The British people, in their infinite wisdom, voted against changing the electoral system in a referendum 12 years ago. The introduction of an “alternative vote” system would have allowed them to number candidates in order of preference, and so do without the need for tactical voting, which involves guessing how other people are going to vote and making one’s own decision accordingly.

Editorial www.independent.co.uk

However, we report that the view of a number of election analysts, led by Professor Sir John Curtice, is that British voters are likely to engage in tactical voting in the local elections on 4 May on a grand scale. Thus they may achieve roughly what they would have achieved by way of the alternative vote – in this case, administering a ringing condemnation of the governing party and its record.

“Tactical voting happens when people dislike the government so much they will take whatever stick is available to beat it with,” Prof Curtice explains. An increasingly sophisticated electorate is capable of switching between Labour and the Liberal Democrats – and indeed other minor parties – depending on which candidate has the best chance of defeating the Conservative candidate in a given constituency or local government ward.

Prof Curtice predicts that this kind of anti-Tory switching could happen on the same scale as in 1992 and 1997 when Tory local election losses were exaggerated as voters sent a powerful message to an unpopular government.

Regardless of whether the government deserves to be punished, this is a welcome and democratic trend. Given that we do not have an electoral system that allows voters to express more than one preference, or that is designed to secure representation in proportion to the number of votes cast, voters must use the system we have in the most sophisticated way possible.

If the Conservatives’ real motive in introducing voter ID was to try to secure party advantage – which would seem odd, given that older voters are both less likely to have a photographic identity document and more likely to vote Tory – then they should be disproportionately punished for such an anti-democratic instinct.

If the government abolished preferential voting in the case of directly elected mayors in the belief that it would give Tory candidates an advantage, then the voters should use whatever means are available to them to deliver the bloodiest of noses.

But above all, if the voters feel strongly that the government is on the wrong track, then they are entitled to use whatever legitimate and democratic means they wish in order to convey that message. We would urge all citizens not just to use their vote, but to do so in whatever way they feel best makes their voice heard. This may involve voting for a second- or third-best candidate in the hope of blocking the worst. It may involve casting a vote on national issues rather than on the responsibilities of the local council.

In practice, it is likely that many Conservative councillors will lose their seats, not because of their own record locally, but because of the way people feel about the record of Rishi Sunak and his ministers. This is rough justice, but it is also a vibrant democracy in the hands of an increasingly informed electorate, determined to use the voting system to try to get what it wants.

“Tactical voting” is another way of saying “power to the people”.

As some of you may have read yesterday Alison Hernandez has been billed as the “Police and Crime Commissionaire for Devon” on the East Devon Conservative “Working for you” broadsheet publicising their election pledges. Is this one of them?

A salary of  £88,600 per annum (May 2022) seems a lot for a uniformed door attendant, does this include a uniform allowance?

Has she published a selfie yet in her new role?

Also, should “improve assess” in her statement read: “improve asses”, just wondering? – Owl

Oooops – Owl

www.mirror.co.uk (Extract)

Conservative candidates standing in next month’s local elections have been delivering leaflets boasting that they have taken their areas ‘from debt free to debt ridden’

PS A number of typos in latest East DevonConservatives Working for you.

Alison Hernandez becomes a Crime Commissionaire. Opening doors to whom? – Owl

Air source heat pumps may not be the solution to reducing East Devon leisure centre heating bills, a new report has found.

Local Democracy Reporter eastdevonnews.co.uk 

Consultations are to continue about how to reduce energy bills in East Devon’s leisure centres, writes local democracy reporter Rob Kershaw.

Exmouth swimming pool recently made national news for its use of a ‘digital boiler’ powered by cloud data servers.

Some estimates suggest this method of heating could more than halve the pool’s energy bill, although East Devon District Council (EDDC) officers believe the figure is closer to 30 per cent.

The council is the landlord of three public pools in Sidmouth, Honiton and Exmouth, and it is keen to reduce energy bills, with the heating of swimming pools being one of the costliest expenditures.

At an LED (Leisure East Devon) monitoring forum meeting on Tuesday (April 11) the company’s chief executive Peter Gilpin revealed that engineering giants Bosch had completed a free audit of heating systems in the district leisure centres.

It found that heating through air source heat pumps are not the “panacea” that some may think.

The audit suggests that new boilers, like ones recently installed in Sidmouth, often work better than new air source heaters, which are too big for places like Axminster’s Flamingo Pool.

The chancellor’s budget last month confirmed that over £60 million is to be spent on leisure centres with swimming pools, and East Devon’s facilities may be able to grab a share of that cash to improve facilities.

Government funding of £40 million is also available for decarbonisation, with a further £23 million prioritised for socially deprived areas.

But there is some debate about which energy source is the most efficient. Independent Cllr Nick Hookway suggested that the council engage “consultants as quickly as possible to provide us with further information to make a long-term decision.”

Most councillors at the meeting agreed to seek expert guidance on heating solutions, while officers will prepare a bid for government funding.

In 2011 the Tories had 43 councillors.

Two electoral cycles later, after the 2019 election, they had only 19.

Time for a re-think?

No, our Tories aren’t for turning.

Seeing the writing on the wall in February, otherwise loyal Conservative “I support Simon Jupp” Mike Howe, was forced to quit saying he: “Can’t defend the indefensible”.

Mike Howe is now contesting his Clyst Valley ward as an Independent against an Official Conservative and a LibDem. A Conservative “lose” here looks to be on the cards.

So the Tories face the May elections signalling business as usual with their choice of Leader Phil Skinner and his Deputy Ben Ingham, who started as a Tory, played with being an Independent but has now been “reborn” a Tory.

If you vote Tory on May 4 under Phil Skinner this is what to expect

Phil Skinner was first elected in 1999.

He was elected Chair Exmouth regeneration board 2016 and Deputy Leader EDDC May 2018. 

As Deputy Leader he would have been one of two EDDC representatives on the Greater Exeter Strategic Plan (GESP).

GESP was a strategic plan to spread Exeter’s housing needs more widely with its neighbours: Teignbridge; East Devon and Mid Devon.

Under the ill fated Ingham “Independent” regime in 2019 in addition to Deputy leader Susie Bond, Phil Skinner was also elected to represent EDDC on the GESP, providing continuity. He was the Conservative Group leader on Strategic Planning at the time.

Devised in great secrecy, behind closed doors, a draft GESP Housing Allocation plan was published in 2019 (since withdrawn from the public domain). An East Devon paper of 2020, however, reveals the scale of what was being proposed. East Devon was to bear a hugely disproportionate number of houses accounting for one third of the total. This amounted to 6,000 houses in addition to the 4,000 in the local plan over an equivalent period. (The GESP was working to a 2040 planning horizon). This DevonLive article also records details.

In other words Phil Skinner and Ben Ingham were going along with a plan for a 150% uplift to the EDDC Local Plan which was already based on a “jobs led” high growth scenario.

It illustrates graphically where Phil Skinner is coming from.

Along the line his Councillor responsibilities have included: being portfolio holder to both the economy and development management (planning in plain speak); rural champion; a member of the Heart of the South West LEP Joint Committee; and a member of The Exeter and Heart Of Devon Growth Board, Joint Advisory Reference Group.

In short Phil Skinner has been at the forefront of place shaping for not only EDDC but for the region. His time in power coincides with the period when the Conservative electoral fortunes started to go downhill.

He is a “Build, build, build” developer’s friend through and through.

The legacy we still experience, with an eye watering Local Plan housing target 2013 to 2031 and problems concerning Exmouth Regeneration and forfeiture of East Devon land to fulfil Exeter’s housing plan shortfall, can all be traced to him and his contemporaries, of which he is very much the “continuity candidate”.

As he said, whilst supporting the Exeter and East Devon bid for “Garden Community” status in 2019:

“We are going to have the housing numbers whether we like it or not, and we cannot put off and delay this as there is a much bigger vision than just focusing on that. This is a really exciting project and I hope people grasp it with the enthusiasm that I have so we get the good things for the area that we live in.

[The villages of Poltimore, Huxham, Clyst St Mary, Clyst St George, Ebford, West Hill, Woodbury​, Woodbury Salterton, Exton and Farringdon would be most likely to be included in this plan as ones that could be expanded further, based on them being in the quadrant and close to existing infrastructure.]

As for the chameleon Ben Ingham, who has already failed as a Leader of the Council.

All you need do is ask yourself this: “Would you buy a second hand car from him?”

Leopards never change their spots.

Devon’s road network faces an “inevitable decline” due to a lack of funding, an alarming new report reveals.

This is what happens when you vote Tory, they want to cut car parking charges but can’t fix the roads.  – Owl

Ollie Heptinstall www.dawlish-today.co.uk

The county council’s new highways management plan details how current levels of investment means the worsening condition of some roads is ‘unavoidable’, with a strategy now in place for ‘managing decline.’

One opposition councillor has reacted by saying minor rural roads could end up being so bad that residents may want to consider getting a horse.

The management plan, presented to a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, explained how the annual settlement for highways maintenance – around £25 million last year – has halved in real terms compared to a decade ago.

‘This also has the knock-on impact of forcing a change in priorities, with safety taking higher consideration and proactive works being stopped, contributing to a more rapid deterioration of roads,’ it explained.

Capital funding from the Department for Transport is also now lower in real terms than it was in 2014/15, although there was a one-off increase in 2020/21, while an extra £9.4 million for potholes has increased the total for the new financial year.

But councillors are being warned that the funding pressures mean potholes are ‘likely to become more prevalent, leading to a rise in unplanned and disruptive maintenance.’

The report adds: ‘In the long term there will also be an impact on the selection of journey routes and the reliability of journey times.’

Devon has more than 8,000 miles of road; the largest road network in the country.

Overall county council spending will increase by 10.5 per cent this financial year – £67 million – but most of it is set aside for adult and children’s services. Climate change, environment and transport has received just a 3.5 per cent boost, well below inflation.

Roads will now only be repaired after assessment against a set of ‘management strategies,’ with ‘priority assets’ receiving targeted investment. The council also wants to maintain the current condition of A and B roads.

However, the lack of money means Devon’s minor roads will be allowed to ‘gradually deteriorate,’ while unclassified roads will get ‘minimal maintenance,’ apart from safety and routine maintenance.

Councillor Stuart Hughes (Conservative, Sidmouth), cabinet member for highways, said: ‘Like all authorities, Devon is facing significant financial pressures which have been compounded further by the recent high inflation.’

He added the service had ‘continued to focus on improving efficiencies alongside innovation, recognising that in the absence of adequate funding, the service must prioritise and best manage a decline.’

But debating the item, Liberal Democrat councillor Alistair Dewhirst (Ipplepen & The Kerswells) suggested minor roads could end up being so bad that residents may have to consider equine forms of transport.

‘If you’re a resident in a minor rural road, effectively with the decline that is implicit in this report, you’re just going to be landlocked. You’re just going to have to walk everywhere or maybe get a horse.’

Cllr Dewhirst also claimed it would cost £180 million to improve Devon’s roads. This figure was acknowledged by county council director of transport Meg Booth, who said it would allow all roads to be at least ‘amber’ on a traffic-light scale of concern.

Labour councillor Carol Whitton (St David’s and Haven Banks) said: ‘Devon is certainly not alone in facing this problem of a declining asset and managing that decline, but of course Devon is particularly challenged by the sheer volume of mileage that exists within this county.

‘And what is happening on unclassified roads will be of particular concern to our rural members. Less so in Exeter.’

Meanwhile, Independent leader Frank Biederman (Fremington Rural) called the report a ‘pretty grim read’ and said it comes after ‘decades and decades of under-investment.’

Members of the cabinet agreed the management plan and also approved the council’s £66 million capital funded highway maintenance programme for 2023/24.

Lack of funding

Many of Devon’s roads are expected to get worse because of a lack of funding.

The county council says its annual settlement for highways maintenance has halved in real-terms compared to a decade ago – with a plan now in place for “managing decline”

It wants to maintain the condition of A and B roads, but the lack of cash means Devon’s minor road network will be allowed to “gradually deteriorate”.

Devon has over eight-thousand miles of road – the largest amount in the country.

Get a horse!

Get a horse if you want to make it down some of Devon’s roads in the future.

That’s the message from one councillor, as the county council adopts a strategy of “managing decline” of its roads.

A new highways management plan reveals worsening conditions of some roads is “unavoidable” due to current funding levels, and that people may end up choosing different routes because of the state they’re getting into.

Rishi Sunak has been dealt a major blow after NHS waiting lists hit another record high.

[As well as promising to cut waiting lists, Sunak also vowed to halve inflation, grow the economy, bring down the national debt and stop small boats carrying asylum seekers across the Channel from France.

However, the boats are still continuing to arrive in Dover, while it was confirmed today that GDP flatlined in February.]

westernmorning.news

The prime minister made bringing them down one of the five pledges he made to voters at the start of the year.

“NHS waiting lists will fall and people will get the care they need more quickly,” the PM said.

But official figures published by NHS England today revealed that 7.22 million people were waiting to start routine hospital treatment at the end of February, up from 7.21 million in January and the highest total since records began.

Ambulance response times for all types of emergencies have also got longer, while around one in 10 people arriving at major A&E departments are having to wait more than 12 hours before being admitted, transferred or discharged.

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said: “After 13 years of Conservative failure to train the staff the NHS needs, patients can no longer be sure the NHS will be there for them in an emergency. These appalling waiting times mean people are just praying they don’t fall ill or have an accident.

“24 hours in A&E isn’t just a TV programme, it is now the reality for far too many patients. We cannot go on like this.”

Streeting said Labour would double medical school places and train 10,000 more nurses every year to bring down waiting lists.

“24 hours in A&E isn’t just a TV programme, it is now the reality for far too many patients”

Lib Dem health spokesperson Daisy Cooper said: “Rishi Sunak’s NHS pledge is already turning out to be yet another broken Conservative promise.

“The Conservatives are letting patients and their loved ones down badly, leaving far too many people waiting in pain for the treatment they need.

“They have let the NHS crisis spiral out of control, failing to deliver the new hospitals they promised and making people wait months or even years for treatment.

“We need an urgent rescue plan for the NHS. If patients could see their GP when they need to or get the care they need at home, it would free up hospital resources to treat people far more quickly.”

As well as promising to cut waiting lists, Sunak also vowed to halve inflation, grow the economy, bring down the national debt and stop small boats carrying asylum seekers across the Channel from France.

However, the boats are still continuing to arrive in Dover, while it was confirmed today that GDP flatlined in February.

Owl has been told a suspension-buster covered in standing water, marked by a half submerged “John Major” cone, has been getting bigger and bigger over the past couple of weeks on the B3178 Salterton Road from Exmouth in the dip to the east of Liverton Business Park.

Anyone know of a bigger one in East Devon? – Owl

Pothole pointed out by Rishi Sunak remains unfilled two weeks later – and it’s even deeper…

A POTHOLE personally pointed out by Rishi Sunak remains unfilled two weeks later.

Jack Elsom www.thesun.co.uk  

The suspension-buster even appears to have got deeper and wider despite the attentions of the Prime Minister, the constituency MP, regional mayor and a council leader.

The pothole even appears to have got deeper and wide since the PM drew attention to it

Now the joke among exasperated residents waiting for repairs has become: “How many Tories does it take to fix a pothole?”

Mr Sunak was photographed looking purposefully at the pothole in Emley Moor Road, Darlington, on March 31.

The PM was there to announce a crackdown on utility companies that failed to repair roads and pavements after digging them up.

Flanked by Teesside Mayor Ben Houchen, Darlington MP Peter Gibson and council leadr Jonathan Dulston, he bent down to see the damage for himself.

But despite promising drivers smoother journeys and pledging hundreds of millions of pounds more for repairs, the pothole is still there a fortnight later.

Stephen Harker, Labour group leader on Darlington council, said: “If the Conservative council can’t even fill potholes pointed out by the Prime Minister, what hope do drivers have?

“Rishi Sunak is running out of road here in Darlington.”

However, a Darlington council spokesman insisted: “The pothole will be repaired this week in line with our procedures.”

The scourge of potholes has become a keen battleground ahead of next month’s local elections.

The Conservatives claim their councils fix more than their Labour counterparts.

Analysis shows Tory local authorities repaired 16,250 compared with 5,417 filled by those councils controlled by Sir Keir Starmer’s party.

However, Labour has accused the Government of a “decade of broken pothole promises” after then-PM David Cameron vowed to tackle the problem in 2014.

In 2011 the Tory councillors numbered 43.

In 2015 this had fallen to 36.

In 2019 it had fallen further to 19. 

Throughout the LibDems have numbered between 6 to 10, though four former EDA councillors have now joined the party.

This is the background to the 2023 election.

The Tories lost control of East Devon District Council (EDDC) in May 2019. Previously they had enjoyed a majority of 36 councillors in a council comprising 59 members (now increased to 60). After the 2019 election their number was reduced to 19, not a majority but until 2020, the largest grouping in the council and therefore still wielding significant power.  

In 2015 the Tory majority had already been eroded from 43 largely as a result of the election success of a dedicated group of independents styling themselves the East Devon Alliance (EDA). The EDA emerged in 2013 from the widespread protests at the arrogant way the long standing Tory regime in EDDC were driving through a build, build, build agenda, with a disregard for accountability and scrutiny and  their lack of respect in listening to members of the public. 

Its purpose was to provide genuine Independents with a mutual support umbrella to seek election.

Under electoral law it was obliged to register as a political party in 2015 when it won 10 of the 59 seats and became a significant opposition political grouping.

For the first year after the 2019 election Cllr. Ben Ingham ran a supposedly “Independent” council following the same policies as the previous Tory administration, with prominent Tories in key positions and with tacit Tory support. This was despite two thirds of the council being non-Tories of various shades. EDA councillors were excluded from his administration. Not surprisingly this administration fell apart as genuine independent councillors rebelled.

In March 2020, councillors from the East Devon Alliance, Liberal Democrats, Green Party, and one Independent, formed a group called the Democratic Alliance. Comprising 24 councillors, they then became the largest group in the council.

In May 2020, eight councillors left the ruling Independent Group. One joined the East Devon Alliance, and seven formed their own group called the Independent Progressive Group. This new group formed a coalition partnership with the Democratic Alliance, and this coalition was able to form a new, stable, majority administration with 31/60 seats.

Cllr Ben Ingham rejoined the Conservative Party and is now their Deputy Leader.

Throughout the LibDem have numbered between 6 to 10. Four former EDA councillors have joined them seeing this the best way to ensure the “Democratic Alliance” continues, others will continue as EDA candidates.

Effectively we have in East Devon an almost proportional representation situation with those who are prepared to work together doing so, and those who put politics first (Tories and pseudo-Independent Tories) refusing to do what is best for the district. 

This “Democratic Alliance” has only been in power for three years, much of it constrained by the pandemic and grappling with the legacy problems inherited from the Tories eg membership of the Greater Exeter Strategic Plan and general lack of investment. Owl judges it to have been a success but this is only the beginning, there is much more to be done.

Although Independent candidates may again take a large share of the seats, acting independently will give them little more than the power of veto. To gain power and be able to do things, as can be seen above, it is necessary to form formal coalitions and alliances.

Even if they lose more ground, the Tories could still be the largest formal grouping and attempt to form an administration.

PS Nine current Tory councillors are standing down and not seeking re-election; only one LibDem is standing down.

Remember Cllr. Dan Ledger’s article on the problems of trying to increase the affordable and social housing stock given that every time a tenant  exercises their “Right to Buy” the council is prohibited from reinvesting all of the receipts to replace the loss. In fact the Tories restricted the reinvestment rules again in 2021. He pointed out that 70 RTB requests to EDDC were made in 2022. – Owl

Vicky Spratt inews.co.uk

A significant majority of Conservative voters think more social housing should be built in the UK, according to exclusive YouGov polling carried out for i.

Of 2,112 adults surveyed across Britain, a total of 74 per cent of Brits agreed that more social housing was needed. 15 per cent said that they did not think more social housing was needed and 11 per cent said they did not know.

Some 71 per cent of people who voted Conservative in the 2019 general election said they agreed that there needed to be more social housing, compared to 82 per cent of people who voted Labour in the same election.

An overwhelming majority of Brits – 82 per cent – also agreed that it was “difficult” for young people in the UK to access adequate housing. Around 7 per cent said they thought it was “easy” and 10 per cent said they did not know.

Of those who voted Conservative in the 2019 general election, the overwhelming majority – 80 per cent – thought it was difficult for young people to access adequate housing. This compared to 88 per cent who voted Labour.

The survey was conducted online between April 3 and 4 2023 and the results were weighted by factors such as age, gender, region, social class, political attention, past vote in the 2019 election, past vote in the 2016 EU referendum, and education level to give a representative sample of all adults over the age of 18 in Britain.

Britain currently faces a severe social housing shortage.

Last year the House of Lords Built Environment Committee concluded that there was a “serious shortage” of social housing and argued that many renters who would once have lived in secure and affordable social homes were now living in “expensive private rented accommodation” with their housing costs subsidised by housing benefit.

The housing benefit bill is now £23.4bn a year, more than the total spend for most government departments.

Exclusive YouGov polling for i has also revealed that most renters have experienced a sharp rent increase in the past year because of their landlord putting up their rent.

However, the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) which is how housing benefit is calculated remains frozen at 2019/20 levels, leaving low-income renters with a shortfall between the state support available to them and the real cost of rent.

The New Economics Foundation – a left-leaning think-tank which promotes social, economic and environmental justice – has done some research and found that the Government is set to spend five times more (£58.2bn) on paying private landlords’ rent via housing benefits than on its entire affordable housebuilding programme (£11.5bn for the Affordable Homes Programme) over the next four years.

Speaking about i’s polling Matt Downie, chief executive at the homelessness charity Crisis, said: “This poll highlights how people up and down the country understand the crucial need to address the chronic lack of social housing. The demand for social housing has outstripped supply for years and we are still yet to see any real commitment from the UK Government on social house building.

“With the increasing cost of living pressures and rents at their highest rate in over 16 years, the need for action is desperate. Until we build the genuinely affordable homes we need, we will continue to see people trapped without a home, and hundreds of thousands more on the brink of homelessness.”

According to the homelessness charity Shelter there are now 1.4 million fewer households living in social housing than there were in 1980.

There is also currently a social housing waiting list of over a million households across England, meaning that a growing number of homeless families with children have been placed in inappropriate temporary accommodation in recent years. This includes converted office blocks which i exposed in an investigation earlier this year and planning experts argue are putting residents’ health at risk.

A significant majority of Brits – 78 per cent – also said that access to adequate housing should be a human right.

11% said access to adequate housing should not be a human right and 11% said they did not know.

In response to these figures, the Labour MP Lisa Nandy, Shadow Levelling Up & Housing Secretary, told i: “Safe and secure housing is a fundamental human right, but the Tories have turned housing into a racket. A decade of drift and decay has left us with a chronic lack of social housing and over a million families languishing on waiting lists.

“That’s why the next Labour government will build more affordable and social homes, restore social housing to the second largest form of tenure, and raise standards. Everyone deserves a warm, safe place to call home and reform of our broken housing system to deliver that is long overdue.”

A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) spokesperson said:

“We are committed to building more social homes and are investing £11.5bn through our Affordable Homes Programme to deliver tens of thousands of homes for rent and sale right across the country.

“We’ve also taken steps to increase the amount of money councils can keep when they sell social homes. Over £4.1 billion of Right to Buy sales has been reinvested in new affordable housing by councils since 2012.”

Dartmoor National Park Authority is increasing its parking charges for the first time in five years. From May 1 parking charges will increase at Haytor, Postbridge, Princetown, Meldon Reservoir and Lydford car parks.

Guy Henderson www.devonlive.com

The new fees will be £3 for up to three hours and £5 if staying for more than three hours. Fees for minibus and coaches will be £10 all day. Blue Badge holders will pay £3 all day. All the car parks remain free for motorcycles.

Charges for Haytor, Postbridge, Princetown and Meldon run from 10am to 6pm from Monday to Sunday. Charges for Lydford run from 10am to 6pm from Monday to Saturday and from 1pm to 6pm on Sunday.

A spokesman for the authority said: “The reality of continued financial challenges means the authority has had to make a series of difficult decisions lately, including a review of parking fees.

“People who pay to stay in the car parks owned by the authority are keeping Dartmoor a special place. Money raised is reinvested back in important services such as maintaining car park surfaces, looking after toilets, improving accessibility and supporting conservation work.”

The authority has also invested funds in installing electric vehicle charging points with one already at Haytor and others planned for Postbridge and Princetown.

Director of Conservation and Communities Richard Drysdale added: “We have done our best to keep the increases as modest as possible and visitors will still benefit from free parking before 10am or after 6pm. We think the increase is still good value for a day out on Dartmoor – one of the country’s most important landscapes and among the first to be designated as a National Park in 1951.

“Fees are vital for us in maintaining our car parks and visitor services and continuing our conservation work to help keep Dartmoor special for everyone to enjoy.” Signs letting people know about the increases have been put up in car parks.

An Exmouth stroke survivors’ club has thanked its local councillors for their support.

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

East Devon District Council’s LED (Leisure East Devon) monitoring forum  heard from the club’s chair, Steve Beer on Tuesday [11 April]. He told them of the troubles people face after being discharged from hospital, with some stroke survivors waiting the best part of two years to be seen by a specialist.

He called on the council to do as much as it can to help those recovering from strokes, saying 500 people in Exmouth have left hospital having suffered stroke symptoms this year.

The club’s near 50 members are not fighting their battle alone. The district council’s leisure partner, LED, has offered the club a slot at Exmouth swimming pool. It has also helped provide equipment such as steppers to survivors.

Mr Beer urged more council members to attend the club’s meetings and thanked them for their support.Independent Cllr Nick Hookway joined Mr Beer in encouraging more backing for the club. “I think we ought to try to do as much as we can; I do support that call,” he added. “We are doing something at a perhaps small level. Anything we can do and anything LED can do more to help these people should be encouraged.”

People who convert homes into short-term holiday lets would require planning permission in tourist hotspots in England under government plans.

Are there local elections campaigns underway? – Owl

Nadeem Badshah www.theguardian.com 

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has said it will consult on the change as well as whether to give owners the flexibility to let out their home for a maximum number of nights a year without the need for the permission.

The government said it would also hold a consultation on another proposal for a registration scheme for short-term holiday lets.

Airbnb welcomed the government taking forward its plans for the register, but said it wanted to ensure that any changes to the planning system “strike a balance between protecting housing and supporting everyday families who let their space to help afford their home and keep pace with rising living costs”.

The communities secretary, Michael Gove, said: “Tourism brings many benefits to our economy, but in too many communities we have seen local people pushed out of cherished towns, cities and villages by huge numbers of short-term lets.

“I’m determined that we ensure that more people have access to local homes at affordable prices, and that we prioritise families desperate to rent or buy a home of their own close to where they work.”

The government said local authorities could choose not to use the planning controls.

It said the register is being introduced through the levelling up and regeneration bill currently going through parliament, while the planning changes, subject to the outcome of the consultation, would be introduced through secondary legislation later in the year.

Theo Lomas, head of public policy and government relations for northern Europe at Airbnb, said the vast majority of UK hosts share one home and almost four in 10 say the earnings help them afford the rising cost of living.

Lomas added: “Airbnb has long called for a national register for short-term lets and we welcome the government taking this forward. We know that registers are clear and simple for everyday hosts to follow while giving authorities the information they need to regulate effectively.

“We want to work with the government to ensure that any planning interventions are carefully considered, evidence-based, and strike a balance between protecting housing and supporting everyday families who let their space to help afford their home and keep pace with rising living costs.”

The plans for a register follow a call for evidence on the issue for a consultation to be carried out by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

The culture secretary, Lucy Frazer, said: “This new world of ultra-flexible short term lets gives tourists more choice than ever before, but it should not come at the expense of local people being able to own their own home and stay local.

“The government wants to help areas get the balance right, and today we have an incomplete picture of the size and spread of our short-term lets market.

“This consultation on a national registration scheme will give us the data we need to assess the position and enable us to address the concerns communities face.”

Matt Hancock is among three MPs who have been placed under investigation by parliament’s standards watchdog. In a move that threatens to reignite allegations of sleaze in the Conservative party, a series of inquiries were launched by the commissioner, Daniel Greenberg.

Aubrey Allegretti www.theguardian.com 

The former health secretary is being looked into over allegations that he broke the MPs’ code of conduct by “lobbying the commissioner in a manner calculated or intended to influence his consideration” of whether a separate breach had been committed. It is a new offence that was added to the latest version of the code, endorsed by MPs in December 2022.

Meanwhile, the Blackpool South MP, Scott Benton, is being investigated over the use of his parliamentary email. It comes a week after Benton was caught offering to lobby ministers and obtain early access to a sensitive government report for up to £4,000 a month.

Henry Smith, a backbench Tory MP for 13 years, is also being investigated for an alleged breach of the rules on using taxpayer-funded stationery.

A spokesperson for Hancock denied any wrongdoing and claimed he was “surprised” by the move. They said: “Far from lobbying the commissioner, Matt wrote to Greenberg in good faith to offer some additional evidence that he thought was not only pertinent but helpful for an inquiry the parliamentary commissioner for standards is currently conducting.

“It’s clearly a misunderstanding and Matt looks forward to fully engaging with the commissioner to clear this up.”

The letter sent by Hancock contained evidence that he was said to have been uniquely placed to give. There were only two other existing investigations by the standards commissioner, one of which was into whether the former health minister Steve Brine broke lobbying rules. That was triggered when texts from Brine to Hancock and other cabinet ministers were released as part of a leaked cache of messages sent and received by the then health secretary during the Covid pandemic.

Anneliese Dodds, the Labour party chair, said the “constant drip-drip of Conservative sleaze” had “become a deluge”.

She claimed that Rishi Sunak’s promise to lead a government of professionalism, integrity and accountability at all levels had “been swamped by scandal after scandal” and added: “The British people will rightly look at the Conservatives and wonder why there is always one rule for them, and another for everyone else.”

Hancock was stripped of the Conservative whip in autumn 2022 after appearing on I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! while parliament was still sitting. Afterwards, he claimed he had been assured by the chief whip that he would be allowed to formally rejoin the Tory parliamentary party again “in due course”, but he still sits as an independent and has said he will stand down at the next general election.

The MP for West Suffolk was found by the previous standards commissioner, Kathryn Stone, to have broken the rules by failing to declare a stake in a family company that won an NHS contract. She allowed him to avoid a sanction – as the breach was found to have fallen “at the less serious end of the spectrum” – and instead have the interest added to the official record “in bold italics”.

He also committed a “technical” breach of the ministerial code over the handling of the same matter, according to the then prime minister’s ethics adviser, but again faced no penalty.

Benton had the whip suspended last week after referring himself to the standards commissioner. He had been caught out by undercover reporters from the Times who were posing as representatives of a fake investment fund, and laughed when revealing how MPs could get away with not declaring hospitality.

When video evidence emerged, he said he had ceased contact with the fictitious company after becoming “concerned that what was being asked of me was not within parliamentary rules”.

Rishi Sunak has staked his premiership largely on his ability to fix Britain’s economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has made clear this will be a tough job.

Has stagflation returned? – Owl

Hugo Gye inews.co.uk

When delivering his Budget last month, Jeremy Hunt boasted that the UK was on course to avoid recession. But the IMF’s forecast that GDP will shrink by 0.3 per cent puts that claim in doubt, and confirms that Britain is struggling worse than peer countries.

It is a sharp corrective to recent suggestions that the economy is perking up: even without a technical recession, usually defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth, there is no realistic prospect of significant growth this year.

Even more concerning, perhaps, is the IMF’s warning that inflation could prove more persistent than hoped – leading in turn to interest rates that are higher for longer.

Changes in GDP take time to feed through to people’s everyday lives; inflation and interest rates have an instant impact. A second consecutive year of falling living standards would be felt by almost everyone in the UK and cement the impression that the Conservatives are no longer in control of the economy.

When Mr Sunak promised to halve inflation this year, he was mocked for picking a target that appeared trivially easy, given the likelihood that price increases would slow down of their accord. Government insiders say the IMF’s warnings show that in fact nothing can be taken for granted – and insist they need to double down on their tight fiscal plans to bring inflation down to a reasonable level.

To some extent having the IMF sound the alarm is a short-term help for Mr Sunak and Mr Hunt, strengthening the arguments they are already making and quieting Conservative MPs who want a return to the Trussite agenda of tax cuts.

But for any government, let alone one run by a man whose chief claim to fame was protecting the economy during the pandemic, slumping GDP and high inflation are a toxic cocktail. The IMF’s assessment that much of this is driven by factors outside ministers’ control only makes matters worse by limiting the menu of possible responses. The Prime Minister and Chancellor have work still to do.

The chief executive of the UK’s most polluting water company made £1.4m from the sale of shares in the business before his retirement, the Guardian can reveal.

One of privatisation’s winners, most of us are losers! – Owl

PS With all this rain around yesterday and today, best stay away from our rivers.

Helena Horton www.theguardian.com 

Politicians have called for water companies to be taxed to the extent that they cannot pay huge sums to CEOs after it was revealed that Steve Mogford of United Utilities retired on 31 March and in the months beforehand sold his shares for just under £1.4m.

According to Environment Agency data, the most polluting water company in England last year was United Utilities. One of the company’s pipes spilled sewage into the River Ellen, near the Lake District, for nearly 7,000 hours last year.

The data also showed that 10 of the country’s 20 pipes that spilled the most sewage in 2022 were owned by United Utilities, which provides water to the north-west and Lake District.

The Liberal Democrats’ environment spokesperson, Tim Farron, said: “As the sewage scandal runs on, top chiefs at water companies are racking up millions of pounds in bonuses. This is a disgrace. Water companies shouldn’t be allowed to get away with pumping thousands of hours of filthy sewage into our rivers and waterways. We need the Conservatives to stop sitting on their hands, tax water companies and end this scandal.”

Megan Corton Scott, a political campaigner for Greenpeace UK, said: “We are the only country in the world to fully privatise our national water supply. This gave monopoly powers to the water companies with no conspicuous accountability and little commercial incentive to do anything but collect bill payments. People have no choice but to give them their money in exchange for performance that is, frankly, well below bog standard.

“The theory that the innate decency of the companies’ management would ensure an acceptable level of service has been completely disproven. The results are in and allowing water companies to mark their own homework doesn’t work. Either the government accepts that reform is needed and gives regulators the funding, the legal powers and the spine they desperately need, or our water industry will continue to stink.”

Water company bosses have made huge sums from salaries and bonuses in recent years, despite the continuing sewage scandal. Last year, it was revealed that the boss of Anglian Water, which had one of the worst pollution records in England, was given more than £1m in pay and bonuses.

The shadow environment secretary, Jim McMahon, said: “The Tory sewage scandal has allowed water bosses [to] profit from failure, whilst our villages, towns, and cities across the country have been treated as open sewers.

“In the absence of a serious government plan, Labour has brought forward our water quality bill to clean up the water industry once and for all. Labour’s proposed legislation would enforce mandatory monitoring and automatic fines at the point of dumping, ambitious targets that end the sewage scandal by 2030 and deliver accountability for negligent water bosses.”

Figures also showed the annual bonuses paid to water company executives rose by 20% in 2021 despite most of the companies failing to meet sewage pollution targets. On average executives received £100,000 in one-off payments on top of their salaries during a period in which polluted water was being pumped for 2.7m hours into England’s rivers and swimming spots.

The analysis of water companies’ annual reports found their bonus pool for executives stood at an average of more than £600,000 per company. In total the 22 water bosses paid themselves £24.8m, including £14.7m in bonuses, benefits and incentives, in 2021-22.

The former boss of Thames Water has been handed £2.8m since leaving the company, despite being sacked for leakages and fines while in charge.

United Utilities has been contacted for comment.

• Changes to front elevation, partial raising of existing sunroom roof and relocation of front door. The Cottage Stockland EX14 9DSRef. No: 23/0703/FUL | Validated: Fri 31 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Installation of roofing over existing silage clamp Lane End Farm Broadhembury Devon EX14 3LURef. No: 23/0710/FUL | Validated: Fri 31 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Single storey rear extension. 40 Capel Lane Exmouth Devon EX8 2QZRef. No: 23/0704/FUL | Validated: Fri 31 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Leylandii : reduction to create rounded hedgerow, slightly above that of an adjoining hedge Little Hill Berry Lane Beer Seaton EX12 3JSRef. No: 23/0700/TCA | Validated: Thu 30 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• The erection of a single storey rear extension to replace the existing conservatory and the installation of a ground floor side window 112 Dukes Way Axminster Devon EX13 5FLRef. No: 23/0695/FUL | Validated: Thu 30 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use from hotel and restaurant to C3 (dwellinghouse) with ancillary land (comprising parking and garden) Tumbling Weir Hotel And Restaurant Canaan Way Ottery St Mary EX11 1AQRef. No: 23/0694/FUL | Validated: Thu 30 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Improvements to existing access, change of use of agricultural land to site two glamping units for holiday use and associated works Land At Addlepool Farm Clyst St GeorgeRef. No: 23/0696/FUL | Validated: Thu 30 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Subdivision of existing residential property to create second dwelling. Fairwater Head Hotel Hawkchurch Axminster Devon EX13 5TXRef. No: 23/0698/FUL | Validated: Thu 30 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed extension of the existing garage and alterations of the roof to provide useable space for a games/hobby room 6 Chudley Close Exmouth Devon EX8 4DYRef. No: 23/0699/FUL | Validated: Thu 30 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1: Oak – crown reduction of 5m, cuts to be no more than 150mm in diameter. Seaton Down House Seaton Down Hill Seaton Devon EX12 2JARef. No: 23/0690/TRE | Validated: Wed 29 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Reduction in width of Donkey track and alterations in materials. Woods Farm Bowd Sidmouth Devon EX10 0JSRef. No: 23/0689/FUL | Validated: Wed 29 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed single storey rear extension to detached house. Sunnyside Wilmington Devon EX14 9SFRef. No: 23/0688/FUL | Validated: Wed 29 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• To raise the roof over the existing utility to provide a small office space within the roof and internal and external alterations. 22 Copp Hill Lane Budleigh Salterton Devon EX9 6DZRef. No: 23/0687/FUL | Validated: Wed 29 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of existing two storey extension to east elevation and erection of new two storey extension Colcombe Wood Colyton EX24 6DRRef. No: 23/0671/FUL | Validated: Tue 28 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• -Demolish existing detached garage, construct a new single storey side extension. 20 Stoneborough Lane Budleigh Salterton Devon EX9 6HLRef. No: 23/0677/FUL | Validated: Tue 28 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed covering of existing open concrete yard Wadbrook Farm Wadbrook Devon EX13 7ASRef. No: 23/0676/FUL | Validated: Tue 28 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed covering of existing open manure store Wadbrook Farm Wadbrook Devon EX13 7ASRef. No: 23/0674/FUL | Validated: Tue 28 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Replacement single storey rear extension and removal of a window. 66 Tyrrell Mead Sidmouth Devon EX10 9TRRef. No: 23/0661/FUL | Validated: Thu 30 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed single storey side extension The Old Cottage 16 East Budleigh Road Budleigh Salterton EX9 6HNRef. No: 23/0660/FUL | Validated: Wed 29 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Installation of a fascia and projecting sign to front elevation 40 – 42 High Street Sidmouth EX10 8EJRef. No: 23/0656/ADV | Validated: Mon 27 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Creation of temporary entrance to aid construction of new Dining Area extension and Installation of new timber gate. Abbeyfield Society Marjorie Baker House Vicarage Street Colyton Devon EX24 6LJRef. No: 23/0666/FUL | Validated: Thu 30 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use of land to suitable alternative green space (SANGS) Land East Of Grange Cottages Gribble Lane RockbeareRef. No: 23/0662/COU | Validated: Mon 27 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Removal of existing rear conservatory. Demolition of a existing single storey garage. Erection of single storey side extensions. 2 Warren Close West Hill EX11 1XBRef. No: 23/0658/FUL | Validated: Mon 27 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erection of three stables and associated works Land At Withen Lane AylesbeareRef. No: 23/0655/FUL | Validated: Tue 28 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Single storey side extension together with open sided covered porch to front elevation. Beech House Woodhouse Lane Uplyme Devon DT7 3SQRef. No: 23/0654/FUL | Validated: Tue 28 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of an open sided barn in the garden of Westleigh Willows.Westleigh Willows Farm Feniton Honiton EX14 3BNRef. No: 23/0647/CPL | Validated: Mon 27 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1, holly : fell. Reason dead. T2, cherry : fell. Reason suppressed, poor form. T3, oak : remove branch over shed. Row 1: Leyland cypress hedge – remove. T4, oak : remove dead branch and shorten back long low branch over neighbour’s garden by approximately 2m to a suitable second order branch. T5, douglas fir : remove dead wood over 75mm. 10 Heather Grange West Hill Devon EX11 1XZRef. No: 23/0652/TRE | Validated: Mon 27 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1: lime – shorten back over neighbour’s roof, leaving 2m clearance. Reduce and re-shape by approximately 1m to leave a natural form by pruning to second order branches. Knowle Grange Knowle Drive Sidmouth EX10 8HNRef. No: 23/0651/TRE | Validated: Mon 27 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Laying of agricultural track (retrospective) Land Adjacent Pughs Farm Monkton Honiton EX14 9QHRef. No: 23/0650/FUL | Validated: Fri 31 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Two storey side extension. Overthorpe Cliff Road Sidmouth EX10 8JNRef. No: 23/0637/FUL | Validated: Tue 28 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Variation of condition no.2 (Approved Drawings) of application 18/2426/FUL to allow for minor relocation of store and omission of plant room/ bin/log store and GSPH and the addition of solar panels River Lea Courtlands Lane Exmouth EX8 5ABRef. No: 23/0611/VAR | Validated: Mon 27 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Installation of Shed/garden room to the rear. Fern Cottage 64 Temple Street Sidmouth EX10 9BJRef. No: 23/0567/FUL | Validated: Fri 31 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Re-slating of slates to main house roof and tiles to small adjoining outbuilding (the washhouse). All existing structures to be retained and only replaced if necessary and all existing materials to be re used where possible. Replacements on a like for like basis where necessary. Leyhill Farm Payhembury EX14 3JGRef. No: 23/0561/LBC | Validated: Wed 29 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Re-slating of slates to house main roof and tiles to small adjoining outbuilding (the washhouse). All existing structures to be retained and only replaced if necessary and all existing materials to be re-used where possible. Replacements on a like for like basis where necessary. Leyhill Farm Payhembury EX14 3JGRef. No: 23/0560/FUL | Validated: Wed 29 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Installation of 32 ground Mounted solar panels and the 16 existing solar panels to be put together on 5 adjustable frames. Treetops Toadpit Lane West Hill Devon EX11 1LQRef. No: 23/0552/FUL | Validated: Fri 31 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Row 1 – 7: Thuja – fell and grind stumps. Row 2 – 5: Lawson Cypress – fell. Group 1: Laurels – cut to ground level. T1: Photinia – fell. Row 3: Aucuba hedge – fell. Row 4: Leyland cypress – cut to as near to ground level as possible. Albanwood House Bickwell Valley Sidmouth EX10 8SGRef. No: 23/0488/TCA | Validated: Mon 27 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1: Oak Tree – crown reduction of 2- 3m, branch diameter cuts of between 5cm and 10cm. Removal of deadwood. Broomleigh Elm Farm Lane Colyford EX24 6QSRef. No: 23/0415/TRE | Validated: Wed 29 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use of 2 agricultural fields to camping/glamping site, formation of 14 temporary camping pitches. Installation of a septic tank for foul drainage. Construction of 5 x storage buildings/sheds for associated camping use, 1 x large agricultural barn for storage of maintenance machinery. Construction of an additional driveway entrance at the bottom of the field to allow access to parking area. Axe View Kingsdon Colyton EX24 6EZRef. No: 23/0417/FUL | Validated: Mon 27 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Replace 1no. window on rear (south east) elevation at first floor and re-slate whole of roof 72 Bicton Street Exmouth EX8 2RURef. No: 23/0429/LBC | Validated: Fri 31 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Provision of small sheds for storage of tools and equipment for individual allotment holders Land At Liberator Way Dunkeswell Devon EX14 4XFRef. No: 23/0397/FUL | Validated: Wed 29 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Strengthening and remedial works to roof structure including the insertion of helibars Pynes Cottage Brampford Speke Devon EX5 5HERef. No: 23/0285/LBC | Validated: Tue 28 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Remove cement based render and replace with lime based render on all external elevations Christophers Budleigh Hill East Budleigh Devon EX9 7DTRef. No: 23/0249/LBC | Validated: Wed 29 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Reserved matters application (access, appearance, landscaping, layout and scale) for the construction of a spine road including drainage and associated infrastructure. Subsequent application to outline permission 17/1019/MOUT which was accompanied by an Environmental Statement Land North Of Old Tithebarn Lane Clyst HonitonRef. No: 23/0085/MRES | Validated: Wed 29 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• To create a better entrance to Gerway Farm forming sensible visibility splays and providing a safe access onto the highway to either direction with large vehicles. Gerway Farm Ottery St Mary EX11 1PNRef. No: 22/2667/FUL | Validated: Mon 27 Mar 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision

Budleigh Salterton has been ranked 10th most expensive seaside location to buy a home on average in 2022.

“Second home ownership undoubtedly plays a role in driving up prices in the most desirable locations.”

[Second homes currently account for one in every 23 properties in East Devon and rising; obviously concentrated in coastal towns and our “picturesque” villages where you can show off in your “Muddy Stilettos” – Owl]

Adam Manning www.exmouthjournal.co.uk 

New analysis from Barclays Bank show Budleigh to be 10th most expensive in Britain at 537,681. other locations in East Devon have appeared on the list, including:

• Lyme Regis £501,261.
• Sidmouth £496,936.
• Exmouth £373,539.
• Seaton £369,541

The bank, Barclays analysed house price data for the 12 months to December 2022 to make the findings, looking at 209 coastal locations in total.

Salcombe was number one. It found the average house pricelast year was just over £1.2 million.

At the other end of the spectrum, Greenock in Inverclyde, Scotland, was found to have the lowest average house price of the seaside locations analysed, at £97,608.

Scotland dominated Halifax’s top 10 list of the least expensive seaside locations.

Halifax’s study indicated that, in general, the cost of coastal homes across Britain has increased by 56 per cent between 2012 and 2022, from £195,509 to £304,460.

During the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, coastal and rural locations were particularly popular as house hunters embarked on a ‘race for space.’

Many of the most expensive seaside locations were found along the coastline of southern England, in areas popular with second home owners.

Kim Kinnaird, mortgages director at Halifax, said: “For many, owning a home by the sea is an aspiration, with coastal living offering beach walks, clean air and other health benefits.

“But this comes at a price in many locations and Britain’s most expensive seaside spot, Salcombe in Devon, will set buyers back over £1.2 million on average.

“When we delve deeper into the cost of Britain’s seaside homes, it’s clear that there is a broad spectrum in house prices.

“Whilst million-pound properties are abundant in the south west of England, in contrast, homes in Greenock in Scotland are valued on average at less than £100,000.

“Second home ownership undoubtedly plays a role in driving up prices in the most desirable locations. While house prices in any location are driven by factors such as supply and demand and interest rates, there are also socio-economic factors at play.

“Some of these factors are more acute in Britain’s coastal communities, and many British towns most in need of investment also sit near the shore.”

Halifax used Land Registry data covering England and Wales, in addition to figures from the Registers of Scotland, to make the findings.

“Others should follow”

Editorial www.theguardian.com 

Valencia will introduce one by the beginning of next year. Bologna charges €4 a night, about average for an Italian city, and French resorts have been able to impose a taxe de séjour since 1910. But local authorities in Britain have consistently wavered when it comes to imposing a tourist tax similar to those commonplace in the rest of Europe. In recent years Oxford, Bath and Hull reportedly contemplated a levy but decided against it.

At the start of this month, however – in time for the Easter bank holiday weekend – Manchester finally took the plunge, after winning surprisingly strong backing from the city’s hoteliers. Visitors staying in a Manchester city centre hotel or holiday apartment are now required to pay a £1 per night City Visitor Charge. An estimated £3m worth of annual revenue will be dedicated to tourism-related and cultural projects, as well as more mundane necessities such as street cleaning. The Welsh government is preparing to follow suit, giving councils power to institute a levy to pay towards the upkeep of beaches, parks, pavements and footpaths. Edinburgh is reportedly considering a £2 a night tourist tax, subject to approval from the Scottish parliament.

Despite inevitable concerns from businesses fearful of discouraging visitors, particularly in tough economic times, this is surely the right direction of travel. A recent study by the Northern Powerhouse Partnership concluded that replicating the £1 tourism levy across England would raise £428m for local authorities annually. It is true that swingeing cuts to council funding since 2010 put that figure in sobering perspective. But this is nevertheless money that can be used for the common good, in places where there is often an unacceptable gulf between the circumstances of well-heeled seasonal visitors and members of host communities.

In regions such as Cornwall and Cumbria, where the influx of visitors places a heavy load on sometimes crumbling infrastructure, a tourist tax would help share the burden with authorities that are brutally overstretched. In the absence of a fair settlement for local government funding, some recognition of the special requirements of such areas is urgently required. As council officials in thinly populated Cumbria have pointed out, the Department for Transport funds the region’s pot‑holed road network only on a per‑head basis, but many millions of visitors use it to access the Lakes each year.

More broadly, at a time when the debate about the social and environmental impact of tourism has become increasingly tense, a levy provides a means through which communities can exercise some influence and control. Controversies over the proportion of second homes in tourist hotspots such as Whitby have illustrated that a better balance needs to be struck between the interests of residents and visitors in many of the country’s most attractive destinations. Faced with similar challenges, Valencia’s regional parliament intends to devote part of the new tourism tax revenue towards the construction of affordable housing for local residents.

This type of approach can reinvigorate local democracy, inculcate a sense of shared stewardship for places that are part of our national heritage, and ensure that the financial benefits of tourism are more equitably shared. In foreign destinations where levies have been introduced, visitor economies continue to flourish. Manchester has led the way. Others should follow.

From a correspondent:

Some urgent questions are being asked following the disastrous blaze that ravaged the old council offices at the Knowle, Sidmouth on 30 March.

It now appears that there was an earlier attempt to start a fire in the building on 26 March which was extinguished by the fire service with little damage being caused. So what additional security measures were taken by the owners as a result of this incident, and, apparently, why were guard dogs not deployed by them until after 30 March?

A fire of this scale inevitably has serious environmental consequences. Fire plumes carry toxic pollutants – parts of the damaged building are known to have contained asbestos – which can be deposited widely by wind and pose a threat to human, animal and plant life. In addition, water runoff from tackling the blaze can cause serious contamination. So, what tests have been, or will be made, to monitor the extent and degree of any pollution and who is responsible for them?

The Knowle housed an important maternity roost of endangered horseshoe bats. Have they suffered in the blaze?