This Heath Robinson affair of six pumps pumping into a tank with two tractors pumping it out and up to Maer Lane. This is what has overflowed and closed Exmouth beach for the third time in August.
This was supposed to replace a major pumping station for four weeks. Hand me another sticking plaster please.
This is SWWs solution to what should have been a replacement rising main.
It’ll cost Exmouth £m’s but SWW don’t care about that. Geoff Crawford ESCAPE
Angela Rayner, who builds the sewage treatment works we will need for more homes and when will they build them? Sometime or never?- Owl
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government www.gov.uk
Hundreds of thousands of new homes stuck in the planning system or partially built will be accelerated to help end the housing crisis and drive growth, thanks to the New Homes Accelerator launched by the Deputy Prime Minister today.
An experienced team from the Ministry of Housing and Homes England will work across government and with local councils to accelerate the buildout of housing schemes delayed by planning and red tape to drive economic growth across every part of the country.
They will hit the ground running by bringing together key players, including government agencies, local planning departments and housebuilders, who will work to resolve specific local issues and deploy planning experts on the ground to work through blockages at each site identified. This includes looking at barriers to affordable housing delivery where relevant.
Interventions could see the New Homes Accelerator provide resources to support local planning capacity where there are barriers and work across the board to make sure planning decisions are made in a timely fashion.
Government analysis suggests 200 large sites have outline or detailed plans ready to go but are yet to begin construction, and the team is already getting started on some of those that would benefit from early interventions. The Accelerator will focus on lending a helping hand to frustrated housebuilders and local communities who want to play their part to get Britain building again, in turn driving local and economic growth.
Devon County Council is set to launch a concerted campaign to persuade the Government to reverse the axing of winter fuel payments to needy pensioners.
Radio Exe News www.radioexe.co.uk
Conservative leader James McInnes and Liberal Democrat councillor Alan Connett have signed a motion to next week’s county council meeting calling on the Government to re-think.
The Government made the announcement last month that only the most needy elderly people on Pension Credit and other benefits would continue to receive the £300 annual payment to help with their heating bills.
Even those whose only income is a basic State pension won’t qualify.
In the Notice of Motion, Mr Connett says: “In the Devon County Council area, the number of pensioners affected by the change in eligibility criteria is 180,579.
“That means around nine in 10 pensioners currently eligible for winter fuel payments will no longer be able to claim the payment from this winter onwards.
“Council believes that the Labour Government has set the threshold at which pensioners do not qualify for winter fuel payments far too low.
“Only those receiving a pension of less than £218.15 a week or £332.95 a week for couples are eligible for pension credits. This is significantly lower than the living wage rate.”
“Council further notes that the Energy Price Cap is due to rise by 10 per cent in October which, combined by the removal of winter fuel payments, will push thousands of local pensioners into fuel poverty.”
Mr McInnes said: “It hasn’t taken this Labour Government long to show their true colours.
“The Government claims they will save £1.4 billion by this measure but at the same time has agreed above inflation pay increases for many.
“With their new salaries, many of them will be paying more in tax than our pensioners have to live on.
“It’s estimated these pay increases will cost the country £10 billion, dwarfing the cash that will be saved from hitting some of the most vulnerable members of our community.
“It may well be that some better-off pensioners do not need this money but by making the cap so low I am concerned the Labour Government is effectively forcing some of our most vulnerable residents to choose between heating and eating this winter.
“Historically in Devon many buildings are older and hard to heat – the Government needs to realise that Devon’s residents don’t live in big cities but in rural areas.
“Older people tend to spend more time at home and so need to keep the heating on for longer.
“They’re also more likely to have medical conditions which require them to keep warm.
“Research has shown that rural areas in Devon are already in the most deprived 20 per cent nationally for housing quality and the availability of central heating.
“With the proposed Energy Price Cap, the Government is creating a perfect storm for greater cost-of-living impacts on Devon’s residents.
“As a county council we will do what we can to mitigate the effects of this heartless policy but I believe the Government should use their first Budget next month to announce they are withdrawing this and thinking again.”
East Devon Watch 