PLANNING PROBLEMS www.thetimes.co.uk

Sir, The housing plans Paul Arnott protests against (letter, Apr 10) are the perverse outcome of the development policies that politicians have created. The planning system is so difficult and expensive to navigate that only big corporate house builders can afford to do it, and to recoup the money spent on permissions they have to build chicken coops with minimal design and an imperative to make as much money as possible.

My parents live in a leafy road on the Wirral, backing onto fields. The local corporate landowner has applied for planning permission for its several thousand acres. The local authority has refused, but the decision will inevitably go to court and be overturned by some secretary of state or another. The plan will go ahead and the shoeboxes will be built.

This inevitably ends in a situation that satisfies no one. First-time buyers are disappointed, striving move-uppers are disappointed and existing residents are outraged.
Mark Polden
Little Sutton, South Wirral

Sir, It is high time that the chancellor introduced a land tax to share more equally the massive increase in value that accrues to land once planning permission has been granted. A fair levy on “planning uplift” would discourage speculation and land banking, and the revenue raised could be directed to councils and housing associations to build the social rented accommodation that is so needed.
Rebecca Bartleet
Gunnislake, Cornwall

…when they announced “multi-million pounds” to sewage upgrades in Sidmouth and Axminster and Phil added: “So, to hear this news – the funding coming for South West Water to tidy up their act really to be fair as pollutants – is really good news for us.”?

The truth is that the accelerated investment proposals they refer to are only DRAFT decisions.

Consultation finishes on 24 April.

Inconveniently, the final decision will post date the local elections.

Anyone, apart from Phil, believe the evidence points to funding coming from SWW and their shareholders rather than the taxpayer or the consumer?

Disgust over litter, outrage at potholes and pledges to support jobs are all hallmarks of local council election literature. But on yellow leaflets up and down the country, the focus is likely to centre more on the state of local rivers.

Adam Vaughan www.thetimes.co.uk

Tory voters are so angry about the state of polluted rivers that the issue could even cost the Conservatives the next general election, according to Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader.

Davey, who was energy and climate secretary during the coalition years, headed to swing seats in Lewes and Eastbourne in Sussex last week to promise tougher action on sewage.

“We think that a lot of Tory voters are very, very angry. We think this could lose huge numbers of Tory seats to us at the council elections, and be a big issue in our fight for the general election,” Davey said on the day the government announced its “plan for water”.

A Lib Dem election leaflet doing the rounds in Lewes homes in on local environmental concerns

As well as visiting Eastbourne to see the beach’s storm overflows — the relief valves that nationally released raw sewage for 1.7 million hours last year — Davey also went to the River Ouse in Lewes. The district council recently passed a motion to give the Ouse legal rights, as concern grows about pollution of waterways.

While refusing to put a number on how many seats water pollution could swing, Davey said the Lib Dems were campaigning on the issue in Sussex, Winchester, Cheltenham, and Chesham & Amersham. “It’s not impossible to think that whether we get rid of the Conservative government or not may depend on people’s response on these environmental issues,” he said.

Davey said river health had resonated with voters in ways that some environmental issues had not. “They know their local river or their local beach. They swim in there or their kids swim in there, or they fish in there, their dogs go in there. It’s part of their life,” he said. In some constituencies, including Lewes, candidates have made water pollution the focus of their leaflets.

The Lib Dems have made sewage pollution one of their big issues since gaining traction on the problem at the 2021 by-election in Chesham & Amersham, Buckinghamshire, won by its candidate Sarah Green. “We suddenly realised that what we thought was a local issue was actually a national issue,” Davey said. Everyone asked what he was doing when he posed in the River Chess with wellington boots, Davey said, but the issue proved to be salient.

Davey was critical of the environment secretary Thérèse Coffey’s plan for waterways. He noted that her pledge to ban plastic wet wipes had been made several times before, including five years ago by Michael Gove. The Lib Dem leader blamed “a big political failure to direct regulators including Ofwat and the Environment Agency to get tough on water companies”. Although the Environment Agency budget rose last year, it had fallen for years and staff morale there has plummeted because of low pay.

Water companies are not off the hook, however. “It appears to me from some of the things I’ve seen that many of them are breaking the law and knowingly breaking the law,” Davey said. “They are discharging sewage at times when they shouldn’t and they have not been permitted to do so.”

It should not take decades to clean up our rivers, he said, citing Lib Dem policies including a tougher water regulator and environmental experts on the boards of water companies. Davey said water pollution was a “very personal” issue for him because he read books by the environmentalist Jonathon Poritt in the 1980s and joined the Lib Dems in 1989 because Paddy Ashdown and Simon Hughes were talking about the environment.

The government confirmed on Monday that four new bathing sites would be designated at wild swimming spots: two at Rutland Water, one on the river Deben in Suffolk and one at Firestone Bay in Plymouth. This should ensure that regular monitoring and health checks are carried out on the water. However, applications for bathing water status on at least seven rivers, including another stretch of the Deben, were rejected.

South West Water told officials that the target was “demanding” and would cause “disproportionate costs”….[looks like to the consumer – Owl]

…..South West Water called for a phosphorus equivalent of the EU’s carbon trading scheme, which could in theory allow water companies to “buy” reductions in phosphorus releases by farmers and other sectors instead of upgrading sewage works.

[Owl emphasis on this fudge and adds this quote from SWW: “We are passionate about our water and provide reliable, efficient and high quality drinking water and waste water services throughout Cornwall and Devon.“] 

Adam Vaughan http://www.thetimes.co.uk

Water companies argued that a government target to clean up a key source of river pollution would drive up water bills and push many households into “water poverty”.

Effluent released from sewage treatment works is the biggest source of phosphorus in England’s rivers. Excessive levels of the nutrient can lead to algal blooms that reduce oxygen levels and choke fish and plants.

However, when the government recently consulted on its new Environment Act target of cutting phosphorus releases from sewage plants by 80 per cent by 2037, compared with 2020, it received a strong resistance.

South West Water told officials that the target was “demanding” and would cause “disproportionate costs”.

The company, whose number of sewage spills has drawn fire from Thérèse Coffey, the environment secretary, warned of “a significant increase in the number of households in water poverty and struggling to pay their bills”.

Thames Water said the drive to reduce phosphorus was “likely to materially increase customer bills”.

The government’s Plan for Water last week said there was four fifths less phosphorus in rivers than in 1990, but it wanted to go further. Coffey’s department said it had already required companies to invest £2.5 billion for further reductions by 2025.

While large sewage works have been upgraded to strip out a certain amount of phosphorus, many smaller facilities do not remove any of the pollutant.

The Times Clean it Up campaign has been calling for greater and faster investment by water companies to tackle phosphorus pollution, as well as greater incentives for farmers to curb their releases of the pollutant.

United Utilities, recently revealed as the worst sewage spiller in England, raised concerns that the phosphorus target would have a “sizable impact of the proposed targets on the affordability of water bills”.

Saving Windermere: Campaigner’s bid to end sewage pollution in England’s largest lake

Despite a water industry chief telling companies not to blame other sectors for river pollution, United Utilities complained that it was unfair agriculture had to cut phosphorus pollution by only 40 per cent. It said a “greater emphasis is needed on agricultural pollution” to get cleaner rivers.

South West Water called for a phosphorus equivalent of the EU’s carbon trading scheme, which could in theory allow water companies to “buy” reductions in phosphorus releases by farmers and other sectors instead of upgrading sewage works.

Anglian Water also bemoaned the focus on upgrading sewage works, which it warned could “incentivise significant investment” into “environmentally irrelevant point sources [places where pollution is released]”.

The lobbying drive was uncovered by the website OpenDemocracy, which obtained the company responses to a government consultation using freedom of information rules. The push has echoes of a similar sally by water firms last year, when they raised the spectre of steep water bill increases in response to new rules on reducing sewage spills from storm overflows. Figures released this month show there were more than 300,000 such spills last year.

The average annual household water bill in England and Wales is rising 7.5 per cent to £448 from this financial year. Analysts at Barclays expect that to increase to £700 in today’s money by 2050 to pay for investments in cleaning up sewage pollution and building infrastructure.

Despite the cost warnings from firms, the government stuck to its phosphorus target. Companies are expected to be forced by regulators to make improvements to their sewage works, such as using iron salts or reed banks to strip out more phosphorus.

More than 500 works are expected to be upgraded. “We have full confidence in our ambitious Environment Act targets,” a spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said.

Anglian Water said: “Every catchment and river will have different amounts of phosphorus and it might not be necessary to reduce this by 80 per cent to achieve the outcome for the environment.”

Thames Water said: “Taking action to improve the health of rivers is a key focus for us and we made clear in our response to the government’s consultation that we support the reduction of phosphorus in waterways.”

United Utilities and South West Water were contacted for comment.

Modular homes that can be craned into place could play a key role in providing ‘truly affordable’ dwellings in East Devon, says the district council.

East Devon Reporter eastdevonnews.co.uk 

Authority chiefs say the units can ‘deliver an innovative, carbon-neutral social housing solution’ on land that would otherwise prove difficult to build on.

They have added that the homes are  ‘coming to a community near you soon’.

A demonstration house has been lowered into place at East Devon District Council’s (EDDC) HQ at Blackdown House in Honiton.

It will remain in place for six months and will be used as ‘a pivotal part’ of future community consultation and engagement events.

The modular homes feature solar panels, heat pumps and triple glazing to reduce running costs for occupants.

EDDC says it will reveal more about the project later this spring.

“The builder of these modular homes has a track record of consulting communities and adapting developments to reflect their wishes,” said a council spokesperson.

“The house on display has one bedroom, but plans are also in place for two- and three-bedroom homes.”

Councillor Dan Ledger, portfolio holder for sustainable homes and communities, added: “One of the key aspirations of the current administration at EDDC was to ensure the council starts to develop its own housing stock again.

“The aim is really simple, to deliver high-quality, low-carbon homes that are truly affordable for all.

“The new Housing Task Force team have been fantastic and working tirelessly to make this a reality.

“The siting of this unit is the first step in showing residents within East Devon that we are serious with this commitment and to share our vision for what is to be expected from schemes within your communities over the coming months.”

Therese Coffey was under fire today after promoting new UK bathing waters – using a picture of herself standing next to a muddy estuary. 

The Environment Secretary tweeted a picture of herself on the River Deben estuary in her Suffolk constituency, one of four new official ‘wild swimming’ areas for the 2023 summer season.

[With Marigolds added by Owl for H&S reasons]

David Wilcock www.dailymail.co.uk (Extract)

But to coincide with today’s announcement she was forced to take a photo during poor weather at the site in Waldringfield, standing next to a muddy bank and churned-up water in the river, and below rain-filled skies.

It comes as the Government is under pressure to tackle the scale of pollution, especially sewage, being dumped in UK rivers and off the coast. 

Locals have reported discovering E. coli bacteria they say is from sewage, at a site only a few miles upstream of the new bathing waters.

Ms Coffey did not allow replies to her tweet but it did not stop other Twitter users poking fun at the image. 

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner quipped: ‘Not taking a dip yourself?’

The Environment Secretary tweeted a picture of herself on the River Deben estuary in her Suffolk constituency that is one of four new official ‘wild swimming’ areas for the 2023 summer season.

Nigel Pickover, a former editor of the Eastern Daily Press newspaper in East Anglia, said: ‘Isn’t the Waldringfield site just a few swimming strokes downstream from the heavily polluted Martlesham Creek with its huge E. coli issues?’

In her original message, Ms Coffey said: ‘Four new designated bathing sites confirmed today, including Waldringfield on the River Deben in Suffolk Coastal – the first estuary site’…….

His is the first of three, but the others are also worth a read.

Government plans to scrap housing targets

www.thetimes.co.uk

Sir, My authority spends thousands of officer and councillor hours per year trying to ensure that planning permission is granted to quality schemes (“Housing targets scrapped”, Apr 8). Yet the arbitrary housing need number — about 900 homes a year in east Devon — makes this impossible to achieve. Our real problems are not nimbyesque. They concern unfit-for-purpose sewage and drainage infrastructure, the lack of GPs, places in education, transport and local jobs.

When major schemes are approved, experience has shown many to be poorly built, with gardens, at best, the size of a cricket wicket. Meanwhile, any landowner able to ensure their grassy patch is designated as developable will make millions for nothing more than assigning rights.

If councils try to build social homes, there is no effective way to protect from the right to buy, and affordable homes, at, say, 80 per cent of local market rent, are anything but. The country needs an urgent, cross-party commission on homes, with no powers off the table. And please shelve the term “nimby”; it is about as helpful as the term “Remoaner”.
Paul Arnott
Leader, East Devon district council

Sir, The assertion that nimbys are only interested in preserving the value of their houses is wide of the mark. I have long been engaged in community reaction to development proposals in London. Rarely do I experience outright opposition to development and that usually revolves around the loss of green space. The majority of large schemes are for tall, dense, poorly designed blocks of tiny flats, many of which will be occupied by footloose buy-to-let tenants. So it should be no surprise that residents in settled suburban communities of low-rise family houses are roused to fury. Proposals for, say, streets of small terraced houses would rarely experience opposition.
Gordon Massey
Chairman, Federation of Residents’ Associations in Barnet

Sir, In my 16 years as a county councillor and 21 as a district councillor the vast majority of people did not object to new housing. They did object to longer traffic jams, longer GP waiting times, children being bussed to schools miles away from their homes, more flooding and sewage in local rivers — in other words to a lack of infrastructure. Developers promise all sorts of infrastructure improvements to get planning approval then do all they can to renege on those promises. It would be better to build the infrastructure first with government-backed loans. Then, as each house is built, a percentage of the sale price pays back the loan. All the time infrastructure is meant to follow the houses there will be objections. Not because of nimbys but because no one believes, and experience shows correctly, that adequate infrastructure will ever be built.
David Simpson
Darby Green, Hants

First the claims

Simon Jupp MP

 “I have repeatedly called on South West Water to invest in East Devon. I’m really pleased they’ve listened to the case I have put forward on the floor of Parliament and in cross-party meetings with local councils………this new multi-million-pound investment is much needed to upgrade our water infrastructure in Sidmouth and reduce nutrient pollution in Axminster. South West Water must continue to invest locally to clean up their act and our water.””

Tory Leader Cllr. Phil Skinner:

“We’ve been driving this agenda as a district and also Simon has worked really hard on it from his angle and has applied lots of pressure,” he said. “Because the sewage issue in East Devon at the moment is massive; we’ve got awful problems with sewage – particularly in areas like Clyst St Mary where we get the flooding, and particularly in and around Exmouth where we get flooding. We’ve had all sorts of issues, but other areas as well.

“So, to hear this news – the funding coming for South West Water to tidy up their act really to be fair as pollutants – is really good news for us. So all credit really all round to ourselves in East Devon in applying the pressure that we have been, and also to Simon Jupp who has particularly pressured from his angle as well.”

Now the doubt

But this is what “Squirrel” [one of Owl’s Trusted Sources] said in a comment posted on Easter Sunday:

“It would be very interesting to see a report in here about who has instigated the work on sewage spillages in Sidmouth. Simon Jupp seems very keen to suggest it has all been about him but I think we all know that isn’t true. The Sid Valley Biodiversity Group (River volunteers) backed by the town council and EDDC councillors have been pushing hard and meeting with SWW, and producing excellent data on an area where SWW data was woeful and inaccurate.

A bit of an exposé about how much money is actually going to be invested, and how much has been promised by successive environment ministers would also be interesting,

Sewage should be enough for anybody to not vote for the tories in this election. Decades of underinvestment and basically asset-stripping has left our water industry in a shameful situation and we are now literally seeing and smelling the result.”

This raises the $64,000 question, who is paying for this: SWW; the consumer or the Tax Payer?

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

“The government is investing in sewage works in East Devon following continued problems in the district.

South West Water (SWW), is often criticised at East Devon District Council’s planning meetings. But this week, water minister Rebecca Pow confirmed £70 million of cash to improving sewage systems in Sidmouth, Tipton St John and Axminister, as well as Falmouth in Cornwall .

East Devon’s share of the cash, part of a £1.6 billion water infrastructure investment by central government, will help prevent sewage overflows in Sidmouth and Tipton St John, as well as water pollution in Axminster.”

According to OFWAT

The immediate funding is being taken forward as part of the Ofwat/Defra “accelerated infrastructure delivery project for English Water companies” funded through the “transition expenditure process”. 

Owl’s take on all this bureaucratic gobbledygook is that the accelerated costs will be financed initially by the taxpayer, with the water companies paying on the “never never” over a period ending in 2030.

The question then arises as to how the water companies levy their customers and/or shareholders to provide the payback. The only explanation Owl can find talks about setting an appropriate “time value of money” so that  companies are not financially incentivised to delay making investment.

It’s all smoke and mirrors to Owl.

Is this the “bottom line”? Thérèse Coffey:

“   wider upgrades of the sewer network lead to destructive works on our streets and put hundreds of pounds on people’s bills. There’s no way we can stop pollution overnight.”

Time for Simon and Phil to come clean when making claims.

The Tories’ failure to tackle raw sewage dumping has been laid bare by figures showing Therese Coffey had almost 1,000 spills in her own constituency last year alone.

How about a selfie with the Marigolds? – Owl

Archie Mitchell www.independent.co.uk

Ms Coffey is one of seven Conservatives to have run the department since 2015 – including Liz Truss, Michael Gove, Andrea Leadsom and George Eustice – whose constituencies saw more than 15,000 spills in total in 2022.

Her Suffolk Coastal constituency was hit by 982 raw sewage spills in the year, according to analysis by the Liberal Democrats.

The finding follows calls for her to resign this week after figures showed there were more than 300,000 sewage spills around the UK in 2022. Ms Coffey was accused of a “complete abdication of duty” after claiming she could not end the scandal of raw sewage dumping “overnight”.

But the figures revealed how a succession of Tory environment ministers since 2015 have failed to get to grips with the issue, leading to their own constituencies being blighted by sewage dumping.

They showed Mr Eustice’s Camborne and Redruth constituency saw 11,292 raw sewage spills last year. He served as the environment secretary under Boris Johnson between 2020 and 2022.

Ms Leadsom, who ran the department between 2016 and 2017, represents South Northamptonshire. Her constituency was hit by 1,890 sewage spills in 2022. Her predecessor Ms Truss had 597 sewage spills in her South West Norfolk constituency last year.

And Mr Gove, who was environment secretary from 2017 to 2019, had 70 spillages in Surrey Heath, where he has been the MP since 2005.

In total last year, the constituencies of the last seven Tory environment secretaries had 15,326 raw sewage spills – with sewage being dumped for a total of 103,235 hours.

Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson Tim Farron said: “Successive Conservative environment ministers have done nothing to tackle the scourge of filthy sewage being dumped into our rivers and beaches. Now their own local communities are paying the price for this rotten legacy.

“Conservative MPs are taking the British public for fools by rehashing old announcements on wet wipes from years ago. It is laughable that three separate Conservative Environment Secretaries have all promised the same thing with no action taken.

“The Conservative Party is facing a massive backlash among rural and coastal communities who are furious about this sewage scandal.”

On Tuesday Rishi Sunak set out a new clean water plan with a promise of stronger regulation and tougher enforcement for those who pollute rivers, lakes and beaches.

Ms Coffey – who has said companies could face unlimited penalties for dumping raw sewage – said over £1.6bn of investment to boost water quality would be brought forward.

The plan includes a consultation on a ban of plastic wet wipes, and restrictions on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in textiles, cleaning products, paints and varnishes.

That came as it emerged that water companies in England dumped sewage onto England’s “blue flag” beaches – those deemed safe and environmentally friendly – a staggering 1,504 times last year.

Separate figures showed the top five beaches which faced the most sewage dumping:

1. Blackpool Sands Beach, Stoke Fleming, Devon – 63 spills, totalling 1,014 hours
2. Meadfoot Beach, Torquay, Devon – 79 spills, 946 hours
3. Beachlands Beach, Hayling Island, Hampshire – 102 spills, 793 hours
4. Sidmouth Town Beach, Sidmouth, Devon – 59 spills, 631 hours
5. Exmouth Beach, Exmouth, Devon – 39 spills, 470 hours

Mr Eustice told The Independent: “On becoming Secretary of State in 2020 I took immediate action to prioritise storm overflows in Ofwat’s pricing decisions, introduced new requirements for water quality in the Environment Act and put in place a £56bn package of investment through the plan for water last July.”

A few days ago a correspondent raised questions on the curious set of priorities which seems to underlie the announcement on money for sewage improvements.

“Exmouth has over 2,000 hours of outfall into Lyme Bay and the Exe. Sidmouth just over 1,000 hours. I, therefore, would have thought that Exmouth should be prioritised.

“(The Lib. Dems list of the 5 worst beaches in the country which lists Sidmouth ahead of Exmouth Revealed: Worst beaches for dumped sewage – is your nearest beach on the list? YES two! | East Devon Watch did worry me. Exmouth beach having less pollution than Sidmouth beach didn’t seem right. However, if the surrounding outfalls from the town are included Exmouth has twice the sewage outfall than Sidmouth)

“And why choose Tipton St. John with 22 spills lasting 48 hours of pollution in 2021 into the small River Otter when upstream Honiton’s 2 main sewer storm overflow sites spilled 222 times for a total of 4759 hours, discharging into the River Otter?

The report below suggests investment is coming from taxpayer money not SWW which makes the priorities even more curious.

Who is claiming credit for what? Are elections underway?

Does Cllr. Philip Skinner (Local Tory group leader) know what he is talking about? – Owl

Cash to cut East Devon sewage

But Cranbrook misses out

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

The government is investing in sewage works in East Devon following continued problems in the district.

South West Water (SWW), is often criticised at East Devon District Council’s planning meetings. But this week, water minister Rebecca Pow confirmed £70 million of cash to improving sewage systems in Sidmouth, Tipton St John and Axminister, as well as Falmouth in Cornwall .

East Devon’s share of the cash, part of a £1.6 billion water infrastructure investment by central government, will help prevent sewage overflows in Sidmouth and Tipton St John, as well as water pollution in Axminster.

Independent Cllr Mike Howe described the scheme as “great news” for his district, but was disappointed to learn the money does not cover areas such as Cranbrook, which despite being a new town, has faced issues since residents moved in.

“I’m struggling to understand the long-term plans for South West Water – even the medium-term plans for South West Water,” he said. “And although this money’s great for some areas, it doesn’t seem to have addressed the major concerns where development is happening.”

Cllr Howe lamented SWW’s approach of running more sewage through limited pipes as more housing is constructed,

“Cranbrook originally was designed with sewage works, but then they decided they didn’t need it,” he added. “And you’re sort of sat here thinking ‘that was a silly decision’ to put it mildly.”

Conservative leader Cllr Philip Skinner who, along with Cllr Howe, sits on the planning committee, praised East Devon’s MP Simon Jupp for his efforts to secure government funding, and welcomed the news.

“We’ve been driving this agenda as a district and also Simon has worked really hard on it from his angle and has applied lots of pressure,” he said. “Because the sewage issue in East Devon at the moment is massive; we’ve got awful problems with sewage – particularly in areas like Clyst St Mary where we get the flooding, and particularly in and around Exmouth where we get flooding. We’ve had all sorts of issues, but other areas as well.

“So, to hear this news – the funding coming for South West Water to tidy up their act really to be fair as pollutants – is really good news for us. So all credit really all round to ourselves in East Devon in applying the pressure that we have been, and also to Simon Jupp who has particularly pressured from his angle as well.”

Addressing concerns that not all of East Devon will benefit from the money, Cllr Skinner said: “Let’s not have a race to the bottom here. Let’s be very pleased for the bit that we have got. Let’s start with this bit and get this done, but Clyst St Mary – around there and Exmouth in particular – this is really good news. So let’s get this bit over the line and let’s get on and get everywhere else as well.”

Liberal Democrat Cllr Eileen Wragg, however, feels public money should not be spent on what she believes is an underdelivering private company.

“Water privatisation took place under the Thatcher government,” she said. “I therefore believe that taxpayers’ money should not be spent on supporting private companies, but rather the shareholders should be financially supporting improvements to the sewage system.

“Last year, SWW made a profit of £137.5 million and paid £213.1 million to its parent company Pennon. There is no justification for charging the public to pay for improvements, they already pay some of the highest water bills in the UK. Morally, it is unacceptable.”

Pennon, SWW’s parent company, has been contacted for comment.

What better way to start your Easter weekend than with a light spot of trolling? Nigel Farage has been caught hook, line, and sinker by the latest ‘Led By Donkeys’ prank, which duped the controversial politician into endorsing their campaign.

ALSO READ: Mhairi Black shreds Dominic Raab after Led By Donkeys sting

Tom Head www.thelondoneconomic.com

Who are Led By Donkeys?

Led By Donkeys are a group that routinely holds the government and far-right figures to account, through their viral stitch-ups. Last week, a group of Tory MPs were caught out by one of their stings, in which they offered second jobs to the likes of Matt Hancock and Kwasi Kwarteng.

The pair of former ministers were the highest-profile victims of the ruse, requesting fees of up to £1,500 an hour. Gavin Williamson, meanwhile, rejected the offer of a side-gig, politely declining a potentially lucrative (but totally falsified) offer.

Led By Donkeys add Nigel Farage to victim list

However, you don’t have to be in the Conservative Party to find yourself in the firing line. Led By Donkeys are staunchly anti-Brexit, which means the biggest Brexiteer of them all is considered fair game.

Nigel Farage runs his own Cameo account – a video service where you can record messages for people who request them. At around £70 per message, getting an earful from Mr. Farage doesn’t come cheap. But we’d argue this is money well spent.

Nigel Farage stitched-up by ‘Elbie Dee’

The former UKIP leader is tricked into calling LBD – cleverly disguised as ‘Elbie Dee’ on the request message – ‘very brave’. He then accidentally asks viewers to support their latest fundraiser, saying that change ‘needs to happen’.

For once, Nigel, we agree with you…

“Now, LBD is very brave. She isn’t going to get funding for her new film from the Hollywood wokerati. They’re all mad, looney, crazy liberals. Can all of you pony up for LBD’s fundraiser? We need to make change happen, and LBD needs your support.” | Nigel Farage

Watch on Twitter here

Nine new rapid electric vehicle chargers are now ready to use in a quartet of communities in East Devon.

eastdevonnews.co.uk 

They have been located in car parks in Sidmouth, Colyton, Axminster and Beer.

And more are set to follow in Cranbrook, Lympstone, Honiton, Budleigh Salterton and three locations in Exmouth.

The Rapid Charging Devon scheme is part of a roll-out of 30 chargers in a dozen locations across the district.

Brand-new chargers have been installed at Roxburgh Car Park in Sidmouth, Dolphin Street Car Park in Colyton, West Street Car Park in Axminster and Central Car Park in Beer.

They take around 40 minutes to charge an EV battery to 80 per cent full at a cost of 55 pence per kWh. Payment can be made through the Wenea app.

Councillor Marianne Rixson, East Devon District Council’s portfolio holder for climate action and emergencies, said: “I am delighted to see that EV chargers in these four locations have been installed and will be operational in time for the Easter holidays, which is very good news.”

Jose Contreras, from Wenea, added: “The East Devon rapid chargers are part of a wider charging network being rolled out across Devon, providing EV charging for local people as well as supporting the important tourism economy in the area.”

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.

The list of nominations for election was published last night see here.

It is heartening to see that there is no shortage of candidates with 129 nominees chasing 60 seats.

The big battles look like being fought in the following three-seat wards each with eight candidates:

Axminster

Budleigh & Raleigh (readers might be surprised at this but Budleigh has form for kicking the Tories out eg 2003)

Cranbrook

Exmouth Brixington

Ottery St Mary

In contrast, there are straight fights in these single seat wards:

Exe Valley  (between Lib Dem and Consevatives)

Feniton (between Conservatives and Greens)

Newton Poppleford (between Independent and Conservatives – don’t Tories ever learn?)

Sidmouth Rural  (between Independent and Conservative)

Tale Valley (between Lib Dem  and Conservative)

Trinity Ward (between Lib Dem and Conservative)

Whimple & Rockbeare  (between Lib Dem and Conservative)

In total, the data – which was analysed by the party – shows 141,777 sewage-dumping events occurred across 137 constituencies on the coasts of England and Wales in 2022.

This analysis found sewage was dumped once every three minutes and 45 seconds in 2022, adding up to a combined total of 980,999 hours of discharges last year.

Not a good start for the Tory local council election campaign – will they need to reprint their handouts? – Owl

Donna Ferguson www.theguardian.com 

Ministers have treated coastal communities as if they are “open sewers”, Labour has said, after a damaging analysis of Environment Agency (EA) data revealed sewage was dumped for almost a million hours last year.

In total, the data – which was analysed by the party – shows 141,777 sewage-dumping events occurred across 137 constituencies on the coasts of England and Wales in 2022.

This analysis found sewage was dumped once every three minutes and 45 seconds in 2022, adding up to a combined total of 980,999 hours of discharges last year.

The shadow environment secretary, Jim McMahon, said people who live by the coast “should be able to just enjoy the place where they live without having to worry about encountering filthy raw sewage”.

He added: “That the Tories have allowed villages, towns and cities across the country to be treated as open sewers shows that they have no respect for places where people live, work and holiday.”

The coastal constituency of Torridge and West Devon was found to have had the highest total hours of sewage discharge, at 57,494 hours.

The EA revealed at the end of last month that there were more than 300,000 raw discharges into rivers and coastal areas in 2022, lasting for more than 1.75m hours. Keir Starmer accused the government of “turning Britain’s waterways into an open sewer”.

On 21 April, MPs will debate a private member’s bill, put forward by McMahon, which Labour says would curb sewage discharges by 2030. It includes proposals to automatically fine companies for sewage dumping and implement legally binding reduction targets.

The party has previously said it would introduce a legally binding target to end 90% of sewage discharges by 2030 and stronger sanctions and fines for water bosses and companies who fail to do so.

“The next Labour government will build a better Britain, ending the Tory sewage scandal by delivering mandatory monitoring on all sewage outlets, introducing automatic fines for discharges, setting ambitious targets for stopping systematic sewage dumping and ensuring that water bosses are held to account for negligence,” said McMahon.

A senior Conservative party source said the Tories had brought in widespread monitoring of the issue, and said sewage was dumped more frequently under Labour in Wales.

EA figures released last month show that last year across England, sewage discharges fell by 19%, down to a total of 301,091 spills. However, the drop was largely due to dry weather and not action taken by water companies, the agency said.

A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson said: “We have introduced compulsory monitoring, set the strictest targets ever on water companies to reduce discharges and required them to deliver the largest infrastructure programme in their history.

“The environment secretary has demanded an action plan on every storm overflow from every company in England, prioritising those near bathing waters.

“We are also consulting to give regulators more powers to impose much larger penalties for polluters without needing to go to court.”