Daily Archives: 27 May 2024

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27 May 2024

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Planning applications validated by EDDC for week beginning 6 May

Owl is catching up. This list would normally have been published last week.

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27 May 2024

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Local farmer to chair South Hams Council

Local farmer Bernard Taylor will chair South Hams Council for the next year.

The Conservative councillor, who represents the Charterlands ward which includes Bigbury and Modbury, was unanimously elected at a special meeting of the authority which he joined in 2019.

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

“I hope I can do the role justice,” he said. “We have some work to do as a team.”

He said priorities for the council include providing affordable homes for local people.

Outgoing chairman Guy Pannell (Lib Dem, South Brent) was praised for his empathy, civility and fairness, and was voted in unanimously to serve as vice-chairman for the coming year.

Council leader Julian Brazil (Lib Dem, Stokenham) made his annual statement as the elections to the top roles were made.

He pointed out that the full council would not meet again until after the general election on Thursday 4 July, in which he plans to stand for election to parliament in the South West Devon seat for the Lib Dems.

“Things will be said in the heat of battle,” he said. “But let’s remember that we are all here to fight for what is best for our communities and the South Hams.”

At the same meeting, community awards were made to the Kingsbridge food bank and the River Yealm’s dementia-friendly parishes. Robin Cox, Peter Davis and Kieron Grylls were named as community champions.

Members also paid tributes to two former councillors who have recently died – Ian Blackler and Judy Westacott, who was five times mayor of Totnes and an honorary freeman of the town.

Mr Blackler served on the council for 12 years and was described by Cllr Pannell as “a true gentleman.”

Ms Westacott had been “a stalwart of Totnes,” he said. She was a member of South Hams Council from 1991 to 2015 and chaired the authority in 1998.

“She was well known in many circles,” said Cllr Pannell. “Not least the Totnes Elizabethan Market, where she would appear splendidly dressed in her Elizabethan costume.

“She always had a ready wit and a twinkle in her eye.”
 

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Ed Davey launches Lib Dem election campaign with ‘no ceiling on ambitions’

Ed Davey has said the Liberal Democrats are “not putting a ceiling on our ambitions” as he launched the party’s general election campaign.

Charlie Moloney www.theguardian.com 

The party leader said the Lib Dems had been getting their best response from voters “for a generation” while out campaigning.

He also accused the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, and other Conservative MPs of taking their constituents for granted as he spoke confidently about winning more seats on 4 July.

Davey unveiled the Lib Dems’ new battlebus, named Yellow Hammer One, and met a large crowd of supporters at the launch in Whittlesford, Cambridgeshire on Sunday.

He focused largely on health and the environment in a speech to supporters, including hospitals “with dangerous crumbling roofs” and “sewage pouring into” wards, and promised to introduce a 10-year rolling repair programme for the NHS estate.

Asked what the Lib Dems’ targets were in the election, Davey told the PA Media news agency: “I’m not putting a ceiling on our ambitions.

“All I’m doing is talking to voters with my teams across the country, and the Liberal Democrats are getting a great response – a better response than we’ve had for a generation.

“I was elected back in 1997 and this feels to me quite a bit like that. I don’t worry about the other parties; I’m just excited about our job and excited about change.”

The Lib Dems are targeting traditionally Conservative heartlands in the “blue wall” in southern England.

Buoyed up by a series of byelection and local election victories in the area, the party is eyeing up the constituencies of several cabinet ministers, including Hunt’s.

Asked about Hunt’s Godalming and Ash constituency, Davey said he was “looking forward to that campaign” because the party had heard from many lifelong Tory voters.

He added: “I feel people like Jeremy Hunt have let them down, taken them for granted, assumed they’ll always vote Conservative.”

The Tories and Labour both made eye-catching pledges over the weekend, with the former promising mandatory national service if re-elected and the latter keen to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote.

Asked about both policies, Davey said: “The Liberal Democrats have long supported votes from 16 and I’m glad other parties are now catching up with us.

“All I’d say is as political reforms go, it’s an important one but it’s quite small. We need to transform our politics.

“As for this distraction of a policy by the Conservatives on national service, the hypocrisy is just breathtaking.

“What we need is full-time, professional, highly trained troops. We’ve got the best army in the world and we should be backing it.”

The party have previously pointed to local election results in May that suggested it was making gains in a series of traditionally Conservative constituencies.

Lib Dem officials believe the results – in which the party performed well – proved their strategy of ruthlessly targeting Tory wards in the seats they want to win is working.

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Professional horse rider dies in fall during international tournament in Bicton, Devon

A professional horse rider has died while competing at an equestrian event in Devon.

Harry Stedman www.standard.co.uk

Georgie Campbell, 36, was immediately attended to by medical staff after falling at a fence but could not be saved.

Governing body British Eventing said in a statement on Sunday: “It is with deepest regret that we announce that Georgie Campbell (GBR) suffered a fatal accident whilst competing at the Bicton International Horse Trials in Devon, England, on Sunday 26 May 2024.

“Medical professionals attended immediately following her fall at fence 5b, however, unfortunately, she could not be saved.

“The horse, Global Quest, was assessed by the on-site vets and walked back to the stable and is uninjured.

“To respect the family’s privacy at this extremely difficult and sad time, no further details will be shared.”

A spokesperson for South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) said it was called to an incident near Budleigh Salterton at 3.05pm on Sunday.

An air ambulance, double-crewed land ambulance, operations officer and hazardous area response team were sent to the scene.

Campbell was initially a top-level showing rider before turning to eventing.

She represented Great Britain numerous times on Nations Cup teams and appeared at several five-star events, the highest recognised level of eventing.

In an Equine America interview last year, she cited winning the 4* Long in 2022 at Ligniers on Global Quest as a career highlight.

Campbell wed fellow equestrian Jesse Campbell, a member of the New Zealand team for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, in December 2020.

Together the pair joined personal and professional forces to create Team Campbell Eventing.

The Bicton International Horse Trials is a four-day event taking place from Thursday to Sunday.

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Brixham ‘open for business’ despite parasite outbreak – boil water in 2,500 properties remains

Traders in a Devon town impacted by a water parasite outbreak have urged tourists to visit the area during half term.

George Thorpe, Kirk England www.bbc.co.uk

South West Water (SWW) has been asking people in Brixham to boil tap water after cryptosporidium was found in its network on 14 May.

The water company said 2,500 properties in the Hillhead remained under boil water notices while work to flush the parasite out of the system was completed.

Business owners in Brixham said they had seen a drop in footfall during the outbreak and wanted SWW to help restore confidence in the water locally.

According to the UK Health Security Agency on Friday, there have been 77 confirmed cases of cryptosporidiosis in Brixham.

SWW said work to flush the parasite out of the water network has continued and apologised for the disruption.

‘Heartbreaking situation’

Sean Twomey, owner of the Golden Hind museum ship in Brixham Harbour, said the outbreak had affected all the town’s businesses.

He said it could have been a “bigger disaster” if the outbreak happened during the school holidays, but there had been a “huge drop” in visitor numbers in the past two weeks.

“The town is notably quieter than it normally would be,” he said.

Mr Twomey said he wants SWW to give more reassurance the water is safe to help get visitors back.

“Brixham’s an amazing place to stay and to visit for day trips and stuff like that,” he said.

“It’s heartbreaking to hear of all the Air B&Bs, guest houses and hotels having cancellations and stuff like that.”

Richard Gledhill, from the Torbay Communities charity, said it looked like people were cancelling their visits.

“I’m sorry to say that the word on the street is that people are cancelling,” he said.

“They’re making their own choices without doubt and some of the guys that I know who run restaurants, pubs or wine bars in the town are saying people are just not coming.”

Market traders in Brixham said business had “gone dead” in the town since the outbreak.

Alanis Oliver, who runs the Emalini Art stall, said there was a strange feel around the town.

“I’ve heard of some places who have had cancellations all the way through to August and it’s a bit disheartening really,” she said.

“But I think there will still be some people who come down for the half term and for the holiday.”

Carolina Vottero, who runs the Oyster Cove stall, said she was worried some people would not come back to Brixham.

But she said traders and the town were ready and “buzzing” for the summer season.

Ms Vottero said: “It has been quiet, I’m not going to lie, but we have the bank holiday weekend ahead and hopefully we’ll have everybody coming in.”

Some traders in Kingswear have also expressed their concerns as the village has been impacted by the outbreak as it has the same water supply as Brixham.

Sian Thomas and Jess Povey, who run the Ebb and Flow cafe, said the outbreak has had a “huge impact on trade” and they have felt “forgotten”.

Ms Thomas said: “Obviously it’s been really busy with the bank holidays and Dart Music Festival and I think we would have expected more people than we’ve actually have had.”

Ms Povey added: “It’s pretty sad really. At this time of year it should be exceptionally busy and we’re just not seeing the same numbers we did last year for example.”

Devon ‘open’

Visit Devon director Sally Everton said there had been a downturn in trade since the outbreak happened and the organisation wanted to tell tourists it was safe to visit the county.

“I have had a few challenging times just assuring potential visitors coming to Devon for half term and the Whitsun bank holiday that we’re open for business and it is safe to come here,” she said.

“It’s absolutely 100% safe and we’re open as normal.”

Ms Everton said tourists heading to other parts of Devon can be assured they will not be affected by the parasite.

She said: “Action was taken immediately to limit any impact that it would have on the businesses and visitors that came to Devon.”

One tourist who has not been put off by the outbreak was Ian Pye from Manchester, who is spending two weeks camping near Berry Head.

He said people should “come on down” to Brixham and not to worry about the water.

“It’s got to be taken seriously, but I’m sure South West Water will fix it in no time,” Mr Pye said.

Additional reporting by Hattie McCann

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He called a surprise election but Rishi Sunak is making up policy on the hoof

Tories in complete disarray as they launch election without manifesto

What a difference three days make in politics!

23 May Bringing back National Service “could damage morale, recruitment and retention and would consume professional military and naval resources”.

National Service: National Security Ministry of Defence written question – answered on 23 May 2024.

Photo of Andrew MurrisonAndrew Murrison The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence

The Government has no current plans to reintroduce National Service. Since 1963, when the last national servicemen were discharged, it has been the policy of successive Governments that the best way of providing for the defence of our country is by maintaining professional Armed Forces staffed by volunteers. The demanding, increasingly technical, nature of defence today is such that we require highly trained, professional men and women in our Regular and Reserve Armed Forces, fully committed to giving their best in defending our country and its allies.

If potentially unwilling National Service recruits were to be obliged to serve alongside the professional men and women of our Armed Forces, it could damage morale, recruitment and retention and would consume professional military and naval resources. If, on the other hand, National Service recruits were kept in separate units, it would be difficult to find a proper and meaningful role for them, potentially harming motivation and discipline. For all these reasons, there are no current plans for the restoration of any form of National Service.

Three days later

26 May Rishi Sunak has vowed to bring back national service for 18-year-olds to create a “renewed sense of pride in our country” if he wins the general election.

Under the mandatory scheme, teenagers would be given a choice between a full-time placement in the armed forces for 12 months or spending one weekend a month for a year volunteering in their community.

What next?