Planning permission for a new block of toilets and single storey building on Exmouth seafront has been refused. 

Adam Manning www.exmouthjournal.co.uk

At a planning meeting at East Devon District Council on Janaury 31, officers met to discuss the planning application. The plans were refused contrary to ‘officer recommendation’.

The Sideshore development phase two involves a new small-scale flexible office/community hub and public toilets on a curtilage of the existing development. 

The meeting also heard objections from members of the public and councillors, who expressed concerns about the maintenance and cleaning of the toilets and how the new building might spoil the view of Exmouth seafront. 

Ian Cann from The Exmouth Civic Society said: “We object to this application on the grounds that only recently the application for the development of this site was agreed as a whole package and built as such.

“What we now see is creepage for more development on the site which regretfully in our view has only resulted in a development of small shops and a high class restaurant.

“We wonder what ever happened to ‘The Splash’ which we envisaged as fun space for children with water based activities on land. Now we are to have more development adding not a jot to its attraction as a tourist draw.”

Councillor Pauline Stott said: “I do believe that a toilet for the disabled should have the same amenities as the ones by changing places as the instigator of the Beach Disabled Wheelchairs.

“I feel that this would help a lot more disabled people enjoy our beach. Where they could go into a toilet that had a hoist a bed etc. as you have left so much space on the grass area not being used. So please can you consider this for all the disabled people that can now enjoy our beach.”

The planning statement said: “The proposed location for the new Hub will also provide an important, distinctive landmark building, announcing the western gateway to Sideshore when approached from the west.  

“The Hub would also be within a small cluster of existing kiosks and other seafront buildings and would therefore sit comfortably within its context.” 

Members considered that the proposal by virtue of its inappropriate design and siting on an open space would detract from the character of the area and would be detrimental to the openness and landscape of the seafront.

More focus needs to be put in affordable housing in East Devon, while there is not enough emphasis on the use of brownfield sites for developments.

Development strategy looks to be on hold until the government’s review of the  NPPF review is completed. – Owl

Rob Kershaw, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk

These were amongst the views put forward during an East Devon District Council strategic planning meeting on Tuesday [14 February].

In proposed changes to the national planning policy framework (NPPF), local authorities will no longer have to provide evidence of a five-year land supply.

Instead, if the change goes through, they will need to evidence that they have four years’ worth of development land, and it needs to be shown for two years after the new policy framework is published.

Cllr Eleanor Rylance (Liberal Democrat, Broadclyst) feels that affordable housing in the district is still beyond many people’s means.

“I’m not really assured by anything in our responses that we’re actually showing properly on the very real requirement for truly affordable housing,” she said. “And I’m just wondering whether, given the relatively low average income in East Devon, whether we shouldn’t put that forward as a reason for requesting truly affordable housing.

“The so-called affordable housing that’s being delivered at present is not affordable for too many people, so in my view, we need to be addressing some of our social housing shortage. And we know how many people are sitting on our social housing waiting list. The reason they are sitting there is because they cannot afford any other tenure.”

Cllr Richard Lawrence (Conservative, Whimple and Rockbeare) suggested the council should prioritise affordable housing when considering new developments.

“I wonder sometimes whether we’re being forceable enough when developments come forward to actually say ‘no, we want affordable housing’,” he said. “And proper affordable housing, stuff that people can afford.

“I don’t really think that we put enough emphasis when developers come to us with a planning application to say ‘no, this is what you’ve got to provide. This is what we need in the district, and you’ve got to find a way around it. It just seems a little bit odd that we let them [developers] get away with what I consider to be murder at the end of the day.”

Cllr Jess Bailey (Independent, West Hill and Aylesbeare) wants to see the authority make more effort to avoid building on greenfield sites.

“I still am dissatisfied with the efforts that this council has made to try and focus development in the existing towns,” she said. “And not in green fields, and not around our villages and subsuming some of our villages. So, I’m not satisfied at all that we’ve tried as hard as we possible could.”

Cllr Mike Howe (Conservative, Clyst Valley) added: “I want to agree with what Cllr Bailey in particular with what she said, particularly about brownfield sites.”

East Devon council will not allocate any sites for development until the new NPPF is completed by central government.

South West Water loses 127 million litres a day through leakage. It has proved difficult to relate this figure to the water customers draw from their taps (see Owl’s previous discussion on this). At best it is 27%, at worst 37%. Either figure is way too high.

Bear this in mind as you read this. – Owl

Zhara Simpson www.devonlive.com

Following the driest summer in nearly 30 years, experts are warning that another hot dry spell could see drought conditions return this year, despite winter rainfall replenishing most water levels across the country. Devon is still in drought due the lack of rainfall so far this year.

In a meeting held on February 10, The Environment Agency (EA) and National Drought Group (NDG) members discussed how risks to water resources remain, despite the significant improvements following five consecutive months of above average rainfall. Two of the Environment Agency’s areas that remain in ‘drought’ status include East Anglia and Devon, the Isles of Scilly and Cornwall.

Although the areas flagged are ‘recovering’, experts say there has only been seven percent rainfall this month. They said that water is ‘precious’ and are asking people not to ‘waste it’. It’s also reported that members are preparing for the ‘worst case scenario’ of another hot and dry summer which could lead to temporary use bans and taking additional water from the environment.

As of the beginning of February, total reservoir capacity across the country is at 88 percent. This compares with 49 percent at the end of September 2022, when reservoirs were at their lowest following the drought through summer.

The NDG, made up of senior decision-makers from the Environment Agency, government, the Met Office, water companies and key farming and environmental groups, said that despite taking winter readiness actions, increasing output and undertaking network improvements over winter, further steady rainfall will be needed to ensure the nation’s water reservoirs are in a good position ahead of the warmer, drier, summer months.

Members are planning for the worst case scenario of another hot, dry spell this summer and are managing water resources to reduce the risk of drought measures – such as temporary use bans and taking additional water from the environment – being required again this year.

The natural environment continues to take time to recuperate from the impacts of last summer and the Environment Agency is also focusing ongoing efforts on monitoring how well fish and invertebrates are recovering from drought.

The EA South West said on Twitter on February 14: “#Devon, #Cornwall and the #IslesofScilly are still in drought. The recent dry spell means that so far this month, rainfall is only 7% of long term average. Water is a precious resource – please don’t waste it.”

John Leyland, the EA Executive Director and NDG chair, said the low rainfall in recent weeks highlights the “importance of remaining vigilant” despite water levels returning to normal across parts of the country.

He said: “While most water levels have returned to normal across much of the country, low rainfall in recent weeks highlights the importance of remaining vigilant.

“We cannot rely on the weather alone, which is why the Environment Agency, water companies and our partners are taking action to ensure water resources are in the best possible position both for the summer and for future droughts”.

He added: “As ever, it is important that we all continue to use water carefully to protect not just our water resources; but our precious environment and the wildlife that depends on it”.

Members of the NDG heard that:

• Water companies, retailers and regulators must learn from the response to the 2022 drought and take forward improvements for managing and responding to future droughts.
• Water companies have continued to maximise opportunities to improve their water supplies over winter; identifying new sources of water; ensuring sources are operating as they should be and reducing leakage. The Environment Agency have determined additional drought permits to help refill reservoirs and improve water supplies ahead of spring.
• The farming sector is working to improve drought resilience, to ensure water availability for the short and long term, helping overall food security. The Environment Agency is working closely with the Rural Payments Agency to ensure abstraction licences associated with reservoir grant applications are determined on time.
• All sectors are now undertaking precautionary planning in the event that hot, dry weather returns in the summer, and continue to work closely together to support water supplies across the country.

England is experiencing more extreme weather more often. Over the last month, the EA has also been responding to flooding in parts of the country, following heavy rainfall over December and January. The EA is clear that planning for increasingly extreme weather is essential in order for everyone to be prepared for the impacts these events cause – both drought and flooding.

Failure to reduce sewage discharge into rivers and onto bathing beaches is now becoming an important issue with the electorate. The South West has a large number of potential Lib Dem/Conservative swing seats with rivers and bathing beaches.

Simon Jupp is not getting much support from the government on this. – Owl

Sandra Laville www.theguardian.com 

Campaigners are to make a high court challenge to the government’s plan to reduce raw sewage discharges into rivers and seas in England, arguing it does not go far enough.

The case, to be taken by the Good Law Project, will put the storm overflow scheme under detailed scrutiny. It will argue that the plan will lead to raw sewage being discharged into waterways for decades to come and does not protect the majority of coastal areas designated as ecologically sensitive.

After growing pressure from the Guardian and other media, campaigners and some politicians, the government produced the storm overflow plan to force water companies to invest in stopping raw sewage discharges.

The push has been led by the charity Wildfish, which has also been granted permission to seek judicial review.

The scheme gives water companies a deadline of 2035 to reduce the amount of sewage flowing into bathing water and areas of ecological importance, and until 2050 to stop dumping sewage elsewhere. After it was heavily criticised as too weak, the scheme will be challenged in court after the campaigners were granted permission to seek a judicial review.

England has about 14,500 storm overflows, which are supposed to be used in exceptionally heavy rain to stop the sewage system backing up into people’s homes. But evidence found by the Guardian, and evidence to MPs, has shown water companies are routinely dumping raw sewage into rivers and seas even in periods of dry weather.

Environment Agency data shows in 2021 storm overflows discharged untreated sewage 372,533 times over a period of 2.7m hours.

The legal case is being taken by Good Law Project on behalf of the Marine Conservation Society, an oyster farmer, Tom Haward, and a surfer and ocean activist, Hugo Tagholm.

Jo Maugham, director of Good Law Project, said: “This could be the most consequential environmental law case in recent history. We contend – and the high court now agrees the point is arguable – that the English common law contains a principle that the natural environment must be protected, must be held in trust, for future generations.”

Tagholm said the blue spaces so important for wildlife, people and communities should not be treated as dumping grounds. “We should be free to swim, surf and enjoy our rivers and coastline without fear of sewage pollution,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “We’ve put the strictest targets ever on water companies to clean up our water, plus requirements to deliver the largest infrastructure programme in their history to tackle sewage spills.

“Record fines of more than £102m were handed out in 2021 following successful prosecutions. We are making it easier for regulators to enforce fines and hold water companies to account – a consultation will launch this spring.

“We will continue to look at ways to go further and faster and we are determined to hold water companies to account for poor performance.”