More than 200 tankers of raw sewage were driven to a Surrey town and left there for six months, causing a “nightmare” for residents after all of Thames Water’s 360 treatment plants reached critical capacity.

Thames Water has told councillors in Surrey it had had no choice. Either they moved the sewage to storage tanks in Camberley, emptied it into rivers causing massive pollution, or left it in tankers on the roadside which could have exploded, causing a major national incident.

Yuk! – Owl

Chris Caulfield www.getsurrey.co.uk

More than 200 tankers of human poo were shipped in to Camberley from across Surrey, Hampshire and London, saving Thames Water millions in potential pollution fines and its sewage trucks from “exploding”.

This comes at the expense of 11,600 residents who got nothing in return, save for a summer of vile stench, a committee heard.

Chiefs from the utility firm were called in to Surrey Heath Borough Council to answer questions as to how 12,000 cubic metres of raw untreated sewage and sludge was left to fester in the heat – forcing thousands of people to stay inside with their windows closed during the summer.

The committee also challenged water bosses over pledges they thought had been made on compensation to Camberley residents who “bore the cost” so the company, which recorded a total revenue of £2.3 billion last year, could profit.

Councillors said they were led to believe Thames Water would contribute towards a playground as a goodwill gesture to children who had been forced to stay indoors, with committee chair, Councillor Rob Lee, going as far as to say Thames Water should offer “a year’s free water bills” to those affected.

Thames Water’s representatives said they never made a firm commitment to contribute to any scheme. The company claims they have made organisational improvements since.

The committee heard that Thames Water could not have made any offers of goodwill as the people attending the meeting did not have the power to do so.

In the end, Thames Water’s leadership offered to let staff have a charity day to support building a local project that never got off the ground.

The sewage started being shipped into Camberley Sewage Works in February this year and by March the two 6,000 cubic metre tanks were “completely full”.

At the time, the committee heard, odour suppression was in place but it wasn’t 24/7 and didn’t cover the entire tank, which also suffered from maintenance issues.

By June, the council began to receive formal complaints. Initially the council was told the problem was due to blockages and drainage.

It took until the middle of July for Thames Water to publicly admit it was a holding tank with a “large quantity of sewage sludge within it”. It would remain untreated until the beginning of August with the tanks finally cleared and cleaned of waste on September 25.

Speaking to the committee was operations director James Bentley.

He apologised “unreservedly” and said: “We didn’t get everything right in that process and we’re not here to pretend that we did.” He said the firm should have put in odour controls in place and communicated with residents much sooner.

He said: “We had been experiencing a very extreme sludge event…where our system across the whole of the Thames Water estate, was overloaded.

“Not only with liquid sludge but also with cake which is the solid material when we process sludge and remove a chunk of the water from it.

“That system was overloaded on the liquid and solid side.” Thames Water staff told the meeting it left them with no choice but to put liquid sludge into reserve tanks.

Mr Bentley said: “It has to go somewhere, it cant just be discarded into the environment. We have to store it until we are able to treat it.

His colleague added: “If we didn’t move the sludge we’d have pollution trucks potentially exploding, and that’s why we’d done it.”

Cllr Rob Lee said: “You act in the shareholders best interest, you don’t intend to cause a substantial sewage leak unless its a commercially managed one, you don’t intend to cause a Heath and Safety Executive incident, so what you did was you moved the sludge to Camberley.

“So the people that bore the cost of that were the residents of Camberley, substantially through the summer, through their loss of enjoyment and I think it’s understanding the loss position those residents bring.

“They are your customers, they pay you money, and they missed out substantially on the enjoyment of their summers. Raw sewage smell around your home is pretty different to that in a treatment plant as that is your job.

“You need to consider a gesture of goodwill to residents. A starting point is a year’s complimentary water bill.

“It clearly saved Thames Water in material terms millions if not tens of millions of pounds, so I think we need to start exploring that avenue.”

The two hour meeting concluded with the Thursday, November 28 executive partnerships select committee agreeing to formally ask for a “decision maker who has the ability to sign off on compensation” to appear before the next meeting, in March.

The council’s executive team will also write to regulators Ofwat, MP Michael Gove and the environment secretary to ask them to consider the wider sense of pollution and whether Thames Water diverted the risk of fines by increasing the air pollution in Camberley.

Water companies were sold with no debt when they were privatised in 1989. In fact, they were given a £1.5 billion green dowry by the Government. Since then, they have taken on borrowing of £60.6 billion, diverting income from customer bills to paying dividends and interest payments. – Owl

Sandra Laville www.theguardian.com 

Thames Water has apologised to a House of Commons committee for causing confusion by describing a £500m shareholder loan as equity.

One MP called the complex financial structure of Thames Water an “absolute shambles”, as senior executives were pulled in to explain themselves.

Thames Water’s chair, Sir Adrian Montague, said the company was facing a “seminal moment” as Ofwat for the first time suggested special adminstration for the company was an outcome the regulator would not shirk from.

Ian Byrne, a Labour MP and member of the environment, food and rural affairs committee, said: “69% of the nation wants the water industry nationalised. I think after listening to this, it will be 100% … the whole structure is an absolute shambles.”

He added that the situation reminded him of Carillion, the collapsed construction company.

Thames Water, which provides water to about 25% of the population in England, is struggling with debts of £18bn and is seeking an injection of £1.5bn of cash from shareholders to turn itself around.

The company was recalled to give evidence to MPs on Tuesday after describing part of the shareholder money – £500m – as equity rather than debt.

Montague, the chair of Thames Water and its parent company, Kemble Water Limited, said he was sorry if the management had caused “confusion” when it described the shareholder contribution as equity when it was a convertible loan charging 8% interest.

But he said he stood by the phrase. “In July we described the shareholder contribution of £500m as equity. That’s a description that has been fiercely challenged. We stand by what we said. If we were not clear enough in unpacking the different elements of that … I’m sorry if we caused any confusion,” he said.

Montague told MPs Kemble relied upon dividends paid by Thames Water to secure its future. Ofwat is investigating dividends of £37.5m paid to the parent company in the six months to 30 September to see whether Thames Water has breached the conditions of its licence.

Montague said: “It is not obligatory for Thames Water to pay these dividends … Thames Water has paid dividends to put Kemble in a position where it can service its debt. If Kemble was allowed to go into default, our concern from Thames’s perspective is that that would derail the possibility of us delivering further equity from shareholders.”

Barry Gardiner, a Labour MP, said although promises of change had been made, its holding company was behaving the same as Macquarie. Macquarie, the Australian bank that previously owned Thames Water, has been heavily criticised for building huge debts at Thames Water to pay dividends to shareholders.

“It’s the bill payer that ends up paying for whatever trouble the holding company gets itself into, in exactly the same way as Macquarie did,” said Gardiner.

Thames Water is seeking a 40% increase in customer bills to pay for new investment in its treatment works, pipes and sewage outflows, as it faces huge problems over rising pollution incidents, infrastructure failings and continued raw sewage discharges into the environment.

Executives admitted on Tuesday that if Ofwat rejected its business plan and the bill rises it has asked for, the company would be left in huge difficulties.

Given refusing the plan was likely to lead to Thames Water collapsing, something that Ofwat would not contemplate, Gardiner told the Ofwat chief executive, David Black: “They have got you by the short and curlies, haven’t they?”

But Black told MPs the regulator would act if it had to and put the company into administration. “We have never seen a water company fail but that remains a possibility,” said Black. “If we have to take steps that lead to the failure of the parent company then we are prepared to do so.”

Local councils will no longer be forced to set aside greenfield land to meet their future housing needs, under a new planning system to be announced by ministers.

Oliver Wright www.thetimes.co.uk

In a move that industry sources have claimed would be “disastrous”, Michael Gove will allow local authorities to reduce the number of houses to be built if development would significantly alter the character of their areas or impinge on the green belt.

Councils will also be given an exemption from building new homes on prime agricultural land.

The reforms, which could be announced as soon as Thursday, are designed to appease rebel Conservative MPs who have warned that opposition to housebuilding in their constituencies will cost them their seats at the next election.

But critics have warned that they amount to a “nimby’s charter” that will lead to a continuing shortage of housing in the areas of greatest need.

Under the previous system local authorities were required to set aside and designate enough land to meet their future housing needs for five years in a local plan even if the proposals were opposed by local residents.

Councils that failed to do so risked having new developments forced upon them by the planning inspectorate under a “presumption in favour of sustainable development”.

But under the changes councils will be able to set local plans with fewer homes if they can demonstrate to the planning inspectorate that meeting the target would damage the character of an existing area or require building on the green belt.

Ministers argue that the changes will, in the long run, allow more homes to be built because local councils will be incentivised to produce realistic plans for their areas that have broad democratic consent.

However, developers fear that the rules will be exploited by opponents of new housing to block sites from being built on, significantly reducing land supply in areas where demand is greatest.

“This will be disastrous,” said one senior industry source. “Under the old system there were strong incentives for councils to produce realistic plans to meet their future housing needs. Under this system there will be next to nothing to stop councils effectively imposing a moratorium on building the homes that we need.”

As part of the package of measures due to be announced by the government, Gove is expected to argue that the government will prioritise brownfield and higher-density development in inner-city areas. He will also make it harder for planning committees of local councillors to block developments that have been approved in principle by local planning officers.

A government source said: “We are reforming the planning system to put local plan-making at its heart. This will allow communities to take back control of housing in their area, while supporting much-needed development in brownfield and inner-city sites.

“We are on track to see a million new homes completed this parliament and are accelerating our plans in Cambridge, central London and the heart of Leeds.”

The government will also point to measures in the autumn statement designed to speed up the planning process. Under the new system local authorities will be able to charge an additional fee for accelerated planning decisions but would be forced to refund all planning charges if it failed to meet faster timelines.

Government sources said there had been more than 26,000 responses to a consultation on the proposed changes, which will form part of a new national policy planning framework (NPPF).

It follows weeks of negotiations with rebel Tory backbenchers, who last year forced ministers into a U-turn on plans for mandatory housing targets.

They said that the new plan would strike the “right balance” between the rights of existing residents with concerns about new development and the need to increase housing supply.

Labour is expected to condemn the proposals. “This is formal confirmation that this government prioritises party management over doing what it takes to get Britain building again,” said a Labour source.

The former Northern Ireland secretary Theresa Villiers, who led the backbench rebellion against the existing planning rules, said she hoped the new plan would respect “local democratic input”.

“The government has a longstanding commitment to ensure the voice of local communities continues to be heard in relation to what is built in their neighbourhood,” she said.

“We all recognise how important it is to build the homes we need. It is possible to do that whilst still respecting local democratic input, for example by focusing on high-density delivery in urban city centre sites. Once it is published, I’m sure the new NPPF will be carefully scrutinised by all sides of the debate.”

The Environment Agency failed to visit 90 per cent of toxic water spills last year, including more than 60 per cent of the most serious incidents, i can reveal.

Lucie Heath inews.co.uk

Freedom of Information data obtained by the charity WildFish, and shared with i, shows there has been a significant drop off in in-person inspections of water pollution since the Covid-19 pandemic, despite an increase in the total number of incidents being investigated by the watchdog.

Inspectors were rarely turning up in person to investigate incidents such as sewage discharges and pollution run-off from farms and motorways into England’s waterways.

Campaigners and politicians told i the environmental regulator was “toothless” and blamed the Government for overseeing the decline of Britain’s rivers, lakes and coastal waters.

They accused the Environment Agency of “pretending pollution isn’t there” and called for a complete overhaul of the regulatory process for water.

It comes as BBC Panorama claimed that one water company United Utilities wrongly downgraded the severity of more than 60 of its own pollution incidents last year in a move that saw the cases wiped from its official records.

The downgrades were reportedly signed off by the Environment Agency without inspectors attending any of the incidents. United Utilities denies the allegations.

Now i can reveal the extent to which the Environment Agency has scaled back in-person inspections of water pollution across the country since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pollution incidents are divided into four categories from category one (most serious) to category four (little to no impact). Incidents are given an initial categorisation when reported, but these can be changed after inspection.

In 2022, Environment Agency inspectors attended just 2,060 (10.7 per cent) of the water pollution incidents reported to them that were initially classified in categories one to three.

This included 161 visits (35 per cent) to category one incidents, 861 (23 per cent) category two visits and 1,038 (7 per cent) category three visits.

Unsurprisingly, the number of Environment Agency visits to water pollution incidents dropped off significantly during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the latest figures show that visits remained at this level in 2022 despite the ending of lockdowns.

In-person visits were down almost 50 per cent in 2022 compared to 2019, despite a 10 per cent increase in the number of incidents being investigated by the Environment Agency.

The figures also show that pollution spills caused by water companies were being visited at a rate below the average, with the Environment Agency visiting just 5 per cent of these cases in 2022, including 36 per cent for category one, 15 per cent for category two and three per cent for category three.

Guy Linley-Adams, Solicitor at WildFish, said: “Sadly, this just shows that the Environment Agency has continued the decline in its performance that began in the early 2000s. You can’t deal with pollution by just pretending it isn’t happening, refusing to see it.

“However, fault lies both with Agency managers, but also with politicians of both main parties, who have hamstrung the Agency with the Regulators’ Code and other such deregulatory nonsense over years, starved it of cash and refused to let it take on polluters to protect rivers, lakes and coastal waters. The very best you can say about the Agency is that it is now charged with presiding over the managed decline of the aquatic environment in England”.

It comes as water companies continue to come under scrutiny for the amount of sewage being dumped into Britain’s rivers, lakes and coastal waters, with water companies reporting over 384,000 discharges of raw sewage in 2022.

Water companies have been permitted to discharge untreated sewage into water bodies during exceptional circumstances when their pipes are at risk of becoming overwhelmed, but investigations have shown this has become common practice.

Stuart Singleton-White, head of campaigns at the Angling Trust, described the Environment Agency as “toothless”.

He said the regulation of the water sector is “completely broken” and that it was “time to sweep away the current system”.

Labour’s shadow Environment Secretary Steve Reed said the Government has “wilfully turned a blind eye to corruption at the heart of the water industry” and said his party will “strengthen regulation to make sure every single water outlet is monitored”.

Labour will table a motion in the House of Commons on Tuesday to call on the Government to give the water regulator Ofwat powers to ban the payment of bonuses to water bosses whose companies are found to cause pollution.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “We take our responsibility to protect the environment very seriously and will always pursue and prosecute companies that are deliberately obstructive or misleading.

“We assess and record every incident report we receive – between 70,000 and 100,000 a year. We respond to every incident and attend those where there is significant risk, and we are increasingly able to use off-site data checks and technology from a range of different monitoring sources to assess them.

“We are strengthening our regulation of the water industry by expanding our specialised workforce, increasing compliance checks and using new data and intelligence tools to inform our work. We will also soon have new powers to deliver civil penalties that are quicker and easier to enforce.”

“The new homes element of Burrington Estates is set to cease trading but the wider Burrington Estates Group, however, is unaffected, including the company’s interest in Exeter’s Winslade Park.” Complicated – Owl

South West new homes builder Burrington Estates is to cease trading after making a £14m pre-tax loss. The Exeter-headquartered company, which builds and sells houses across the West Country and Midlands, will complete the projects it is working on, sell off undeveloped sites and wind up the business.

William Telford www.devonlive.com

Directors blamed “increasingly difficult trading conditions” and an uncertain UK housing market, partly fuelled by rising interest rates. They also put the blame on the cost-of-living crisis and the war in Ukraine. The new homes element of Burrington Estates is set to cease trading but the wider Burrington Estates Group, however, is unaffected, including the company’s interest in Exeter’s Winslade Park.

David Jervis, director, said: “After looking at a range of options for the future of the business, including its ownership and markets, the directors reluctantly agreed in 2023 that the business would complete its committed project to its recognised high standard and would thereafter cease trading and commence an orderly wind down of the business. The directors would like to thank all its customers, supply chain, staff and funders for their continued support during this period.”

Burrington Estates will become the fourth major regional construction firm to cease operating in the past two years. Midas Group Ltd, Henry W Pollard and Sons Ltd and Brady Construction Services Ltd have all gone under as the construction industry continues to be hit by economic difficulties.

Burrington Estates, which employed about 70 people, was set up in 2011 by Mark Edworthy and Paul Scantlebury and has completed more than 600 homes in the region, including current schemes in Exeter, Tiverton and Bude. It purchased The Ship, Plymouth’s former home of The Herald and Western Morning News, in 2015, much of which is currently being offered for let as small business space.

It also developed landmark business sites at Sky Park and Sky Park II, in Exeter; West Park, in Wellington; Roundswell, in Barnstaple; Oak Tree, in Newton Abbot; and Plymouth’s Eurotech Park. These were transferred to ONYX Business Parks Ltd, when subsidiary Burrington Business Parks rebranded in May 2023, and appear to be unaffected by Burrington Estates’ winding up.

In 2021, Burrington Estates embarked on ambitious growth plans boosted by a £15.5m investment from main shareholder BGF Group Plc to expand its residential portfolio .In January 2022 Burrington Estates secured a £28m funding package from Paragon Development Finance to support its Winslade Park development in Exeter.

In August last year, Mr Edworthy and Mr Scantlebury stepped down and Mr Jervis became group managing director, having joined in 2019 to head the new Midlands division. Burrington Estates’ highest paid director was paid £279,333 and a pension contribution of £16,000 in 2021.22.

Plymouth’s Eurotech House and the former Good Companions site in the city centre have been put on sale. Both are still being advertised, the former for £850,000.

Newly published accounts for the 18 months from January 2021 to June 2022 show Burrington Estates sold 36 properties and had a turnover of £29,522. But it made an operating loss of £9,031,000 and a pre-tax loss of £14,345,000.

Burrington Estates Group, a holding company, is dependent on cash generated by more than 30 subsidiary companies and funding from ultimate parent company BFG, which has now recognised it won’t be repaid in full and reserved the right to amend its support. Mr Jervis said the company was hit by “increasingly difficult trading conditions”.

In his strategic report, he highlighted “increased uncertainty in the UK housing market” driven by interest rate hikes and a fall in house prices “triggered by economic uncertainty and reductions in attractive mortgage deals for buyers”. He also blamed supply chain problems and delays caused by the planning system.

He continued: “In addition, the cost of finance for the group rose significantly due to the significant and numerous increases in UK commercial lending rates.” He said this was key as the company was dependent on debt to finance its acquisition and build programme.

He said that as a result the company was unlikely to be able to settle or refinance all its loans from shareholders and would seek a “managed closure” of the business. The accounts showed about £73m was owed to creditors, most of which was loans and borrowings, and was in breach of loan covenants and had to therefore replay its main lender immediately.

Councillor Eleanor Rylance, chair of East Devon District Council, said: “We are delighted to showcase the creativity of local young people and celebrate the remarkable natural environment which surrounds Honiton.”

Adam Manning www.midweekherald.co.uk 

New artwork and a town map are to be unveiled at Honiton station by the Mayor of Honiton, Councillor Helen Hurford.

The unveiling will take place on Wednesday, December 13 at 12.30pm.

The project has been led by the Friends of Honiton Station and has seen attractive new artwork installed on the inside of the station’s footbridge and a shed on Platform 1.

In addition, an illustrated town map has been placed in the station forecourt. The project is the brainchild of Friends’ member East Devon and Honiton Town Councillor Jenny Brown.

Honiton Primary School pupils created the new artwork on the station footbridge during workshops with artist Alistair Lambert at Thelma Hulbert Gallery (THG), Honiton Museum and the Blackdown Hills National Landscape.

The workshops were part of THG’s Honiton Hippo project for the national Wild Escape campaign. Local families also created animals to add to the artwork during workshops at the gallery and in the St. Paul’s area of Honiton over the Easter holidays.

Local artist Brittany E Lakin created the artwork on both sides of the Platform 1 shed.

The £6,700 project has been made possible thanks to funding from South Western Railway, Honiton Town Council and grants organised by the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership from CrossCountry Trains and the Community Rail Development Fund, a joint initiative of the Department for Transport and the Community Rail Network.

Cllr Jenny Brown said: “I am thrilled to see the unveiling of this vibrant, colourful artwork. This project would not have been possible without the strong partnership that has been created over the past few years with our stakeholders, who are always very receptive of our ideas.

“I hope as commuters and visitors to Honiton walk past it, they will take the time to enjoy these latest additions.”

Martin Long chairman of the Friends of Honiton Station said: “Honiton station is important to so many people, and we are very proud of it, and all that it tries to do. We believe that the station is the perfect venue to promote and develop community-based art. To that end, we have been delighted to work with a range of partners to bring even more exciting artwork to our station.”

Councillor Eleanor Rylance, chair of East Devon District Council, said: “We are delighted to showcase the creativity of local young people and celebrate the remarkable natural environment which surrounds Honiton.”

Random swab testing is restarting in the UK due to concerns about a new Covid-19 variant that could cause a winter surge in infections. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reports that the JN.1 variant has been the fastest-growing variant for at least eight months.

Suruchi Sharma Diwan www.inyourarea.co.uk 

According to the Mirror, the Office for National Statistics has resumed random testing amid early indications that 1.2 per cent of the population had the virus in the last week of November, up from one per cent the previous week. However, despite worries, Covid-19 rates in the UK are still low.

The UKHSA is now closely monitoring JN.1, which accounts for one in 13 cases detected. Designated as an official variant (V-23DEC-01), 302 cases of the strain have been identified in the UK so far. JN.1 has a mutation suggesting it could better evade immunity, emphasising the importance of recent vaccination for protection.

Dr Meaghan Kall, an epidemiologist at the UKHSA, tweeted: “JN.1 has been designated variant V-23DEC-01 due to increasing sequence prevalence in the UK and internationally.” She added: “With variant status, we will closely monitor JN.1. It seems likely we must now add variant pressures to the forecast of a winter Covid-19 wave.”

With a weekly growth rate advantage of 84.2 per cent, JN.1 is still a small proportion of infections. Despite this, Prof Stephen Griffin, professor of cancer virology at Leeds University, tweeted that he had ‘not seen a growth advantage like that in some time’.

The possibility of a winter Covid-19 wave, coupled with a rise in flu cases, could strain the NHS. It comes as flu cases have already started to spike, with an increase in hospitalised cases by more than half in just last week.

The Winter Coronavirus Infection Study, a scaled-back version of the previous Covid-19 Infection Survey, found 1.2 per cent of participants had the virus in the week ending November 29, with higher rates among 18 to 30-year-olds. However, this early data from lateral flow tests has not yet been ‘weighted’ to represent the demographics of the population at large.

New data also showed the percentage of hospital admissions testing positive for Covid-19 remains low at 2.9 per 100,000 patients in the week to December 3. This was up from 2.6 the previous week but the same level as a fortnight ago, according to the UKHSA.

An average of 2,343 people tested positive for Covid-19 in hospitals in England each day last week – less than half the number at this point last year. Dr Mary Ramsay, UKHSA director of public health, warned families to avoid mixing when they feel unwell.

She said: “Getting vaccinated as soon as possible will help reduce your risk of getting seriously ill with flu or Covid-19 this festive season. The vaccines can take a week or two to provide maximum protection, so get booked in now to keep your Christmas plans on track.”

Local Tories say they’ve been “thrown under the bus” and the electorate disrespected!

It’s all about entitlement shattered by a “coalition of the willing”. – Owl

Guy Henderson www.devonlive.com

A huge power shift on Torbay Council unfolded in a marathon meeting which stretched over five often ill-tempered hours. The Liberal Democrat, Independent and Prosper Torbay groups united to undo many of the now-minority Conservative administration’s structures.

After last May’s elections, the Tories had an overall majority and ran the council, but the defection of two of their members to form the new Prosper Torbay group last month changed the balance completely.

The Tories remain the largest party, with 17 seats, but the combined opposition now has 19 members. The meeting of the full council gave the new non-Conservative ‘team’ their first chance to challenge the administration, and they seized it.

The meeting, which ran well beyond its four-hour time limit after the opposition councillors voted to press on past 10pm, made a long list of changes to the chairmanship of council committees.

Out went a number of Conservative councillors, who found themselves sidelined in favour of the opposition, leading to angry exchanges.

“Maybe this is where the love-in stops!” said council leader David Thomas (Con, Preston), as his fellow Tories began to lose their posts.

The most heated debate centred on chairing the influential planning committee, which went to Prosper Torbay rebel Katya Maddison (Shiphay) with current chair Cllr Jackie Thomas (Con, Kings Ash) sidelined.

Cllr Adam Billings (Con, Churston with Galmpton) urged members to stick with the current chair, and said: “Planning is one of the most important committees this council has. Its decisions affect people’s lives. Why change something that at the moment is working well?”

And Cllr Jackie Thomas argued: “This is simply making change for change’s sake.”

There was also argument over chairing the harbours committee, with Cllr Andrew Strang (Con, Furzeham with Summercombe) removed in favour of Cllr Nicole Amil (Ind, Cockington with Chelston).

Cllr Strang argued that although the committee covered all of the bay’s harbours, with millions of pounds in ‘levelling up’ money to be spent on Brixham fish quay in the near future, a Brixham councillor should chair the committee.

Cllr Nick Bye (Con, Wellswood) said Brixham’s Tory councillors were being “thrown under the bus” and the opposition groups were “disrespecting the electorate.” The Conservatives took a clean sweep of Brixham’s council seats in May.

He continued: “It’s a disgrace that you are removing all responsible positions from the Brixham councillors. Of all the shoddy deals made tonight, this is the worst.”

The Conservatives warned that the council should be united when it came to securing more than £100 million pledged by the government for major projects across the bay.

But opposition members disputed the risk to the funding and said the Tories were playing “petty political parlour games.”

The wrangling had started with changes to the number of representatives of each party on various committees, to reflect the new balance of the council.

“This could herald a new way of collaborative working,” said Independent group leader Darren Cowell (Shiphay). “We need to show that we are a stable council.”

And Liberal Democrat leader Steve Darling also called for stability. “It’s about making sure we have firm foundations,” he said. “The easiest thing would be to have a revolution, but it’s important that we keep stability.

“I hope we can build on a collaborative approach.” But Cllr Bye accused the opposition group of packing his fellow Tories off to less important committees and keeping the best jobs for themselves.

“You’ve got to let us get on and do the jobs we were elected to do,” he pleaded.

Cllr David Thomas said he had offered seats on the ruling cabinet committee to the opposition, but they had declined. He went on: “This doesn’t feel very much like working together.

“We are on the edge of a precipice. We’ve got the money, the plans, the partners, the ambition and the political will to get these projects across the line, and we owe it to our communities.

“I desperately want us to deliver, and I think what we are doing tonight hinders us.”

• Repair of existing rear balcony to include replacement of rotten timbers and metal railings with glazing. 31 Hamilton Lane Exmouth EX8 2JTRef. No: 23/2592/FUL | Validated: Fri 01 Dec 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Prior approval (Class Q) for a change of use of agricultural building to 1no. dwellinghouse (Use Class C3) Dunsmore Sanctuary Lane Woodbury Devon EX5 1EXRef. No: 23/2601/PDQ | Validated: Fri 01 Dec 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Discharge of condition for 23/1095/LBC: Condition 2 (lime render) Town Dairy Cottage Church Road Lympstone Exmouth EX8 5JURef. No: 23/2602/DOC | Validated: Fri 01 Dec 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed agricultural building for the storage of machinery and fodder Farm Yard And Buildings To The North Of Green Lane RousdonRef. No: 23/2586/AGR | Validated: Fri 01 Dec 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed vertical extension to existing dwelling to provide additional accommodation at first floor Braestones Gully Shoot Colyford EX24 6HFRef. No: 23/2573/FUL | Validated: Thu 30 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Reinstatement of window Livermore Farm Aylesbeare Exeter EX5 2DHRef. No: 23/2572/FUL | Validated: Thu 30 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erection of roof over existing manure storeHoemoor Farm Upottery EX14 9PBRef. No: 23/2581/FUL | Validated: Thu 30 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• x2 Yew : reduction in height and width by 50%. Brookfield House South Square Colyton Devon EX24 6NHRef. No: 23/2580/TCA | Validated: Thu 30 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1, Ash: fell. 5 Kingsholme Colyford Devon EX24 6RJRef. No: 23/2574/TRE | Validated: Thu 30 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erection of roofing over existing silage pit. Highley Farm Upottery Honiton EX14 9PDRef. No: 23/2584/FUL | Validated: Thu 30 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Lawful Development Certificate for garage conversion and single storey side extension43 Withycombe Park Drive Exmouth Devon EX8 4ELRef. No: 23/2576/CPL | Validated: Thu 30 Nov 2023 | Status: Approved
• Proposed agricultural building Field West Of Whitford Road WhitfordRef. No: 23/2577/FUL | Validated: Thu 30 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Raising of roof and conversion of roof space to habitable space, including front and rear dormers and balcony 29 Poplar Tree Drive Seaton EX12 2TWRef. No: 23/2575/FUL | Validated: Thu 30 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed demolition of existing dwelling and attached building and replacement with 1 no. dwellinghouse, and alteration of adjacent outbuilding Blackley Down Farway Devon EX24 6DJRef. No: 23/2563/FUL | Validated: Wed 29 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Discharge of conditions of 23/1147/FUL : Conditions 8 (Tree Protection Plan (TPP) and an Arboricultural Method Statement(AMS) and Condition 11 (Construction Management Plan) Land North Of Railway (Little Monitor Cottage) Whimple EX5 2GFRef. No: 23/2559/DOC | Validated: Wed 29 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Single storey rear / side extension, alterations to roof on south end and changes to fenestration and materials Summerhill Higher Metcombe Ottery St Mary EX11 1SJRef. No: 23/2570/FUL | Validated: Wed 29 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1. Oak (English) : Removal. T2, Oak (English) : Removal. 1. The tree works are proposed to stop the influence of the tree(s) on the soil below building foundation level and provide long term stability to 51 Evergreen Close, Exmouth, EX8 4RR 2. Estimated costs of repair to the building are a minimum of £70.000.00 if the influence of the tree(s) remain and 3,900.00 if the proposed tree works are allowed to proceed. Granting permission will limit these costs. In the event of a refusal we, or our clients, will seek to secure compensation for the additional costs incurred through Section 202(e). 3. Should the tree/s remain the total cost of repairs will be the Superstructural repairs + Alternative method of repairs (Minimum) = £73,900.00 4. It is the expert opinion of both the case engineer and arboriculturalist that on the balance of probabilities the supporting information demonstrates the influence of the tree(s). 5. Note: Further monitoring results may be submitted if these become available during the course of this application. 47 Evergreen Close Exmouth Devon EX8 4RRRef. No: 23/2568/TRE | Validated: Wed 29 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• G002, Common Ash : Fell. Plant 1x replacement tree for each removed tree of the group – suggested species include small leaved lime, sycamore and ‘new horizon’ elm. 50 Tigers Way Axminster Devon EX13 5TGRef. No: 23/2566/TRE | Validated: Wed 29 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Discharge of conditions for 22/0977/FUL : Condition 3 (Equipment Screen) and Condition 4 (Outbuilding) Ley Farm Yarcombe Devon EX14 9LWRef. No: 23/2565/DOC | Validated: Wed 29 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposal to demolish existing public toilets, and replace with a new public toilet building. Toilets West Walk Castle Hill Seaton EX12 2QWRef. No: 23/2561/FUL | Validated: Wed 29 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed general purpose agricultural building Higher Seavington Farm Stockland Devon EX14 9DERef. No: 23/2552/FUL | Validated: Tue 28 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1: Cherry – fell and replace with another tree (variety to be agreed with planning). 1A Arden Close Budleigh Salterton Devon EX9 6JGRef. No: 23/2553/TRE | Validated: Tue 28 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Discharge of conditions for 23/1308/FUL : Condition 3 (tree, hedge and shrub protection scheme) and Condition 6 (scheme of landscaping) Land South East Of Higher Lodge OffwellRef. No: 23/2554/DOC | Validated: Tue 28 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of garden workshop. 20 Springfield Road Exmouth EX8 3JXRef. No: 23/2555/FUL | Validated: Tue 28 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Removal of garage to be replaced with a two storey side extension and single storey rear extension. 3 Millwey Avenue Axminster Devon EX13 5EHRef. No: 23/2556/FUL | Validated: Tue 28 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Replacement porch to the front of the property. Replacement garden room to the rear of the property. Alterations and recladding to the existing elevations and associated external works. Mill House Bendarroch Road West Hill Devon EX11 1TSRef. No: 23/2558/FUL | Validated: Tue 28 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use of existing annexe accommodation to enable dual use as either annexe and/or holiday accommodation Ivy Green Farm Chardstock EX13 7BYRef. No: 23/2548/COU | Validated: Tue 28 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Discharge of condition for 23/0111/AGR : Condition 3 Landscaping. Castlewood Farm Musbury Axminster EX13 8SSRef. No: 23/2530/DOC | Validated: Mon 27 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erection of a new public toilet building. Sidmouth Swimming Pool Ham Lane Sidmouth EX10 8XRRef. No: 23/2537/FUL | Validated: Mon 27 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of garage to be replaced with 2-storey front extension and raised terrace and installation of 16 solar panels on the front elevation (resubmission of withdrawn application 23/0621/FUL). Shepherds Park Bungalow Woodbury Exeter EX5 1LARef. No: 23/2546/FUL | Validated: Mon 27 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Discharge of conditions for 22/2651/LBC : Condition 4 : window and door details (joinery) Berkeley Cottage Exeter Road Newton Poppleford Devon EX10 0BJRef. No: 23/2545/DOC | Validated: Mon 27 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Monopole on concrete foundation with associated 1 equipment cabinet, 2 ERS racks and green mesh fencing Devon Cliffs Holiday Centre Sandy Bay Exmouth EX8 5BTRef. No: 23/2541/TEL | Validated: Mon 27 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Replace existing conservatory with new rear ground floor extension and external seating area 4 The Chase Honiton Devon EX14 1QBRef. No: 23/2539/FUL | Validated: Wed 29 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Permission in principle for the demolition of an existing greenhouse and the construction of two dwellings Land Adjacent Elsdon House Elsdon Lane West HillRef. No: 23/2535/PIP | Validated: Tue 28 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1 – Copper Beech: fell. Replant with one replacement Copper Beech – 8-10cm girth. Bradlegh End East Longdogs Lane Ottery St Mary EX11 1HXRef. No: 23/2528/TRE | Validated: Mon 27 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Agricultural storage building and workshop Great Trill Farm Musbury Axminster EX13 8TURef. No: 23/2526/AGR | Validated: Fri 01 Dec 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed single storey rear extension. 44 Richmond Road Exmouth Devon EX8 2NARef. No: 23/2516/FUL | Validated: Mon 27 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of timber framed car port Site Of Woodside Higher Metcombe Ottery St MaryRef. No: 23/2512/FUL | Validated: Wed 29 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Variation of condition no. 2 (approved plans) of planning permission 21/1574/FUL – Creation of a dwelling and associated works as a replacement for the dwelling approved under Class Q previously. Includes changes in landscaping and fenestration, addition of a chimney, and some external rendering Barn Adjacent To Barley Way Ebford Lane Ebford Exeter EX3 0QXRef. No: 23/2496/VAR | Validated: Tue 28 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Installation of new plant to the rear, with timber acoustic barrier fence [Retrospective] 2-4 Yonder Street Ottery St Mary Devon EX11 1HDRef. No: 23/2490/FUL | Validated: Tue 28 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Remove 3no. antennas at 16.3m and replace with 3no. upgraded antennas at 16.3m, with associated works Telecommunications Mast Shire Lane Lyme RegisRef. No: 23/2493/TEL | Validated: Thu 30 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed roof over existing open feed yard. Courtbrook Farm Clyst St George Exeter EX3 0NTRef. No: 23/2495/FUL | Validated: Tue 28 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of x2no. outbuildings to be replaced with 2 bed detached chalet bungalow 34 Raleigh Road Ottery St Mary Devon EX11 1TGRef. No: 23/2485/FUL | Validated: Wed 29 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Installation of galvanised steel steps, access gate and x2no. concrete posts either side of gate from road to West bank. New Site Of Gauging Station Latchmoor Green ThorvertonRef. No: 23/2475/LBC | Validated: Mon 27 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of existing dilapidated timber structure and replacement with 7no. timber clad shipping containers for storage purposes only, with associated works Unit 12 The Old Sawmills Hawkerland Road Colaton Raleigh EX10 0HPRef. No: 23/2470/COU | Validated: Wed 29 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Installation of galvanised steel steps, access gate and x2no. concrete posts either side of gate from road to West bank. New Site Of Gauging Station Latchmoor Green ThorvertonRef. No: 23/2474/FUL | Validated: Mon 27 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of existing sanitary block and construction of replacement sanitary and amenity block Salcombe Regis Camping And Caravan Park Salcombe Regis Devon EX10 0JHRef. No: 23/2451/FUL | Validated: Thu 30 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Removal of 2no. trees and leylandii hedge on boundary, replacing with matching stone wall and timber fence and construction of wooden bike store on concrete base in garden. 1 Richmond Road Exmouth EX8 2NBRef. No: 23/2442/FUL | Validated: Mon 27 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Certificate of existing lawfulness for the use of the annexe as ancillary accommodation Frogwell Farm Smallridge Devon EX13 7JLRef. No: 23/2440/CPE | Validated: Tue 28 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Siting of defibrillator on exterior wall on front elevation New Inn The Hill Kilmington Devon EX13 7SFRef. No: 23/2435/LBC | Validated: Fri 01 Dec 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Prior notification for the erection of a storage shed to be used for agricultural machinery and fodder Field At Higher Bussels Huxham EX5 4EWRef. No: 23/2420/AGR | Validated: Tue 28 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erection of highly sustainable self-build dwelling with associated landscaping and biodiversity enhancements Land To Rear Of Great Halls Aylesbeare EX5 2FDRef. No: 23/2422/FUL | Validated: Wed 29 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of new workshop and office building with associated underground parking and expansion of existing vehicle access Land Opposite Devonshire Court Devonshire Road Heathpark Industrial Estate HonitonRef. No: 23/2411/MFUL | Validated: Tue 28 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Replacement of existing detached double garage with new detached double garage and games room with ancillary annex accommodation over. Castle Hill House Greenhead Sidbury EX10 0QDRef. No: 23/2360/FUL | Validated: Thu 30 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed conversion of redundant agricultural buildings to form 3 no. dwellinghouses, provision of associated parking and associated works and demolish/dismantle existing barn and slurry tank Cadhayne Farm House Colyton Devon EX24 6DTRef. No: 23/2339/FUL | Validated: Thu 30 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of the existing residential bungalow, and the new build of a 2-storey, pitched roof, residential dwelling on the same footprint as the existing, with a small extension to the east accommodating extra living space and a garage. Fieldhead Luppitt Devon EX14 4RXRef. No: 23/2229/FUL | Validated: Tue 28 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erection of a single-storey rear extension and external doors Long Orchard Old Ebford Lane Ebford Devon EX3 0QPRef. No: 23/2227/FUL | Validated: Mon 27 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed new highway access Huntsland Cottage Church Hill Pinhoe EX4 9JJRef. No: 23/2091/FUL | Validated: Mon 27 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Reduce height of 1no. chimney on rear elevation an 1no. central chimney to roof level 17 North Street Exmouth EX8 1LFRef. No: 23/1993/LBC | Validated: Thu 30 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision

It is “open season” for housing developers in East Devon as the council can’t show the government it has at least five years’ worth of land for new homes. 

Will Goddard, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk 

That’s the view of local councillor Jess Bailey (Independent, West Hill and Aylesbeare), who spoke of her frustration this week. 

Because it can’t prove it has identified land for new housing for five years means the council’s policies for locating new developments are deemed out-of-date for deciding whether to grant planning permission. 

[See also this article on the Tory Poison Chalice to put the Conservative Government policy in the context of the local Conservative pro-development legacy – Owl]

Cllr Bailey said: “I am concerned that effectively East Devon is declaring an open season for developers [who think] ‘don’t worry about planning policies because we haven’t got a five-year land supply.’

“The responsibility for this state of affairs must lie with the Conservative government and its flawed algorithm, which is putting so much pressure on East Devon. 

“What I really want to focus on is what East Devon District Council can do to put in maximum effort to resist speculative development when faced with this government’s algorithm.  

“I’m certainly not saying that we start refusing everything, but what I am saying is that we draw on everything that we can to ensure that we’re in the best position to refuse applications that are not in accordance with our planning policies, regardless of the five-year land supply.” 

Most councillors at the meeting agreed with Cllr Bailey and voted to ask all Devon district councils and the Local Government Association to agree to a legal challenge to “robustly” resist speculative development and uphold councils’ policies for where new houses should be built. 

Cllr Vicky Johns (Independent, Ottery St Mary) said: “Three-quarters of our area is covered by AONB [an area of outstanding natural beauty], and yet that is not taken into account at all in any way, shape or form when we’re allocated the housing that we’re supposed to put in.  

“We’ve already built all we’re supposed to have built and yet we’re still being told we need to build more, and build more, and build more. 

“I do agree that all the councils in the area should club together… and ask the government why they’re stating we have to do this when we don’t have the capacity to do it. It’s ridiculous.” 

Cllr Olly Davey (Green, Exmouth Town) added: “It’s understood as of January 2023, nearly 40 per cent of English local authorities could not demonstrate a five-year housing land supply, so the position EDDC finds itself in is by no means uncommon.” 

[But help is at hand for Simon. Under a proposed “career transition” scheme he could receive free advice with tasks such as writing a CV from a designated career coach. bbc.co.uk]

Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives are facing their worst ever result at the general election and could be left with just 130 seats, according to Professor Sir John Curtice.

Adam Forrest www.independent.co.uk 

The country’s top polling guru warned of the bleak situation faced by the Tories as they head into winter with the news dominated by infighting over the prime minister’s Rwanda deportation plan.

Prof Curtice said Mr Sunak’s party would be “lucky to win [many] more than 200 seats” and could see an even worse result if its dire poll ratings continued.

“If these patterns were to be replicated in a general election, the outcome for the Conservatives could be bleak indeed – maybe as few as 130 seats, the worst outcome in the party’s history,” he wrote for The Sunday Telegraph.

The outcome would be even worse than the 165 seats the Tories were left with in 1997, when the party, then led by John Major, was thumped by Tony Blair’s Labour – which won a landslide 179-seat majority.

With Labour enjoying a consistent polling lead of close to 20 points, Prof Curtice said voters appear to have “stopped listening” to the Tories on the big issues.

He warned Mr Sunak that his recent anti-immigration push had “not gone well”. The elections expert said it looked like the Rwanda bill “could divide the party just as [Theresa] May’s ill-fated Brexit deal did in 2019”.

On the major split currently looming in response to Mr Sunak’s plans, Prof Curtice wrote: “Divided parties rarely prosper at the polls. In pursuing their disagreements with Mr Sunak over immigration, Tory MPs should realise they are potentially playing with fire.”

He added: “Even though the polls have repeatedly indicated that the government’s Rwanda policy is relatively popular – at least among those who voted Conservative in 2019 – the first polls since this week’s developments suggest they also are unlikely to move the electoral dial.”

He continued: “We should not be surprised. Although many 2019 Conservative voters are unhappy about the level of legal and ‘illegal’ immigration, those who feel that immigration has gone up a lot are not especially likely to say they will not vote Conservative again.”

There is speculation at Westminster that Mr Sunak may be forced into a snap election in the early part of 2024 if he struggles to get his Rwanda bill through parliament.

But cabinet minister Michael Gove insisted that Mr Sunak’s government is “not contemplating” holding an early general election if the Rwanda bill is voted down. Asked if it was an option, the senior Sunak ally told Sky News: “No, we’re not contemplating that.”

A group of unnamed Tory MPs have told The Mail on Sunday that they would like to get rid of Mr Sunak – with some even keen to bring back Boris Johnson as leader.

Dubbed the “pasta plotters”, a small group of anti-Sunak MPs and strategists were said to have met at an Italian restaurant to plan “an Advent calendar of s***” for the current Tory leader over the Rwanda issue this December.

“Whatever you feel about him, one thing no one can question is [Mr Johnson]’s effectiveness as a campaigner,” one red-wall MP told the newspaper. But with Mr Johnson out of parliament, the so-called pasta plotters are said to be uncertain who could realistically replace Mr Sunak.

Damian Green – chair of the One Nation wing – offered a warning to any right-wing rebels pouncing on the Rwanda issue as a way to get rid of Mr Sunak.

“Anyone who thinks that what the Conservative Party or the country needs is a change of prime minister is either mad, or malicious, or both,” he told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.

Mr Green added: “It is a very, very small number doing that [plotting to oust Mr Sunak].”

“The British public are sick of being ripped off under the Conservatives. Billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money have been squandered … when it could have been spent in our schools, hospitals and police.” – Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor.

Rowena Mason www.theguardian.com 

PPE was on average 80% more expensive when the government bought it from firms referred through a special “VIP lane” by Conservative ministers, MPs and officials, new information has revealed.

The Good Law Project, which has long been investigating PPE deals during the Covid pandemic, said internal government documents showed that the unit price paid for items under VIP lane contracts was up to four times higher than average.

The organisation highlighted one example as being the cost of PPE delivered by Meller Designs, a fashion company at the time co-owned by the Tory donor David Meller, which was referred through the VIP lane by Michael Gove’s office. Meller Designs was awarded six PPE supply contracts worth £164m during the coronavirus pandemic.

In three of these contracts with Meller Designs, the government paid between 1.2 and 2.2 times the average unit price. The average price for medical gowns was £5.87 but the gowns bought from Meller Designs cost £12.64. About £8.46m worth of the equipment supplied by Meller Designs was later found to be not used in an NHS setting.

A spokesperson for Meller Designs said: “Meller Designs approached the government in March 2020 and offered to supply PPE for the NHS and other essential public services.

“We are extremely proud of the role we played at the height of the Covid-19 crisis and managed to secure more than 100m items of PPE – including masks, sanitiser, coveralls and gloves direct from the manufacturers – at a time when they were most needed. This PPE was used in hospitals and by emergency services throughout the country.

“In responding to the national emergency, we were able to rely on our many years’ experience of sourcing, testing and quality control of a wide range of products.

“As a company Meller Designs has been in business for more than 100 years but we can honestly say this was one of the most difficult and important contracts we have ever been asked to respond to and we would like to thank all our colleagues who worked so hard to make it happen.”

Responding to the PPE figures, Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, said: “The British public are sick of being ripped off under the Conservatives. Billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money have been squandered … when it could have been spent in our schools, hospitals and police.

“That is why Labour will appoint a [commissioner] to go through pandemic contracts line by line and whenever they have failed to deliver, we will clawback every pound we can for the public.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said its priority throughout the pandemic “was to save lives and we acted swiftly to procure PPE at the height of the pandemic, competing in an overheated global market where demand massively outstripped supply”.

“Due diligence was carried out on all companies and every company was subjected to the same checks,” the spokesperson said.

Separately, the Conservative peer Michelle Mone said she was wrong to publicly deny involvement in a PPE firm now under investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Lady Mone released a YouTube documentary in which she and her husband, Douglas Barrowman, launched a fightback “because we have done nothing wrong”.

Mone had lobbied ministers, including the communities secretary, Michael Gove, and officials for PPE Medpro to win contracts and it went on to obtain £200m in deals to supply masks and medical gowns. Her lawyers subsequently denied to the Guardian repeatedly that she was involved in the firm.

The DHSC is suing PPE Medpro for the full return of the £122m it paid for the surgical gowns but never used, claiming they were unsafe for use in the NHS. The company is defending the claim.

The NCA has been conducting an investigation into PPE Medpro since May 2021, which is continuing.

Gove said he could not comment on matters under NCA investigation but insisted it was wrong for anyone to suggest that ministers were doing favours for their contacts.

He told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday: “Ministers did not take individual decisions about who should receive contracts … teams of civil servants assessed the worthiness of any contracts put forward.

“The suggestion that somehow ministers were seeking to deliberately do favours for or line the pockets of other individuals is totally unjustified because the decisions were only taken after a proper coherent and fair procurement process.”

www.cpre.org.uk

An affordable, healthy home is the foundation for a decent life. But our new report shows that rural communities in England are facing an existential threat from an acute and overlooked shortage of genuinely affordable housing.

The report, entitled ‘Unraveling a crisis: the state of rural affordable housing in England’, launched today and lays bare the impact of this crisis on real people, along with what is needed to fix it.

Read the report

‘Chronic shortage’ of affordable housing

A chronic shortage of genuinely affordable housing is creating huge social housing waiting lists and forcing people out of the communities they know and love. This worrying crisis is being fed by record house prices, stagnating wages and an increasing number of second homes and short term lets.

The countryside, where levels of homelessness have leapt 40% in just five years, is being drained of skills, economic activity and vital public services.

There is an extreme disparity between rural house prices, which are higher than those in other parts of the country, and rural wages, which are much lower. House prices in the countryside increased at close to twice the rate of those in urban areas in the five years to 2022. While the average cost of a home jumped 29% and is now £419,000, rural earnings increased by just 19% to a total of £25,600.

89-year waiting lists

More than 300,000 people are on waiting lists for social rented housing in rural England, an increase of over 10% since 2018. At the current rate of construction, it would take 89 years to offer a home to everyone on the waiting list. Current planning policies allow for the building of new ‘affordable’ housing costing anything up to 80% of market value. This means that in many rural areas the ‘affordable homes’ being provided are often anything but.

Local authorities have not replaced social housing at the rate properties have been sold under the Right to Buy policy, leading to a chronic shortage of housing for people who need it most.

Damaging short-term lets and second homes

In Cornwall, where more than 15,000 families are on social housing waiting lists, the number of properties for short-term let, (at much higher prices than social rents), grew by 661% in the five years to 2021. Half of the families on social housing waiting lists in South Lakeland could be accommodated in local properties available exclusively as holiday rentals. Devon has seen 4,000 homes taken off the private rental market and 11,000 new short-term listings since 2016.

The government has legal powers to protect council housing purchased under the Right to Buy scheme from being sold off at market rates or as second homes. Our research is the first published study to look at the overall coverage of these so-called ‘Section 157’ powers.

We found that these powers only apply to half of all rural parishes in England. They exclude whole counties such as Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire, and also large towns. There are several large towns, particularly in south west England, where there is a particular lack of affordable housing.

‘Decades of inaction’

CPRE’s Chief Executive Roger Mortlock said:

‘Decades of inaction have led to an affordable housing crisis that is ripping the soul from our rural communities. Solutions do exist and the next government must set and deliver ambitious targets for new, genuinely affordable and social rented rural housing, curbing the boom of second homes and short-term lets.

‘Record house prices and huge waiting lists for social housing are driving people out of rural communities, contributing to soaring levels of often hidden rural homelessness. We need urgent change to ensure we don’t end up with rural communities that are pricing out the very people needed to keep them vibrant.’

Urgent recommendations

The report contains a list of recommendations that CPRE believes will help to solve the severe housing crisis in the countryside. It includes calls for the government to:

• Redefine ‘affordable housing’ to directly link to average local incomes
• Increase the minimum amount of genuinely affordable housing required by national planning policy and implement ambitious targets for the construction of social rented homes.
• Support local communities to deliver small-scale developments of genuinely affordable housing and make it easier for councils to purchase land at reasonable prices, enabling the construction of social housing and vital infrastructure.
• Introduce a register of second homes and short-term lets, with new powers for local authorities to levy additional council tax on second homes.
• Extend restrictions on the resale of ‘affordable housing’ to all parishes with fewer than 3,000 inhabitants to ensure local workers can continue to use properties, rather then allowing them to become second homes or holiday lets.

Read the full report

Read our 2023 affordable housing report here. We’ve also created a jargon-busting explainer, to help readers interpret the report and understand some of the key policy mechanisms.

An affordable housing scheme in Cornwall Kevin Britland / Alamy Stock Photo

He is an unelected prime minister with no mandate, no coherent agenda and no answer to the profound challenges facing the country, from sluggish productivity and poor growth, to the dire state of social care, to the climate crisis. Devoid of substance, and fearful of the country’s likely verdict on his party’s increasingly wretched period in office, he is determined to make reducing migration a key election battleground.

Observer editorial www.theguardian.com 

Another week, another crisis in the Conservative party. This time, it was prompted by the resignation of the immigration minister, Robert Jenrick, who claimed that Rishi Sunak’s emergency legislation to enact his plan to fly asylum seekers to Rwanda was a “triumph of hope over experience”. Rival Tory factions reportedly spent the rest of the week plotting opposing amendments to the bill for when it is introduced to the Commons on Tuesday. It is the latest manifestation of the weakness of a government riven by internal division, led by a prime minister with no strategic purpose save holding his party and his premiership together.

This is a crisis of Sunak’s own making. He is an unelected prime minister with no mandate, no coherent agenda and no answer to the profound challenges facing the country, from sluggish productivity and poor growth, to the dire state of social care, to the climate crisis. Devoid of substance, and fearful of the country’s likely verdict on his party’s increasingly wretched period in office, he is determined to make reducing migration a key election battleground.

There are two aspects to this: first, record net migration levels are the product of Sunak’s own policies. Migration is high mainly because after Brexit, the government significantly liberalised the migration regime for people coming to work in the UK on skilled worker visas, reducing salary thresholds and skill requirements, particularly for shortage jobs such as care work. Four in 10 skilled worker visas now go to care workers; six in 10 to workers in the health sector more broadly.

Instead of investing in the skills, qualification levels and pay of the domestic health and social care workforce to reduce staff shortages, the government is simply looking to reverse its own policy and make it harder for people to come here to fill those gaps; last week, the home secretary James Cleverly announced the government will significantly increase the minimum salary threshold for skilled worker visas, with the exemption of those for health and social care, prevent people coming to the UK to work in health and social care from bringing their children with them, and also, significantly, double the minimum income that British citizens need to earn in order to sponsor their spouses or children for family visas. These policies will depress net migration, but at what human cost? None of this gets to the heart of the British economy’s fundamental problems: medium-term skill shortages but also an ageing population that, in the long run, creates a choice between higher tax rates for working-age citizens or expanding the working population through migration.

The second thrust of Sunak’s migration agenda addresses asylum seekers: Sunak has pledged to “stop” the small boats carrying people across the Channel to claim refuge in the UK. These movements are notoriously difficult to prevent; if he was really interested in reducing the tragic loss of life in the Channel, he could try to negotiate a returns agreement with France in exchange for taking an agreed number of their asylum seekers.

Instead, he has inexplicably hitched his fortunes to a scheme to detain every asylum seeker on arrival in the UK, and deport them to a third safe country in an attempt to deter people from making the crossing in the first place, despite evidence suggesting any deterrent effect would be minimal. The only country the government struck a deal with was Rwanda; but last month, the supreme court ruled it would be unlawful to deport asylum seekers there because there would be a danger of them being returned to their home countries where they would face persecution or inhumane treatment.

Sunak’s hare-brained plan to get round the supreme court is an emergency bill that designates Rwanda as safe despite the judgment of the British courts, and disapplies the Human Rights Act for the purposes of the legislation. Legal experts still think it would be in breach of international law, and so subject to challenge in the European Court of Human Rights. But the bill allows ministers to ignore any interim measures issued by the EHCR as a matter of domestic law.

This is a dishonest fudge, which not only undermines the separation of powers between parliament and the courts, but is contingent on the UK breaching its obligations under international law. All for a scheme that even if it came off, and it seems highly unlikely the bill will survive passage through the Lords before an election, would lead to at most a handful of vulnerable people being deported even as the government has to permanently detain tens of thousands of asylum seekers at great expense to the taxpayer.

It beggars belief that Sunak has made this a defining pledge of his premiership. It has divided his party, between those like Jenrick and former home secretary Suella Braverman who want the bill to go even further in closing off any form of challenge to deportation, and those on its more moderate wing rightly appalled at its disregard for the UK’s international obligations. It is a manufactured row over something that will make no substantive difference to the UK, or the wellbeing of its citizens: political posturing by the same old Conservative party that imploded over a hard Brexit, which has permanently damaged Britain’s economic potential. This is a rotten government led by a prime minister incapable of governing and wholly unsuited to confronting the huge challenges we face. The country can ill afford to wait any longer for a general election.

The broken pledge: “I am particularly pleased by our pledge in this plan to bring access to a green or blue space within 15 minutes’ walk of everyone’s homes – whether that be through parks, canals, rivers, countryside or coast,” Thérèse Coffey.

Helena Horton www.theguardian.com 

The UK government has no plans to meet its target for everyone to live within a 15-minute walk of a green space, the Guardian can reveal.

Ministers have also scrapped an idea to make the target for access to nature legally binding, a freedom of information request submitted by the Right to Roam campaign shows.

Launching the plans earlier this year, the then-environment secretary, Thérèse Coffey, congratulated herself for the idea: “I am particularly pleased by our pledge in this plan to bring access to a green or blue space within 15 minutes’ walk of everyone’s homes – whether that be through parks, canals, rivers, countryside or coast,” she said.

But in response to a freedom of information request, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “No assessment has yet gone to ministers on options for how to progress towards the commitment.”

At the moment, according to government data, 38% of the country live more than a 15-minute walk from a green or blue space. The data provided to ministers also states that “in the 200 most disadvantaged lower super output areas in urban settings with the lowest levels of green space, 97% have no access to green space within 15 minutes’ walk from home”.

The documents reveal that the government rejected the idea of making the target legally binding, meaning it does not have to fulfil its promise.

Notes show that the former environment secretary George Eustice “queried the idea of a top-down target”, while Defra officials noted there were “challenges associated with setting a legally binding target”.

Guy Shrubsole, from the Right to Roam campaign, said: “A year after making their access commitment, ministers still have no idea how on earth to meet it. And having rejected setting a legal target for increasing access, the government is clearly only interested in spinning good headlines rather than improving the nation’s health and wellbeing.

“The next government needs to be bold and give the public a default right of responsible access with sensible exceptions. Without this, meeting the 15 minutes goal will prove impossible.”

A Defra spokesperson said: “We are increasing access to nature and just last week we announced an ambitious package of measures, including a search for a new national park and funding to help more children get outdoors and into the countryside, making our green spaces accessible for all communities.

“Work is ongoing to develop an approach to monitoring and evaluating our vital commitment that every household should be within a 15-minute walk of a green space or water.”

And it will cost you 40p a pee

Questions have been raised at East Devon District Council over why it is spending £5 million upgrading 15 of its public toilets.

[Because the Tories didn’t invest in maintenance/upgrades – Owl]

Will Goddard, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk

That’s an average of £333,333 per loo; about the same as an average semi-detached house in the area

Councillors have voted to start a new group to look at the plans and estimated costs of the improvements. 

In 2021, the council divided its WCs into three categories: A, B and C.   

Category A conveniences, of which there are 15, will be refurbished or rebuilt at an estimated cost of £5 million. Previously this amount was £3.4 million, but building inflation has added an extra £1.6 million to the bill. It will cost users 40p each time, which has to be met with a contactless payment card or phone.

Category B and C toilets, of which there are 12, have been offered for commercial operators to repurpose them into cafes, takeaways or community hubs – although the public must still be able to go to the loo there – and also to town and parish councils to run in place of East Devon District Council, which can no longer afford them. 

Cllr Ian Barlow (Independent, Sidmouth Town) pointed out that more money was being spent on upgrading the council’s category A loos than planned maintenance for its more than 4,000 social homes, although he did realise the funds came from different places.  

Cllr Paul Hayward (Independent, Axminster) said in response: “This council recognises that spending on the maintenance of our housing stock can only come forward via the ring-fenced housing revenue account, whereas targeted spending on… the modernisation of our no-longer-fit-for-purpose WC assets is proposed to come from our revenue budgets and capital expenditure allocations, a wholly different and legally distinct pot of money.” 

Cllr Barlow also questioned whether the council was getting good prices for the loo upgrades.  “Refurbishment of Seaton toilets is going to cost £30,000. To put up new toilets in Exmouth is going to cost £408,000,” he said.

“I’m not into cutting toilets. I really am not. I want more toilets. 

“But at the end of the day, the amount we’re spending is not value for money.” 

Cllr Eleanor Rylance (Lib Dem, Broadclyst) responded: “I really very much trust our officers to do due diligence on any contracts that they commission.  

“I don’t think we can judge in this chamber whether or not something is value for money in that respect. We’ve had several examples though of how procurement at the lowest possible price can go very badly wrong.”  

East Devon’s public toilets are ranked as follows:  

Category A  

West Street Car Park, Axminster 
Cliff Path (West End/Steamer), Budleigh Salterton 
East End (Lime Kiln), Budleigh Salterton 
Jubilee Gardens, Beer 
Foxholes Car Park, Exmouth 
Magnolia Centre (London Inn), Exmouth  
Manor Gardens, Exmouth 
Phear Park, Exmouth 
Queens Drive, Exmouth 
Lace Walk, Honiton 
West Walk, Seaton 
Connaught Gardens, Sidmouth 
Triangle, Sidmouth 
Market Place, Sidmouth 
Ham car park (new site), Sidmouth 
Categories B and C  

Orcombe Point, Exmouth 
The Maer, Exmouth 
Imperial Road, Exmouth 
Jarvis Close, Exmouth 
Seaton Hole, Seaton 
Harbour Road, Seaton 
Marsh Road, Seaton 
Brook Road, Budleigh Salterton 
Station Road, Budleigh Salterton 
Dolphin Street, Colyton 
King Street, Honiton 
Port Royal, Sidmouth
 

Tory minister Johnny Mercer faced a withering response – twice – after clashing with writer and activist George Monbiot on BBC Question Time over the government’s record on climate change.

Graeme Demianyk www.huffingtonpost.co.uk 

Appearing on the broadcaster’s flagship politics show, which this week came from Petersfield, the pair clashed amid recent questions over Rishi Sunak’s commitment to the environment.

The prime minister was criticised for spending just 11 hours at the COP28 climate conference, though he argued the UK has a better track record than any other major economy in decarbonising.

Yet he has faced a backlash for scaling back a host of pledges designed to help the UK reach net zero by 2050 and vowed to “max out” the UK’s oil and gas reserves by granting new North Sea drilling licences.

After facing criticism on the BBC show, Conservative MP Mercer claimed that the government had made “extraordinary progress” on climate change.

But Monbiot responded: “No, extraordinary progress has not been made under this government. It has deliberately trashed some of the progress even that was made under Boris Johnson’s government.

“There are such simple things we could do. For example, the government is currently spending £78 billion across two years in subsidising people’s energy bills. But for £8 billion it could insulate the three million homes most in need. Greatly cutting people’s bills and greatly cutting our emissions.

“We now have a situation where renewables are much cheaper than fossil fuels but the government is deliberately trying to lock us into fossil fuels, not for the sake of the people of this country, not to cut our bills, it does exactly the opposite, for the sake of the oil and gas industry. The Tory party has taken £3.5 million in donations from polluting industries. This is the quid pro quo.”

Mercer then asked: “Do you honestly sit there and think that in Number 10 every day, the prime minister and the government wake up and think, we are just going to torch the world?”

Monbiot replied: “Yes, roughly.”

He added: “They just don’t care. The fact is they don’t care. Sunak flew to COP28 in a 200-seater jet, but he was the only minister who flew in that jet. Other ministers flew in a separate private jets.

“He doesn’t care. He treats this whole country like a flyover state, going backwards and forwards in his helicopters and private jets.”

Monbiot also picked apart the “sadistic” government’s Rwanda deportation policy, arguing the driving force was to “performatively beat up some of the most vulnerable and traumatised people on earth”.

But it’s the first in 15 years.

“We really need to encourage younger people to come forward to stand for election regardless of their political affiliations. This is a move I believe in the right democratic direction.” Eileen Wragg

Another legacy problem tackled. – Owl

East Devon councillors have given themselves a 20 per cent pay rise. 

Will Goddard, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk

They are called ‘allowances’, not salaries, and the basic annual rate has gone up for the first time since 2008 from £4,360 to £5,260. 

Additional payments for special responsibilities have also risen, such as the council leader’s allowance on top of the basic rate, which is up £56 to £14,477, and the leader of the opposition’s, which has risen by £907 to £4,928.  

Cabinet portfolio holders will also see a rise of £726 to £6,910 to their special responsibility allowance and the chair of the overview committee a rise of £1,787 to £3,797, amongst others. 

Councillors voted to accept the figures suggested by an independent panel this week. 

Every council relies on a remuneration panel, completely independent of the council, to work out how much members get. 

Cllr Alasdair Bruce (Independent, Feniton) was worried about how the public would see the rises.  He said: “I think we all know realistically this is going to be a hard sell and it’s partly our own fault because we’ve let this slide for so long.” 

Cllr Eileen Wragg (Lib Dem, Exmouth Town) was pleased with the increases. 

She said these changes are long overdue. “I think what a lot of members of the public don’t realise [is] that we are actually taxed on these allowances and they are allowances. They’re not salaries, they’re not wages.  

“We really need to encourage younger people to come forward to stand for election regardless of their political affiliations. This is a move I believe in the right democratic direction.” 

But Cllr Roy Collins (Liberal Party, Honiton St Michael’s) was concerned younger people would not be able to afford to serve as a councillor.  

He said: “I’m the Liberal Party nomination officer for the south west. I wouldn’t dream about trying to get working people to stand for this council for such a low amount of money. 

“My son, if you wanted him to stand for the council, he couldn’t survive on that little pittance. He’d want at least minimum wage. 

“I’ve studied this council since it was formed. And in the early days we had… lots of business people, factory owners, several hoteliers were on this council. I don’t believe there’s any now. 

“Half the council was made of farmers. I’m the only farmer left. Farmers can’t afford it. I’m struggling to come here. I was paying a man £60 to milk the cows so I could come here.” 

The basic allowance rise will be backdated to last May’s election, and the special responsibilities allowances to 1 June 2023.  

From next year, the allowances will go up annually and will be reviewed every four years. 

On Tuesday Week, 19 December, on transport infrastructure in Cullompton 

A Correspondent remembers Benjamin Zephaniah:

The British

Take some Picts, Celts and Silures
And let them settle,
Then overrun them with Roman conquerors.

Remove the Romans after approximately 400 years
Add lots of Norman French to some
Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Vikings, then stir vigorously.

Mix some hot Chileans, cool Jamaicans, Dominicans,
Trinidadians and Bajans with some Ethiopians, Chinese,
Vietnamese and Sudanese.

Then take a blend of Somalians, Sri Lankans, Nigerians
And Pakistanis,
Combine with some Guyanese
And turn up the heat.

Sprinkle some fresh Indians, Malaysians, Bosnians,
Iraqis and Bangladeshis together with some
Afghans, Spanish, Turkish, Kurdish, Japanese
And Palestinians
Then add to the melting pot.

Leave the ingredients to simmer.

As they mix and blend allow their languages to flourish
Binding them together with English.

Allow time to be cool.

Add some unity, understanding, and respect for the future,
Serve with justice
And enjoy.

Note: All the ingredients are equally important. Treating one ingredient better than another will leave a bitter unpleasant taste.

Warning: An unequal spread of justice will damage the people and cause pain. Give justice and equality to all.