Devon families with children who receive free school meals are being given a £45 supermarket voucher to help buy food over the Christmas holidays. Devon County Council (DCC) says the lump sum also covers February half-term next year.

Anita Merritt www.devonlive.com 

The council has confirmed there has been a significant rise in the number of children from low-income families in receipt of free school meals a year with numbers now almost reaching 20,000 across Devon. Before the end of the current school term, each eligible child will automatically be sent a £45 supermarket voucher to replace the meals they would have had at school during the day.

It’s the equivalent of £15 per child per week of the two school holidays during the two-week Christmas break and the half-term in February. DCC says it is being distributed in one lump sum now to allow families some flexibility on how they spend the vouchers and try to help with the additional pressure the festive period puts on household budgets.

Councillor Roger Croad, Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member for communities said: “With the cost of living crisis starting to bite, more families in Devon are eligible for free school meals for their children than ever before, with numbers continuing to soar to the highest levels on record. Around a further 1,000 children have become eligible for free school meals over the last year, rising to a total of approximately 19,500 pupils.

“It’s been a tough few years for some people, particularly financially with incomes changing suddenly as businesses struggle to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. Food and energy prices have risen dramatically in the last few months and household budgets are stretched.

“Many people are finding it especially difficult now as we move into colder winter months, and the financial challenges faced by some families can be intensified during the school holiday because of increased costs such as food and reduced incomes due to childcare. We are concerned that some are being forced to make some very difficult decisions to put food on the table or heat their home.

“Thankfully the government’s decision to continue its household support fund, for now, means we’ve been able to buy nearly £900,000 worth of supermarket vouchers to support these families during the Christmas and February half-term holidays so their children don’t go hungry. We are continuing to work with our local government, voluntary and community sector partners to support people in Devon experiencing hardship and make sure we identify those who are struggling so we can make sure they get the help they need.”

For more details about the vouchers please visit freeschoolmeals@devon.gov.uk or call 0345 155 1019.

Hot air from Johnson a year ago. Gove takes us back to the future- Owl

Boris Jonson Cop26 Nov 2021 (Extract)

“while a red digital clock ticks down remorselessly to a detonation that will end human life as we know it

and we are in roughly the same position, my fellow global leaders, as James Bond today

except that the tragedy is that this is not a movie, and the doomsday device is real

and the clock is ticking to the furious rhythm of hundreds of billions of pistons and turbines and furnaces and engines

with which we are pumping carbon into the air faster and faster- record outputs

and quilting the earth in an invisible and suffocating blanket of CO2

raising the temperature of the planet with a speed and an abruptness that is entirely manmade

and we know what the scientists tell us and we have learned not to ignore them

2 degrees more and we jeopardise the food supply for hundreds of millions of people

as crops wither, locusts swarm

3 degrees and you can add more wildfires and cyclones – twice as many of them, five times as many droughts and 36 times as many heatwaves

4 degrees and we say goodbye to whole cities – Miami, Alexandria, Shanghai – all lost beneath the waves

and the longer we fail to act

the worse it gets and the higher the price when we are eventually forced by catastrophe to act

because humanity has long since run down the clock on climate change.

It’s one minute to midnight on that doomsday clock and we need to act now.” 

His level of shock is difficult to describe in words, pictures seem to do a better job.- Owl

And

Letters www.theguardian.com

One implication of your editorial on housing (1 December) is that greater supply would make housing more affordable. That would mean developers increasing supply to the point where they’d have to drop prices, and then keep building as prices continued to fall. They won’t do it.

Average prices have gone from 3.6 times average earnings to nine times over the last 25 years – through cheap borrowing, inherited property wealth snowballing on a rising market and, latterly, George Osborne’s help-to-buy scheme, which saddled buyers with more debt than the banks thought they could afford.

In this low-wage economy, the need is for social housing, and the new-build emphasis should be on that. But for ordinary families to have any chance of buying, the market needs puncturing by further structural change. Surcharging and requiring planning consent for the use of any dwelling other than as the main home, owned or rented, would be a start.

Negative equity? Of course there would be, though in the shorter term that’s coming anyway. But the help-to-buy element of the debt at least could eventually be written off, because with more social housing, the saving in annual housing benefit, now running at £23.4bn, would cover it.

John Worrall

Cromer, Norfolk

Hidden in the small print of the autumn statement, the government announced that housing benefit for private sector tenants will be frozen for the third successive year. In social housing, rent can still be covered by universal credit or housing benefit, if the rules permit.

This of course exacerbates the private sector rents crisis that you report (Soaring rents making life ‘unaffordable’ for private UK tenants, research shows, 1 December). The government makes a decision on housing benefit based on data supplied every September by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). The process is opaque. Nobody outside the government knows how much the VOA thinks rents have risen. Its data won’t be published until the end of January.

In Cornwall, the council has said that the private rental market has all but dried up. Emergency accommodation for the homeless is often offered in a hotel, sometimes miles away. Already the maximum housing benefit here can be £50 a month less than the VOA-recommended figure. The shortfall will be even greater now.

Philip Kerridge

Bodmin, Cornwall

While there are undoubtedly some social landlords who are providing a poor service to their tenants, one can’t help thinking that Michael Gove’s high-profile interventions in the last fortnight are designed to deflect attention from his inactivity regarding the dire state of the private rented sector. Moya Lothian-McLean’s article highlights the almost nonexistent protection from very poor quality housing, rent gouging and no-fault evictions in the private rented sector (Facing eviction, I’ve learned that relying on ‘good landlords’ is a feudal throwback, 2 December).

It’s all very well the government promising an end to the latter practice, but it’s more than three years since the original commitment was given. How cynical also that the levelling up spokesperson’s response was to pass the buck to councils, saying that it was their responsibility to ensure families are not homeless. Let’s have the same level of intervention in the private market as Gove has recently promised for social housing.

John Rigby

Much Wenlock, Shropshire

Plymouth Conservatives lose another councillor

Tory councillors are being left to defend “unpleasant” budget decisions made by “a collective few”, says Ham ward councillor Stephen Hulme who has quit the Conservative group

Carl Eve www.plymouthherald.co.uk

Plymouth City Council is once again on a political knife edge as yet another Conservative councillor has chosen to quit the group and go independent.

Cllr Stephen Hulme, who represents residents of Ham ward, took to his Facebook page last night to break the news to his constituents, saying “I have sadly had to leave the colour blue. “I am solely the voice of Ham ward and our magnificent Ocean City of Plymouth. You have the power of your votes, use it wisely”.

This follows hot on the heels of recent developments at the Conservative-led council – including the suspension of a Conservative councillor Maddi Bridgeman over alleged complaints which are being investigated, the resignations of two Conservative councillors who moved to Gloucester, and two by-elections for the vacated wards of Moor View and Plympton Chaddlewood on January 12, 2023.

As a result of the recent changes, an Independent group was formed by former Conservative leader Nick Kelly, former Conservative Terri Beer and former Labour councillor Chaz Singh.

As a result of the latest resignation, the council split is now 24 councillors apiece for the Conservatives and Labour, with the balance of power now sitting with the Independent group, two Green councillors and two independent councillors. The council was in this position in January this year with no single party holding the majority after Cllr Hulme left the Conservative group. However, this situation lasted mere hours after the Conservative group unexpectedly lifted the suspension it had placed on the then leader Nick Kelly – over comments he is alleged to have made during an interview with ITV, putting the Tories back as the majority party.

Cllr Hulme was elected for the Conservatives in May 2021 with a majority of just 285, snatching the seat from Labour. However, he left the Conservative group in January 2022 without giving exact reasons for his departure, saying only that it had been “a difficult journey since May 2021 for me as a new elected Conservative councillor”. He said at the time that he would sit as an independent councillor “holding Conservative values”.

He re-joined the Conservative group in May this year along with four other former Conservatives. The return of the five was purported to be down to the new leader of the council, Conservative group leader Richard Bingley.

At the time he won praise from Johnny Mercer, Plymouth Moor View MP who said Cllr Bingley had brought “stability” back to the Conservative group. Mr Mercer went on to state that it was “fundamental to my politics that politicians spend less time arguing amongst themselves and more time focused on delivering for the brilliant people of our city who deserve first-class leadership.”

However, in a statement released last night to PlymouthLive, councillor Stephen Hulme said: “Of late I have received many emails from the electorate, on the publication of the new plans on Armada Way, the diminishing bus services and removal of bus shelters, the increasing parking charges, the introduction of garden waste charges and the implementation of rubble charges and alike at the local tips, the two by-elections being actioned in January 2023 at a cost of around £50,000 or more to the council taxpayer.

“I get democracy – but with the cost of living crises, perhaps waiting till 2023 May would be more cost-effective to the public purse. It seems a collective few make decisions leaving others to defend the unpleasant decision, which I have found impossible.”

Cllr Hulme still has 15 months left of his council term before he must face the re-election process and he has said he will remain an independent until then. He claimed: “I don’t think the council listens to the people of Plymouth. They need to listen to the people of Plymouth.”

Reduce state intervention, free-up markets, unleash entrepreneurialism, privatise, privatise, privatise. What could possibly go wrong? – Owl 

Sandra Laville www.theguardian.com 

Serious pollution by water companies has increased in the past year, the regulator has said in a damning report on the performance of the sector in England and Wales.

Ofwat said poor performance by some firms was embedded, and named Northumbrian Water, Southern Water, South West Water, Thames Water, Welsh Water and Yorkshire Water as lagging in the way they served customers and ran the system.

The regulator also analysed the financial resilience of the water firms, after a year in which three companies have been forced to inject capital to bolster their financial strength. Ofwat is taking a tough stance with water companies after criticism that for years the firms have not been properly regulated.

The body said most companies had failed to clearly explain the link between the dividends paid to shareholders and performance for customers. They said there had been improvements on leakage by water companies but more needed to be done to reduce leaks by 50% by 2050 from 2017-8 levels.

The Guardian revealed last week that the nine main water and sewerage companies had paid out £65.9bn in dividends in the last three decades. They have also taken on debts of £54bn.

Ofwat said Northumbrian Water and Portsmouth Water had paid dividends which were significantly higher than the regulator’s expectations and the companies’ financial resilience. Northumbrian dividends in the past year were £181.5m and Portsmouth Water paid £5.1m to shareholders.

David Black, the chief executive of Ofwat, said: “In too many areas, water and wastewater companies are falling short when it comes to looking after customers, the environment and their own financial resilience. We are clear; these companies need to address this unacceptable performance as a matter of urgency.

“For some companies poor performance has become the norm. This cannot go on. We are requiring the worst performers, including Thames Water and Southern Water, to return around £120m to customers.”

The performance report on 17 water companies said serious pollution had increased. “In 2021-22 the number of serious pollution incidents increased and there was a deterioration in the compliance of treatment works. Only four companies met the performance level to reduce sewage flooding in customers homes … Companies urgently need to improve their performance on this measure. There are cases of sustained poor performance over a number of years, such as South West Water.”

The report said, despite the poor performance, companies were not investing enough into treatment plants to reduce sewage discharges and to improve drought resilience.

Sewer flooding incidents in people’s homes were also highlighted as an area of concern. Southern Water and Thames Water have been told to cut sewer flooding by 56% and 61%, respectively, to meet the target of limiting incidents to 1.34 per 10,000 properties by 2024-25.

Ofwat said: “Companies have a duty to provide and maintain a sewerage system and should plan and invest to ensure they can cope with future pressures such as population growth and climate change.

“Some companies consider that storms and prolonged rainfall throughout 2021-22 contributed to an increase in the number of incidents they experienced. It is likely that with the impacts of climate change, the UK will continue to experience extreme weather events.”

Water companies are all being investigated by Ofwat and the Environment Agency over potentially illegal sewage discharges from their treatment plants.

Christine McGourty, chief executive of the industry body Water UK, said: “This report clearly shows there’s more to do for water and wastewater companies to meet the stretching targets of the regulators, as well as the high expectations of the public. It’s good to see that nearly every company has met its target on leakage reduction with an ambitious industry-wide plan in place to cut leaks by 50% by 2050.

“Water companies will continue to work with government and the regulators to ensure we enable the levels of investment needed to improve our infrastructure and protect the environment while maintaining value for money for customers.”

A study which looked at water quality in 48 freshwater sites in the UK has revealed that the River Dart in Devon is the only site of those tested which has ‘acceptable’ levels of pollution. The two other Devon rivers included in the study were found to have above acceptable levels of at least two pollutants.

Mary Stenson www.devonlive.com

In a people-powered study of pollutant levels in UK freshwater sites, the River Dart was the only one, out of 48, to pass all five parameters. The river runs 75km from Dartmoor and into the sea at Dartmouth.

Tests were carried out to determine whether water met acceptable levels of six different pollutants: nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, total coliform, pH and heavy metals. The pollutants have varying impacts on the environment, including harm to plants, aquatic life and insects. Coliforms, in particular, are a group of faecal bacteria which can cause serious illness such as diarrhoea and gastroenteritis.

98% of sites failed to meet acceptable criteria of at least one of five pollutants, including the River Axe. The river, which runs through East Devon and parts of Dorset and Somerset, was found to have above ‘acceptable’ levels of phosphate and coliforms.

Over half, 52%, of sites failed on three or more parameters. Among these was the River Exe, which runs through Exeter, and was found to have high levels of nitrate, phosphate and coliforms.

The study, overseen by environmental organisation Planet Patrol, was performed by 57 members of the public over the summer. They were each allocated to a testing site and gathered data every other week for 12 weeks, resulting in a total of 1,229 water quality readings. The findings have been laid out in Planet Patrol’s What Lies Beneath Report 2022.

Over 90% of the sites around the UK tested positive for total coliform bacteria and nearly 70% failed in the phosphate parameter. There are varying causes of these pollutants entering the water, including sewage contamination, urban development, farming practices, increased use of increased diversity of chemicals and pharmaceuticals and transport pollution.

The latest data from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) shows that no progress has been made on a pledge made four years ago to ensure 75% of rivers and other bodies of water achieve a “good” ecological status by 2027. As of 2021 the figure was at 16%, the same as it was in 2017.

The Environment Agency has reportedly planned to amend the 75% target, prompting Planet Patrol to launch a petition calling Rt Hon Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Thérèse Coffey, to reject this proposal.

Lizzie Carr MBE, founder of Planet Patrol, says: “Through our growing community of citizen scientists we’ve started to uncover what lies beneath to highlight a stark reality: the widespread, poor condition of our freshwater environments. The results have been disturbing and distressing but only by building evidence to illustrate the true scale and extent of a problem, can it be accurately understood, communicated and acted upon.

“We urge the Government to honour its pledge to ensure that 75% of rivers and other bodies of water achieve a good ecological status by 2027. This target is both a major driver of public and private investment into cleaning up our waterways and a vital tool to hold industries with permits to pollute – which include much more than just water companies – to account over water pollution.”

Planet Patrol has also made the following policy recommendations:

• DEFRA to bring forward the enforcement date for the increase in Variable Monetary Penalties for polluting water companies to 1st February 2023
• DEFRA to strengthen the effectiveness of the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan (SODRP) – specifically, reduce the maximum achievement date on all SODRP targets to 2035 versus 2050, and prohibit water companies from increasing water bills to fund the critical infrastructure investment required
• The Environmental Agency to accelerate the speed at which citizen science is integrated into formal data collection activities for developing evidenced-based policies
• Use funds raised from the increase in Variable Monetary Penalties for polluting water companies to increase the criminal prosecution rates of those who damage water quality.

Dr Thomas Stanton, a freshwater scientist from Loughborough University who analysed the data, says: “UK waterways are vulnerable to a number of societal pressures, including pollution, water abstraction, and modifications to river courses. But they are also compromised by weak policy and legislation.

“Despite its political greenwashing, the environment continues to be an issue that the UK government does not take seriously.

“Nature is in crisis, but current efforts to fully understand the extent of this are shackled by politicians whose short-sighted priorities lie elsewhere, and who fail to recognise the significance of environmental action today for the lives of those who will outlive their political tenure.”

The full What Lies Beneath Report 2022 can be found here.

Experts have urged ministers to use a 12-year-old law to ensure that homebuilders in England provide more green spaces to curb the risk of flooding and sewage pollution.

Successive ministers have resisted the move, fearing it would hinder meeting targets for homes and end a builder’s right to connect to existing sewers.

Adam Vaughan www.thetimes.co.uk 

Forty planning, engineering and environment groups have written to the prime minister, urging him to implement schedule three of the 2010 Flood and Water Management Act.

This would mean companies building and maintaining “sustainable drainage systems” (SuDs), such as ponds, planters and permeable paving, so drains were not swamped during heavy rain. “Implementation is essential to address growing surface water flood risk [and] tackling the sewage pollution problem,” the signatories, including the Royal Town Planning Institute, the Town and Country Planning Association and Water UK, the trade body, said. The government has been reviewing the issue, and a decision was initially due in October.

The Times understands the advisory group on the review is in favour of implementing schedule three.

“Backward thinking and policies mean 1.5 million homes have been built in a way that doesn’t manage water well. Climate change-driven extreme weather advances and sewers are full to overflowing,” Terry Fuller, chief executive of The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, which organised the letter, said.

The groups behind the letter say that while some developers perceive SuDs as “difficult and expensive”, that was not true and they could even be cheaper than conventional drainage.

The National Federation of Builders said: “There is a likelihood that schedule three becomes the 12th tax on industry in the last two years.”

A Defra spokesperson said: “The government is reviewing the case for implementing schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. This would introduce standards for most new drainage systems and would make it compulsory that systems gain regulatory approval before any construction work commences.”

From a correspondent:

Why is Budleigh Salterton suffering this terrible, hammering noise, I have been asked?

The old Victorian combined sewer outfall passes under the estuary at its mouth to discharge on the lee side of the Otter Head rocks. This pipe spilled RAW sewage 48 times for 433 hours in 2021 into the bay. (the latest figures available).

The swimmers  who live in the town will testify that there has been times when it would be foolish to enter the sea this summer.

This pipe is now likely to be subject to erosion when the Lower Otter Restoration Project is complete. If it is to continue to be used to discharge poo into the sea it must be replaced. This means using a hydraulic hammer to drive a new pipe horizontally under the Lime Kiln car park to the other side of the estuary mouth.

This may have been understandable if there was no money available but £2.2 billion was accessible for water companies to build wastewater infrastructure and tackle sewage being ditched in our rivers and seas. And, as Owl recently reported, South West Water is the second worst investor after Yorkshire Water spending only 39% of what it could.

 Water companies fail to splash out on improvements, especially SWW | East Devon Watch

With this money available one might have hoped that SWW would make this pipe redundant and sort out the mess at the Lime Kiln Pumping station.

Budleigh residents can now rest assured that their untreated poo can continue to be discharged at the Otter Head for the next 100 years on a weekly basis.

Second home owners in Cornwall are set to be charged twice the normal rate of council tax under a proposal to give the local authority more powers to raise income from out-of-towners.

Will Humphries, Southwest Correspondent www.thetimes.co.uk

Councils would also be given powers to charge a 100 per cent council tax premium on people who leave their properties empty for one year or more.

Cornwall council’s scrutiny committee agreed in principle to the doubling of charges for both categories on Tuesday, and that the leader of the council should write to the secretary of state asking that all English local authorities should have the ability to raise council tax on second homes even to three times the normal rate.

The move followed a request by Julian German, an independent councillor and former leader of Cornwall council, who wants to bring England in line with Wales. The Welsh government introduced a law this year that allows local authorities to set council tax premiums of up to 300 per cent on second homes and long-empty properties.

German told The Times: “If the Westminster government wants to devolve the ability for councils to raise council tax on second homes then why put a cap on it at 100 per cent; why not trust local government to decide what is right for them, be that 150 per cent or 400 per cent?”

The proposals are subject to the government’s Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill receiving royal assent. The bill gives local authorities powers to double council tax on second homes and is expected to be made law in time to apply from April 2024.

North Yorkshire county council, which has the highest concentration of second homes in England, became the first English council last month to pass a measure committing itself to doubling council tax bills on second homes.

At present Cornwall can double council tax only on homes that have been empty for two years or more.

It charges a 200 per cent premium on homes left empty for more than five years and 300 per cent for those empty for more than ten years.

A report to the committee estimated that doubling the rates of council tax on all second homes could generate an extra £27 million in revenue for the authority. According to the report, there are more than 13,000 properties in Cornwall classed as second homes on the council tax system — one of the highest levels in the country.

“Second home ownership within Cornwall is significant and is recognised to have a negative impact in terms of the supply of homes available to meet local housing need,” the report said.

It said data shows 722 properties are being charged a 100 per cent premium for being empty for more than two years, generating £854,000.

Second homes and holiday lets are blamed for an affordability crisis in Cornwall after falling stocks of housing to let led to a sharp rise in rents.

Locals have been upset over recent years by prominent second home owners, including the celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay who came down from London to spend much of lockdown at his second home on the coast.

St Petroc’s, a homelessness charity, said last week that “thousands” of local people were at “breaking point”. The council’s cabinet must vote on the proposal before a formal resolution goes to a vote of the full council.

The people of Salcombe, the Devon seaside town known as “Chelsea-on-Sea” for its wealthy visitors, became so worried about second home owners buying prime properties that they have enacted the strictest code against out of towners in the country.

South Hams district council has made it a legal requirement that all new-build homes must be sold with a Section 106 agreement stating they will be a principal residence in perpetuity.

Several other seaside towns, including St Ives, have introduced rules for new properties to be sold as principal residences but none has dictated that all should remain a principal residence.

Everyone is hard up at the moment – including the Conservative party, it seems. According to Bloomberg’s Alex Wickham, the party is raising membership fees by 56%.

Ben Bradshaw www.devonlive.com 

“I must be the only person in the country never to have watched “I’m a Celebrity” and I didn’t make an exception just because disgraced ex Health Secretary, Matt Hancock was on. Mr Hancock has now used his elevated public profile to defend his role during the Covid pandemic before the official public inquiry into it has begun.

His “Covid Diaries”, serialised in the Government-supporting Daily Mail, appear to blame everyone else for the serious errors made during the pandemic. The terrible death toll in care homes was the fault of care staff who infected patients, he claims, rather than the well documented practice of hospitals discharging infected patients to care homes, despite Ministers being warned repeatedly of the consequences of this.

The former Health Secretary says that the Conservative Peer, Baroness Mone, who is being investigated over multi-million-pound contracts for PPE that turned out to be faulty, “bullied” him into putting her company in the VIP lane for contracts during the pandemic. I thought Mr Hancock had managed to convince people he was a “toughie” during his “jungle ordeal”, yet he couldn’t stand up to the unreasonable demands of a lingerie millionairess to whom we must assume he owed nothing.

When a young constituent asked me last week if I would go on “celebrity TV”, he seemed disappointed when I said no. Indeed, I have said no, partly because it would be demeaning, but also because I have the old-fashioned view that an MP’s job is to serve their constituents.

It was against this sorry backdrop that ex-Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, published a major report on the future of Britain this week addressing the constitution, devolution and standards in public life. None of these in themselves is likely to be the hot topic of discussion for most people as they face a multitude of challenges this winter, but they are a serious attempt by a serious politician to provide some of the answers as to why Britain is failing and how to restore trust in politics.

Among the recommendations are reform of the House of Lords, banning MPs from taking most second jobs, independent enforcement of the ministerial code and eliminating foreign money from UK politics. No more Matt Hancock’s, Lady Mones’ or Russian money in Conservative coffers, just conscientious legislators doing their best.

The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, is pledging to implement most, if not all, of these recommendations as essential for the “rewiring” of our democratic system and politics if Britain is to be governed better. I won’t be around to help get such a programme through, if Labour wins the next election, but I wish my Party well and believe these reforms will contribute to making us a better and more successful country.

That change could start now if Rishi Sunak filled the vacant post of the Prime Minister’s Independent Adviser on Ethics and gave them the powers that the Independent Commission on Standards in Public Life has called for. What is stopping him?

Simon Jupp criticises EDDC local plan proposals, now out for consultation, as being unimaginative by proposing to “dump” the majority of new development in the west quarter of the district. (See below)

“Councillors should not be allowing historic towns and villages to merge into one another, nor allow homes to be built without adequate infrastructure in place first.” He says.

But isn’t this what Cllr Phil Skinner, current Leader of the Conservative minority group in East Devon, advocated in 2019 when he said this about a proposed network of linked villages: “I am bang up for seeing this come forward in the right way.” …?

Result of 25 years of Tory “Build, build, build”

The fact is that it’s the legacy of Tory development policies over a quarter of a century in EDDC coupled with the Tory government housing targets that have left the current Council facing options, none of which are attractive. Most of East Devon outside the AONB has already been over-developed.

In the past twenty years, the local Tories have:

1. “Persuaded” the residents, through an opaque process under the leadership of Sara Randall Johnson followed by Paul Diviani, to accept the new town of Cranbrook, built on grade 1 agricultural land.  It started by aiming for a population of 2,900 in 2012 and is now projected to reach 22,000 eventually, swallowing up nearby rural villages in the process. It was claimed at the time to relieve future development pressures;
2. Produced a local plan 2013 to 2031 (adopted in 2016) based on an aggressive jobs led, “policy on” growth scenario requiring more than three times the number of houses needed to satisfy demographic and historic growth trends; 
3. and were enthusiastic supporters of the Greater Exeter Strategic Plan (GESP) seeing it as an opportunity to use the green fields of East Devon to ease Exeter’s chronic inability to find a five year land supply. One of the main GESP enthusiasts is none other than the current leader of Tories in EDDC, Cllr Phil Skinner. Those who voted to stay in the GESP can be found here. Not a single Conservative voted to leave GESP!

Who set the ground rules that EDDC have to follow in their plan?

The government you claim to be a small part of, Simon.

Right now these policies are in a state of flux because the housing requirements they impose on District Councils, like EDDC, result in just the sort of proposals you are criticising. These requirements bear little relationship to local need. I.e “to help people stay in their own communities, reduce travel to help the environment, or keep families close together” (To quote a phrase of yours).

Yet Owl cannot find any evidence that you were among the 60 rebels that have forced this U-turn on Michael Gove and the PM.

It is too early to tell what this U-turn will mean in practice but it should give EDDC an opportunity to establish the genuine local need.

This opinion article of yours looks like humbug to Owl.

Maybe you could help by working constructively with the elected Council as the MP for Tiverton and Honiton does for his constituents? 

New homes need to be built in the right places 

Simon Jupp www.sidmouthherald.co.uk

East Devon is a great place to live, work and explore. Naturally, we want our children and grandchildren to feel like they can lay down their roots here, too.

Homes to buy and for long-term rent are increasingly out of reach for people who grew up here or who work locally – including for key workers in the NHS, social care or schools.

Home ownership needs to be a reality for a new generation. That will only come about by ensuring homes are built in the right places.

Sadly, East Devon District Council’s new Local Plan is woefully unimaginative. It dumps 9,000 new homes in the far west of the district – stretching from Cranbrook to Clyst St Mary and Exmouth. That is a lot more than the 2,500 planned for the rest of East Devon.

It is not a proper plan to help people stay in their own communities, reduce travel to help the environment, or keep families close together. It’s a missed opportunity.

Ministers want decisions about homes to be driven locally. The government sets targets, councils decide where houses are built. Councils do so by producing Local Plans which help decide on planning applications and other planning related decisions.

As an MP, I have no formal role or jurisdiction in the local planning process – but I will continue to hold East Devon District Council to account. After all, councillors decide how our district is designed for generations to come. It is really important to have your say, too.

Councillors should not be allowing historic towns and villages to merge into one another, nor allow homes to be built without adequate infrastructure in place first. I am acutely aware of the concern among residents in north Exmouth and Lympstone about the alarming volume of development proposed.

The government is introducing a new Infrastructure Levy to help ensure new homes are supported by appropriate infrastructure and services. However, we do need to get the right plan in place. Make sure you have your say on the East Devon local plan by visiting eastdevon.gov.uk. The consultation closes on Sunday, January 15th 2023.

A second company that the Tory peer Michelle Mone lobbied ministers over in an attempt to secure government Covid contracts was a secret entity of her husband’s family office, the Guardian can reveal.

Henry Dyer www.theguardian.com (Extract)

Lady Mone’s lobbying on behalf of the company, LFI Diagnostics, which she tried to help secure government contracts for Covid lateral flow tests, prompted a formal rebuke from a health minister who reminded her of “the need for propriety”.

A departmental source told the Guardian that Mone was “in a class of her own in terms of the sheer aggression of her advocacy” on behalf of LFI Diagnostics.

However, it is the revelation that the company was a secret entity of the office that manages the wealth of her husband, Douglas Barrowman, that will deepen the controversy over the Tory peer and her access to ministers.

On Tuesday, Mone’s spokesperson said that she was taking a leave of absence from the House of Lords with immediate effect, adding she was doing so “in order to clear her name of the allegations that have been unjustly levelled against her”.

Rishi Sunak has announced plans to allow the building of new onshore wind turbines, which could result in energy bill discounts for those living nearby.

Better late than never.

But Conservative green policies are inconsistent, if not bonkers. They are considering reopening a coal mine in Cumbria as a quid pro quo. This mine produces coking coal for steel making as steelmakers across Europe are moving to “green steel”, which uses renewable energy and modern techniques to avoid the need for it! – Owl

Steven Swinford, Oliver Wright www.thetimes.co.uk

Construction of turbines in England has been in effect banned since 2015 under planning restrictions introduced by David Cameron, who said people were “fed up” with them.

However, more than 50 Tory MPs, including the former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, have been pushing for an end to the ban as part of efforts to boost growth and make Britain more energy-independent.

The government will now consult on allowing turbines to be built if they have local support and as long as concerns about their impact have been “satisfactorily addressed”.

Whitehall sources said they also expected the government to approve a coalmine in Cumbria that has been opposed by environmental groups and by Alok Sharma, the Cop26 president, although a final decision has not been taken.

Environmentalists have warned that approving the mine would damage the UK’s reputation as a climate leader and make it harder to persuade countries such as China to cut their own reliance on coal.

One source said the new coalmine was a “quid pro quo” for relaxing restrictions on onshore wind, but this was denied by those close to Michael Gove, the levelling-up secretary.

Under the wind plan, towns or villages that back new turbines could be given benefits such as lower energy bills. Ministers will also consider plans to make it easier to upgrade existing sites, many of which are more than 20 years old. Modern turbines are bigger and more efficient.

The consultation, which will begin this month and run until April, appeared to address the concerns of Tory MPs, whether for or against turbines. The government said it would continue to protect “important landscapes” such as areas of natural beauty and national parks.

Simon Clarke, the Tory MP and former levelling-up secretary who led the push for more turbines, said: “I am delighted that the government has come forward with what is a really sensible package designed to return decisions about new onshore wind to local communities. Onshore wind is the cheapest form of energy bar none, and it has an important role to play as part of our future energy mix, alongside oil and gas, offshore wind, solar and nuclear.

“Unlocking its potential will strengthen our domestic energy security and help us to deliver our climate commitments in the fight against climate change.”

John Hayes, a former minister who opposes the lifting of the ban, said it would still allow local authorities to veto wind farms when there was community opposition. “This is not a significant change from where we were,” he said. “It will still stop wind farms being imposed on communities against their will.” Energy experts believe the change is unlikely to lead to a significant increase in the number of wind farms in England — particularly the south — because low average wind speeds mean they are less inefficient.

The proposal is the second U-turn by the government in the space of two days on planning policy, following the decision to drop mandatory housebuilding targets for local councils.

Police say the death of an East Devon woman found at the bottom of cliffs at Budleigh Salterton is not being treated as suspicious.

East Devon Reporter eastdevonnews.co.uk 

The emergency services and coastguard teams from East Devon were called to the beach shortly before 2pm on Saturday, December 3, after concern was raised for the welfare of a woman.

A woman in her 50s from Newton Poppleford was found at the bottom of the cliffs below Jubilee Park, in Budleigh, and pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Coastguard teams from Exmouth and Beer were tasked to help police.

A Devon and Cornwall Police spokeswoman said: “Police were called at 1.55pm on Saturday 3 December following concern for the welfare of a woman on the beach at Budleigh Salterton.

“The woman was located at the base of cliffs below Jubilee Park.

“Officers attended alongside Coastguard teams from Beer and Exmouth.

“The woman, in her 50s and from Newton Poppleford, was pronounced deceased at the scene.

“The death is not being treated as suspicious at this time.”

Jubilee Park, in Northview Road, is one of the town’s main green spaces, and leads onto the coast path above Budleigh beach.

At last some good news.

According to figures from the Electoral Commission donations to the Conservatives have slumped by 40% over three months. (Who wants to be seen back losers!)

At the same time MPs are saying Matt Hancock is the hottest ticket as an after dinner speaker on the “rubber chicken circuit” rather than cabinet ministers.

So if the local Tories need to fund any more “Community Surveys”, Matt would be an obvious choice.

Sounds fanciful? Remember it was constituency Tories who voted for “the human hand grenade” Liz Truss.

Think of the publicity. – Owl

Water companies have spent only three fifths of the £2.2 billion they could have to build wastewater infrastructure and tackle sewage being dumped in rivers.

South West Water is the second worst investor after Yorkshire Water. – Owl

Adam Vaughan, Environment Editor www.thetimes.co.uk

A minister described their performance as unacceptable as the head of Ofwat, the regulator, criticised the shortfall over the past two years and said he was amazed by how slowly some companies were investing.

The companies are regulated monopolies and Ofwat has limited what they can spend between 2020 and 2025.

Yorkshire Water performed worst of 11 wastewater companies, spending only 20 per cent of what it could. South West Water spent 39 per cent and Southern Water, which was reported yesterday to have discharged sewage more than 1,500 times last month, invested 56 per cent of what was allowed.

There is no legal requirement to spend the maximum, but there has been acute public pressure to tackle sewage spills into rivers and at beaches.

The companies have said that they are investing to deal with the problem, but figures published yesterday by Ofwat showed that, two years into the present five-year price control period, only £1.2 billion of £2 billion capital expenditure permitted so far for wastewater had been spent.

Rebecca Pow, the water minister, said: “Water companies must get their spending back on track to deliver the environmental standards that customers and government rightly expect.”

David Black, chief executive of Ofwat, said: “We’ve got some companies which seem to be well off the pace with the rollouts of their investment.”

The data showed a wide disparity between companies. United Utilities, the Welsh company Hafren Dyfrdwy and Northumbrian Water all spent their allowances, in contrast with Yorkshire Water and South West Water.

“They’ve both got significant issues,” Black said. “I find it absolutely amazing, actually, that they’re not moving fast to make the improvements that they’ve been funded to achieve.”

Alastair Chisholm, of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, said the naming and shaming of companies showed that Ofwat was “flexing its muscles”. Ofwat is investigating the dumping of raw sewage by six companies, including South West and Yorkshire.

The areas of underspending included improvements to sewage treatment works and storm tank capacity, and reducing spill frequency.

Black said the figures called into question the industry’s readiness to deliver the £56 billion required by the government’s plan to cut sewage discharges near bathing sites, which he described as “a much more ambitious programme”.

Campaigners counted an average of 52.9 sewage spills a day last month by Southern Water in Hampshire, Kent and Sussex. Cowes on the Isle of Wight had 224, according to Whitstable SOS.

Water UK, which represents the industry, said the data covered only two years, including a year severely disrupted by Covid-19 lockdowns, adding: “What matters is that the industry delivers all of the environmental outcomes it has committed to by 2025.”

Southern said the increase in storm overflow spills last month was due to one of the wettest Novembers ever.

A spokesman for South West Water said: “This data does not include investment on base maintenance and operating cost, both of which are relevant in delivering our business plan and meeting our commitments. For the first two years of the period, our total spend, including base maintenance, enhancement and operating costs, was [circa] 99 per cent of the allowance.”

If the ground rules have changed isn’t it time to pause the Local Plan and re-assess the need? – Owl

Mandatory housebuilding targets have been scrapped by Michael Gove in the face of a Tory backbench rebellion, The Telegraph can disclose.

By Daniel Martin, Deputy Political Editor and Christopher Hope, Associate Editor (Politics) www.telegraph.co.uk

He has agreed to change his landmark Levelling-Up and Regeneration Bill to make clear that centrally-dictated targets are “advisory”.

The new rules will mean that town halls will be allowed to build fewer homes than Whitehall believes are needed if they can show that hitting the targets would significantly change the character of an area.

The Levelling-Up Secretary has also agreed to water down the powers of the Planning Inspectorate, making it harder for them to reject local development plans which have been agreed with the community.  

And he has pledged to make it clear that more homes will be built in urban areas and in the North as part of the Government’s vision to level up the country.

In another change, town halls will be allowed to introduce registration schemes for short-term holiday lets and there will be a consultation on allowing them to require a change of use planning application if there is a switch from residential to short-term ‘Airbnb-type’ use.

Campaigners say that the problem in places like Devon and Cornwall is that many people are turning homes into Airbnbs, which reduces the number of affordable houses available and in turn increases the pressure to build more.

60 Tory MPs called for target to be scrapped

The climb-down came after 60 Conservative MPs signed an amendment laid by Theresa Villiers and Bob Seely calling on the Government to scrap its target that 300,000 homes should be built each year.

Facing the threat of a huge loss of authority for Rishi Sunak, the Government last month pulled key votes on the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Bill.

Following talks with the rebels, Mr Gove has now agreed to make a series of changes to ensure the Bill can proceed.

The rebels say the changes will rebalance the planning system to give local communities a greater say in what is built in their neighbourhoods.

They include a crackdown on developers keeping land unused even though it has been granted planning permission – a trick which keeps prices high and pressures councils to find even more land to build on.

There will also be a series of government reviews, including one on making it easier to build on brownfield land.

‘These reforms will rebalance the planning system’

Ms Villiers, a former environment secretary, said: “These reforms will rebalance the planning system and give local communities a greater say over what is built in their neighbourhood.

“The Government has listened and will amend planning rules so that councils which are subject to genuine constraints will be permitted to reduce their target. This will apply if meeting the centrally determined target would significantly change the character of an area, for example from suburban to high-rise urban.

“The compromise we have secured shows that positive change can be achieved through backbench scrutiny of legislation.”

Mr Seely said: “We know how many communities have been battling against bad development. Supported by well over 100 Tory MPs, we have helped ministers shape a housing and planning agenda which is more conservative than the one we currently have.

“Targets will be advisory, not mandatory. The power of planning inspectors is weakened. Rules which have helped developers force councils to release land will be weakened.

“The new language we’ve agreed will work with communities, speaking to the character of areas and celebrating the beauty of good design. It understands the need for farmland, will significantly emphasise brownfield over greenfield development, and will help deliver homes for young people.”

Downgraded targets

Under the changes, local housebuilding targets will be downgraded – they will only be “advisory”. They become a “starting point, a guide that is not mandatory”.

Town halls will be allowed to depart from the central determination of local housing need if there are genuine constraints on delivering it. 

It means, for example, that if the centrally-determined target would involve building at a density that would lead to significant loss of rural or suburban character, the council can set a lower number.

The reforms will cut the powers of planning inspectors as part of a “rebalancing of the relationship between local councils and the Planning Inspectorate”.

Up to now, the Planning Inspectorate has in almost all cases refused to accept that exceptional circumstances are present and indicated that the full target must be met. Their power to do this will be curbed.

Inspectors will be required to take a more “reasonable” and “pragmatic” approach to “plans that take account of the concerns of the local community”.

Mr Gove has agreed there should be more housing in urban areas and the Midlands and North. Cities will not be able to palm housing off into neighbouring suburban and rural councils.

New government review

There will be a new government review on making it easier to build on brownfield land. Councils could be able to charge higher levies on greenfield sites to encourage developers not to use them.

Mr Gove promised a third review on allowing councils to refuse planning permission to developers who have in the past refused to build promptly on land for which they have planning permission.

There could also be a character test in planning to ensure that so-called “spiv” developers can be turned down.

And there could be a new beauty test for new developments, to prevent pretty areas being spoiled by new housing.

When it comes to individual planning applications, new design codes will give councils a greater say over them. They will give councils stronger powers to specify the type of housing they want, and put in place standards on matters such as scale, height, bulk and character.

Councils which have delivered well in past years can take this into account in the number they propose for the future in their plans. This will mitigate the problem whereby councils delivering many homes get hit by even higher targets.

Mr Gove has agreed that a consultation on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework will be published by Christmas.

But you’re on your own.

Self-help is going to be the order of the day.

Remember John Hart in February 2020:

“Council Leader, John Hart’s solution, however, is to encourage a modern day dad’s army of individuals, villages and Parish Councils, where they care, to do more for themselves. Self-help, he said, is going to be the order of the day.”

Alex Davis www.devonlive.com

Devon is one of the UK regions most at risk of flooding, a study has revealed. The research was conducted by Utility Bidder, who revealed the UK areas most at risk of flooding, as well as areas where risk of flooding has increased the most.

The research showed Devon to have the 9th highest percentage of properties at risk of flooding in the UK. According to the study, 6.7% of properties had a risk of flooding higher than 1%, 9% with a risk higher than 0.1% and 9.3% with a risk higher than 0.01%.

Kingston upon Hill, Hull, had the worst stats in the list, with 92.3% of properties having a flooding risk of 0.1%.

Since 2018, it was also revealed that the risk of flooding has increased by 1.35% – the ninth highest increase in the UK. Torbay was also featured as 10th on the list, with an increased risk of flooding of 0.61% since 2018.

It is estimated that 1 in 6 UK properties are at risk of flooding, with Utility Bidder reporting this figure is set to increase due to climate change.

Utility Bidder also published advice to residents on how to minimise risk of a flood, as well as give information on what to do if your home is flooded.

James Longely, Managing Director at Utility Bidder has commented on the steps homeowners should take in order to protect their properties in the event of a flood:

“In England, 1 in 5 properties are at risk of flooding, which goes to show the importance of being prepared for a flood and protecting your property as much as possible and there are a number of steps homeowners can take if a flood alert has been issued, which will help reduce the damage caused to the property and the contents within it.

It’s important to move all important documents and valuable possessions upstairs in order to keep them away from the incoming water, as well as unplugging any electrical items. It’s also advised that homeowners take pictures of their home before the flood happens, as you can easily prove which damage has been caused as a result of the flood.

Sadly, there’s only so much homeowners can do to protect their properties from flooding, so it’s crucial we all know what to do after a flood has occurred. To begin with, it’s important to ring your insurance company as well as the local council, to make them aware of what has happened. If the flooding is severe and water levels are high, you must stay in a high place until help arrives.”

Top 10 UK areas where properties have a flood risk greater than 1%