Rapid charging points for electric vehicles could soon be installed in two of Honiton’s car parks – Lace Walk short stay, and Blackdown House.

East Devon Council has been offered the chance to host 30 charging points in car parks across the district – provided it can move quickly to get them installed.

Philippa Davies honiton.nub.news

If the proposal goes ahead, Honiton could get two charging units, each serving two parking bays, at both car parks.

The rapid chargers can top up an empty battery to 80 per cent in around 40 minutes.

The council’s Cabinet will meet next Wednesday, March 17, to discuss the proposal, and is being recommended to take it forward.

The background is that a supplier, Gamma Energy, won funding from the Government-funded public body Innovate UK to provide and manage rapid chargers in the Devon County Council area. The project has funding for 150 charging units – and needs them to be operational by the end of March 2022.

Devon County Council and Gamma Energy approached the district council to invite interest in hosting the units in up to 30 car parks where residents and visitors would find them useful. There’s no upfront cost to the district council; it will lease the car park spaces to the unit supplier for a token rent, and receive a small percentage of the income from the charging fees.

The report going to the Cabinet describes this as ‘an exciting opportunity’ and recommends entering into the necessary legal agreements to provide up to 30 charging units, which is what Gamma Energy is offering.

Car parks in Lympstone, Budleigh, Exmouth, Sidmouth, Seaton, Beer, Colyton, Axminster and Ottery are also being looked at as potential charging sites.

Electric car sharing hub at Blackdown House?

Councillors will also hear that – in view of the possible car charging points at Blackdown House – there’s a possibility of it being used as a hub for Co-Cars. These are low-emission vehicles operated by a Community Interest Company, and available to the public for hire by the hour or the day. The district council is ‘actively exploring’ the possibility of creating Co-Car hubs at the car park of its Honiton headquarters, along with other locations in East Devon.

A separate charging units proposal under DELETTI scheme

There’s already a scheme under way to provide a different charging point at the Lace Walk short stay car park under the first phase of the Devon Low-carbon Energy and Transport Technology Innovator scheme, known as DELETTI. This will be a fast charging unit serving two designated parking bays, providing a top-up charge in two hours or more.

Car parks in Exmouth, Sidmouth and Seaton will also have these charging points. Most of the funding for this project has come from the European Regional Development Fund, meaning the district council will need to contribute only £4,000 per two-vehicle charging unit.

And more electric charging points in the pipeline

The district council has also bid for £500,000 from the Local Enterprise Partnership to install further electric vehicle charging points throughout its area, including on-street units.

The focus is on rapid charge points, and the council envisages using its experience of the Innovate UK and DELETTI projects to commission and manage its network of charging points.

Nine residents have died following a “devastating” outbreak of coronavirus at a care home.

BBC News www.bbc.co.uk 

Brandon House in Exmouth, Devon, had been free of Covid for 11 months prior to residents getting ill in February.

Diane Loxam, a training coordinator, said nine residents at the dementia specialist care home had died and two were “quite poorly”.

“It’s just awful, no words can express how we’re all feeling at the moment,” she said.

All residents at the home received their first dose of the vaccine in January.

image captionTwo residents are still poorly at Brandon House care home in Exmouth

Heather Coles, an administrator, said because many of the residents had dementia it was “harder” for them to understand the restrictions in place at the care home.

Public Health Devon said while the county had “relatively few cases of coronavirus” compared to the rest of the country “a small number of outbreaks” had occurred in some settings.

It is working “very closely” with the homes to ensure the safety of residents and staff, control the outbreaks, and reduce the risk of further transmission.

It added: “Coronavirus is still a very infectious virus, and cases like this are a reminder of how important it is for us still to remain vigilant and to take every precaution to prevent its further spread.”

Always interesting to keep an eye on our old GESP Partners – in this case Teignbridge which bottled pulling out of GESP last July. – Owl

Daniel Clark www.devonlive.com 

A High Court ruling dismissing an appeal against a 1,210 home housing plans for the edge of Newton Abbot has left locals outraged.

PCL Planning’s scheme, submitted on behalf of the Rew family, was granted planning permission in June 2020, after the Secretary of State allowed the appeal for the land at Wolborough Barton, in Newton Abbot.

As well as the 1,210 new homes, the Wolborough scheme includes a new primary school, employment land, community facilities, including a day nursery and a health centre, a local shopping centre, play area, allotments and a multi-use games area, as well as a link road connecting the A380 and the A381.

Full planning permission to convert the Wolborough Barton farmstead into a boutique hotel, restaurant and bar, has been granted by the Secretary of State as well.

Abbotskerswell Parish Council had taken legal action over the granting of the appeal, but after a two day hearing in the High Court in February, Mrs Justice Lang ruled that the Secretary of State was entitled to grant permission for the development without having comprehensive information on biodiversity and climate change, as this can be considered at the reserved matters stage.

The Judge also has ordered the parish council to pay costs of up to £10,000, and they will now be calling in the pledges that residents had made in the event of them losing the case.

Abbotskerswell parish council have been left outraged by the ruling, while Newton Says No councillors says that the battle to save Wolborough from NA3 continues, but the Rew family have welcomed the decision and Teignbridge District Council have said that now the development is going ahead, they will work together with stakeholders to make it a place where people want to live, work and play.

A spokesman for the parish council said: “We are outraged at this judgement. Teignbridge District Council’s decision to allocate Wolborough Barton (NA3) for development in the local plan is something that Abbotskerswell Parish Council has challenged because the environmental information and protections are completely inadequate.

“The implications of this judgement are of national importance. In the High Court the Judge has said, despite the law saying that environmental matters need to be dealt with at the earliest possible date, that such matters can be delayed and should be dealt with in reserved matters at a later date. In effect further delaying all environmental surveys until the very last minute.

“The decision to persistently delay or avoid being presented with key environmental information and protection is alarming. We believe that the lack of firm environmental protections is unacceptable.”

The parish council is now considering carefully whether to appeal the High Court decision to the Court of Appeal, but the spokesman said they need to consider the question of costs in doing so.

They added: “In the meantime, the parish council wholeheartedly thank all those who supported our cause and pledged their money to help us with the costs in the event that we lost this case. We are very sorry to have to call in those pledges and we are considering funding options that might enable an appeal.”

Aerial view of the Wolborough Barton site

Newton Say No councillors, who were in part elected to Teignbridge District Council due to their opposition to the development, said that the decision was shameful.

A statement from Newton Says No said: “Teignbridge District Council continues with the shameful false narrative that anyone other than a small number of vested interests they support and enable will benefit from the environmental and climate change disaster that is NA3.

“They have shown utter contempt and disdain for the residents since they shoehorned NA3 into the Local Plan in 2013. In the fullness of time their actions will be laid bare. In the meantime, they will continue to soft soap and gaslight the residents with stories of ‘live, work and play’, whilst below the waterline their plans simply destroy the environment and pollute the district to profit the few.”

Cllr Richard Daws, deputy group leader, added: “The decision to allow NA3 is similar to the Drax power station and the coal mine in Cumbria in terms of being a nationally relevant environmental and climate change catastrophe. The Government cannot be allowed to escape its own promises. After public pressure, Robert Jenrick today admitted the Cumbria coal mine raises issues of wider importance.

“NA3 is something the people need to keep fighting every step of the way with all their might, so that, as a community, we can all look our grandchildren in the eyes and reassure them that we understood and tried our hardest to fight blind greed and ignorance. The battle for NA3 will continue.”

Cllr Janet Bradford added: “Once again I repeat what I said when I was elected by the residents of College Ward in Teignbridge. There are some things that are just wrong and this is one of them. At this point, no one has the ethical or moral right to destroy the nature that we are part of and depend upon. The fight goes on for the voiceless, our wonderful wildlife and our children and grandchildrens’ future.”

And Chris Watts, from the Wolborough Residents Association, added: “In Newton Abbot, developers are in the process of destroying our access to high quality open spaces and in the process exacerbating the process of climate change and the diminution of our biodiversity. It is bewildering to keep reading government texts exhorting the need to mitigate the effects of climate change and halt the loss of biodiversity but witness the exact opposite in our lived experience.”

But a spokesman for the Rew family, who own the land, said that they welcomed the court ruling, that the proposal would help people on the housing waiting list, and it was a ‘great shame that these proposals have been delayed by legal challenges’.

They added: “We welcome the court’s ruling that the Secretary of State was right to agree that outline planning permission, first applied for in 2017, should be granted.

“This site was included in the Teignbridge Local Plan in 2014 and is a highly sustainable location, suitable for a new mixed-use urban extension to Newton Abbot.

“At the last count there were almost 1,000 households in Teignbridge on the housing waiting list and our proposals will help to deliver almost 250 much-needed affordable homes for local people.

“We are sure that many people will, like us, feel it is a great shame that these proposals have been delayed by legal challenges partly funded by local council tax payers.

The new link road between the A380 and the A381 as part of the NA3 Wolborough Barton development framework plan

“We are now looking forward to working constructively with Teignbridge District Council and other stakeholders as we take the next steps towards delivering 1,210 new homes and a new link road which will connect the A381 with the A380 South Devon Highway, easing congestion and improving air quality.

“In addition, there will be the creation of new jobs and investment in the local community including a community centre, shops, workplaces, a network of green infrastructure and a site for a new primary school.”

And a spokesman for Teignbridge District Council said that they hope the ruling would bring an end to the process and that there will be polarised views on this decision.

They said: “This decision removes uncertainty and enables us now to work with the developers to ensure that the detailed planning requirements are properly met and that homes, amenities and surroundings are built to meet the needs of future generations.”

“It has been considered by the Planning Inspectorate, the Secretary of State and the High Court. Despite the many challenges at different stages, the outcomes show that officers acted appropriately, following the correct planning processes and gave sound professional advice on planning, ecological and environmental issues.

“There will be polarised views on this decision with some people being disappointed, while others will welcome the economic and housing benefits that will flow from the development.

“Now this development will go ahead, the Council will work together with stakeholders to make it a place where people want to live, work and play.

Wolborough Barton

“The permission, that was part of the council’s planning blueprint for the next 10 years and beyond, will see 300 affordable homes delivered, as well as key infrastructure and accessible green spaces for residents and communities.

“There will still be planning conditions to comply with and detailed designs and environmental impact assessments will need to be approved so that construction of the new neighbourhood at Wolborough can start.”

The decision can still be challenged in the Court of Appeal, although this could have significant costs implications for Abbotskerswell Parish Council if they chose to go down this route.

While the application has outline planning permission, a reserved matters application for elements of detail for the application, concerning access, appearance, landscaping, layout and scale will need to be submitted and approved before work can begin.

A £6m contribution will be made from developers towards Cranbrook and other new developments on the edge of Exeter becoming zero carbon – and hopefully end the frustration of residents who say they have been faced with endless power outages leaving them without heating or hot water.

Daniel Clark www.devonlive.com

Residents in Monkerton, Tithebarn and Westclyst have been faced with endless power outages leaving them without heating or hot water, and alongside Cranbrook, the areas are heated by a district heating network provided by E.ON.

But those already living in the area say the system is blighted by problems, some saying that they have been forced to buy a plug-in electric heater as they don’t trust the heating system.

A proposal has though been submitted based on securing a connection from the Energy from Waste plant to both the Cranbrook/Skypark and Monkerton heating networks which would take the form of a trunk heat main carrying hot water under pressure.

East Devon District Council’s planning committee on Wednesday morning almost unanimously backed the proposals that will help find a ‘cost effective solution that can be delivered at scale and at pace’ for the area around Cranbrook and Monkerton.

The district energy network to meet a zero carbon standard, rather than rely on fabric and renewable energy measures on each home, will serves the region, and will ultimately connect 12,000 homes and 2m sqm of commercial space.

There is a requirement for all homes to be connected to a district heating network became a key part of the planning strategy for Cranbrook and the neighbouring Skypark commercial development, with all homes tied into a contract with EON.

Together there are now over 100km of heat pipe in the ground, while the first permanent energy centre at Skypark was commissioned in 2013 and a second energy centre, currently under construction at Monkerton, is due to be commissioned later this year.

Picture of the E.on centre, the heating pipes, and the heating unit. Image shown to the EDDC planning meeting. (Image: EDDC planning meeting)

Planning permission for the energy centre had previously been granted and that in recognition of the need to ensure that the district heating network would meet increasingly stringent carbon performance standards for the first 2,900 homes at Cranbrook, the section 106 legal agreement attached to the planning permission included the provision of a solid biomass Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system.

But with the benefit of further technical advice, councillors heard that it was accepted that the gasification and pyrolysis technologies, which it was hoped would be scalable, as well as being more efficient and lower cost than traditional steam based technology, had not matured sufficiently in the decade since the section 106 agreement was negotiated to provide a reliable way forward.

Instead, the energy from waste (EfW) plant at Hill Barton, which is due to start construction during the summer of 2021 and be operational by the summer of 2023, has been taken forward as the preferred method of providing the district heating network.

A proposal has been submitted based on securing a connection from the EfW plant to both the Cranbrook/Skypark and Monkerton networks. This would take the form of a trunk heat main carrying hot water under pressure, and will enable connections to the two existing concession agreements totalling circa 8,000 homes and 2m sq ft of commercial space as well as the potential to serve the Cranbrook expansion areas (an additional 4,000 homes).

In light of the revised plans, councillors agreed to convert the obligation to install solid biomass CHP in to a financial obligation to be fixed at £6m, which will be taken as a payment in kind in relation to the extra over costs for the rerouting/future proofing of the Eastern Transmission Main which to be delivered in 2021/22.

The future proofing of the Eastern Transmission Main and its use to serve the expansion areas is critical to making sure that a key policy provision of the Cranbrook Plan can be achieved and that the ongoing roll out of district heating is both seamless and cost effective.

And Cllr Kim Bloxham, who represents Cranbrook, said this should solve the issues of the interruptions some residents have where their heating supplies are cutting out.

She added: “This reflects the views of the town to drive forward with a low carbon solution and it deliver the much needed the Eastern Transmission Main to ensure the eastern part of Cranbrook and its Eastern Expansion is well served with district heating, as without the main, we will continue to have interruptions to supply to some of the residents from the temporary energy centres.

“Low carbon is essential and this presents a way forward for delivery and a pathway to deliver an alternative form of heat and I look forward to working with officers to take this forward.”

The meeting heard from Andy Wood, service lead for growth, development & prosperity, that utilising waste heat from the EfW plant will therefore bring forward the timing of the transition away from gas, the inclusion of the Monkerton network, which will ultimately serve 4,600 homes as well as Exeter Science Park, and will both add scale and achieve accelerated carbon savings,

He added that the future proofing of the Eastern Transmission Main and its use to serve the expansion areas is critical to making sure that a key policy provision of the Cranbrook Plan can be achieved and that the ongoing roll out of district heating is both seamless and cost effective.

Councillors, with one abstention, voted to note the further technical work that has been undertaken to support the delivery of low and zero carbon development in the West End of the District and agree the principle of the proposed Deed of Variation for the £6m payment in lieu of the CHP.