People aged under 30 are contracting coronavirus in the greatest numbers in parts of the Westcountry, the latest statistics show.

[From yesterday’s Western Morning News]

As the new variant of the disease spreads rapidly, figures have confirmed that the young are now falling victim to the disease.

Cornwall’s current overall infection rate is 301.7 people per hundred thousand – but the infection rate for 20 to 24-year-olds is 806.8, while for those aged 25 to 29 it’s 710.3 per hundred thousand.

Two more deaths of patients in the Westcountry, one in Devon and one in Cornwall were reported yesterday.

But weekly figures reveal better news for the two counties.

The number of deaths registered across Devon and Cornwall where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate has fallen to the lowest level for six weeks.

The figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) out yesterday relate to the week of December 19 to December 25, but registered up to January 2. They show that 27 of the 285 deaths registered in the two counties had Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate.

The previous week saw 43 of the 402 deaths registered in the two counties had Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate.

However experts caution that the reduction in the number of deaths may relate to a combination of factors as a result of the second lockdown, due to the time lag between infection and death, but also could be a result of registration delays over the Christmas holiday period.

And from Today’s paper:

…Meanwhile in the Westcountry, Plymouth’s director of public health Ruth Harrell has told councillors that the city appears to have so far avoided an outbreak of the new highly transmissible variant of Covid-19. 

Lee Mangar’s voice trembles with exhaustion and indignation. She has been looking after her increasingly frail father throughout the pandemic without any payments to cover her caring responsibilities.

Tom Wall www.theguardian.com 

“I am going to cry now … I just need everyone to know the absolute shoddy position Suffolk is putting vulnerable people like my dad in,” she says from her home in Ipswich. “I’m just lucky that I’ve got the determination to keep fighting, because there are a lot of people out there who can’t stand up for themselves.”

Her father, Harold, sold his house to fund a move into a specially adapted extension on Mangar’s house. But Suffolk county council stopped paying Mangar £844 a month to care for her father, who has Lewy body dementia, following the move.

Under the Care Act, people in need of care can use direct payments from their local authority to pay carers, including family members, to help them carry out everyday tasks. Mangar was being paid to help Harold with his personal care and meals – now she has to do it without any financial support.

“They deemed him to be a self-payer. But there is no money,” says Mangar, who gave up her job in a nursery to look after her dad. “We are living off my dad’s pension and borrowing from my mum, who’s in sheltered accommodation. We’re being impoverished.”

Mangar can barely afford to buy the essentials she needs to clean him – let alone treats such as his favourite takeaway meals or new clothes for herself. She says her father needs specialist wipes which cost £4.75 a pack. “I’ve run out and at the moment I haven’t got enough money to go and buy them. So today I had to use kitchen roll, which is no good.”

Their plight is far from unique. Freedom of information requests by the Guardian to 19 English councils facing a high demand for social care, reveal that more than 3,700 working-age adults with physical or learning disabilities and almost 8,500 people aged over 65 have had the monetary value of their care package reduced since March.

The responses also show that just over 1,200 working-age adults with disabilities and nearly 3,500 over-65s have had the number of hours of support provided by local authority-funded carers reduced. And among new applicants for support, less than half of the 255,000 requests for social care were accepted, with only 41% given funded care packages in the 19 authorities between March and September.

“The pandemic seems to be making a bad situation worse,” says Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK. “There’s no reason to suppose that these people’s needs have diminished during this health emergency, rather the reverse if anything, so in most cases they are being left to manage without all the care they require.”

The largest cuts were in bigger, more rural local authorities. Devon county council reduced the monetary value of 655 care packages for working-age adults and nearly 2,000 care packages for over-65s between March and September, more than any other council. Suffolk county council cut support for 571 working-age adults and 1,779 older people.

Staffordshire county council turned down the highest proportion of social care requests, with just under two-thirds of 16,443 people approaching the council for care assessments during the pandemic initially offered only advice, occupational therapy or directed to community groups. Northamptonshire county council – which declared itself effectively bankrupt in 2018 – had the next highest rate of rejection, with more than one-third of families and individuals refused long-term care packages, which can cover help with everyday tasks such as washing and cooking to trips to day centres.

Metropolitan authorities also rejected a large proportion of care requests and cut back on support throughout the pandemic. Liverpool turned down 31% of the near 3,500 requests for social care, while reducing the hours carers spend with 194 working-age adults and 223 elderly people in the city. Birmingham turned down a quarter of its 18,500 requests for social care and Solihull rejected 27%.

The pandemic has increased demands on already overloaded local social care services, which have been struggling to meet the growing needs of ageing populations. Requests for care have soared by over 100,000 since 2015. But austerity since 2010 has shrunk social care budgets by 10% and total real terms spending on social care is below 2009 levels.

Edel Harris, Mencap’s chief executive, says cash-strapped local authorities are clawing back vulnerable people’s support packages at a time when they need it most. “Many people with a learning disability have spent the pandemic trapped at home, losing vital life skills and suffering from increasing mental health problems,” she says. “Unpaid family carers have been left to pick up the pieces, but they are exhausted, stressed and in some cases completely broken.”

A survey in November by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (Adass) found that nearly a quarter of English adult social care directors have no confidence in their budgets being sufficient to meet all of their statutory duties, with several councils warning that they could follow Northamptonshire’s footsteps without more government support. Stoke-on-Trent city council this month proposed cuts of £412,000 to disabled and older people’s day services as well as more than £1m worth of savings from adult social care services.

Covid-19 is accelerating these cuts. Minha Chaudhary (not her real name) was told in December that her council was reviewing the care package for her 25-year-old disabled daughter, Zahra, who needs round-the-clock support.

Until now, the funding enabled Zahra to take part in activities such as swimming, cycling and reflexology. Chaudhary, who lives in north-west England, fears the council’s review of Zahra’s care package will lead to cuts to her daughter’s support. “[The support planner] was really antagonistic,” says Chaudhary. “She was recommending that she would take some of the package away from us because we’ve not used it all. But we are in a pandemic and everywhere is shut.”

Chaudhary, who works part-time while her husband looks after their daughter, is taking legal advice. “I’m worried sick,” she says.

Belinda Schwehr, chief executive of specialist legal advice service CASCAIDr, which is supporting Chaudhary, says “This is the endgame for social care. We are getting to the point where anyone able to feed themselves will not get social care.”

In November, the chancellor Rishi Sunak announced new funding for the beleaguered social care sector, including an additional grant of £300m. Sunak also allowed councils to levy a 3% adult social care precept, which could, along with the grant, generate up to £1bn. But this still falls short of what many experts and charities say is needed to keep up with demand next year, let alone the additional costs generated by the pandemic.

“Once again, local authorities are faced with trying to meet the care needs of their populations with inadequate government funding, but it’s older and disabled people who are ultimately paying the price, as these FoI responses demonstrate,” says Abrahams.

Suffolk county council says it has increased the value of more packages than it has reduced since March. “Every authority has continued to adjust the number of care packages it provides to eligible residents throughout 2020, as we continue to react to a range of social changes including the effects of the coronavirus on our communities,” says Beccy Hopfensperger, Suffolk’s cabinet member for adult care.

Devon county council says care packages had been changed rather than cut, with the high numbers reflecting the size of the authority: “Between March and September, there have been changes to people’s care packages in response to coronavirus, and many have sought alternative ways to meet their care needs. The fall in value then is a reflection of such changes,” says a spokesperson. Solihull council says it responds to all requests but some people may not accept social care services, or may not be eligible.

Staffordshire county council insists a range of support is available in communities, with the council funding those most in need. It adds it carries out care assessments at first contact when support is less likely to be needed. Northamptonshire county council says it had not turned down anyone who is eligible for social care support. Liverpool city council says people are assessed for services according to need rather than budget. While Birmingham city council says it is not turning down requests and points out there are many reasons referrals do not result in social care provision.

The Department of Health says it has made £4.6bn available to councils to address pressures on local services, including social care: “We are committed to sustainable improvement of the adult social care system and will bring forward proposals this year.”

This cannot come soon enough for dedicated but burned-out carers like Mangar. She has little to look forward to this year: “There is no money for me to plan anything. I can’t have a break. My life is just getting up in the morning and caring for my dad … we have been treated very, very unjustly.”

A new facility has opened in Plymouth for people needing extra care before they return home from hospital during the pandemic.

BBC News www.bbc.co.uk 

The care hotel, which opened on Monday, aims to ease pressures on the city’s Derriford Hospital.

It is being run by Plymouth City Council and health provider, Livewell Southwest.

A similar set-up was used during the first lockdown last April.

The Hearts Together Hospital Hotel, which normally provides accommodation for patients, carers, relatives and healthcare workers, is being used for the care facility.

Geoff Baines, director of safety and quality at Livewell Southwest, said the service was proud to work with the council to “ensure we can support people during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic”.

He added the hotel will help “to relieve some of the pressure on our hospitals by providing somewhere safe for people to move to from hospital when they are well enough but when they are not quite ready to go home without support”.

Two more life-saving drugs have been found that can cut deaths by a quarter in patients who are sickest with Covid.

Michelle Roberts www.bbc.co.uk

The anti-inflammatory medications, given via a drip, save an extra life for every 12 treated, say researchers who have carried out a trial in NHS intensive care units.

Supplies are already available across the UK so they can be used immediately to save hundreds of lives, say experts.

There are over 30,000 Covid patients in UK hospitals – 39% more than in April.

The UK government is working closely with the manufacturer, to ensure the drugs – tocilizumab and sarilumab – continue to be available to UK patients.

As well as saving more lives, the treatments speed up patients’ recovery and reduce the length of time that critically-ill patients need to spend in intensive care by about a week.

Both appear to work equally well and add to the benefit already found with a cheap steroid drug called dexamethasone.

Although the drugs are not cheap, costing around £750 to £1,000 per patient, on top of the £5 course of dexamethasone, the advantage of using them is clear – and less than the cost per day of an intensive care bed of around £2,000, say experts.

Lead researcher Prof Anthony Gordon, from Imperial College London, said: “For every 12 patients you treat with these drugs you would expect to save a life. It’s a big effect.”

In the REMAP-CAP trial carried out in six different countries, including the UK, with around 800 intensive care patients:

• Nearly 36% of intensive care Covid patients receiving standard care died
• The new drugs reduced that by a quarter, to 27%, when given to patients within 24 hours of them entering intensive care

Prof Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said: “The fact there is now another drug that can help to reduce mortality for patients with Covid-19 is hugely welcome news and another positive development in the continued fight against the virus.”

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “The UK has proven time and time again it is at the very forefront of identifying and providing the most promising, innovative treatments for its patients.

“Today’s results are yet another landmark development in finding a way out of this pandemic and, when added to the armoury of vaccines and treatments already being rolled out, will play a significant role in defeating this virus.”

The drugs dampen down inflammation, which can go into overdrive in Covid patients and cause damage to the lungs and other organs.

Doctors are being advised to give them to any Covid patient who, despite receiving dexamethasone, is deteriorating and needs intensive care.

Tocilizumab and sarilumab have already been added to the government’s export restriction list, which bans companies from buying medicines meant for UK patients and selling them on for a higher price in another country.

The research findings have not yet been peer reviewed or published in a medical journal.

This scheme temporarily increases data allowances for mobile phone users on certain networks. This is so that children and young people can access remote education if their face-to-face education is disrupted.

get-help-with-tech.education.gov.uk 

Who can get help

Schools, trusts and local authorities can request mobile data increases for children and young people who:

• do not have fixed broadband at home
• cannot afford additional data for their devices
• are experiencing disruption to their face-to-face education

Children with access to a mobile phone on one of the following networks might be able to benefit:

• Three
• Smarty
• Virgin Mobile
• EE
• Tesco Mobile
• Sky Mobile

Other providers may join the scheme at a later stage.

When help is available

Schools, trusts and local authorities can request mobile data increases when schools report a closure or have pupils self-isolating.

They can also make requests for children who cannot attend school face-to-face because:

• they’re clinically extremely vulnerable
• restrictions prevent them from going to school

How to request a mobile data increase

For each request, we need to know:

• the name of the account holder
• the number of the mobile device
• the mobile network of that device (for example Three)

There’s an online guide to help gather mobile information.

Schools, trusts and local authorities need to submit mobile information through our online service. Each provider will vary in how quickly they process requests.

Once a network provider has processed a data increase, they’ll send a text message to the account holder. It’s also possible to check the status of requests through the online service.

Another option for increasing internet access

If increasing mobile data isn’t a suitable option for some children, schools can also request 4G wireless routers. Find out more about choosing help with internet access.

If you have questions

If you have any questions, email COVID.TECHNOLOGY@education.gov.uk using the subject line ‘Increasing data allowances’.

Snapshots from Exeter and Manchester highlight grim determination but also concerns about family life

Nicola Davis www.theguardian.com 

Sarah Blakesley, a businesswoman and mum, was having a difficult day. “It’s very hectic and very stressful,” she said. “I just want to get today over with, to be honest.”

The start of the third national lockdown was having an impact both on commercial and family life. “I run a cleaning company. Lots of clients are shutting down their offices. I may have to furlough workers.”

Blakesley, from Exeter in Devon, also has a 17-year-old who will not be going to college for the foreseeable future. “We don’t know what’s happening with college so that’s another worry. I wish we didn’t have to go through this again. I’m concerned about people’s mental health.”

Across the city people were working through tricky professional and family issues.

Sue Jones was in one of the city parks with her son and daughter, both of primary school age. She had to take a day off from her job in a food processing plant to look after them. “I couldn’t get childcare for them in time so had to phone in and ask for the day off. I feel so worn down by the idea of another lockdown.”

The Covid rates for Exeter are by no means as bad as other parts of the country – there were just under 200 new cases per 100,000 people in the seven days up to 31 December.

But most people seemed resigned to the idea that a UK-wide effort is needed. “We’ve got to have a national lockdown. It’s got out of control,” said Alan Taylor, who manages a hardware store in the city centre.

“The tiers clearly haven’t worked – people didn’t know what was going on. At least everyone knows the score now.”

Ben Mangan, the owner of the Eat on the Green restaurant near the cathedral, said he was disappointed at the lockdown. “But we could see it coming and I agree with it. The situation is so dire, the government had no choice. I think we need to all be in it together. It’s fair that there’s one rule for everyone.”

Steph Flisher was sticking a handwritten sign to the window of her dog grooming business informing customers that she was closing. “Safety has to take priority. We’ve all got to come together and get this sorted. The NHS needs us to do this.”

Faye Jennings-Mosquera is allowed to keep her zero-waste food and cleaning products store open. “I think the lockdown needs to happen,” she said. Her partner was at home looking after their two young children. “If we have got two months let’s just do it, let’s all wear masks and be respectful to each other.”

Around the corner at the food bank, teams of volunteers were working hard to prepare food packages, fearing there would be an increase in people unable to afford the groceries they need.

Cllr Philip Bialyk, the leader of Exeter city council, said he “reluctantly” accepted the need for the lockdown. He said deliveries to vulnerable people would be stepped up again and more financial support funnelled to community groups helping people at risk.

“There’s nothing more important than defeating the virus,” he said. “That has to be our main aim. We have to protect loved ones and ourselves. Nobody is safe.”

There were some doubters. Stan Henderson, a lorry driver, said he thought the tier system should have been persevered with. “We were doing OK in the west country,” he said.

But Exeter has had its problems. Just before Christmas the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS foundation trust went to Opel 4 status – the highest alert level – due to high levels of inpatients with Covid and a large number of staff absences. There are about 30 patients in its Nightingale hospital on the edge of the city.

David Strain, a senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter Medical School and the co-chair of the British Medical Association’s medical academic staff committee, backed tighter restrictions and warned there would be no quick return to normality.

“It is important to highlight that this vaccination programme will not allow the return to normal life in February, as the majority of adults on which the economy depends are not in the four priority groups. In four to six weeks’ time when the lockdown is reviewed, there is no guarantee that there will be a nationwide lifting of restrictions.”

Almost 250 miles north of Exeter in Longsight, Manchester, the mood was weary. Apart from three weeks in July, Greater Manchester has been in some sort of lockdown since March last year.

Eliot Riley felt the latest lockdown was “too little too late”. He was hoping to start a teaching job this week at a primary school assisting special educational needs pupils, but after the government’s announcement of tougher restrictions, the school said they did not need him.

“I feel like I can’t plan for anything now. I can’t save, and I can’t look forward to anything. Me and my girlfriend had the intention to buy a flat, but that doesn’t seem possible at all,” he said.

“We are both in our early 20s, and I feel the pandemic is robbing us of our life opportunities. This should be the most freeing time for us, instead I just feel very restricted.”

Saki Hussain, who works at Longsight market, remained optimistic. “There is a lot of difficulty, especially with our children now staying at home. But I hope one day, with God’s help, we will win against this disease.”

Jack Weaver, who owns a trophy and engraving shop, said: “You can’t blame Boris. He hasn’t done a good job as far as I am concerned, but I don’t think any of the leaders have. This virus is new and nobody knows how to deal with it. I’m just hoping these vaccines will work and they get them out as soon as possible.”

Jacob Rees-Mogg slammed for crossing coronavirus tiers to attend church

(extracts see link for full article)

Adam Aspinall www.mirror.co.uk 

Tory minister Jacob Rees-Mogg has been slammed for crossing coronavirus tiers – to attend a Latin mass.

The controversial Leader of the Commons was spotted ignoring his own Government’s guidance not to travel between tiers on Sunday.

He was seen attending St Mary’s catholic church in Glastonbury, Somerset, which is in Tier 4 and fifteen miles from his posh manor house home in West Harptree, which is in Tier 3.

While people are allowed to attend church in Tier 4 areas the Government’s own guidance is that people should not travel from one tier to another and keep social contact to a minimum.

Writer Liz Williams, 55, from Glastonbury was told Jacob Rees-Mogg visited town to attend the Latin mass conducted on Sunday.

She told The Mirror: “A number of people are very cross about this, while not as egregious as what Dominic Cummings did, he is still crossing from tier 3 to tier 4 just to go to mass, which we are told not to do.

“I think the anger in town is the fact that not only is this not essential, even though he may argue differently as a Christian, but that he is actually a member of the Government that is setting this policy.

“It just seems yet again like there is one rule for us and one rule for the rest of them.

“Look I am not a Christian, I am not a Tory, I am just a normal upstanding member of the community who is fed up of this hypocritical approach from the people that are setting these rules.”…….

……….A spokesman for Jacob Rees-Mogg told The Mirror: “The Leader of the House regularly attends the only old rite mass available in the Clifton diocese which meets his religious obligations.”

This account adds a bit more to Owl’s post yesterday:

Philippa Davies sidmouth.nub.news 

The site of the proposed housing and school at Thorne Farm

A proposed school and housing development in Ottery St Mary, on land that residents had voted to safeguard from housing, has been rejected by East Devon district councillors.

The application by Devon County Council was for a new school to replace Tipton St John Primary, which would be paid for through the sale of land to developers who would build 150 new homes, on a site at Thorne Farm.

The school’s buildings are dilapidated and vulnerable to flooding, and many councillors strongly supported the need for it to relocate.

But the accompanying new homes went completely against the policies laid out in the local Neighbourhood Plan, which specifically protects that site from housing.

During the meeting this afternoon (Wednesday, January 6), Tipton St John’s head teacher spoke out about the urgent need for better and safer buildings for the children, saying the school is ‘living on a wing and a prayer’ in terms of the ongoing flood risk.

But councillors, while expressing sympathy for his position, said the issue in question was not the urgency of need for a new school, but whether the development as a whole was acceptable within the current planning policy.

Cllr Philip Skinner summed up the feelings of many others when he said this was ‘a very, very difficult application.

He said the school is in ‘dire need of relocation’, but on the other hand, Ottery St Mary is being ‘swamped with housing’ and he was ‘not prepared to drive a coach and horses through planning policy’ in order to get the school in.

He said while he had very much wanted to support the application, ‘but I cannot put our policies to one side to fit this in’.

A majority of 11 councillors voted to refuse the application, with two in favour of supporting it, and two abstentions.

More detail on yesterday’s historic decision by EDDC planning committee, first from East Devon News, then extracts from the Pebblebed Trust Team describing the national significance of the project. 

Multi-million pound plans to restore the Otter Estuary at Budleigh Salterton to natural and historic flood plains have been unanimously approved. 

Daniel Clark eastdevonnews.co.uk 

East Devon District Council’s (EDDC) Planning Committee today voted in favour of the Lower Otter Restoration Project bid.

The £15million scheme will create 55 hectares of mudflats, saltmarsh and other valuable estuarine habitats, writes Local Democracy Reporter Daniel Clark.

The initiative, led by landowner Clinton Devon Estates and the Environment Agency, will see the Big Marsh and Little Marsh floodplains restored.

Breaches will also be created in the Little Bank, Big Bank and the River Otter Embankment to allow water to flow through.

The aim is to avoid the significant risk that a major flood or extreme tidal event could lead to catastrophic failure of the existing defences.

Mike Williams, from the Environment Agency, told councillors that its vision is for a nation ready for and resilient to coastal change – ‘today, tomorrow and the year 2100’.

He added that the Lower Otter Restoration Project plays a part in delivering this for East Devon.

Mr Williams said: “It is simply a matter of time before the embankments fail and lead to substantial flooding.

“This will cause great change, but this should be seen as an opportunity to be granted now while it remains possible.”

Dr Sam Bridgewater, head of wildlife and conservation at Clinton Devon Estates added: “We must adapt to climate change.

“There are two options; a managed transition, or the second which is unmanaged with none of the protections in place.

“We aim to adapt the Lower Otter Valley to the current and future challenges climate change will bring.

“This is among the biggest changes that East Devon has seen but the natural environment will be improved by the scheme.

“It is a bold initiative but the times demand it and we must confront climate challenges.”

Sam Scriven, head of conservation for the Jurassic Coast Trust, said: “It is rare for a major project like this to improve rather than harm the world heritage site.”

Local resident David Daniel added that although the scenery from his childhood would change dramatically, a man-made landscape will be lost but another one will be gained.

He added: “It is far better to pre-empt any event that manage change in a controlled way. The status quo is not sustainable.”

Budleigh Salterton ward members Councillors Alan Dent and Tom Wright both called for the scheme to be approved.

Cllr Dent said: “The concept of breaching the river embankment to restore an historic flood plain is imaginative, far-sighted, and generally welcome.

“I support this with certain caveats as assurance must be given that residents’ properties will be safe and secure in the future.

“This is a welcome long-term project that manages the risk of rising sea levels and the consequence of unmanaged flooding.”

Cllr Wright added: “Restoring the area and the environment before man intervened to create the artificial environment we have and will mitigate the damage.

“The project will deliver a significant area of quality tidal saltmarsh.”

The Lower Otter Estuary in Budleigh Salterton. Image: PACCo

Cllr Geoff Jung, EDDC portfolio holder for coast, country and environment, asked for the plans to be given the go-ahead and said: “You don’t mess with nature and in the end, nature wins.

“Nature will eventually take the area back, so if we allow nature to do its thing, we will lose the agricultural land, the footpaths, and allow salt water ingress into the old waste tip.

“This can springboard East Devon into being a leader in nature-based solutions to reduce flood and coastal erosion risk.”

Concerns were raised by residents about the risk of flooding.

Margaret Yerrell said the scheme will have unpredictable and irreversible changes.

Ian Smith added that it will bring the sea from more than 2km away to the edge of homes and was a ‘dangerous and unnecessarily overextended project’.

David Butler said that rushing to make a decision would lead to the risk of adverse outcomes.

But proposing approval, committee member Cllr Philip Skinner said: “This is such an important issue and we need to get this right.

“Usually we put up flood defences after we have had the flood, this is before it.”

Cllr David Key added: “This will rectify the issues of flooding for the area, and, if we do nothing, it will get worse.”

Cllr Olly Davey  said that, while the project will involve a massive change to the Otter Valley and be ‘frightening’ to some people, on the whole it will improve the existing situation.

He added: “I do understand the concerns and hope their fears are not founded, but I am satisfied as a can be that it is not going to lead to any increase in the risks to the residents.

“I will be sorry to lose some of the habitat that we have there along the Otter Valley, but quite looking forward to seeing how it will evolve, as doing nothing is not an option.”

South Farm Road will also be realigned and raised, a new road bridge and footbridge bridge provided, and a small car park would be created at its western end.

Existing footpaths will be realigned and a landfill site capped and planted with grassland and woodland.

A spit to the south will be allowed to evolve naturally, necessitating the removal of the southern part of the loop path known as Donkeys Turn.

Budleigh Salterton Cricket Club has already secured permission to relocate to a site off East Budleigh Road.

Councillors agreed with the recommendation of planning officers to give the scheme the green light.

This is subject to appropriately-worded conditions relating to archaeology, materials of a footbridge, access details and public rights of way, contamination, a construction management plan, groundwater levels, adequate car parking, the provision of a footpath, arboricultural and tree protection details.

Lower Otter Restoration Project approved by councillors! 

Text of e-mail from the Pebblebed Trust Team:

We are delighted to let you know that the landscape-scale project to address the impact of climate change and safeguard a much-loved amenity by returning the Otter estuary and the adjacent flood plain to a more natural condition, has been given unanimous approval by East Devon District Council planning committee today.

The £15 million Lower Otter Restoration Project will reconnect the Otter Estuary with its original floodplain for the first time since 1812. The managed realignment, proposed by landowner Clinton Devon Estates and the Environment Agency, is designed to avoid a catastrophic breach of embankments which were built over 200 years ago. 

In time, new saltmarsh and mudflats will restore a rare wetland habitat for many threatened and endangered species. This initiative supports the Government’s 25 year Environment Plan and the objectives set out by the Committee for Climate Change and the Pebblebed Team are excited to be part of such a significant project and look forward to managing a larger wetland reserve with many benefits for wildlife and people.

For the full story please read on our website at: www.pebblebedheaths.org.uk/lower-otter…/ and for more information on the project, please visit the LORP website: www.lowerotterrestorationproject.co.uk/

And from the Pebblebed website:

John Varley, Estates Director of Clinton Devon Estates, said: “This approval paves the way for a major landscape-scale project which has come about because of an exemplary public-private partnership which will benefit people, the environment and wildlife.

“It demonstrates that rural estates can play a key role in addressing the climate crisis, leading the way in respect of a number of national agendas including nature recovery, creating new habitats and delivering a net gain in biodiversity, on a landscape scale.

“As the eyes of the world will be on Britain as hosts the UN Climate Change Conference COP 26 in November, this project shows we are prepared to act now to address the challenges we all face.”

Dr Sam Bridgewater, Head of Wildlife and Conservation at Clinton Devon Estates, said: “The Estate is proud to be associated with this project. It is recognised nationally and internationally that coastal communities must adapt as sea levels rise and storm events become more frequent.

“It is our belief that the Lower Otter Restoration Project will provide a more sustainable and certain future for the threatened Otter valley. It will also deliver very significant benefits to people and wildlife in the long term.

“The granting of planning approval is a major step forward in helping us deliver this vision.  We have worked very closely with a wide range of stakeholders who have helped us reach this milestone and we are grateful for their input over the years.”

Mark Rice, Environment Manager for the Environment Agency, said: “Climate change is affecting the way we manage our coasts and estuaries and we must adapt to that change. The Lower Otter Restoration Project is an example of how we can do that. We aim to deliver long term benefits for people and wildlife by working in partnership and through more sustainable management of the Otter Estuary.”

At another long session this afternoon EDDC Planning Committee went against the Planning Officer’s recommendation and refused the application.

This application conflated the relocation of the school with a development application for 150 houses.

The final decision hinged on councillors balancing harm against benefits and coming down on the side that the harms: from building the school and houses in a countryside location; and the wider visual impact on Ottery; outweighed the benefits especially considering that the proposed development did not meet the 50% affordable housing requirement for building outside the built up area boundary. I.E. that the proposal contravened several Local Plan and Neighbourhood Plan policies.

Refusal: 11 votes to 2 with 2 abstentions

 Here is what Claire Wright has to say:

Claire-wright.org

EDDC planning committee refuses 150 houses and relocation of Tipton school

East Devon District Council’s planning committee has just refused a “tough” application for a relocation of Tipton St John Primary School, accompanied by 150 houses, on the edge of Ottery St Mary.

The application was refused by 11 votes, with two votes in favour and two abstentions.

The application, submitted by Devon County Council, was triggered to try and protect school places in the Ottery area, as Tipton St John Primary School has been deemed a ‘risk to life’ by the Environment Agency for flooding reasons.

There were 132 objections, including from Ottery St Mary Town Council and EDDC ward members Geoff Pratt and Vicky Johns, both of whom spoke this afternoon.

Several objectors, who live near the proposed development also raised concerns.

Speaking in favour were two governors, a representative from Devon County Council and Tipton St John Primary School headteacher, Colin Butler, whose testimony relating to the danger for his young pupils crossing the road to the upper site to safety when in flood, made me feel really sad.

I have worked with Colin on various projects for years, including trying to resolve this issue. He is an excellent and caring headteacher.

I spoke firstly to outline the background, which was essentially that the government rejected a bid under the priority schools programme in 2015 to rebuild the school away from the floodzone.

A piece of land in the village had been identified and there had been positive negotiations with the landowner. Sadly, after almost a year, the government rejected the funding bid, despite being fully aware that there was risk to the life of the pupils.

It left Devon County Council with a £5m shortfall and casting around in vain for other options and the application that was refused today, was the option it pursued.

Unfortunately, because of the £5m shortfall, Devon County Council’s proposal for a new school, also included 150 houses to help finance it. The application was contrary to the existing Local Plan, the Ottery St Mary and West Hill Neighbourhood Plan and is outside Ottery St Mary’s built up area boundary.

Officers said it was a finely balanced application and recommended approval on the basis the benefits outweighed the downsides.

The planning committee disagreed but still took almost two and and a half hours to refuse it.

Chair, Eileen Wragg, said it was a ‘tough’ application.

It isn’t clear yet whether Devon County Council will appeal.

While I believe the decision was the right one in the circumstances, I fully felt and identified with the understandable anger of the governors who spoke – and also the sadness in Colin Butler’s voice as he addressed the committee.

I have spoken at EDDC planning committees maybe hundreds of times over the years and won some and lost some.

But I have never felt so sad about the position I took as I did today.

Pic. Helping clear up after a flooding event in 2016.

Owl has received reports that EDDC planning committee approved the Lower Otter Restoration Project unanimously this morning. A few more conditions were added to those recommended by Planning Officers as a result of the committee listening to the concerns of residents in Frogmore Road.

The debate lasted all morning.

A public consultation has been extended to give people more time to consider plans for a huge new regional park spanning the Clyst Valley in East Devon.

About Author Becca Gliddon eastdevonnews.co.uk 

The closing date for the Clyst Valley Regional Park public consultation has been extended by more than a week to 9am on Monday, January 18, 2021.

The extension has been made to give people more time amid coronavirus restrictions to comment on proposals for the large green space.

The green space will take in Clyst St George, Broadclyst, Poltimore, Killerton, Ashcylst Forest, Cranbrook, Whimple and Bishops Court.

Many areas proposed for the Clyst Valley Regional Park are not currently accessible to residents and visitors.

A masterplan for the project suggests improvements for the next 25 years and aims to restore nature and historic buildings, create trails, and tackle climate change and flooding.

Councillor Geoff Jung, East Devon District Council’s (EDDC) portfolio holder for coast, country and environment, said:“I’m very pleased to see the number of people and organisations that have responded so far with some very interesting suggestions and ideas.

“However, because we are unable to hold public meetings or meet people at the moment due to the pandemic, it has been agreed to extend the consultation period to allow people some extra time to read the proposals and to submit their views.”

Some of the ideas mooted in the masterplan include:

• A Clyst Valley Trail linking the Exe Estuary Trail to the Exe Valley Way;
• An extension to Cranbrook Country Park;
• A land-based learning centre and café at Broadclyst Community Farm;
• A new cycle trail linking Cranbrook to Exeter along a quiet route;
• Renaturalising the River Clyst between Clyst Honiton and Cranbrook;
• A major increase in trees through both planting and natural regeneration;
• A new visitor hub at Ashclyst Farm and cycle/pedestrian links into the forest from Cranbrook, Broadclyst and Killerton.

The area covered by the proposed Clyst Valley Regional Park. Image: EDDC

EDDC said the Clyst Valley was ‘on the doorstep of a rapidly growing population’ in the west end of East Devon.

The district council said ‘now more than ever, it is crucial that local people can get outside, enjoy nature and explore the East Devon countryside for their health and wellbeing’.

“The Government has spent billions of pounds on its failed track and trace system and an app that has never worked – it needs to be investing similar sums in a 24 hour 7 day a week vaccination programme – which is the quickest and only guaranteed way out of this crisis.” (Ben Bradshaw MP)

Daniel Clark www.devonlive.com 

Devon MPs have reluctantly agreed that a third national lockdown is necessary and have called on residents to their bit to win the fight against Covid-19.

England has entered lockdown 3, with the measures set to be approved in Parliament tomorrow, with the restrictions likely to last for at least six weeks.

People will have to stay at home and only to leave their house for essential reasons, including shopping, working (if not possible to work from home), exercise, and medical assistance.

Primary and secondary schools and colleges are to move to remote learning, except for children who are vulnerable or whose parents are key workers, and people identified as being clinically extremely vulnerable must begin shielding.

MPs have said they will be voting for the measures, except for Anne Marie Morris, who said that it will do more harm than good and a national lockdown is not the right solution because the virus is not impacting everywhere equally.

Ms Morris, who has been sceptical of previous lockdowns and who voted against the second lockdown, said: “Devon has been both luckier and better prepared than most to deal with the unpredictable impact of Covid. Indeed Devon is taking urgent cases from elsewhere that are not coping. That is the strength – and the duty – of a national NHS. The facts are the virus is not impacting everywhere equally.I do not therefore believe a national lockdown is the right solution for the following reasons.

“Clearly we must all take personal responsibility for limiting transmission. And the vast majority of us do. Tiering guidance was helpful. But a national lockdown won’t make bad people good. Our police forces are not equipped to enforce all these new- and confusing rules- across the whole country.

“We should not underestimate the huge steps made to deal with this virus in healthcare terms – including medicines and new vaccines. But it will still spread.

“So we need to get to grips with the urgent priority of properly resourcing our hospitals with the doctors and nurses needed and the oxygen supply in high demand. There are medically qualified people coming forward but not getting to the front line because of bureaucracy and red tape- cut it. The Nightingales have the oxygen and the delivery system – let’s use it not keep them in mothballs.”

She added: “Every action has consequences- some unintended and some unknown. This new lockdown will have as the last ones did very serious non-covid health consequences. It’s not just missed hospital appointments for those with other urgent and acute conditions, it’s the unseen mental health consequences which are just as life threatening as Covid. Mental health problems in the young have doubled.

“The economy and the state of the nation’s health are inextricably linked. It’s easy to say health matters more than the economy- of course it does -but a poor economy will drive up ill health. Depression is sky rocketing. Mental health support isn’t there in the quantity needed- and that will have consequences.

“With so little analysis and so little data across all these issues the government has made a decision to impose lockdown. I cannot support it. I very much fear it will do more harm than good.”

But the rest of the cohort of representatives have indicated that they will be supporting the lockdown, however difficult that the decision is and despite the impact it will have on our lives, but have demanded that the rollout of the vaccine is sped up.

Simon Jupp, MP for East Devon, said; “Although the restrictions on our everyday lives are difficult to accept, they are in place to protect us, our loved ones and the NHS. I’d like to thank everyone involved in the rollout of the two vaccines, which has already resulted in thousands of people in East Devon receiving their first dose. We have a duty to protect lives and livelihoods, and the multi-billion-pound package of measures announced today will support hospitality and small businesses through this difficult period.”

Sir Gary Streeter, MP for South West Devon, said: “Of course, I will be voting for it as the new variant is threatening to overwhelm the defences we had very carefully put in place. It is vital that we ensure that the NHS is not overwhelmed. The good news is that by the end of February most of the vulnerable people in our country should be vaccinated and during March we can expect some return to near normality.”

Neil Parish, MP for Tiverton and Honiton, said: “I will be voting for the new measures. The new strains are highly transmissible and spreading very seriously across the country. We need to stop the transmission and protect those most vulnerable to the disease until vaccination. The furlough scheme has been extended, new business grants are available and we need to do everything it takes now to support people in staying at home and saving lives.”

Selaine Saxby, MP for North Devon, said: “It is very disappointing that 2021 has to start with another national lockdown, but the situation with the new variant, and pressure on much of the NHS, unfortunately in my mind makes this a necessary step.

“The vaccination programme will rollout alongside this lockdown, which I hope will give us all hope that this will be the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel.”

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MP for Central Devon Mel Stride said: “This latest lockdown is sadly necessary. We now need to see the vaccine distributed as quickly as possible.”

Kevin Foster, MP for Torbay, said: “As the Prime Minister outlined, our nation faces a significant danger and we cannot pretend there is an easy alternative to the work which must be done to meet it, especially given the pressure on our NHS today and what it is expected to face over the coming weeks. We must therefore unite to face this threat.

“Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our local health and care teams, plus the commitment of the whole community to do their bit, our bay has thankfully not faced the impact other areas have had, but it is all too predictable what would happen if the virus did hit our bay hard. Therefore whilst this evening’s announcement is not what anyone wants, it is what is needed.

“While in these dark winter nights we face a darker threat from the pandemic, we can all see the ray of hope offered by the vaccination programme and the promise it brings of ultimate victory.”

Ben Bradshaw, the Labour MP for Exeter, said: “This will come as a bitter blow, but is clearly essential to save lives and prevent the NHS being overwhelmed. We are paying a very high price for Boris Johnson’s dither and delay. We went into the autumn lock down too late, came out too early and the chaotic relaxations over Christmas have created a perfect storm.

“Mr Johnson & his Ministers must urgently now deliver a support package to affected businesses and for individuals being forced to self-isolate. The vaccination programme is also proceeding too slowly.

“The Government has spent billions of pounds on its failed track and trace system and an app that has never worked – it needs to be investing similar sums in a 24 hour 7 day a week vaccination programme – which is the quickest and only guaranteed way out of this crisis.”

Anthony Mangnall, MP for Totnes had previously said that he would not vote for any further lockdown, but that the speed and scale of the rise in cases, hospitalisations and deaths meant that he reluctantly had to change his mind.

He said: “The numbers are that much higher and in a short period of time they have jumped up, so you have got to move with where the numbers are. It has to be the last one now that we have the vaccine as the cost is crippling, but it is important that we get this right and we are able to say to people it is the last mile in the marathon, while it is frustrating and difficult, the finish line is there and we are going to cross it and we are going to cross it together

“But we must get the vaccine rolled out at pace and be on a war time footing to get people vaccinated. Vaccinations are happening but I want to see the Government doing millions of doses a week, not 300,000 a day.

“We should be bringing in military reservists and using empty schools, empty pubs, any building that has been closed because of Covid, and we have to streamline the system so volunteers can come forward, get the logistics companies in to the move the vaccine across the country at pace and have mass vaccination sites open as well.”

Devon County Council have said they stand ready to help those who are most badly affected by the latest lockdown, the council leader John Hart declared today.

And Cllr Hart appealed to everyone in the county to abide by the rules and defeat the latest virulent strain of the virus,

“I have been speaking to the county’s MPs this morning and I will be chairing a meeting of Team Devon tomorrow,” said Cllr Hart.

“I know so many people have already been badly affected by this terrible virus and the measures we’ve had to take to try to control it.

“Grandparents haven’t seen their grandchildren, families have had to balance working at home with helping to care for their children and those children have missed out on learning and seeing their friends at school.

“And now we are asking them to make those sacrifices all over again. So I want to be clear that we stand ready to do all we can to help those most badly affected by this lockdown, as we did in the two lockdowns last year.

“At least this time we can see some light at the end of the tunnel with the vaccination programme, which I hope the Government will ensure is rolled out at speed.”

Cllr Hart said he welcomed the Chancellor’s new package of aid for the hospitality industry, saying: “I have been calling for the Government to provide specific help for hospitality businesses which are so vital to Devon and the South West but we need to see all the details. Many of these small businesses are already on their knees and they may need more support.”

He praised people’s efforts during the last nine months which had kept Devon’s infection rate amongst the lowest in the country but he added: “We need people to behave now. This is a more virulent strain of the virus and it’s spreading rapidly in other areas.

“People need to go into lockdown and stay there to prevent it getting more of a hold in Devon. This virus doesn’t spread itself, it’s people who spread the virus.”

Cllr Neil Jory, Leader of West Devon Borough Council, added: “Despite the best efforts of our communities, we find ourselves once again in lockdown, which is disappointing, but not entirely surprising when we look at the national picture.

“I thank our residents again for continuing to follow the government’s guidance, with the increased hope that infection rates will soon decrease now that vaccines are being administered around the country. By mid-February, our most vulnerable residents and critical health workers will be protected, with the rest of our residents following soon afterwards.”

Cllr Judy Pearce, Leader of South Hams District Council, said: “We are of course disappointed to be in national lockdown, however it was inevitable that it would happen sooner, rather than later as infections rise quickly around the country.

“There is growing pressure on hospitals in our region and we must do what we can to support the NHS. We know that these difficult times are extremely hard on our communities and we want to assure them that we are continuing to do everything we possibly can to support them.

“It seems there is light at the end of this tunnel with vaccines now being rolled out and we must continue, as we have been already, to work together to keep our vulnerable residents and communities safe.”

The first is the Lower Otter Restoration project and the second is the Tipton St John primary school relocation to Ottery St. Mary and associated 150 new homes.

Both have been recommended for approval by planning officers.

Youtube link to virtual meeting which starts 10am:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmNHQruge3LVI4hcgRnbwBw

This application seeks associated operational development in conjunction with the approval 20/0686/PDR for the change of use of an existing agricultural building to a shop. The prior approval was granted on the basis of permitted development. However, the impact on this small village will be considerable as is described by Dunkeswell and Otterhead District Councillors Colin Brown and David Key. The current “operational development” proposals are not considered in keeping with the relevant AONB and Local Plan policies. 

Is this another example of the thin edge of a development wedge of which Owl has seen and is seeing too often in East Devon’s AONBs? Barn to shop to …… 

Tomorrow is the deadline for comments.

Link to previous post.

“Fill and finish” is the catch phrase – Owl

[Your place in the queue can be found at the bottom of this post.]

Nick Triggle www.bbc.co.uk

With the country in lockdown and a new faster-spreading variant of coronavirus rampant, it’s clear the UK is in a race to vaccinate.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants all the over-70s, the most clinically vulnerable and front-line health and care workers to be offered a jab by mid-February, to allow the restrictions to be eased.

That requires about 13 million people to be given the opportunity to be vaccinated – but so far only one million have been.

And ensuring a quick rollout to the rest is fraught with difficulties.

There is enough vaccine in the country, BBC News has learned, but getting it into people’s arms could be hampered by:

• a global shortage of glass vials to package up the vaccines
• long waits for safety checks
• the process of ensuring there are enough vaccinators

How could a shortage of glass disrupt supply?

Two Covid vaccines have now been approved – one produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and another made by Oxford University and AstraZeneca.

The UK government has ordered 140 million doses – enough for the whole population.

The first hurdle is manufacture of the vaccine.

This involves two crucial stages – the production of the substance and then a process called fill and finish whereby the vaccine is put into vials and packaged up for use.

And there is already a concern about the latter stage, with the availability of key ingredients and equipment including glass vials a key issue.

England’s deputy chief medical officer Prof Jonathan Van-Tam says fill and finish was a “critically short resource across the globe”.

That is part of the reason why the amount of the two vaccines ready to go is more limited than ministers had hoped.

UK plants have made somewhere around 15 million or so doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine – that in itself is less than ministers said would be made at this stage (early in the pandemic they said there would be 30 million by the autumn).

But only four million have been through the fill-and-finish process.

The UK has used plants in Germany and the Netherlands to do some of this for the early batches.

But the government has also invested in a plant in Wrexham to ensure there is domestic capacity.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, meanwhile, is made outside of the UK – it comes from a plant in Belgium.

When it arrives in the UK, it has already been placed into vials.

But so far, fewer than five million doses have been delivered – less than half the number that should have been – because of problems with manufacture, including the fill-and-finish process.

Are the final checks taking too long?

Even once a vaccine is in the vials though, there is still one more step before the NHS can start using it.

Each batch has to be checked and certified by the Medicines and Healthcare Products regulatory Agency.

And it can be several weeks before the vaccine can be given to the NHS to put in people’s arms.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called this a “rate-limiting factor”.

About four million doses of the Oxford vaccine have been available for some weeks – they were put into vials last year – but as yet only just over 500,000 have been certified as safe to use.

Sources close to the NHS vaccination programme said this had been one of the key frustrations – saying it was taking up to 20 days for batches to be tested and released.

The MHRA said each batch had to be biologically tested for quality, while the manufacturer’s documentation describing its production and quality-control testing process was reviewed.

Those close to the process say it does take a couple of weeks – and with more vaccine being produced, there is increased demand on the labs that do the work.

“You have to remember this is being injected into people,” they said. “We cannot rush this.”

Both vaccines have to go through this process.

What have hospitals, GP practices and racecourses got to do with it?

Once batches have been certified, they are ready to be distributed to the NHS vaccination centres.

Eventually, there will be a network of more than 1,000 local centres across the UK.

Currently, just over 700 are up and running.

These are being run from a wide variety of venues, from hospitals and large GP centres to community venues, racecourses and, perhaps in the future, conference centres and sports stadiums.

The instability of the Pfizer-BioNTech has been well documented.

It has to be kept in ultra-cold storage and, once thawed, used within five days.

This has meant it is stored at major hospitals and gives the local vaccination centres just days to use up batches after they are delivered.

The Oxford vaccine, meanwhile, can be stored at fridge temperature, which makes it easier to distribute.

But even once they are at these vaccination centres, delivery of both vaccines is dependent on having the right numbers of staff available.

Currently, GPs, nurses, healthcare assistants and pharmacists are giving the vaccines.

But as the vaccination campaign ramps up, these will need to be supplemented by additional vaccinators.

Provision has been made to train other health professionals, from physiotherapists and dentists to dieticians.

But there are reports an “overload of bureaucracy” – including mandatory courses in fire safety and preventing radicalisation – is slowing down this training.

Ministers have said they will try to reduce the bureaucracy – amid warnings by the National Audit Office an army of nearly 50,000 vaccinators will be needed.

Although at the moment, there are thought to be enough staff to cope with the limited amount of vaccines available.

British Medical Association GP leader Dr Richard Vautrey said: “We will need support eventually but not now.

“At the moment, the biggest issue is the NHS having enough supply of the vaccine to give.”

Can the UK hit its mid-February target?

Nearly a million doses have been given since people started to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, in early December, which puts the UK third globally in the most vaccinations done per head.

And with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine being used from this week, the NHS is hoping to double that number in the next seven days.

Government sources said there would be disappointment if it did not reach two million doses a week by late January.

That – and a little bit more – will be needed to hit the mid-February target.

But even then, and assuming most people in these priority groups have come forward, the impact would not be immediate.

It takes a few weeks for the immune response to kick in.

So it would be early March before the full impact of the vaccination of these priority groups is felt.

Then, however, it could have a significant effect.

Close to nine in 10 Covid deaths have been in these priority groups.

They will have had only one dose, which, for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, is effective at preventing 70% of infections.

But the evidence suggests this will be enough to stop serious illness.

So if all goes to plan, the pathway to significantly easing restrictions comes into view.

But the complex nature of the supply chain coupled with the complexity of delivering vaccines to large numbers of people means it will take just one thing to go wrong to cause serious problems getting the UK out of this lockdown in the timeframe hoped.

“Actions in 2021 need to speak louder than words.“

East Devon District Council leader Paul Arnott writes about the challenges ahead.

www.exmouthjournal.co.uk

So here we are, Christmas has come and gone and we are hurtling towards 2021. It all feels like we have been on a bumpy spaceship ride across the solar system, can’t quite now find somewhere to land, and despite this have to fly on for another year in the slightly damaged craft we’ve been steering since March.

The patch of this country which I feel responsibility for – East Devon – faces the same extremely tough questions as the rest of the nation. Schools – open or close? Vaccinations – do we have the capacity, and is it going quickly enough? Food – supply chains are holding, but more and more people are genuinely going hungry. How can we all expand and co-ordinate campaigns to help?

Sports and Leisure Centres – ours have been hammered by Covid-19, and everyone wants to support them. But with one a quarter million pounds of district council money needed to support them up to Easter, can we afford to, when the government is only helping us to the tune of a quarter of a million? That’s a £1 million shortfall.

What about climate change? The clock is ticking, but can we move fast enough to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and move to greener energies? What more must we do to conserve our local environment?

And that’s before we start to worry about the local economy. Most people want to work to support themselves and their families, and to fulfil their potential. Yet we are looking at an awful contraction of the economy this year, and for many new jobs will not exist. So how do we get our heads together to support new endeavours and to skill up and train our local people?

Where, too, will we all live? The need for genuinely affordable, attainable homes is more marked than ever. How do we structure our strategic planning efforts at the district council to put this at the forefront of our efforts? Could we use publically owned land, should we go into partnerships with small or medium building companies to deliver it, and perhaps also encourage self-building? Or are we doomed to have massive developments pushed upon us against our will by stock market listed developers?

What will next year’s tourist season look like? If vaccination has been rolled out to cover most people by June, will we have an amazing three and four months of greater visitor numbers than ever? And can we cope with that, do we have the vision and the joined up infra-structure?

If anyone is interested in what keeps a council leader awake at night, I offer you the above for starters.

But in spite of it all, I have always been a glass half full person. For good things to happen, however, there are two crucial words we need our ruling government class to abide by – Good Faith.

National politicians of the governing party have made a series of promises on the Brexit-dividend, a Green-led economic recovery, a vastly better-resourced National Health Service. On the basis of those promises, just over a year ago the Prime Minister was given an eighty seat majority in the House of Commons.

Those voters were not stupid – they put a cross on the names of Simon Jupp, Neil Parish and Mel Stride (our MPs covering various parts of East Devon) in Good Faith. We all understand the extraordinary headwinds of the year just gone, and how some shocking mistakes were made from the man at the helm.

Our MPs, however, are meant to represent our needs and views to the national body politic. I have no reason to doubt that all three men are characters of Good Faith. In 2021, in all of the issues above, I will be seeking confirmation of that in the interests of the people of East Devon.

Actions in 2021 need to speak louder than words.

There is,as yet, little official information on some of the critical factors in the vaccine roll-out.

Owl has been scouring the press to try to find out what is known about vaccine supply when it became clear that the Government’s original target had not been met. 

This comes from a longer article in the Telegraph: 

Robert Mendick, 3 January 2021 www.telegraph.co.uk

On Vaccine Supply: 

“Mr Johnson has blamed a lack of vaccine supply for the current take-up. “The rate-limiting factor at the moment, as they say, is supply not distribution,” he told a Downing Street press conference. Professor Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, has said “vaccine shortage is a reality that cannot be wished away”.

But the pharmaceutical companies disagree. There are officially 530,000 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine ready to go from Monday, along with an additional 450,000 arriving in the next 24 hours, according to Professor Sir John Bell, the Oxford University regius professor of medicine and a Government adviser. 

On top of that, a further three million Oxford doses are in vials awaiting safety checks – a process that should take a few days – with 15 million more waiting for “fill and finish”, the process of filling vials and packaging the vaccine for distribution. AstraZeneca says that process is straightforward and also should take only days. 

Each batch, according to Government sources, needs to pass a 20-day sterility test and randomised quality checks before it can be used, requiring a staggered delivery.

Meanwhile, Pfizer has shipped “millions” of doses to the UK in 21 shipments, the first of which contained 800,000 doses. The Telegraph understands there are about five million Pfizer doses in vials ready for use in the UK. 

Added up, there are close to 24 million doses of vaccine either ready for use or available in a short space of time. 

The Government has committed to buy 40 million Pfizer doses and 100 million from Oxford/AstraZeneca. Both firms say they are on track to deliver the vaccines to the Government’s agreed timetable.”

What Boris Johnson’s announcement means.

Eve Watson www.devonlive.com 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has placed England into a third national lockdown from midnight.

Mr Johnson said earlier today that “further steps must now be taken” to stop the spread of the virus and save lives.

A No 10 spokesman said: “The spread of the new variant of Covid-19 has led to rapidly escalating case numbers across the country.

“The Prime Minister is clear that further steps must now be taken to arrest this rise and to protect the NHS and save lives.”

The new strain of the virus means cases are rapidly increasing. There were 26,626 Covid patients in hospital in England recorded on January 4, which is an increase of over 30% on the same day just one week earlier.

The peak of admissions in first wave of coronavirus was 18,974 on April 12, but the nation is now 40% above the highest level of the first wave.

It has been confirmed that the UK has increased from Alert Level 4 to 5, which is the highest level. This means there is a real risk of healthcare services being overwhelmed within 21 days without urgent action.

This comes after an announcement earlier today by Nicola Sturgeon, who said mainland Scotland will be plunged into a new national lockdown from midnight tonight for the rest of January – with schools closed.

The First Minister unveiled tougher measures to curb spiralling infection rates.

Schools across the mainland will stay closed until at least February.

The Christmas holidays had been extended until January 11, with online learning until January 15 – but children were expected to resume face-to-face lessons on January 18.

Ms Sturgeon confirmed schools will now be shut to the majority of pupils – all those except vulnerable kids and key workers’ children – until February 1.

That includes nurseries, primary and secondary schools.

Devon is currently in Tier 3 restrictions, after moving up from Tier 2 in December.

Six hospital patients in Devon who tested positive for coronavirus have died according to today’s NHS England figures.

The figures, taking into account deaths reported in the 24 hours up to 4pm on January 3, show that six deaths were confirmed across Devon and Cornwall’s hospitals.

Four were recorded at Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital (RD&E) and two at North Devon District Hospital.

This brings the total deaths of patients with coronavirus at RD&E hospital to 165.

The announcement this evening is to try and combat the rising number of deaths and cases nationwide.

These are all the things you can and can’t do in Devon, and the rest of the nation, in lockdown.

What can I do?

You can leave the house to:

Go to work if it’s impossible to work from home, e.g. construction or critical worker who can’t work from home

To shop for necessities including food and medicine

To exercise, which can be with up to one other person from outside your household or bubble. The exercise should ideally be limited to once per day.

To provide care or help to a vulnerable person

To attend medical appointments or seek medical care or fleeing the threat of harm or violence.

Police will have legal powers to enforce through fines and dispersing orders.

All primaries, secondaries and colleges will move to remote provision from tomorrow except children of key workers and vulnerable kids who can attend in person.

Early years – e.g. nurseries, alt provision and special schools – remain open.

Childcare and support bubbles – existing rules will apply.

Nursery age, vulnerable and kids of critical workers over 5 can still attend childcare.

Students will not be able to return to uni and will be expected to study from their current residence where possible until at least mid February.

In person teaching at university only for a small number of critical courses previously announced such as those studying to work in the health service.

Business and hospitality

All non essential retail hospitality and personal care services must shut if not already/remain closed.

Restaurants and similar can continue delivery or takeaway – BUT takeaway or click and collect of alcohol will no longer be allowed.

Essential retailers e.g. supermarkets, pharmacies, garden centres, builders merchants may stay open.

Places of worship open for individual prayer and communal worship but obey social contact rules and only attend with household and support bubble.

Zoos and other animal attractions have to close.

Playgrounds remain open.

Outdoor sports venues including gyms, tennis courts and golf courses must close.

Outdoor team sports will not be permitted.

Elite sport – Premier League etc – that will continue as can PE lessons and sports clubs for children attending school (i.e. critical workers / vulnerable kids).

Shielding

Stay at home as much as possible and should only leave for exercise and health appointments.

Don’t go to work even if you cannot work from home, and avoid busy places including shops and pharmacies.

International travel

Essential journeys are permitted