Plans to force people to show photo ID to take part in UK elections amount to Republican-style voter suppression and are likely to erode faith in the democratic process rather than reinforce it, three leading US civil rights groups have warned.

Peter Walker www.theguardian.com 

In an intervention that could prove embarrassing to ministers, US groups that were at the frontline of efforts to combat vote-blocking efforts by Donald Trump and his allies, said ID laws disproportionately affected people from poorer and more marginalised communities.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), and Commons Cause said that while they did not campaign directly in the UK it was a common principle that such laws, without evidence of widespread election fraud, had a harmful impact.

Boris Johnson’s government is due to introduce a bill in the spring to make photo ID mandatory from 2023 for all UK-wide and English elections following two years of small-scale trials, despite repeated warnings from charities and others about its impact on groups less likely to possess the necessary documents.

“The real reason these laws are passed is to suppress the vote, and that is in fact what happens,” Caren Short, senior staff attorney with the SPLC, told the Guardian.

“There are certain communities that do not possess the required ID, or the underlying documents required to get the ID, and so it makes it harder for those folks to vote. That is what these laws are designed to do, and that is in fact what they do.”

Molly McGrath, a voting rights campaign strategist for the ACLU, said voter ID is “not about proving who you are – it’s about excluding the people who are least likely to have that ID”.

She said: “I can go to almost any place and find somebody who’s been disenfranchised. I’ve never gone to a food bank and not found somebody who needs an ID so they can vote.”

UK ministers insist a law is needed to combat what is officially termed voter personation – someone going to a polling station to physically cast a vote while pretending to be someone else.

But critics point out that the offence is virtually unknown in the UK. Following the 2019 general election, there was one conviction for voter personation. Between 2010 and 2016, spanning two general elections and the EU referendum, there were 146 allegations with seven convictions, including five in one single incident.

UK charities representing groups including older people, those from minority ethnic backgrounds and the homeless have urged the government to reconsider the law.

Sylvia Albert, the director of voting and elections at Common Cause, a Washington DC-based civil rights group, said introducing voter ID when there was negligible evidence of a problem tended to have the paradoxical effect of making voters trust elections less.

“They try to say that they want to protect the integrity of the election, but the reality that our elections have strong integrity,” she said. “By doing this you’re actually undermining their integrity.

“Instituting aspects of voter suppression, including voter ID, is allowing the politicians to choose their voters, and that is not the strength of a democracy.”

Whereas the UK trials of voter ID at English council elections in 2018 and 2019 permitted different areas to show a variety of documents, the law is expected to mandate photo ID such as a passport or driving licence. Those who do not have such ID will need to apply to their local council in advance of elections.

Cat Smith, Labour’s shadow Cabinet Office minister, said the government “should heed the warnings of these respected civil rights groups, who have seen first-hand the undemocratic and discriminatory impact of mandating voter ID at elections”. The ID law is also opposed by the Lib Dems, SNP, Plaid Cymru and Greens.

A Cabinet Office spokeswoman said mandatory ID was “a reasonable way to combat the inexcusable potential for voter fraud in our current system and strengthen its integrity”, and that the “overwhelming majority” of people were able to vote successfully in the pilots.

She added: “We will make sure this policy works for everyone. There will be free electoral ID available locally and we continue to work with a broad range of charities and civil society organisations.”

Hospital chiefs are urging ministers to expand the NHS’s supply of beds in intensive care units, which have borne the brunt of the Covid-19 pandemic over the last year.

Denis Campbell www.theguardian.com 

It is unsafe for patients and unfair on frontline staff for the health service to continue with one of the lowest numbers of intensive care beds in Europe, they have told the Guardian.

ICUs across the UK have played a key role in treating more than 25,000 people whose health has been the worst affected by Covid since it struck last March. Patients at serious risk of death have received oxygen through either a ventilator or continuous positive airway pressure and also steroids in an attempt to keep them alive, with some spending many weeks in ICU.

Hospitals had to double and in some cases triple their stock of intensive care beds during the pandemic to cope with the number of patients. But they did so only by turning wards, operating theatres and recovery areas into makeshift mini-ICUs and redeploying staff from other areas to work there.

But hospital bosses in England say the NHS can no longer provide proper care with so few beds and are demanding the government order a review into whether it has enough. They want a major increase in both the number of beds and also medical specialists needed to staff them.

“Trusts’ experience of Covid-19 has strongly confirmed what we already knew: that the NHS is significantly short of intensive care capacity, both beds and staff,” Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers, told the Guardian.

“We now need a formal review of what intensive care capacity is required going forward. It’s neither safe nor sensible to rely on NHS hospital trusts being able to double or triple their capacity at the drop of a hat as they’ve had to do so over the last two months, with all the disruption to other care and impossible burdens on staff that involves.

“The UK is towards the bottom of the European league table for intensive care beds per head of population. Whilst the UK has 7.3 intensive care beds per 100,000 people, Germany has 33.8 and the USA 34.3. We also have comparatively fewer than France, Italy, Australia and Spain.”

A series of international studies over the last decade have confirmed the gap between the UK and many other European or industrialised nations.

Hopson added: “A significant expansion in the number of intensive care beds needs to be a lasting legacy of Covid-19. That would ensure that the NHS can provide the right quality of intensive care to the sickest patients where access to that care is literally a matter of life and death.”

He urged ministers to not just instigate a review but also commit to implementing and funding whatever changes in bed numbers and increase in staffing it recommends.

The Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine (FICM), which represents doctors working in ICUs, backed the call. “FICM has been saying for years, long before Covid, that there needed to be a review of adult critical care capacity in the UK”, said Dr Alison Pittard, its chair.

“However, it is more complex than just increasing beds. As the pandemic has shown, staff are our most valuable resource and we cannot have more beds without a corresponding increase in trained staff … not just intensive care doctors and nurses but also the entire multi-professional team such as physiotherapists, pharmacists, speech and language therapists and dieticians.”

FICM has been concerned for some time that, while demand for ICU beds had been rising by 4% a year from 2009 until Covid, the number of beds and staff had remained almost unchanged, which meant hospitals were less able to respond to the growing need for life or death care.

Hopson said the review would need to look at why some areas in the east, south-east and south-west of England have far fewer intensive care beds than the rest of the country. For example, the east of England had five beds open per 100,000 people in 2020-21 compared with 21 in London.

Acute shortages of intensive care beds during the recent surge of Covid forced the NHS to transfer record numbers of those with the disease to hospitals outside their home area. Some London hospitals were so overwhelmed that patients were taken as far afield as Newcastle, Yorkshire and the Midlands .

One intensive care consultant in London said they expected the capital to permanently increase its supply of intensive case beds by about 400 in the coming months but mainly by adding more beds that are used for “enhanced care” and post-operative monitoring, which need fewer staff.

“The plans I’ve heard are proportionate and pragmatic but it will be a fight for any money at all. Claps not cash. Plus ça change,” the doctor said.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We are hugely grateful to all the NHS and care staff working tirelessly on the frontline of the pandemic.

“The government is determined to back the NHS in every possible way in its fight against this virus, investing £52bn this year and £20bn next. This is on top of £9.4bn capital funding to build and upgrade 40 new hospitals and £3bn earmarked for supporting recovery and reducing the NHS waiting list.

“We know how integral staffing is, and there are a record numbers of qualified doctors working in our NHS, with over 6,500 more doctors and over 10,500 more nurses compared to the previous year, and the government is on track to deliver 50,000 more nurses by the end of this parliament.”

Work is to get under way on a masterplan to explore turning ‘pretty to look at’ green fields near Honiton into an ‘economic driver’ for East Devon.

Daniel Clark eastdevonnews.co.uk 

District council cabinet members in February backed committing up to £20,000 towards the costs of the exercise to look at commercial development at the Hayne Lane plot.

The site is allocated for employment use in the authority’s existing Local Plan.

East Devon District Council (EDDC) owns land to the west of Hayne Lane in Gittisham, close to Honiton’s Heathpark Industrial Estate.

An adjoining plot is owned by Combe Estates.

Costs of the masterplan will be met equally by the council and Combe Estates.

The February meeting of EDDC’s cabinet heard plans to extend the Heathpark Industrial Estate in Honiton have been ‘bubbling away for many years’.

Members were told the joint masterplan exercise will consider the feasibility of undertaking a commercial development on the Hayne Lane site, what opportunities are suitable, and what constraints need to be overcome.

Project manager for place, assets and commercialisation Alison Hayward, told the meeting that the masterplan work will include commissioning a number of surveys and studies to identify relevant site issues and provide evidence for the proposed uses.

Consideration will be given to uses that will support the council’s agenda to tackle climate change, will include a report on the viability of the development and the implications for the respective land owners.

Councillor Susie Bond, whose Buckerell ward the site sits in, said that while it is a visually sensitive plot, the extension of the Heathpark Industrial Estate has been ‘bubbling away for many years’.

She called for representatives from the parish and town councils to be involved in the development.

Cllr Paul Hayward, portfolio holder for economy and assets, added: “The input from the parish and town council will be critical as they are the boots on the ground.

“This is a joint project as they need us to get access to the land, and we need them as they have more land than us.

“This has been a long time coming. The land is pretty to look at, but is doing nothing at the moment, but as an economic driver for East Devon and Honiton, it has huge potential.”

Exeter Councillors have unanimously approved proposals totalling 240 new homes for the ‘Topsham gap’.

About Author Daniel Clark eastdevonnews.co.uk 

Exeter City Council’s planning committee gave the go-ahead to a trio of separate applications for plots on the edge of the town.

They include outline blueprints for 61 residential units on land at Broom Park Nurseries and Five Acres off Exeter Road.

Also backed were outline plans for 24 homes at an adjacent site.

And councillors also granted permission to detailed proposals for 155 new homes in Clyst Road.

The reserved matters application was supported only after the authority’s initial decision to reject initial outline plans was overturned on appeal.

Fifty-four of the Clyst Road homes will be ‘affordable’.

The development’s dwellings will range from one to five bedrooms.

An artist’s impression of the Clyst Road development of 155 homes in the Topsham gap.

The Clyst Road site in the Topsham gap.

Planning committee chair Councillor Emma Morse said: “The concept of developing the land has been tested and approved at appeal, despite our feelings on the matter.

“It is a good application, if you have to develop the land there.”

Recommending approval, officers said: “The principle of the residential development of this site, the access arrangements and off-site highway improvement works have already been established through the outline consent allowed on appeal.

“In this context the detailed proposals comprised in this application are considered acceptable in terms of design, layout, scale, appearance and landscaping and the proposals are also considered in respect of residential amenity standards and open space provision.”

An artist’s impression of the Clyst Road development of 155 homes in the Topsham gap.

The Clyst Road site in the Topsham gap.

All three applications won unanimous support from councillors.

Officers said of the two Exeter Road schemes: “It is fact that the scheme would result in development of part of the Topsham gap and landscape setting around Topsham, and would consequently harm the character of part of it.

“However, the development of this site, which already contains a single residential dwellings and holiday accommodation, would not in itself lead to any material coalescence between the two settlements.

The Exeter Road site where 85 homes will be built in the Topsham gap.

“The development is considered acceptable in terms of its design/amenity and transportation impacts, and sustainable in terms of its location.

“In terms of design/visual amenity impact it is considered that in principle the site is capable of accommodating the level of development proposed in a satisfactory manner through a subsequent ‘reserved matters’ application.”

5,000 new homes planned for parish of 3,000 souls

Just on the edge of Exeter, the landscape of the parish of Broadclyst is changing forever – with settlements around the main village about to get bigger. High density, new homes are on their way. The natives are restless – and have a plan.

Daniel Clark, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk

The parish of Broadclyst – consisting of Broadclyst village with smaller settlements at Westclyst, Budlake and Beare along the B3181, Columbjohn and Westwood in the rural north, and settlements at Broadclyst Station and Blackhorse along on the old A30 – had a population of 2,962 at the time of the 2011 Census.

While historically the main settlement and largest population was the village of Broadclyst, both Westclyst and Tithebarn will be larger in the near future.

The population is estimated to have increased by two thirds by 2021. With 4,050 new houses planned across at West Clyst, and Tithebarn (the latter in Cranbrook), it will result in a large population influx.

It is the biggest parish and the fastest growing parish in East Devon. Now the parish has produced a draft Neighbourhood Plan which is currently out for consultation.

It says: “The parish council and community have no legislative power to stop or even negotiate development other than by responding to planning applications as a consultee. This is frustrating, especially when the concerns we raised at planning stage have being retrospectively been recognised and altered.

“But the neighbourhood plan changes the community’s position from reactive to proactive, creating a plan for the parish; a clear mandate from the community; a proactive way to move forward. Without it, the parish remains at the mercy of the district council’s decisions who do not necessarily address local needs.

“Unlike national and district planning frameworks, it is “community-led” which puts the community, in the driving seat when it comes to having a say over what, how and where development should take place. This neighbourhood plan is the community’s plan for Broadclyst Parish. It represents the community’s vision and priorities for how they would like to see the local area change in the coming years.”

THE PARISH

The parish of Broadclyst is located around 3km (1.5 miles) to the north east of Exeter. The western boundary lies next to Pinhoe while the south east boundary abuts Cranbrook. There is coalescence between the Parish and Exeter, making it difficult to known where one boundary stops and the other starts.

It is the biggest parish in East Devon and is the biggest growing parish in East Devon with the population estimated to have increased by two thirds since 2011. It has an attractive rural setting and landscape character with the majority of the land belonging to the Killerton Estate owned and run by the National Trust.

The Killerton Estate houses are clearly identified throughout the parish due to the recognizable cream limewash / cream and brown sepia in combination with red brick, tile and local sandstone.

Historically the main settlement in the Parish was Broadclyst village with smaller settlements at Westclyst Budlake and Beare along the B3181. In the rural area lie the settlements of Columbjohn and Westwood. There are two further settlements at Broadclyst Station and Blackhorse both of which are in the south of the Parish lying close to the old A 30 road to London. But new major strategic development at East Devon’s West End has and will continue until completion, to dramatically change the natural environment of this area of the parish.

Broadclyst houses (courtesy: Nigel Mykura/Geograph/LDRS)

HOUSING

Strategic development sites, which are already allocated for development and not subject to the Neighbourhood Plan, will bring new houses. This will see the biggest centre of population move from Broadclyst village to two new settlements of Westclyst and Tithebarn.

At Westclyst, 430 homes at Pinn Court Farm are allocated for development, with 1,000 at Old Farm Park, 80 at Taveners Field, at 35 at Moonhill Copse, with the Tithebarn Green/Mosshayne site allocated for 1,500 homes.

However, the neighbourhood plan allocates several smaller sites too. One at Blackhorse Gardens in Blackhorse is allocated for homes, land at Broadclyst station for 24 homes, of which 12 will be affordable houses and five self-build plots, and a children’s play park, and provision of land for a 5m pedestrian and cycle lane for the Cranbrook to Exeter Cycle route..

Land on the edge of Broadclyst village is allocated for a small scale development to include the following: 16 houses, while further land allocated to provide a new residential development for the Killerton Estate to 20 homes.

Proposals for new dwellings on allocated sites in the Neighbourhood Plan will be required to provide: 50 per cent affordable housing for those with a local connection.

Proposals for the renewable energy systems of micro hydroelectricity, solar farms and ground Source and Air Source Heating will be supported.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Broadclyst parish is a commuter settlement for Exeter with commuting by car being the predominant travel choice, but this choice has resulted in road capacity and safety issues, and with the construction of 5,000 new houses, the existing road networks are struggling to cope with movements in and out of Exeter and north to south across the parish.

The plan provides support for less commuting to work and to provide more employment within the parish, and for regeneration of sites for business or mixed development and support for new business provision across the parish, for work hubs and work live units, for food/ drink production businesses, an increase in provision of holiday accommodation and an increase of tourism related businesses.

The Beare Farm site is allocated to be regenerated to provide flexible commercial space for offices, food and/ or drink production, and small light industrial workshops, but proposals for Class B2 and B8 industrial uses will not be supported.

A site at Crannaford is allocated to be regenerated through refurbishment and selective development to provide flexible commercial space for light industrial, and garden centre including a café, a children’s play park and café; and a nursery day care centre.

The Winter Gardens site to be regenerated to provide flexible commercial space for offices and light industrial use.

Land at the Silverton Mill site is to be regenerated to provide a mixed use development for the Killerton Estate. It will include 25 new dwellings, a car park for access to Ellerhayes Bridge, areas for water activities and recreation uses, a café and retail units, a visitor centre, car parking and up to 2000m2 of employment space.

And an area of Elbury Farm is to be regenerated to provide a new mixed development for the Killerton Estate. This would include 10 new dwellings and the conversions of existing brick buildings to provide residential accommodation, a Nature Reserve visitor reception and facilities, and the demolition of agricultural buildings will facilitate a car park for visitors and residents and business units.

TOURISM

Broadclyst is a popular destination attracting around 300,000 visitors a year, with the main attraction being is the Killerton Estate owned by the National Trust.

Ashclyst Forest and Danes Wood, both on the Killerton Estate, are also popular, with Ashclyst is one of the largest woods and a known haven for butterflies, bluebells and birds, with waymarked trails for exploring the wood and surrounding countryside.

The plan says that visitor accommodation is very limited and does not cater for all sectors of the holiday market, as there are no public camping and caravan sites, no hotels, but there are very few bed and breakfast establishments, Airbnb and selfcatering holiday cottages, with the total accommodation provision is of eight to 12 properties.

The plans says: “The community recognises the contribution tourism makes to the local economy and is keen to promote an increase in visitor numbers and accommodation particularly outside the main holiday season but reflects that growth must be balanced against protection of the very features and attractions which appeal to visitors.”

Development of sustainable tourism in the parish will be welcomed and supported throughout the parish including provision of sustainable tourism promoting visitors’ enjoyment and understanding of zero carbon living, nature recovery, high quality local food and drink and local character, history and custom

New small-scale low-impact high-quality built holiday accommodation will be supported but proposals will need to demonstrate that such uses are in character in landscape, heritage and design terms and do not adversely impact the setting. New holiday accommodation will be approved subject to the following condition in order to ensure the accommodation remains in holiday use and prevents its use for residential purposes or second home ownership.

Applications for the development of sustainable tourism- related camp sites would be welcomed & supported by the parish, particularly if they are sympathetic to the surrounding countryside, the plan says, adding: “Development proposals for the use of land for small-scale sustainable high-quality touring caravanning and /or camping sites offering a range of styles, types and qualities of camping (to include Yurts & Shepherd Huts, Pods & Lodges) will be supported.”

INFRASTRUCTURE

The Broadclyst Neighbourhood Plan supports the development of a route providing safe and direct access for pedestrians and cyclists between Broadclyst village and Broadclyst station to help people get to and from Clyst Vale Community College, Broadclyst Primary school, Killerton House, and Ashclyst Forest and to facilitate residents of Broadclyst Village travelling southwards to Cranbrook. A bridge over the Waterloo to Exeter railway line is also supported.

Station Road is the most direct route from Broadclyst village, to Broadclyst Station and onwards to the A30. With the Build out of Cranbrook Blue Hayes phase this will be an even busier route and this route is unsafe for pedestrians and cyclists, the Plan says, adding: “To minimise the impact of the Cranbrook Western traffic and to satisfy the community’s evidenced aspiration, a bridge over the railway is supported.”

SPORTS HUB

The plan allocates land for a new sports community hub with an all-weather pitch floodlight facility and community building, which follows support from the local community. As well as the all-weather pitch, it would include a large community room, a café/ social area, a gym/ fitness facility, meeting rooms for commercial use, a crèche, office space, and changing rooms and toilets.

The plan says that 84 per cent of the community supported a Community Sports Hub facility being allocated at a site adjacent to Clyst Vale Community College with the backup site being at Brockhill if the preferred site cannot be developed.

Proposals for new, indoor and outdoor sport and recreation facilities in suitable locations served by a choice of sustainable travel options, which meet specific identified community needs will be supported, the plan adds.

Proposals for the development of a community swimming pool and/ or proposals for the provision of a swimming pool as part of a tourist facility which provides community access are supported.

The Broadclyst Neighbourhood Plan says that it wants to promote economic development across the parish and to provide new economic sites and mixed development sites across the parish and to support specific economic growth and opportunities.

• To provide a new Community Sports Hub.
• To maintain and improve existing community facilities.
• To provide additional community spaces for Sports, Leisure and Recreation. To secure high quality development which addresses the challenges of climate change.
• To integrate the built and natural environment.
• To protect historic structures, landscapes and buildings which determine the heritage character of settlements and landscapes within the Parish.
• To expand and diversify economic development and activity within the Parish.
• To regenerate brownfield sites within the Parish. To provide housing to meet local needs.
• To increase accessibility and affordability of housing for local people.
• To increase provision of self-build and live-work units
• To enhance the movement of people and traffic in and across the Parish.
• To increase infrastructure and provision for sustainable modes of travel.
• To protect and enhance the natural environment and diverse habitats of the Parish.
• To protect and enhance the landscape setting of the Parish.

• Retention of a 1.8m high vertical feather edge timber fence, replacing existing 1 Coly Road Honiton EX14 2EHRef. No: 21/0495/FUL | Validated: Fri 19 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of single storey side/front extension and new garage. New access to highway and gates. 56 Salterton Road Exmouth EX8 2ENRef. No: 21/0492/FUL | Validated: Fri 19 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of existing dwelling; construction of replacement dwelling and new access; and associated works including landscaping. Rye Errish Southleigh Colyton EX24 6JBRef. No: 21/0488/FUL | Validated: Thu 18 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Extension to North elevation Money Acre Farway Colyton EX24 6EQRef. No: 21/0478/FUL | Validated: Wed 17 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Application for a larger home extension with a maxium height of 4m, eaves height of 2.92m, and depth of 5.65m. 11 Westview Close Whimple Exeter EX5 2TWRef. No: 21/0485/GPD | Validated: Wed 17 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of a lift shaft to rear (north) elevation Victoria Hotel The Esplanade Sidmouth EX10 8RYRef. No: 21/0465/FUL | Validated: Thu 18 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed demolition of existing conservatory and construction of new conservatory on existing footprint. Shanghai Long Hill Beer Seaton EX12 3HURef. No: 21/0457/FUL | Validated: Tue 16 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• First floor rear extension and insertion of new side first floor windows. 53 Maple Drive Exmouth EX8 5NRRef. No: 21/0459/FUL | Validated: Tue 16 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of rear first floor extension and rear canopy. 2 Malt Field Lympstone Exmouth EX8 5NDRef. No: 21/0467/FUL | Validated: Tue 16 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of two-storey extension and re-roofing of single storey lean to extension 35 Holland Road Exmouth EX8 4AYRef. No: 21/0462/FUL | Validated: Tue 16 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Construct new bay window to front of property. Kimberley Stockland Honiton EX14 9BXRef. No: 21/0464/FUL | Validated: Tue 16 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Certificate of lawfulness for the construction of single storey rear extension with pitched roof45 Sages Lea Woodbury Salterton Exeter EX5 1RARef. No: 21/0466/CPL | Validated: Tue 16 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Two-storey front extension and porch 1 Westminster Close Exmouth EX8 5QSRef. No: 21/0460/FUL | Validated: Tue 16 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• 1 Apple tree on North side of church car park. Trimming of branches overhanging car park. 2 Beech tree in South East Corner. Lower limb to be removed and lower branches to be cut back where they overhang the car park. 3 Beech tree in Southwest Corner. Cut back around electricity and telephone cables by approximately 2 meters and to cut back branches lower branches overhanging the car park. 4 Beech tree South west corner (2). Cut back by approximately 2 meters from the cables and post. Remove lower branches above the lane. St Peter And St Marys Church Salcombe Regis EX10 0JHRef. No: 21/0441/TCA | Validated: Thu 18 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Boundary alterations, erection of fence and formation of off road parking 2 Latchmore Latchmoor Green Thorverton Exeter EX5 5LYRef. No: 21/0433/FUL | Validated: Fri 19 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of entrance gate, timber post and rail fence. The Dairy Barn Combehayes Farm Honiton EX14 9TSRef. No: 21/0445/FUL | Validated: Fri 19 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Formation of new vehicular access and driveway Gooselands Payhembury Honiton EX14 3HJRef. No: 21/0449/FUL | Validated: Fri 19 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1 Horn beam to remove lower limb 100mm cut. T2 – Oak, prune off lower limb 100mm cut T3 – Beam , tip reduction on long extending limbs approximately 1.5m back to good growth point cuts approximately 50mm, also remove the poorly pruned branch back to collar 120mm cut Meadows End Harcombe Road Axminster EX13 5TBRef. No: 21/0451/TRE | Validated: Mon 15 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of single storey rear/side extension, rear dormer window and side link extension to garage. Orchard Lea Church Road Whimple Exeter EX5 2TFRef. No: 21/0450/FUL | Validated: Mon 15 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Retention of concrete yard renewal Cockhayes Farm Upottery Honiton EX14 9RBRef. No: 21/0446/FUL | Validated: Mon 15 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Construction of single storey extension, new retaining wall to garden area and replacement cladding to dormers Sid Lodge Sid Road Sidmouth EX10 9AJRef. No: 21/0438/FUL | Validated: Tue 16 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Continuation of temporary siting of container kiosk for a further 5 years Orcombe Point Kiosk Queens Drive Exmouth EX8 2AYRef. No: 21/0440/FUL | Validated: Wed 17 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of single storey extension and extension to garage. 3 Down Close Newton Poppleford Sidmouth EX10 0JDRef. No: 21/0427/FUL | Validated: Thu 18 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Remedial works to stone boundary retaining wall including structural support, rebuilding with concrete block retaining wall faced with masonry, gabion baskets, stonework repairs and re-pointing of the wall. In addition, the repair and resurfacing of the carriageway and new post and rail fence Elford Farm Dalwood Axminster EX13 7HBRef. No: 21/0420/LBC | Validated: Tue 16 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Retention of party fire wall in roof space and retention of re-plastered ceiling in main front bedroom Cherrytree Cottage 30 Fore Street Sidbury Sidmouth EX10 0SDRef. No: 21/0413/LBC | Validated: Fri 19 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Removal of central chimney stack from the rear (south east) roof elevation Sid House Sid Road Sidmouth EX10 9AHRef. No: 21/0415/LBC | Validated: Thu 18 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of single storey rear extension 34 Jackson Meadow Lympstone Exmouth EX8 5GZRef. No: 21/0409/FUL | Validated: Wed 17 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Fell ash tree due to ash dieback 27 East Budleigh Road Budleigh Salterton EX9 6EJRef. No: 21/0407/TRE | Validated: Mon 15 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erect two storey extension and extend balcony area Combe Bank Membury Axminster EX13 7AGRef. No: 21/0406/FUL | Validated: Tue 16 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1, Willow : Crown reduce by up to 6m. T2, T3 Apple trees : Fell. T4, Prunus : Crown reduce by up to 3.5m. T5, Cyprus : Fell. Reason: Appropriate arboricultural management. 6A Cyprus Road Exmouth EX8 2DZRef. No: 21/0399/TRE | Validated: Thu 18 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Extension to porch and extension of main roof to cover porch. Provision of pitched roof to existing dormer window. Construction of greenhouse. Orchard House Membury Axminster EX13 7AFRef. No: 21/0384/FUL | Validated: Tue 16 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Single storey extensions to west (front) and north elevations and new pitched roof to replace original garage flat roof. 10 Clyst Valley Road Clyst St Mary Exeter EX5 1DDRef. No: 21/0381/FUL | Validated: Tue 16 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1, Blue Cedar : Fell to ground level 40 Clyst Valley Road Clyst St Mary Exeter EX5 1DDRef. No: 21/0376/TRE | Validated: Tue 16 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of two storey extension Benvenuto Cooks Lane Axminster EX13 5SQRef. No: 21/0370/FUL | Validated: Thu 18 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Conversion of existing side extension, including raising of roof, to form new dwelling 1 Lestock Close Exmouth EX8 2QWRef. No: 21/0352/FUL | Validated: Fri 19 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Raising of ridge height and construction of dormer windows to allow for first floor accommodation (revised scheme to 20/2469/FUL) 2 Glebelands Uplyme Lyme Regis DT7 3TBRef. No: 21/0347/FUL | Validated: Mon 15 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of two storey extension (revision to 11/2471/FUL). The Old School House 24 Village Way Aylesbeare Exeter EX5 2FDRef. No: 21/0318/FUL | Validated: Fri 19 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Ground floor: removal of partition/cupboard; replace door on front elevation; replace 1no. window on rear elevation; internally remove timber cladding and insulate 1no. wall; repairs to staircase and replace some steps; remove fireplace, open up and plaster walls and replace 1no. window on side elevation of kitchen. First floor: 1no. window replaced on rear; 2no. cupboards removed; top of staircase converted to winder and replace balustrade; floor in bathroom replaced; partial removal of wall to accommodate re-positioning of bathroom door and walls and ceilings repaired. Roof: increase height of chimney and re-point and re-roof single storey projection on rear elevation. Rosemary Cottage Church Street Sidford Sidmouth EX10 9RLRef. No: 21/0305/LBC | Validated: Tue 16 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Copper Beech – crown cleaning and formative pruning to remove miss-placed and crossing branches with specific branch removal/reduction to give clearance to the overhead line Marycourt Convent Road Sidmouth EX10 8RERef. No: 21/0169/TCA | Validated: Tue 16 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Install stairlift at ground floor leading up to first floor. Court Hall Fore Street Sidbury Sidmouth EX10 0RSRef. No: 21/0131/LBC | Validated: Wed 17 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision

• New classical style portico over front door and canopy roof over garage door. The Old Vicarage Payhembury Honiton EX14 3HARef. No: 21/0114/FUL | Validated: Mon 15 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erection of barn and lean-to shed (part retrospective) for a mixed ancillary residential and agricultural use The Old Farmhouse Castle Hill Axminster EX13 5RLRef. No: 21/0064/FUL | Validated: Fri 19 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Single storey timber frame flat room extension to the rear 30 Cherry Tree Road Axminster EX13 5GQRef. No: 21/0042/FUL | Validated: Fri 19 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use of outbuilding from ancillary accommodation to the main house to an independent residential unit for use as a holiday let. Beacon Farm Beacon Yarcombe Honiton EX14 9LURef. No: 20/2819/COU | Validated: Tue 16 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of side extension to provide garage on ground floor and additional accommodation above. 15 Ashley Crescent Sidmouth EX10 9UERef. No: 20/2467/FUL | Validated: Thu 18 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1, Ash : Fell; replant with 2 x Whitebeam Land North East Of East Lodge North RousdonRef. No: 20/2218/TCA | Validated: Thu 18 Feb 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision

Controversial plans to hike car parking charges by 20 per cent in some of East Devon’s most popular car parks have been agreed – but the rise won’t kick in until April 2022.

Daniel Clark www.devonlive.com

East Devon District Council on Wednesday night voted in favour of rising car parking charges for the first time in a decade, with the hourly tariff to go from £1 an hour to £1.20 per hour.

The recommendation had initially come from the council’s car parking TAFF and scrutiny committees with a proposal that the charges were introduced from April 2021.

Wednesday’s full council meeting though decided to delay the rises until 2022 in order to help town centres recover from the coronavirus pandemic as they felt that price hikes just as the area comes out of lockdown would be a mistake.

But the decision to delay the rise by a year will leave a £300,000 black hole in East Devon’s finances that will either have to be filled by cutting back on other services, or reducing the reserves to the bare minimum level that they can hold.

Cllr Paul Millar, who had called the recommendation of the scrutiny committee for debate, proposed that the rise in parking charges be agreed, but for them not to take effect until April 1, 2022, rather than the initially planned 2021 introduction.

He said: “For the last 12 months, we have given grants to keep businesses alive. At this crucial stage when businesses have narrowly survived going under and gone through a mountain of hell, why would we let them fall the moment they approach the finish line, and why would we nudge people out of the town centres?

“We need to encourage them back to high streets and town centres after the year of getting into the routine of online shopping. For the next year, the savings should be made elsewhere and this can be done, and for one year only. Raising the charges has to happen, but doing it in less than two months’ time is the wrong thing to do, and we can delay the increasers until April 1, 2022.”

Cllr Jack Rowland, the council’s portfolio holder for finance, said: “It is important to remember why we are doing this. We are having to fill a gap of £300,000 which will diminish our reserves to the absolute minimum. We have to do this but doing it this year is not the best way forward, but next year, we will have to.”

He said that he realised the inherent risks of reducing the council’s reserves and said the danger was if they are hit with emergencies or extraordinary requests, they will have to look at how the money is raised or defer services.

But he added: “I feel this is wrong time because of the highly unusual circumstances we are in to increase car parking charges. There will be a certainty about next year, reserves are there for a reason and ideally are not taken to a minimum, and if we are faced with emergencies, have to think about the impact and the decisions that we will take.”

Cllr Sarah Jackson added: “Unfortunately I appreciate that there will have to be rises in car parking, and we haven’t put them up for years, so we are at the point where we have to generate some revenue somewhere to support our services. But I welcome the deferral for people to get back to some normality and back into work and they were face additional financial pressures, so it is sensible to defer it but we need to be clear there do need to be some rises.”

But Cllr Ian Thomas felt that delaying the rise for another year ‘bordered on irresponsible’ due to the fact it would cut the reserves of the council down to the absolute minimum they can hold.

He said: “This a shortfall of £300,000 in a £9m budget – over three per cent of the total budget. How does the administration intend to make £300,000 this year, or is it taking the reserves down to the absolutely minimum? I think that borders on irresponsible and is a risk far too far.

“We bottled the car parking issue 12 months ago and it was a great disappointment. We have sailed close to the wind and on this we are sailing close to the wind into the eye of the storm, and that is irresponsible for a public body. In a time of enormously uncertainty, it doesn’t take much of a jolt to put a significant threat to the revenue budget.”

And Cllr Tom Wright said that while it was sensible to delay the rise, it was unwise to decide now what the increase it 2022 would be, with Cllr Philip Skinner adding that it was unknown what the situation next year would be.

Councillors voted by 36 votes to 17, with two abstentions, with support from all political parties across the chamber, in favour of the 20 per cent car parking charge rise, which will take effect from April 1, 2022.

The car parks affected are:

Sidmouth – Roxburgh, Ham (East and West), Manor Road, Mill Street and Manor Pavilion

Exmouth – Imperial Road, Imperial Recreation Ground, London Inn, Beach Gardens, Queens Drive, Queens Drive and Queens Drive Echelon

Honiton – Lace Walk, King Street and New Street (North and South),

Beer – Central and Fore Street

Budleigh Salterton – Rolle Mews and Lime Kiln

Proposals from the TAFF over the introduction of an evening parking charge of £1 and for a Sunday parking charge to be introduced in Ottery St Mary, Honiton and Axminster will go before the council’s cabinet on Wednesday, before they will make a recommendation to the next full council meeting for a final decision.

Wednesday’s meeting saw councillors agree to raise council tax by £5 a year – up to £151.78 for the average Band D property – as part of budget proposals that were agreed by 54 votes to one.

But Simon Davey, strategic lead for finance, said: “The budget includes an increase in prime car park charges and permits which generates £300,000 in additional income for 2021/22. Should the council not accept the increase in charges, the General Fund Balance will have to make good the loss of £300,000 and proposals would then have to come back how savings could be made to meet this not insignificant gap in the underlying budget.”

No wonder it costs so much – Owl

Charlotte Becquart www.cornwalllive.com

There’s nothing quite like a walk along the coast of Cornwall – the sound of the waves, the breathtaking views and the amazing fresh air…

And now a business is selling bottles of coastal air from different locations across England – including one advertised as being from the ‘Cornish coast’, although the source is in Devon.

Coast Capture Air advertises for 500ml bottles of air for £60, while the 700ml bottles cost £75.

Your fresh air can come from Suffolk, the Isle of Wight or Hartland Point – which the company says is on the Cornish coast.

The website states: “Each Coast Capture Air signature glass bottle holds fresh coastal air in its purest form, direct from the natural and unspoiled coast lines of Great Britain. Our select Air capturing locations are typically rural, unpolluted by man or machinery and often remote and hard to reach.

“Such idylls are rare. Our Collections are therefore of precious and exceptional quality. Bottled at source: Hartland Point, Cornish Coast, Great Britain”

Hartland Point is on the north coast of Devon, about 16 miles west of Bideford.

Coast Capture Air says its glass bottles of coastal air were initially created as a talking point and souvenir – but that some customers now make use of the fresh air in their every day lives.

“The concept of being able to breathe freshly bottled UK coastal air soon sparked interest from polluted areas around the world,” its website reads.

“Some people continued to purchase our bottles as souvenirs. Others inhale the fresh coastal air at home on a daily basis. They told us that it helped counter the harmful effects of air pollution. Many customers live in in smog-filled cities across the world where the pollution levels are very high.

“Our customers like to inhale the cool refreshing air prior to a mindfulness session and yoga practice.”

Some testimonials have also been shared on the website.

Feng Mian, from Beijing, said: “A good product. Well worth buying. I purchase each month.”

Erica S, from California, wrote: “I breathe my Coast Capture Air during my daily mindfulness meditation. I know it makes a real difference to my breathing and I love that is clean air from Great Britain.”

CornwallLive has contacted Coast Capture Air for more information.

New Lighthouse labs, created by the government to boost the nation’s Covid testing capacity, are to be dramatically scaled back before they open. It is understood that new multi-million pound labs in Gateshead and Plymouth, announced last year but yet to open, are among those to see a big cut in daily testing by as much as 50% compared with original plans.

Michael Savage www.theguardian.com 

Some smaller labs will be decommissioned and others will not have their contracts renewed this spring as part of the overhaul, with officials citing new technology and the changing pressures of the pandemic as factors behind a rethink. The changes are likely to reignite the debate over the use of public money by the £22bn NHS test and trace programme.

Officials insisted there would be no overall reduction in the existing capacity of more than 750,000 tests a day, and the changes would ensure better value for money. However, the move suggests capacity will not be expanded in the way originally planned. There are also there are concerns about overhauling testing capacity weeks ahead of school reopening. Dido Harding, the head of NHS Test and Trace, admitted the service had failed to predict demand when schools and universities returned last autumn.

The Gateshead Lighthouse lab, scheduled to open in December, was due to have a daily capacity of 80,000 tests a day. The Plymouth lab was meant to open in January, with a 40,000-a-day capacity. Both are yet to open, but are expected to do so with significantly reduced testing targets. A so-called “mega lab” originally planned for Scotland with the capacity to process up to 300,000 tests a day has already been shelved. A similar lab in Leamington Spa is still due to go ahead as planned.

Some insiders warned that the debate about testing capacity should be put on hold until after the summer, while others said that quicker and cheaper lateral flow tests, which do not need to be processed in a lab, should not be used in place of lab-based PCR tests. NHS test and trace officials said lateral flow tests were not being used this way.

Gabriel Scally, visiting professor of public health at Bristol University and a member of the independent Sage group of scientists, said: “Tailoring your lab capacity to meet the need is, of course, what you should do. We’ve got to be aware that variants are coming at us – we might get a variant that damages the immunity provided by vaccination. Even if it reduced the effect of the vaccine by 50%, that would be still hugely problematic for the country. So, if they are going to reduce the labs at all, they should be mothballing them rather than bulldozing them.”

The government’s focus should be on helping local public health teams to conduct rapid contact tracing and supporting and compensating people who are asked to self-isolate, according to several public health officials.

Richard Murray, the chief executive of the independent charity the King’s Fund, said: “It is vital that the government gets this right – a failure to track and respond quickly to local outbreaks, especially of new variants, could mean that case numbers begin to rise, and risks squandering the hard work of the NHS and the sacrifices made by the public since the pandemic began.”

Professor Maggie Rae, president of the Faculty of Public Health, said she did not want to criticise people working in the testing programme. “But what I am going to question is the amount of money spent on the programme – to what purpose and to what impact?” She asked how much of funding was also going to local authorities and their public health teams.

A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Our testing system has continued to evolve, and now includes both symptomatic tests processed in a lab, and asymptomatic tests that can be used rapidly at home or at work. Turnaround time has improved and new technology means we can process hundreds of thousands of tests a day in one lab, and respond to increased demand as needed. Our vaccine rollout also continues at pace, getting jabs into arms and offering as much protection as possible, as quickly as possible.

“Testing must remain a vital part of the response to Covid-19 as we cautiously ease lockdown restrictions, but this improved system means we are now able to consolidate our laboratory network to achieve the best value for money. Our overall national laboratory capacity will not reduce, and everyone who needs a test will still be able to get one, quickly.”