Simon Jupp was a Special Adviser to First Secretary of State and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, in 2019, before he was selected as a candidate for the East Devon constituency
Dominic Raab quit Rishi Sunak’s cabinet over bullying claims in May and subsequently announced that he would not stand for parliament at the next election.
In May Simon said he was “Very sorry” his former boss was going to stand down at the next election.
Was his earlier tweet an example of dual standards? – Owl
And the election may be a year away.
The post refers to disputed claims of bullying made in 2021, which now need to be read in the context of the last Chapter in the Changing of the Guard and the allegations reported by the BBC.
[More on the 2023 background to that can be found by simply typing Verita into the EDW search box]
This elicited this string of replies:
Owls advice to Simon Jupp is to beware of innuendo
Chris Collman www.eastdevon.radio
In an open letter to MPs, East Devon District Council’s Leader, and the Portfolio Holder for Strategic Planning, express the Strategic Planning Committee’s concerns about the pressures imposed by new houses.
The letter to Mel Stride, MP for Central Devon, Richard Foord, MP for Tiverton and Honiton, and Simon Jupp, MP for East Devon, reads:
Dear Mel, Richard and Simon,
Standard Method for Calculating Housing Need
We are writing on behalf of East Devon District Council following a debate at a meeting of the Council’s Strategic Planning Committee on the 5th September in which Members agreed to write to all of our local MP’s asking for your support in seeking a review of the standard methodology for calculating housing need and a more positive approach to solving the housing crisis.
The standard methodology is a crude and blunt instrument designed to deliver the government’s target of 300,000 homes a year. Using a mathematical equation to determine how many homes are built and where is a fundamentally flawed approach that pays no regard to key factors such as land availability and environmental constraints that need to be taken into account. The result is a housing need figure for East Devon that can only be met through harming our attractive landscape areas including two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB’s) and areas where development has been shown to have a significant detrimental impact on designated wildlife habitats. Between them these areas make up well over 90% of East Devon. We have next to no brownfield sites to develop and so housing has to be built on attractive green field sites to the detriment of the landscape and wildlife. The natural environment is what attracts people to East Devon and makes it such a wonderful place to live but the standard method means that we have to sacrifice that to satisfy a housing need generated by a flawed algorithm.
The main input into the standard method is household growth projections but these projections are based on past trends. The impact of this on the housing need figure is massive and yet all that this means is that growth is directed to the locations that have historically seen growth. As a result those areas of the country that have historically done as successive governments have asked and accommodated growth are punished by ever increasing housing need figures. This is because growth leads to a growing population which in turn increases household growth projections thereby creating a need for even more homes.
East Devon has accepted huge amounts of growth in recent times through Cranbrook new town, large housing developments of thousands of homes on the edge of Exeter and urban extensions of many of our market towns. The number of homes delivered in east Devon per year has grown from around 700 a year less than 10 years ago to well over a 1000 in 2019. These developments have however used up the available land and led to a pattern of population and household growth that under the standard method fuels a supposed need for more and more homes in the future. These levels of growth are unsustainable and harmful to the environment and communities of East Devon.
As a district we have huge infrastructure requirements which are largely going unmet due to lack of funding. Our Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) shows that we have a funding shortfall of over £70million just for priority 1 projects and that is based on 2017 prices. Hospitals and GP practices are oversubscribed, and schools are over-capacity in some areas and have substandard and insufficient accommodation and facilities. The main roads in and out of Exeter are heavily congested at peak times while public transport is infrequent, un-co-ordinated and does not serve many rural areas. We have substantial problems with the drainage system with foul drainage running down the streets in some villages after storm events as the combined sewers cannot cope while to deal with the excess flows Southwest Water discharge sewage off the coast causing massive environmental damage. All of these issues and more need to be addressed but at the moment the government simply wants to see more homes built which put more and more pressure on our failing infrastructure.
The standard method approach is disconnected from government policy in that it distributes housing numbers across the country with no regard to key government objectives around sustainability, climate change, bio-diversity, the ability of infrastructure to cope and the levelling up agenda. There is a desperate need to look to allocate new housing based on future needs and aspirations, the ability of locations to accommodate the growth and to protect the environment rather than based on past trends. To do this we need a joined up approach that looks at the ability of different areas to deliver growth that best meets the government’s national planning policies and aligns with the levelling up agenda. This could be achieved through a national housing strategy or through other mechanisms that use sound planning principles to determine where new homes are accommodated rather than maths.
Michael Gove announced at the end of last year changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that would have given local authorities greater flexibility in terms of housing numbers and yet these changes have not come forward. Urgent action is needed before the character of East Devon is irreparably eroded to make way for new housing that is unaffordable to local people and cannot be accommodated without significant environmental harm.
East Devon District Council is calling on you to press the government to find a more positive approach to solving the housing crisis and a move away from algorithms that pay no regard to the consequences of new housing numbers on the environment and the communities affected by growth. We look forward to hearing from you.
Mark Williams, Chief Executive, East Devon District Council (EDDC) has announced his resignation, after 21 years, through the EDDC press office, see below.
Mark Williams was not only Chief Executive and Head of Paid Services, a combination of roles quite common in local government, but unusually he was also Head of Development Management (under the new guard labelled Planning).
Last night BBC Spotlight presented his resignation alongside unconfirmed reports that he was facing a formal complaint about his conduct.
BBC Spotlight reported that allegations had been made in a formal complaint that he had “intimidated and browbeaten” the conduct of an independent investigation into child sex abuse allegations. This refers to the Verita investigation into “who knew what and when” concerning the police investigation into John Humphreys, following his arrest, leading to safeguarding issues.
On Wednesday last week an Extraordinary Council Meeting was called to discuss “Confidential Staffing Issues”. Spotlight reported that it understood these included discussions of a severance package exceeding £100K.
EDDC has neither confirmed nor denied these reports and Mark Williams has declined to comment.
Last November EDDC agreed the formal procedures on how to conduct investigations into “Protected Officers” (CEO, Monitoring Officer and Chief Financial Officer).
According to the EDDC web site, until a new CEO is appointed, the vacancy will be covered by Simon Davey (Director Finance), Melanie Wellman (Director of Governance with electoral role responsibilities) and Tracy Hendren (Director of Housing),
This can be considered the final chapter in the “Changing of the Guard” in EDDC.
Mark Williams has announced his retirement as Chief Executive of East Devon District Council
eastdevon.gov.uk 11 October 2023
Mark joined the Council as Assistant Chief Executive in August 2000 and was promoted to the position of Chief Executive two years later.
During his 21-year career as Chief Executive, the Council has achieved national recognition as one delivering high quality and value for money services. During this period the Council has contributed to the growth of the local economy and the enhancement of the natural environment, whilst ensuring that the quality of life of local residents has been at the forefront in thinking and action within the Council. Mark is particularly proud of the Council’s strong financial position and the achievement of the highest level Investors in People accreditation.
Mark retires as the longest serving district Chief Executive in England and Wales. He also served for five years as the Chief Executive of the former South Somerset District Council.
In his own time Mark volunteered for ten years as a lifeboatman with the Sidmouth Lifeboat and for six years as a trustee of Devon Air Ambulance.
Mark said “I would like to thank all the wonderful people I have worked with over the years. A captain is only as good as their team, and I have been blessed to have great support from councillors and officers alike. The Council is facing significant future challenges and the time is now right to pass the baton.”
East Devon Watch 