(and into the sea)
Peter Williams, whose freedom of information request kicked this whole “thread” off, has posted today a comment on the ESCAPE (End Sewage Convoys and Poolution in Exmouth Facebook page.)
(A link had been made to Owl’s post yesterday).
In this post he includes one of his “evidence images” – not for the squeamish. – Owl
Almost two decades ago, the concept of “Cranbrook” kicked off with a dedicated EDDC planning team and high hopes. This planning team created a viable community plan but was dissolved, on government instruction, with all the time and effort wasted.
The new town, built on Grade I agricultural land, ended up being a pioneer of “hands-off, developer-led” community planning. The private sector knows best.
But given the chance, developers will build on every available inch. It is extraordinary that EDDC and DCC have now had to buy land to plan for, and provide, essential infrastructure.
One of the main reasons for building a large town on a greenfield site was to provide “affordable” homes for local people. Where are the numbers we need?
It is probably the biggest legacy problem that the the Coalition led EDDC has had to tackle since ousting the Tories. – Owl
Will Goddard www.devonlive.com
A masterplan to give Cranbrook a town centre is now to be drawn up more than a decade since construction began on the new East Devon settlement in 2011.
A high street is slowly emerging in the new town, with a supermarket, children’s nursery and shops with a town square currently being built and due to be complete this year.
These will be the first completed developments in the town centre since the Cranberry Farm pub was opened in 2017.
Now, after a public consultation with over 1,700 responses, and East Devon District Council (EDDC) and Devon County Council having bought more land, a masterplan for the town centre is to be devised by EDDC by the end of this summer.
Cllr Olly Davey (Green, Exmouth Town) praised suggestions made by members of the public, which included having a leisure centre and a health and wellbeing hub, access to the town centre on foot, and good public transport.
He said: “Thank you to the residents of Cranbrook who clearly stepped up and filled in the consultation and enabled us to move forward with confidence that we are reflecting the views of residents on this occasion.
“Personally, I was very pleased to see the support there was for active travel and the desire to see better public transport, plenty of walking and cycling provision, as well as the kind of priorities as they saw it, being the leisure centre and health and wellbeing and so on.”
Cllr Kim Bloxham (Independent, Cranbrook) added: “Cranbrook town centre has been a long time in the making.
“I think I can say no more than please can we get on with it.”
Cranbrook is expected to eventually have 8,000 houses and a population of 20,000. This would make it the second largest town in East Devon and one of the biggest in the county. It has a population of over 6,700 as of 2021.
A second new 8,000-home town is also on the way for East Devon. It will be built on land south of Cranbrook between Exeter Airport and Crealy Theme Park, with 2,500 homes expected by 2040.
…..Photoshop can create an alternative reality.
Which is the REAL you?
Images submitted by a correspondent.
Michael Gove is targeting Airbnb and other property rental websites with laws that could curb the number of short-term holiday lets in England’s tourist hotspots.
This proposal has been on and off the government agenda over the past year.
It will take secondary legislation to enact which may or may not need parliamentary approval. Whether the government has time to fit this in the timetable before the election is a moot point.
So Owl is filing this away as just another interesting Tory “promise”.
Oliver Gill www.thetimes.co.uk
Owners will need to seek planning permission before renting out their properties through the likes of Airbnb, under new legislation to be announced this week.
The housing secretary is acting amid fears that locals in English seaside towns are “being shut out of the housing market”, while traditional B&Bs and hoteliers are being undercut by private rentals.
Going forward, anyone letting out their property for more than 90 days must first apply for planning permission and sign up to a government registration scheme, under changes to short-term letting laws, say industry and Whitehall sources. The new rules would apply to a “main or sole home” and could also apply to second homes.
The default position will be that permission will be granted. But new laws will devolve the decision to councils, empowering local authorities to remove “permitted development rights” in areas where there are large numbers of short-term lets.
Making a change of use planning application costs about £450, experts said. Current laws allow for the setting up of a registration scheme. Changes to planning laws will require secondary legislation.
Gove’s decision to press ahead with the plans is likely to anger some in his own party. When they were first mooted a year ago, Sir Simon Clarke, his predecessor as housing secretary, said they were “anti-business”. Jacob Rees-Mogg, a former business secretary, called the proposals “misplaced”. But sources close to Gove were last night about forging ahead with restricting holiday lets.
A government source said: “Short-term lets play an important role in the UK’s thriving tourism sector, but in some areas, too many local families and young people feel they are being shut out of the housing market and denied the opportunity to rent or buy in their own community.
“So the government is taking action as part of its long-term plan for housing. That means delivering more of the right homes in the right places, but also giving communities the power to decide. This will allow local communities to take back control and strike the right balance between protecting the visitor economy and ensuring local people get the homes they need.”
The housing secretary has previously attacked a proliferation of second homes in English tourist locations as turning seaside towns into “permanent Airbnbs”.
Gove has insisted that he is not against allowing people to let out their holiday homes. But he has expressed concern that second-home owners letting through Airbnb are benefiting from a competitive advantage compared with a local bed and breakfast or small hotel.
Airbnb is understood to be supportive of Gove’s changes to planning laws, which apply only to England. It is thought that this is because the new laws provide clarity and are less stringent than in Scotland and Wales.
Laws in Scotland already require short-term lets to be licensed. From April, local authorities in Scotland will be able to apply to charge double council tax for second homes, including those used as holiday lets. Rules are also more onerous in Wales where council tax of up to 300 per cent can be levied on second homes.
The American technology giant has, however, pushed for the registration scheme to be applied to short-term lets of any period, rather than for anyone renting out their property for more than 90 days a year. This is because it would prevent property owners from sidestepping the rules by moving their listing to another website every 90 days.
Amanda Cupples, Airbnb general manager for northern Europe said: “Many communities have legitimate concerns about housing. Airbnb is not the cause of England’s housing challenges, but we do want to work hand in hand to address the challenges that people face.
“A national registration scheme, alongside planning powers for councils to effectively manage any local impacts where they do arise, will be a positive step forward. New rules will help give authorities reliable data to understand and respond to the activity taking place in their communities.”
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