at the London School of Economics, who also holds advisory positions in the Education and Environment Departments, made his arguments in emails sent last week to the National Food Strategy, the Government’s wholesale review of the British food system.

He wrote: ‘Food sector isn’t critically important to the UK, and ag[riculture] and fish production certainly isn’t’. He pointed to figures suggesting that it adds just 0.5 per cent in extra value to the economy.

Dr Leunig then questioned the special tax breaks given to farmers, saying: ‘We know that supermarkets also make very little, and that lots of restaurants go bust.

When he was challenged by fellow members of the review’s advisory panel, he responded: ‘All I am saying is that, as a logical possibility, a nation (or region) can import stuff. We see that in many places for many goods and services. Singapore imports (almost) all its food, Germany all its oil, Japan all its planes and all its oil, Australia and New Zealand import all their cars, all their planes and all their oil, while Iceland imports oil, cars, planes and graduate-level education.’

Last night, a senior industry insider said: ‘The UK is a fantastic place to produce food and we have some of the highest standards in the world. In a trade deal with the US, we face the prospect of imports of food produced to standards that would be illegal for our own farmers to employ. Why would any adviser to Government seek to decimate our own farming sector?

‘Surely the first duties of any Government should be to defend and feed its people. It seems to me that a country that cannot feed itself is no country at all.’

But a Government spokesman said that Dr Leunig’s comments were ‘not Government policy’.

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss will tomorrow announce the UK’s negotiating objectives for a transatlantic trade deal, and is set to say it must ‘uphold our high standards on food safety and animal welfare’ as well as protect the NHS.

The National Farmers’ Union has been pressing the Government not to relax standards, saying it would be ‘morally bankrupt’ to allow chemically cleaned poultry, hormone-treated beef and genetically modified fruit and vegetables.

The union said it would be ‘insane’ to sign a trade deal on that basis.

Tim Leuing most controversial policy idea – until today – was to pull all Government support from ‘failed’ Northern cities and encourage the inhabitants to migrate South.

‘Barmy,’ said a furious David Cameron, who was Tory leader when Dr Leunig floated it in a think-tank report in 2008. ‘Rubbish from start to finish.’

Mr Cameron added: ‘I hear he is off to Australia. The sooner he gets on the ship, the better.’

But Dr Leunig was not planning to emigrate – and four years later he sailed into the heart of Mr Cameron’s Government as an adviser to Michael Gove.

He now holds an unusually powerful position in Whitehall, with footholds in the departments of Education, the Environment and the Treasury, where he became economic adviser to the Chancellor just weeks after Boris Johnson became Prime Minister last summer……….  

[Article continues in this vein – if you are at a loose end this weekend, read on – Owl]

More problems with Airbnb style letting in Big Towns and Cities as it distorts the rental market and homes are turned into hotels.

Councils have called for a national registration scheme for Airbnb-style holiday lets after it emerged that one in four short-term landlords in London is breaking the law.

Melissa York  www.thetimes.co.uk 

Homeowners in the capital are allowed to rent out their properties for short-term lets without planning permission for up to 90 nights a year, but the Greater London Authority (GLA) said that 23 per cent of those offering short-term lets ignored the cap.

Data from Camden council in north London suggested that 48 per cent of landlords are illegally letting their properties out as holiday homes. Councillors said that the problem was so pronounced that schools could not fill their classrooms and families were moving away from the area because of a lack of housing.

“Homes are being turned into hotels and it undermines our efforts to keep families in Camden,” Angela Mason, a council cabinet member for children and families, said.

The GLA report, which analysed data from the activism website Inside Airbnb, said the short-stay lettings site was responsible for 65 per cent of all such listings in the capital. The number of Airbnb listings has quadrupled in the last four years, from 18,400 to 80,800, according to the statistics.

The figures, presented to the all-party parliamentary group on short lets, also showed that landlords could make £109 a night by offering short-term lets, against an average market rent equating to £58 a night.

The GLA was joined by London Councils, which represents all 32 boroughs and the City of London, in calling for action at the national level to make it compulsory for all landlords to register on a single online database.

The Scottish parliament voted last month in favour of a new licensing scheme for short lets that will come into force in spring next year. All holiday homes will have to comply with safety standards and councils will have the power to require planning permission for listings that involve letting out entire properties.

Airbnb said the report showed that the majority of Londoners obeyed the law and that almost half of listings were shared for less than 30 nights.

Patrick Robinson, director of public policy at Airbnb, said: “We are now working with cities across the UK, including London, on proposals for a host registration system that we will put to the government later this year.”

Owl brings you latest: Honiton Town Clerk, Mark Tredwin, has penned an open letter pleading for changes in the way council staff are treated.

Hannah Corfield honiton.nub.news

Mr Tredwin is currently signed off sick amid claims of bullying.

The letter, which was sent to councillors today (February 28), highlights 18 examples of alleged bullying and calls for a change of culture at the council.

He begins by stating that it is ‘only proper’ to explain the full nature of his absence, which he announced at a council meeting on February 10, before walking out.

He wrote: “As a result of bullying, threats, intimidation and constant undermining of both my role and that of the staff by some members of this council, I am suffering from severe stress.

“The reasons have been the subject of much speculation and rumour on social media and the press and I would like to bring some clarity to the reasons for my being off.”

He stated that he had previously alerted council members that ‘behaviour aimed at himself and staff had not been acceptable’ and that the ‘demand to see appraisals accelerated his decline to the point where he had no choice but to visit a doctor’.

He made it clear that this was not ‘one isolated incident’ before outlining 18 examples of the type of behaviour he believes has led to him being signed off.

He then goes on to explain: “I have made repeated statements that this council should develop a corporate plan outlining its future plans.

“This has been rebuffed all along the way and members have allowed personal and dare I say it political agendas to get in the way of delivering positive outcomes to the community.

“Over the past two weeks I have read what has appeared in the press and online with great sadness and concern.

“This council is at great risk of further financial litigation and expenditure unless some form of radical change takes place.”

In conclusion, he said: “One thing I am certain of is that I want to come back and serve the community of Honiton as their town council clerk, once my doctor agrees that I am fit to do so.

“Can I actually do that, right now I do not know.”

We have approached the town’s mayor, John Zarczynski, for comment and are currently awaiting his response.

We will keep you updated.

Less than 3% of homes to be built on public land that has been sold to developers will end up being for genuinely affordable social rent, data published today reveals.

By Hamish Champ18 February 2020 www.housingtoday.co.uk

The left-leaning New Economics Foundation (NEF) think-tank said the release of figures published by the government last week was welcome, but the data revealed a poor outlook for those in need of affordable housing.

Its analysis showed that of plans for 131,000 homes on public land sold since 2011, just under 20,000 would be deemed affordable and 3,410 would be let for social rent.

The government was aiming to release enough land for 160,000 homes by this year as part of a five-year programme, but it confirmed last week that it had missed this target.

The NEF said that only 15% of homes built on public land under the scheme would be classified as “affordable housing”.

Hanna Wheatley, senior researcher at the NEF, said building social homes should be a priority for the government.

She added: “With public land, the government has a real opportunity to meet this need. But so far, they have made limited effort to influence what happens on public land, instead selling to private developers who build unaffordable homes.

“Public land should be used for public benefit and not sold to the highest bidder.”

Citing research by consumer group Which? the foundation said that in London, shared ownership – classified as a form of affordable housing – was still accessible to households that earned as much as £90,000 a year.

This seems to be the season of grand strategic reports. Here is the latest on regional inequalities, chaired by Lord Kerslake. These must have been started a couple of years ago and Owl wonders how the new disruptive regime of Boris and Dominic will react to them. 

Make No Little Plans: ACTING AT SCALE FOR A FAIRER AND STRONGER FUTURE

http://uk2070.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/UK2070-EXEC-SUMMARY-FINAL-REPORT.pdf

 UK 2070 Commission is an independent inquiry into the deep–rooted spatial inequalities within the United Kingdom. There is no longer any real debate about the scale of these inequalities. Whether in terms of health, housing or productivity, it is now accepted that the UK is one of the most regionally imbalanced economies in the industrialised world.

The Ten Point Programme of Action 

Action 1: A Spatially Just Transition to Zero-Carbon Ensuring there is an explicit spatial dimension in the UK’s plan to become zero carbon by 2050. 

Action 2: Delivering a Connectivity Revolution Creating a transformed public transport network between cities, within cities and beyond cities.

Action 3: Creating New Global Centres of Excellence Harnessing increased investment in research and development to create ‘hub and spoke’ networks of excellence across the country to complement London and the Wider South East.

Action 4: Strengthening the Foundations of Local Economies Empowering local leadership in towns and local communities to deliver increased local economic growth and wellbeing. 

Action 5: Rethinking the Housing Crisis Recognising housing as part of national infrastructure and ensuring that supply of new housing meets the needs of the economy.

Action 6: Harnessing Cultural and Environmental Assets Increasing the focus of policy and funding of assets outside of London.

Action 7: Implementing a Comprehensive Framework for Inclusive Devolution Allow different places to step up through different levels of devolution according to local ambition, need and capacity. 

Action 8: Future Skilling the United Kingdom Develop a national plan to raise attainment levels, especially in future skill needs for all areas to achieve the levels of the best performing places.

Action 9: Levelling-up the Playing Field: Fairer Access to Funds Triple the size of the Shared Prosperity Fund to £15bn per annum for 20 years with clear spatial priorities; and change the way major projects and local priorities are able to be funded and assessed. 

Action 10: Shaping the Future: A National Spatial Plan for England Task the National Infrastructure Commission to create a national spatial plan for England and linking to those in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, to guide investment and to support local and regional spatial plans.

A more interesting,  though highly individual, view can be found in this article by Simon Jenkins entitled: If the regions are to rise, London must take a hit. Note he doesn’t seem to mention the South West and Owl wonders how effective Great South West and Heart of the South West lobbying on our behalves has been.

Simon Jenkins  www.theguardian.com

[last two thirds of the article]

……Kerslake is aware of the need, but he does not address the issue obsessing my Mancunians. To them the issue was London, seen as exciting, creative, rich – an existential menace. Rulers since Elizabeth I have tried to reduce its appeal. She tried to send her courtiers back to their country estates, and failed. London has always been the goose that lays Britain’s golden eggs, and is still – now more than ever.

My economics tutor used to warn us that much of what he taught might one day be proved wrong, but he hoped at least to have showed us how to recognise nonsense. A case in point must be Kerslake’s solution to the north, which tallies with Boris Johnson’s old-Labour cliche of “levelling-up”. It lies in vast dollops of public investment in infrastructure, in interconnectivity, skills and “cross-governmental, ministerially led” coordination. This is the same language used by Harold Wilson, Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair – every prime minister– usually in the year after an election.

None of this addresses what Manchester understands, that you will not level up the north without levelling down London. The capital has to reduce its appeal to the north’s most precious resource, its creative talent and entrepreneurial zeal. This requires big regional cities to develop “creative critical mass”. They must treasure their heritage, their converted mills, their historic districts – anything to distract their young people from craving a move to London. This may involve sucking energy from their surrounding towns – as Leeds has from Bradford. Cities such as Frankfurt, Toulouse, Milan and Barcelona have established a cultural self-confidence that has succeeded in resisting the magnetism of their country’s capital. The only city outside London to come near such magnetism is semi-autonomous Edinburgh.

In the case of demagnetising London, the task is near insuperable, but it must be attempted. Revival will come from small steps, not giant infrastructures. These steps will never work if they depend on London, on its taxpayers, its civil servants, its government. Dependency economics has been the curse of Scotland and Wales. There is no such thing as public spending-led growth – as has conspicuously failed in eastern Germany. Growth comes from employers and investors being stimulated to exploit local skills and talents. They should pay local taxes and run local government. Northern cities will flourish only when London stops stealing their people, their ideas and their power.

If the regions are to rise, London must in some degree fall. It must stop gorging on infrastructure investment – as, mercifully, it may now do on Heathrow expansion. It should stop drawing ever more commuters into its centre, which is what Crossrail and HS2 (now running only to the Midlands) are about. It must stop cramming itself with students, the one truly energising factor in many northern city economies. London’s student fees should soar, and northern ones plummet. The capital should stop receiving the lion’s share of arts subsidy.

Kerslake rightly acknowledges that Britain must decentralise government power. But how many times must we hear this trotted out? Experience abroad advises accountable local mayors, delegated taxes, borrowing powers and no more reliance on begging from Whitehall.

I believe this will never happen until those with power are physically ejected from the capital. Civil servants and politicians (and journalists) must go north. The increasingly dysfunctional Houses of Parliament should abandon their billion-pound gilded temporary outposts in Westminster, and go north for five years. It would refresh them and it would certainly refresh the nation.

Demoting London to promote the regions would not necessarily mean a richer Britain, though the present imbalance must be damaging to national prosperity. Wealth is not the issue. Brexit has shown it is now subservient to populist slogans such as patriotism and group identity. One such “identity” is the north, and it has shown itself politically toxic. The north-south divide must be countered. This will happen only if the “levelling” is real. London should ready itself for a hit.