A site visit will be needed for councillors to decide whether to approve or reject plans for a huge solar farm at Whimple in East Devon.

District council planning chiefs deferred making a call on the fate of the bid at a meeting last week.

eastdevonnews.co.uk

The proposals had been recommended for approval by officers, writes Local Democracy Reporter Rob Kershaw.

Developer Aura Power Developments Ltd says the scheme will provide renewable energy to the equivalent of 21 per cent of homes in East Devon.

It has proposed constructing a solar farm of around 143 acres in size comprising of arrays, a sub-station, equipment housing, fencing, CCTV and other kit.

Data from the Campaign to Protect Rural England shows that there are more than 15 approved solar farms in East Devon – with more pending review by the district council.

And a meeting of the authority’s planning committee last week heard residents voice concern over the loss of good-quality farmland.

A representative for Aura explained that sunlight can still penetrate the panels and continue to help the grass grow.

The firm also plans to provide £20,000 a year to nearby residents to help with their energy bills.

Councillor Richard Lawrence, who represents Whimple, described this amount as ‘pitiful’.

He lamented the loss of ‘quality farmland’ ad added: “This plan does nothing to allay the very real fears of food insecurity.”

Members agreed to a site visit to gauge the impact of the development – proposed for land to the east of Rutton Farm and Rull Lane.

The fate of the planning application will be decided at a later date.

Local communities fighting to clean up their rivers by creating protected bathing areas have been refused access to the reasons their applications were rejected by the government.

Sandra Laville www.theguardian.com

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) turned down a series of freedom of information (FoI) requests submitted by campaigners in Kent, Yorkshire, Oxfordshire, Cornwall, Suffolk and Lancashire to obtain more information on why the applications were unsuccessful. The campaigners have lodged a complaint against the refusals.

Community groups have been working to achieve bathing-water status for areas of their rivers in order to help clean up the waterways, because the designation means the Environment Agency has to test water for faecal bacteria.

However, Defra has granted only two of 21 applications over the past year. The Wharfe in Yorkshire was the first river in the UK to be given bathing-water status, but applications for three other areas on the river were all turned down.

Also rejected were the River Tyne at Wylam, Northumberland; part of the River Deben in Woodbridge, Suffolk, in the constituency of the environment secretary, Thérèse Coffey; and the River Kent in Cumbria. At the time, the campaigner Sheila Adam of the Clean River Kent Campaign told the Guardian: “We don’t get any information at all. We don’t know why we were unsuccessful – it might be numbers, but they have not told us what the numbers required are.

“We wanted to get this status so the Environment Agency would be required to test the water for bacteria and force a clean-up of the river. The river is a site of special scientific interest and has European conservation status, and we think it should make it a priority for investment.”

Defra has also refused FoI requests for details to inform local people as they decide on whether to continue the fight for bathing water status. According to the responses to FoI requests seen by the Guardian, Defra has refused to provide details of the number of “bathers” required to meet the threshold for the status; what local consultation is required to meet the criteria; the score for each river area against the criteria; and what public facilities might be required in order to be given bathing water status.

The complaint launched by some of the campaigners comes as Coffey faces criticism for the lack of ambition in her plan for water, which was published on Tuesday.

The plan has been criticised for including measures such as a ban on plastic in wet wipes that was announced several years ago, and for failing to provide a comprehensive strategy to tackle the crisis of pollution, over-abstraction of water, and drought in English rivers.

Every river in England has failed tests for chemical and biological pollution, and a Conservative government target for three-quarters of rivers to be in good chemical and biological status by 2027 is unlikely to be met despite the promises under the plan.

In response to the series of FoI requests, Defra said the criterion for the number of bathers was “a large number of people”. It added that “all applications for bathing water designation are assessed against this criterion” and “only sites where the application provides evidence of a large number of people bathing have been taken forward for consideration for bathing water status”. However, Defra refused to say how many bathers amounted to a “large” number.

Becky Malby, of Ilkley Clean River, who worked on the successful application for bathing water status for the River Wharfe, is coordinating the FoI requests. She said the fact that so many river applications were rejected, based on the numbers of people using the river, despite huge local public support and consultation, demonstrated that the criteria were not clear and transparent. A complaint about the refusal to answer the questions has been lodged with the head of information rights at Defra.

“The applications are coming from public groups who are not party to, and excluded from the decision-making. Without knowing the assessment criteria and decision-making process, the public will continue to waste days of volunteer time putting together bathing applications over months that then fail,” said Malby.

“The application process requires the public applying to count people using the water over a three-month period, to identify facilities and to conduct consultation. This is a massive amount of work for local people and should only take place against publicly clear and transparent criteria.”

A Defra spokesperson said: “We would not comment on individual applications that are not being taken forward to consultation, but all applicants have been informed of the outcome of their application. When selecting new sites for potential bathing water designation, we consider how many people bathe there, if the site has suitable infrastructure and facilities, such as toilets, and if measures are being taken to promote bathing at those waters.

“All applications are assessed against these factors and applications that do not meet the essential criteria will not proceed to national consultation.”

“A key player in local regeneration and growth programmes” as well as creating jobs and attracting visitors.

Travelodge has announced plans to open 300 new cheap hotels in the UK in what represents a £3billion investment – and that includes 120 new destinations for the brand.

Coming soon to:

Exmouth/Sidmouth

Seaton/Lyme Regis

Julie Delahaye www.mirror.co.uk (Extract, open Mirror article to find full list)

Travelodge has revealed plans to open 300 new hotels across the UK, in what would represent a £3billion project for the brand and its third party investors.

The budget hotel chain announced today that it has reached out to 220 Local Authorities across Britain as it starts its search for the new hotel sites.

In a letter to the organisations, the company has said that its hotels have already boosted different regions and been “a key player in their local regeneration and growth programmes” as well as creating jobs and attracting visitors.

The chain is also targeting over 120 towns which do not currently have a Travelodge hotel, such as Ripon, Lichfield and Cromer.

With the new 300 hotels being proposed, it estimates that around 9,000 jobs would be created as part of the project.

Travelodge remains a firm favourite with Brits looking for cheap stays. The company already has over 500 hotels around the UK, and often hosts sales with rooms going from £35 or less.

Tory MP Scott Benton offered to table parliamentary questions, leak a confidential policy document and lobby ministers on behalf of gambling industry investors who proposed paying him thousands of pounds a month, an undercover investigation for The Times has found.

He is chairman of the all-party parliamentary group for betting and gaming and has been a vocal supporter of the industry’s interests in parliament. He is a former local councillor who won the red wall seat of Blackpool South for the Tories in 2019.

He has been stripped of the Tory whip.

This government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level. – Rishi Sunak on the steps of No 10.

A huge fire which burned at The Knowle last week is being treated as arson, say police. The blaze burned for hours on Thursday, March 30, severely damaging the former headquarters of East Devon District Council in Sidmouth.

Shannon Brown www.devonlive.com

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service were called to Knowle House at around 4.10am, though the fire is believed to have started around 2.30am. At its height, eight fire engines were tacking the blaze at once, and a total of 29 Devon and Somerset fire engines were sent to the scene.

Around one third of the building was severely damaged in the fire and fire crews did not completely leave the scene until 8.30am on Friday, March 31 – approximately 30 hours after the fire is believed to have started. Devon and Cornwall Police believe the incident may be linked to a smaller fire a few days earlier in the same location.

On Sunday, March 26, a small fire was extinguished by the fire service in the same location, with little damage caused. One witness reported seeing a man at the scene of this smaller fire. He is described as a white male in his early 20s, of medium build with dark hair and wearing camouflage trousers.

Officers are investigating both incidents, which they believe may be linked and are appealing for anyone who saw or heard anything suspicious in the area to contact them. If you witnessed the incident or have any information or dashcam footage that could help with enquiries, please contact police via our website here or by calling 101 quoting 50230073429.

Alternatively, independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling freephone 0800 555111.