Monthly Archives: September 2024

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4 Sep 2024

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Clarity sought on Tipton St John school rebuild

Richard Foord MP has put in a written question to parliament to make sure the school building program is going ahead and that Tipton St John is still part of it. He believes Rachel Reeves’ spending assessment doesn’t extend to the DfE’s capital budget.

Bradley Gerrard, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk

Certainty over a proposed scheme to relocate a Devon school is being sought amid the government’s spending review.

Tipton St John Primary School was in the previous administration’s priority schools’ rebuilding programme, but with Labour now seeking to cut plug a national funding gap, the future of the scheme is up in the air.

The Department for Education (DfE) had agreed to fund the construction of the new school, with Devon County Council providing the land and paying for work such as road access.

Former East Devon Conservative MP Simon Jupp, who lost his seat the election, had campaigned on the issue, and earlier this year welcomed the-then education secretary Gillian Keegan to the school to urge that work begin quickly.

The DfE’s preferred location for a new school is two miles away at Thorne Farm, Ottery St Mary.

But now, the county council says it is trying to find out whether the government will honour its predecessor’s commitment.

“With the new government still identifying its priorities, we are not yet clear what its intention is with the priority schools rebuilding programme,” a council spokesperson said.

“We are, however, seeking clarity.”

Following boundary changes at the last election, Tipton St John is now in the Honiton and Sidmouth constituency, represented by Liberal Democrat Richard Foord who says he would prefer to see the school stay in the village rather than moved to neighbouring Ottery.

This is despite the school being in a flood-risk area and being under water on several occasions.

Shortly after his election win, he went to visit the school and its headteacher and governors.

“It is a school that absolutely does need to be rebuilt, but there is a very big question over where,” Mr Foord said.

“Personally, I’m of the view that it should be kept in the village if at all possible.”

Mr Foord said that as it stands, chancellor Rachel Reeves’ spending assessment doesn’t extend to the DfE’s capital budget – the pot of money it would use for large schemes such as rebuilding schools.

“Again though, we want some certainty so I have put in a written question to parliament to make sure the school building program is going ahead and that Tipton St John is still part of it.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We remain committed to improving the condition of the school estate, and the rebuild of Tipton St John is a part of that.

“We continue to work with the school and local partners and look forward to progressing the project when a new suitable site has been secured.

“All future decisions remain subject to the spending review.”

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3 Sep 2024

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Susan Davey visits Maer Lane. Apologises to Exmouth. What about the rest of East Devon?

Yesterday the following beaches: Budleigh, Sidmouth and Seaton were also polluted. What about them Susan?- Owl

“We have all the workarounds in place and our absolute job is to protect the environment and the watercourses and make sure we’re doing it in such a way that we minimise impacts on the community, which I know is really tricky at the moment and I fully understand and I apologise for all the disruption that we are causing here.”

Speaking in a video message from the Maer Lane site, Susan Davey, as reported by DevonLive,  said: “I’ve come down to Exmouth again just to make sure that I can see the good progress that’s being made by all the teams and this really is a joint effort. We have many teams who are working around the clock to make sure that we’re passing through all the sewage right up to the treatment works whilst we are working on the fix for the main that obviously burst previously.

“The teams are working 24/7. They’re fully supported with what they need to do. Obviously this is an enormous undertaking that we are working through but the teams are on with it and doing a very good job.

“Looking round the works that are being done today it’s incredible, the scale of the undertaking that we are on with. Obviously we are working with all our partners to make sure we get this done in short order but it will take a number of weeks before we get to a position that we have replaced the main that we need to replace

“In the meantime, we have all the workarounds in place and our absolute job is to protect the environment and the watercourses and make sure we’re doing it in such a way that we minimise impacts on the community, which I know is really tricky at the moment and I fully understand and I apologise for all the disruption that we are causing here.

“But absolutely, our focus is on protecting the environment and making sure that we get this main recharged in the way that it needs to be and that we are minimising our impacts on the community.

“One of the things that I’m really keen to do is that we have a wider plan for Exmouth that’s in train and we will see a new works being developed, which we want to make sure is in and up and running and working by 2028.

“Now what we’re going to look at is how do we bring some of that work forward, how do we make sure that we are supporting the community and all the work that we’re doing here will feed into that new infrastructure we’ll be putting in place.”

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3 Sep 2024

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Planning applications validated by EDDC for week beginning 19 August

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2 Sep 2024

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Economic impact of sewage spills on Exmouth becomes national news

‘I’m an Exmouth business owner – I’ve lost thousands due to sewage outpours’

Businesses say they have lost thousands of pounds because of sewage outpours at a popular coastal holiday town in east Devon.

Kyriakos Petrakos, Alexa Phillips inews.co.uk

One business owner in Exmouth, who teaches watersports, said he had to repeatedly cancel classes and issue refunds last month following a “no swim” alert triggered by a burst sewage pipe.

The alert was lifted but i found that South West Water, which is responsible for wastewater services in the area, poured sewage into the sea at Exmouth again days later following downpours. Water companies are allowed to pump untreated sewage into the UK’s rivers and surrounding seas when too much rainfall threatens the capacity of their water tanks.

i also revealed earlier this year that 240 tankers a day drove through Exmouth carrying up to 18,000 litres of sewage to the Maer Road Sewage Pumping Station, just 200 metres from the beach, following a series of major pipe bursts.

Edward John Morgan, 52, said he and other business owners in the area have lost money because of repeated sewage spills last month.

Mr Morgan, who runs watersports business Red Rock, said the impact of sewage spills this August was “the worst I’ve ever known”, saying it was “very disappointing” that people were unable to go swimming. August is usually his busiest month of the year.

“We’ve had large school groups waiting on the beach to go afloat, and then had to do something else with them because we couldn’t take them on the water,” he told i. “That’s significant, because one of our big selling points is being on the water for our camps.

“We’ve also had cancellations. People are on holiday and they can’t come back – we have to refund them if they can’t take them out that day.”

He worries others have not visited the area as a result of the spills.

Sewage was discharged into the sea at Exmouth after a burst pipe, according to Surfers Against Sewage’s Safer Seas & Rivers Service

“We want people to holiday in England,” he said. “We’ve got bad weather half the time, and now we’ve got that as well. It’s too much. It’s got to stop.”

He said the sewage spills have cost him thousands of pounds in cancellations.

It is not only watersports businesses like his that have been affected, but also local restaurants and pubs that rely on visitors to boost their income, he said.

Mr Morgan, who lives in the area, said water firms were “taking the p*** – literally”, adding that the town is “so fed up with it”.

‘This has put my wife off of going to Exmouth’

Andrew Halden, 68, has been going on holiday in Exmouth for each of the past 10 years – but their experience this year means he and his family may not be coming back.

“One of the main features of the holiday is the beach and sea swimming,” he told i.

“Last year, we lost a day or so due to storms but this year the sewer pipe break meant we couldn’t go on the beach or in the sea at all.

“Even on those days when South West Water said you could go in we were very wary of trusting this advice. The last thing we wanted on our holiday was to have a family member falling ill.

“We instead chose to play it safe and head to a beach that was consistently good.”

He said they usually do not drive outside the area, but this year they travelled 40 minutes to find a beach they “could trust” – in Dawlish Warren. He and his family, which includes his 11-year-old granddaughter, went to Topsham Lido on another day.

“We then weren’t spending money in Exmouth which must have impacted local businesses,” he said.

“As a family we felt that we hadn’t spent much leisure time at all in Exmouth and consequentially not spent our money with many of the local businesses.

“Having now had two years of uncertainty with regard to the beach we are now seriously looking at alternative locations for our family break in 2025. We will most likely be moving away from the South West altogether based on the way South West Water operate.”

He said sewage outflows have tarnished the area’s reputation as a “safe and happy holiday destination”.

“Last year we had a small issue with the sewage alerts but this year’s fiasco has definitely put my wife off going to Exmouth again,” he said.

“We as a family looked at our spending this year and we all found we had spent so much less in Exmouth this year.”

Local resident Tracey Bosworth, 58, told i she has been “so worried about the impact the sewage dumps have been having on the town, tourism and the businesses”.

“I’ve noticed a huge reduction in the amount of people visiting the beaches at Exmouth this year,” she said.

“Exmouth is my most favourite place on Earth and this is heartbreaking.

“We’ve all had enough of the contempt for our environment, the residents and businesses. Also, the lack of care by South West Water for people’s health, particularly the children who love being in the sea.

“They are our future and so this could have a detrimental effect for generations.

“Exmouth has such a bad reputation now regarding sewage and it’s completely the fault of South West Water.”

i previously revealed that another resident, Jo Bateman, is taking South West Water to court, claiming that sewage spills in Exmouth have prevented her from cold water swimming, which improves her physical and mental well-being.

A spokesperson for South West Water said: “We are doing everything possible to protect the environment while we complete a permanent fix to the burst pipe in Exmouth.

“Our teams continue to work around the clock. We fully understand the disruption this is causing and we are sorry for that.

“We are investing around £38m in the Exmouth area up to 2030. This includes upgrading our pumping stations and treatment works to significantly reduce the number of spills and further protect the environment.”

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2 Sep 2024

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A new week, a new pollution alert

Following heavy rain last night, the Environment Agency detected a sewage discharge at Exmouth starting at 01:56 2 September.

Surfers against Sewage map shows alerts at Exmouth, Budleigh, Sidmouth, Beer and Seaton

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1 Sep 2024

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Does this really help to find a solution to the sewage crisis?

“The best way to move forward is to move as one.” – David Reed MP

Surely we look to our MP to take the lead. – Owl

David Reed MP

This weekend’s ‘Red Flag’ sewage warning on Exmouth beach has become too common of a sight. The negative effect on local wellbeing, business and tourism has been palpable, and I have deep concerns that our area is starting to gain a national reputation for all of the wrong reasons.

Since being elected last month, I have kept to my word and prioritised finding the fastest but most long-term solution to sorting out the sewage situation we find ourselves in.

Over the last month I have met with South West Water (SWW), the Environment Agency and a range of local businesses and landowners to establish consensus on how best to move in the right direction.

SWW have told me that they are willing to quickly bring structural engineering funds forward to start upgrading and enhancing their network across Exmouth and Budleigh Salterton.

Although this is the right move by SWW, there needs to be a visible plan so that all local people can hold SWW to account on delivery, as well as seeing improvement.

I have let SWW know that once their investigation across the wider local network is complete (circa 3 weeks), they need to communicate their new delivery plan.

To that end, I will be getting in touch with all local councillors from affected areas (Town, District and County) to arrange an in person briefing session with SWW. There will also be an opportunity for representatives of local business and activist groups etc. to attend a briefing session.

The best way to move forward is to move as one. By collectively working together at the local level, we can get the local results we need.

I will also be working in Parliament to ensure that national legislation is effective, and that regulators have the teeth needed to bite down on underperforming water companies.

#ExmouthandExeterEast

Sewage flowing, helmets on, at ease everyone!