Yah-boo!

Lib Dem Teignbridge Council has been accused of ‘control freakery’ after changing the way council officers deal with more than £9 million in government cash earmarked for Newton Abbot’s town centre redevelopment.

Guy Henderson, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk

Councillors have voted to stop delegating decisions on projects for the centre cinema and market hall to officers, and bring them back under the control of the executive committee.

But opposition councillors claim it could lead to more delays.

The government has earmarked £9.2 million from its Future High Street Fund to projects including Queen Street and cycle route improvements, as well as the controversial cinema and market hall elements.

Queen Street and the cycle route projects are underway, but the others have missed important milestones and there is a deadline to spend the money by March next year.

A motion by council leader Martin Wrigley (Lib Dem, Dawlish NE) said: “Progress on the market hall regeneration and the cinema has been disappointingly slow for a variety of reasons. It is likely that changes to these projects may be required due to cost inflation and economic changes since 2019 and the delays since November 2022.

“The cinema has yet to obtain planning permission after nearly four years of the project. The council is concerned that the projects are progressing without detailed oversight.

“It is not the intention to stop the work, but to deliver the projects in a timely manner.”

Cllr Wrigley said covid and the economic crisis means the situation is ‘almost unrecoverable’, but the new arrangement would allow the council to be more flexible.

“We have a very different world out there now,” he said. “We have not delivered where we imagined that we would, and time is short going forward.”

But Conservative group leader Phil Bullivant (Bradley) said he was ‘embarrassed’ by the motion which ‘drove a coach and horses’ through council procedures.

“The people of Newton Abbot deserve better,” he said. “We should be supporting our officers rather than seeking to hand the keys of the institution to the inmates.”

Cllr Andrew MacGregor (South Devon Alliance Independent, Bishopsteignton) said making officers report back to the council more often, as would happen if Cllr Wrigley’s motion succeeded, would only cause more delays.

And, he added: “It is not clear how any of this is going to work. What we are talking about is control freakery on the part of the executive.”

But Cllr Wrigley hit back: “There have been no delays as a result of indecision. The executive has not messed this up.

“We need to do something differently to achieve the delivery of a project that has not been delivered over the past four years.

“Circumstances have changed substantially, and we need to be able to change the approach we are taking.”

Britain has lost 6,000 storefronts in five years, new figures show, with financial pressures forcing shop owners to close their stores and leave cities with undesirable “gap-toothed high streets”.

www.theguardian.com 

Covid, the cost of living crisis and “crippling” business rates are causing businesses to desert retail spaces, and local councils must come up with a “cohesive plan” to invigorate shopping areas, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) warned.

The overall vacancy rate increased to 13.9% across Britain in the second quarter of this year, a 0.1 percentage point drop on the first quarter but 0.1 points up on the same period last year, according to the BRC’s Local Data Company (LDC) vacancy monitor.

Shopping centre vacancies remain unchanged from the first quarter at 17.8%, but high street vacancies increased 0.1% to 13.9%.

Greater London, the south-east and the east of England maintained the lowest vacancy rates, with London improving over the last quarter due to new flagship stores as well as a rise in office workers and tourists.

The highest vacancy rates were in the north-east and the Midlands, followed by Wales and Scotland.

The BRC chief executive, Helen Dickinson, said: “The past five years saw Britain lose 6,000 retail outlets, with crippling business rates and the impact of the Covid lockdowns a key part of decisions to close stores and think twice about new openings.

“To inject more vibrancy into high streets and town centres, and prevent further store closures, government should review the broken business rates system.

“Currently, there’s an additional £400m going on retailers’ bills next April, which will put a brake on the vital investment that our towns and cities so desperately need.

“The government announcement earlier in the week about making changes of use to vacant units easier is welcome but it’s important local councils have a cohesive plan, and don’t leave gap-toothed high streets that are no longer a customer destination and risk becoming inviable. Government should go one step further and freeze rates bills next year.”

Lucy Stainton, commercial director at the LDC, said: “Across all location types, vacancy has reached critical levels, highlighting an ever-increasing need to redevelop units to breathe life back into retail destinations.

“With the continuing trend in mind, we do not foresee any improvements to vacancy rates in future. However, given that the latest rises in vacancy have not been particularly significant, we anticipate that any increases in the near future will be gradual.”

A new development of 69 affordable and eco-friendly homes is underway near Exeter. Councillors from East Devon District Council (EDDC) and Broadclyst Parish Council joined housing association Sovereign to celebrate work starting on new affordable and sustainable homes this week.

Lewis Clarke www.devonlive.com 

Ground was broken by Cllr Olly Davey, portfolio holder for strategic planning at EDDC, alongside the chair of Broadclyst Parish Council, Henry Massey.

The homes at Moonhill Rise will be the first built to the highest rating in Sovereign’s Homes and Place Standard for sustainable homes, which was created alongside Sovereign customers.

James Gibson, regional development director at Sovereign said: “We are delighted to celebrate the beginning of what is designed to be a thriving community for many decades. It’s always an exciting moment as work gets underway on a place that will become people’s home, but this is even more exciting as these will be the first homes built to match our bold new sustainability and customer wellbeing ambitions.

“We know that many people need an affordable place to live, so we’d encourage anyone who may have a place that could become new homes to contact us. In doing so, and by working with us, they’ll be part of a growing legacy which is delivering more affordable, sustainable homes for people who need them.”

Cllr Olly Davey, portfolio holder for strategic planning at EDDC said: “I’m pleased to have been invited to see the start of this new development of high quality affordable homes which will make an important contribution to the need for more homes in the housing association rental and shared ownership sector.”

Mat Vye, associate director at E G Carter and Company Ltd said: “We are delighted to have commenced another highly sustainable land led development on behalf of Sovereign and we look forward to welcoming residents to their new homes”.

The completed homes will include one and two-bed maisonettes, bungalows and two-four bed houses. Once completed, the homes will be available for either shared ownership or social rent. The development is expected to complete by summer 2026.