It will be obvious to readers that posts on East Devon Watch have been few and far between over the past couple of months. The reason is that Owl has been caring for a family member undergoing intensive chemotherapy with its associated and debilitating side effects. 

Despite this, Owl has maintained a watching brief, especially regarding local government reorganisation and what should be the upcoming County Council elections in May.

Owl will try to keep readers up to date on local matters of real significance.

Just as the BBC announces that our water bills will rise by 32% this year, due to front loading of the average 23% over five years, excluding inflation, and the withdrawal of the £50 government subsidy. – Owl

Shannon Brown www.devonlive.com

Sewage has been discharged at the Maer Local Nature Reserve in Exmouth and members of the public have been urged to avoid contact with flood water in the area. East Devon District Council has advised people to take care when walking in the area after sewage was spilled in the area, which is popular with dog walkers.

It comes after severe weather in the South West, with heavy rain causing flooding and travel disruption to the region. Sewage discharges are common after periods of bad weather and Surfers Against Sewage maps shows numerous sewage spills in the South West.

East Devon District Council said: “Please be aware that following a sewerage discharge onto the Maer in #Exmouth, we strongly advise:

“Dog walkers to please keep your pets away from the floodwater and surrounding areas. Residents and visitors to avoid contact with the floodwater and exercise caution if walking nearby.

“We are actively monitoring the situation and the Environment Agency is also aware. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

“EDDC is in contact with South West Water and the Environment Agency who are managing the issue.”

‘It’s only fair that visitors who use our services should pay towards them’

Holidaymakers visiting South Devon tourist hotspots like Salcombe and Dartmouth will, after all, have to pay more to park than local people.

Guy Henderson – Local Democracy Reporter www.radioexe.co.uk

After months of sometimes acrimonious debate, South Hams Council has finally decided to go ahead with a two-tier parking strategy.

Charges will go up across all the district’s car parks, but locals will be able to apply for a £5 permit which will give them a discount every time they park.

Councillors heard that putting up fees for the first time since April 2021 will generate much-needed income for the council as it tries to balance its books in the face of ever-dwindling support from central government.

But some town councils and business groups have warned that putting up fees and making holidaymakers pay more than local people will put people off coming to the South Hams and spending money.

Cllr Nicky Hopwood (Con, Woolwell) described it as a ‘tourism tax’, to which council leader Julian Brazil (Lib Dem, Stokenham) responded: “They have a tourism tax on the continent, but people still go there!”

Members voted by a majority to go ahead with the new system, saying it would be reviewed at a later date to make sure it is working properly.

Cllr John Birch (Lib Dem, Totnes) said the council had to find ways of raising money to pay for essential services in the face of an ‘all-out attack’ on its finances by the government.

“If we throw this out, we will be in a very difficult position,” he said.

Cllr Hopwood said she was worried about the potential impact on local businesses, and also thought South Hams residents should be able to register for their discounts free of charge rather than paying five pounds.

She said the proposals were ‘nonsensical’.

Summing up, Cllr Brazil said: “It’s a small increase, and we think it’s only fair that visitors who come here and use our services should pay in some way towards those services.”

In response to a Guardian article published on 12 Jan claiming that Downing Street has blocked plans to release wild beavers in England because officials view it as a “Tory legacy”.

John Varley, CEO of Clinton Devon Estates had this letter published yesterday. 

Your article suggests the government has decided not to authorise the release of beavers into the wild. I am afraid it is too late. Here in east Devon we’ve had families of beavers living wild on the River Otter for a number of years. Our estate was part of the first “beaver trial”, along with partners in the Devon Wildlife Trust and the University of Exeter, after a small number were sighted in the wild on our land. After the trial, the beavers were allowed to remain – there are more than 170 of them now, and they are expanding their range across and beyond the original catchment.

The beaver is a remarkable rodent, and can help water quality, biodiversity and “slowing the flow” to help prevent flooding. It can also be a bit of a nuisance. It has had a few negative impacts on local farming activity, highway and property flooding. And a few precious trees owned by local residents have been felled. If the policy is not to release them into the wild, will someone from Defra get in touch to arrange collection of ours, please, before they move to surrounding counties?
John Varley
CEO, Clinton Devon Estates

Note: A government spokesperson said: “This story is categorically untrue. The government is working with Natural England to review options on species reintroduction, including beavers.”

PS John Varley doesn’t strike Owl as a “natural” Guardian reader, so maybe he saw it on EDW.

The rewilding of beavers is down to Independent Claire Wright’s tireless campaigning over ten years ago when beavers first appeared in the Otter. This view from “No 10” is dangerous nonsense. – Owl

No 10 blocks beaver release plan as officials view it as ’Tory legacy’

Downing Street has blocked plans to release wild beavers in England because officials view it as a “Tory legacy”, the Guardian can reveal.

Helena Horton www.theguardian.com

Natural England, the government’s nature watchdog, has drawn up a plan for reintroductions of the rodent, which until about 20 years ago had been extinct in Britain for 400 years, having been hunted for their fur, meat and scent oil. Beavers create useful habitats for wildlife and reduce flooding by breaking up waterways, slowing water flow, and creating still pools.

The reintroduction plan was signed off in recent weeks by the environment secretary, Steve Reed, who passed it to No 10. But there it was blocked by senior Downing Street officials, who were not in favour of the policy as they view it as a “Tory legacy”, sources said.

The former Conservative prime minister Boris Johnson was keen on reintroducing beavers, promising in his 2021 conference speech to “build back beaver”. He also tried to get permission for his father, Stanley, to release the rodents on his Exmoor estate.

Natural England executives are furious that years of painstaking work to bring the beaver back to Britain’s rivers has been undone, the Guardian understands. Campaigners for a natural history GCSE recently said this had been blocked too because it was seen by Labour officials as a Tory idea.

Representatives of leading nature charities including the National Trust, Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust and the Mammal Society have written to Reed asking him to push the policy through so beavers can be released across England.

They said: “The continued absence of a formal wild release licensing system is preventing much-needed progress in restoring this species to our landscapes and catchments, and realising their full potential as a nature-based solution.”

Rob Stoneman, the director of landscape recovery at the Wildlife Trusts, said: “The UK is suffering from a freshwater crisis – polluted rivers, floods, and the threat of drought – at the same time as experiencing the appalling effects of the nature and climate crises. These are all linked and would benefit hugely from a cheap, natural solution: beavers. It’s high time we freed the beaver and let them supercharge landscape recovery in the UK – it’s extremely frustrating that wild beaver licences have been blocked.”

Currently, after licensed and unlicensed releases, there are about 1,500 beavers in Scotland and 600-800 in England. Beavers are legally released by wildlife agencies in Scotland but it is still illegal for anyone to release them in England, where they have to be kept in pens. The plan would allow conservationists to release beavers into the wild on their land, rather than in captivity, so they could live free and repopulate England. Under the plan, licences would be granted to appropriate schemes.

A five-year government study found that illegally released beavers on the River Otter in Devon were boosting wildlife and having a positive impact on the local area, so the rodents were given permission to stay.

Prof Richard Brazier, who has conducted much of the beaver research in England, said: “From our research over the last 10 years and the wider research around beaver reintroduction globally, the overwhelming consensus on the impacts of wild-living beavers is hugely positive. It is high time that we humans recognised that we need their help and did so by launching the coherent, national-scale strategy on beaver reintroduction that is desperately needed to recover nature and build resilient ecosystems across England and Wales.”

The National Trust is pushing to be allowed to release beavers on some of its properties. Ben McCarthy, its head of nature conservation, said: “We have been in constructive discussions with Defra and Natural England about a wild release programme for several years. One such site we feel could work really well for a wild release would be some of the land we care for at Purbeck Heaths in Dorset, which is part of the 3,331 hectares (8,231 acres) “super national nature reserve”.

“Feasibility studies have shown that Little Sea, a freshwater lake surrounded by dense vegetation, is a highly suitable site for beavers, with plenty of room for them to gradually spread across the landscape, increasing biodiversity and improving waterways due to their natural behaviour of dam building and tree coppicing to help create nature-rich wetlands.”

The National Farmers’ Union has campaigned against the release of beavers, arguing they could flood fields. However, many farmers support their release and say any of the impacts could be managed such as by moving the animals away from the farm to a more appropriate area.

Martin Lines, the chief executive of the Nature Friendly Farming Network, said: “There’s a lot of evidence showing the benefits [beavers] bring, and getting this right could deliver significant savings in mitigating flooding, holding water in the landscape to help farmers during drier periods of the year, and helping to tackle the challenges of climate change and nature loss.

“It’s critical that the government releases the licensing framework to ensure beavers are being reintroduced responsibly in the right places and the process is being managed to achieve the best outcomes for both nature and food production.”

A government spokesperson said: “This story is categorically untrue. The government is working with Natural England to review options on species reintroduction, including beavers.”

Cited reasons for postponing elections include work pressure on County staff and that newly elected councillors would have to work out how to abolish their “institution”.

Strike you as somewhat spurious?

All the effort maintaining the electoral rolls falls on Districts and the responsibility of running elections lies with the returning officers, not with County.  

Any amalgamation of County and District responsibilities, staffing and office accommodation will take years to complete so why shouldn’t the electorate choose new councillors they think are best fitted to make these momentous decisions and decisions during transition?

This Labour government might just be daft enough to be taken in.  Owl

How did your local representative vote?

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

Devon’s county councillors voted in favour of asking the government to allow it to postpone May’s local elections for a year whilst the future structure of councils becomes clearer.

Jim McMahon, the minster for local government and devolution, told councils  last month that any request to delay polling “must set out how postponing the election would enable the council to make progress with reorganisation and devolution”.

The government has set out plans to abolishing the existing structure of county and district councils, replacing them with larger ‘unitary-style’ councils and overarching ‘strategic’ areas run by elected mayors.

Some people who want to delays May’s election suggest organising a ballot at the same time as re-engineering how local government is organised would put staff under too much pressure, and mean the first job of new councillors would be to work out how to abolish the institution they have just been elected to.

At an estimated £1.5 million for Devon, it is also costly.

But opponents claim Devon County Council’s move is a sign of its Conservative administration trying to hold on to power for longer, in spite of the council facing issues such as an inadequate Ofsted rating for its children’s services department and a large financial deficit in its special education needs and disabilities (Send) provision.

A request for a recorded vote was made at Devon’s full council meeting last week, meaning every councillor who attended had the way in which they voted written down for the record. Votes are most often carried out with just a show of hands.

The vote was 37 for and 12 against. Ten councillors were not present at the meeting and the chairman – presently Councillor John Hart (Conservative, Bickleigh & Wembury) does not vote in such situations unless a deciding vote is required.

Devon County Council consists of 38 Conservative councillors, nine Liberal Democrats, four independents. six Labour, two Green Party and one non-aligned member.

So, how did your county councillor vote?

The councillors who voted FOR applying to postpone May’s elections?
Councillor    Ward    Party
ADAMS, Tracy    Pinhoe & Mincinglake    Labour
ATKINSON, Yvonne    Alphington & Cowick    Labour and Cooperative Party
BERRY, John    Cullompton & Bradninch    Conservative
BULLIVANT, Phil    Newton Abbot North    Conservative
CHESTERTON, Richard    Tiverton West    Conservative
CHUBB, Iain    Whimple & Blackdown    Conservative
CRABB, Paul    Ilfracombe    Conservative
CROAD, Roger    Ivybridge    Conservative
DAVIS, Andrea    Combe Martin Rural    Conservative
GILBERT, Rufus    Salcombe    Conservative
HANNAFORD, Rob    Exwick & St Thomas    Non-aligned
HARTNELL, Marcus    Seaton &Colyton    Conservative
HAWKINS, Jonathan    Dartmouth & Marldon    Conservative
HELLYER, Linda    Bideford East    Conservative
HENDERSON, Paul    Chulmleigh & Landkey    Independent
HUGHES, Stuart    Sidmouth    Conservative
KHAN, Sarah    Ashburton & Buckfastleigh    Conservative

LEADBETTER, Andrew Wearside & Topsham    Conservative
MASKELL, Pru    Braunton Rural    Conservative
MCGEOUGH, Dermot    Northam    Conservative
MCINNES, James    Hatherleigh & Chagford    Conservative
MORRISH, James    Holsworthy Rural    Conservative
PEART, Ron    Kingsteignton &Teign Estuary    Conservative
PROWSE, Percy    Duryard & Pennsylvania    Conservative
RADFORD, Ray    Willand & Uffculme    Conservative
RANDALL JOHNSON, Sara    Broadclyst    Conservative
SAMUEL, Lois    Okehampton Rural    Conservative
SANDERS, Philip    Yelverton Rural    Conservative
SAYWELL, Andrew    Torrington Rural    Conservative
SCOTT, Richard    Exmouth    Conservative
SELLIS, Debo    Tavistock    Conservative
SLADE, Colin    Tiverton East    Conservative
TRAIL, Jeffrey    Exmouth    Conservative
TWISS, Phillip    Feniton & Honiton    Conservative
WHITTON, Carol    St David’s & Haven Banks    Labour
WILTON LOVE, Jeffrey      Bideford West & Hartland    Conservative
YABSLEY, Jeremy    South Molton    Conservative

  The councillors who voted AGAINST applying to postpone May’s elections?

Councillor    Ward    Party
AVASHIN, Marina    Wonford & St Loyes    Labour
AVES, SU    St Sidwells & St James    Labour Party and Cooperative Party
BAILEY, Jess    Otter Valley    Independent
BIEDERMAN, Frank    Fremington Rural    Independent
BRADFORD, Janet    Newton Abbot South    Independent
BRAZIL, Julian    Kingsbridge    Liberal Democrat
CONNETT, Alan    Exminster & Haldon    Liberal Democrat
DEWHIRST, Alistair    Ipplepen and the Kerswells    Liberal Democrat
HODGSON, Jacqi    Totnes & Dartington    Green Party
LEAVER, Caroline    Barnstaple South    Liberal Democrat
ROOME, Ian    Barnstaple North    Liberal Democrat
THOMAS, Dan    South Brent & Yealmpton    Liberal Democrat
 

The only person elected to lead a combined Devon and Cornwall public authority is……………… Alison Hernandez if I’m not mistaken!

Steve Race MP – be careful what you wish for! – Owl

PS He also seems to be backing two horses, neither corresponding with the Tory County proposal.

Devon and Cornwall should combine under mayor, says Exeter MP

Steve Race supports city’s unitary bid too

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

Exeter’s status as one of the south west’s economic powerhouses must be protected as part of the impending local government shake-up, the city’s MP has said.

Labour’s Steve Race supports bringing together Devon and Cornwall as part of the reorganisation announced in a government white paper before Christmas.

Most Cornish MPs don’t want anything to do with Devon, but Mr Race says it’s the way forward.

He told a meeting of Devon Chamber on Friday that many people in Cornwall travel to Plymouth to work, shop or enjoy leisure facilities, and the Tamar isn’t the barrier many people suggest.

He also wants Exeter to go ahead with its plans to become a unitary council with control over its own affairs.

He said the planned shake-up is “the biggest transfer of power, responsibility and funding into regional local government that we have had in a generation.”

The government wants to devolve power into a network of ‘strategic authorities’ across the country. It would mean scrapping district councils, many of which fear local communities would be left without a voice due to the sheer scale of the new authorities.

The new councils would use devolved powers and funding for things such as education, transport, health and housing.

Larger ‘strategic’ authorities could sit above unitaries, and a Devon and Cornwall ‘peninsula’ one would cover 1.8 million residents.

But “district councils are toast” he told the business group.

Mr Race favours unitary councils for Exeter and Plymouth and suggests two ‘Devon coastal’ ones could result too,  covering the north and south of the county.

The over-arching Devon and Cornwall strategic authority, if it happens, would be led by an elected mayor.

“I’m really excited about it,” he said. “Exeter has a £6 billion economy and deserves a seat at the top table. It deserves its own say over its own city and its own growth.”

Earlier, in the House of Commons, Mr Race said the white paper could pave the way for Exeter’s future success.

He said: I welcome the huge opportunity for cities such as Exeter, which is also held back by Tory-run Devon County Council.”

And he asked local government minister Jim McMahon: “Can the minister confirm that devolution and reorganisation will work hand in hand to help Exeter, a key economic growth city, to retain, enhance and expand its historic self-governance, and to unleash its economic potential as an equal partner in a strategic authority?”

Mr McMahon replied: “Absolutely.”

From developer led enterprise partnerships through BoJo’s “catchup ketchup” to Labour’s metro mayors.

In truth we’re further away from true devolution than ever as councils try to respond to the devolution paper published a few days before Christmas.

English Devolution

“We will change our politics, so that decisions are made with communities, not done to them.” Angela Rayner: in her introduction to the English Devolution White Paper. (Published December 16)

Owl thinks we are not making progress towards gaining what the person on the street thinks devolution means: viz more cash for the regions. 

To start with the government proposals are not on a scale that would enable strategic issues such as transport to be addressed.

The elephant in the room is that devolution funding is not discussed in the white paper. So forget more cash. The devolved authorities will be on their own. And as for decisions being made with, rather than imposed on, communities this claim is simply laughable. 

The imposed removal of district councils of necessity places greater distance between the local voter and the local decision maker. Furthermore, the government is offering to postpone the May elections for those councils seeking the “fast track” for reorganisation. 

Our own Tory county council has wasted no time in becoming one of 13 Tory councils that a LibDem source has accused of “bottling it” on facing the electorate in  May. Hanging on for another year or so is democracy denied. Devon hasn’t yet reached the criterion of having a fully fledged “devolution” plan, let alone an agreed one.

As might be expected Labour Plymouth, already a unitary authority, wants to go it alone though expanded to take over parts of the South Hams (to cover the extent of the freeport), despite having only half of the target population. They have, however, hedged their bets by agreeing that the only sensible ambition is to create a large, strategic authority covering the geography of Cornwall, Devon, Plymouth and Torbay. Note that this falls way outside the population targets for metro mayoral entities set by the government and  Cornwall, as ever, seem firmly set against the idea.

At the same time Labour Exeter has also launched its bid to go it alone, despite having only a quarter of the 500,000 population target set by the government.

In Owl’s view these bids are based on cherry picking self interest because, if granted, they would leave the rural areas to pick up the bill for such things as maintaining the county’s extensive road network. It’s an example of Labour’s urbanised view of the country they now run. The key difference between city and country is that rural areas lack a comprehensive public transport system.

Into this mix we have the EDDC view, reported in full below, that the most sensible way to follow the government’s template is to divide the county into two, with Plymouth being absorbed into the western half and Exeter into the eastern half.

History of devolution since 2012

(Extensively documented on East Devon Watch)

Local enterprise partnerships, carving the country up by a secret bidding process, were set up in 2012. Ours formally fizzled out on April Fool’s day 2024, completely unnoticed by most commentators including Owl, never having got anywhere near its goal of doubling the local economy in twenty years.

Boris Johnson’s “magic sauce” the “catchup ketchup” vanished without trace.

Any guess as to how long it will take to create this new carve up? By the end of this parliament?

Safe to say none of these local proposals are anywhere near ready for implementation.

East Devon could be merged into Exeter unitary authority

Bradley Gerrard www.midweekherald.co.uk

Devon should be split into two large local authorities with Exeter and Plymouth put into one of each, according to a proposal by East Devon District Council.

The proposal specifically suggests that East Devon, Mid Devon, North Devon and Teignbridge district councils should create a unitary council with Exeter.

It added that a second unitary, that would include Plymouth, should be created, implying that Torbay, South Hams, West Devon and Torridge could be merged into this one.

This idea was backed by East Devon’s full council and will be sent to the government today (Friday 10 January), although it could be quickly dealt a blow given Jim McMahon, the minister for local government and devolution, has suggested Exeter might be able to go it alone.

Blizzard of meetings

Cllr Paul Arnott (Liberal Democrat, Coly Valley) said there had been a “blizzard of meetings” since deputy prime minister Angela Rayner last month announced the biggest shake-up of local government in 50 years. It will essentially abolish county and district councils in favour of larger, unitary authorities.

Unitary councils are responsible for all the services in their area, unlike the two-tier system that exists in much of Devon now, where the county covers some services and the districts others.

Devon’s councils have been racing to respond to the government’s devolution white paper.

While Friday’s deadline only appears to be relevant to councils that would need to postpone elections to “submit a clear commitment to devolution” – such as Devon County Council – Devon’s districts have sought to get their views into government anyway, believing this might allow them to have greater influence over their own fate.

“We feel it was worth at least one of the councils who could be involved in the proposed unitary council that we would be in, putting the idea out there as a recommendation, as something to aim for,” Cllr Arnott said.

Cllr Jess Bailey (Independent, Otter Valley) asked whether the other councils that East Devon is proposing it could merge with had echoed the suggestion.

“Have they included this proposal in their equivalent meetings on this issue?,” she asked.

Cllr Arnott acknowledged they hadn’t, but that they were aware of East Devon’s move to do so.

He added that the leaders of the other councils had “had chats about it being possible”, and that he wanted East Devon, as the largest district, “to try and show that extra bit of leadership”.

Various concerns were raised about a larger unitary council covering half of Devon, notably that such an authority could be more distanced from local communities, and that the expected efficiencies – both financial and in terms of how services are delivered – may not be realised.

Cllr Brian Bailey (Conservative, Exmouth Littleham) felt councils were being “dictated to” by the government, albeit acknowledging it had been “elected fairly and squarely”.

He continued: “In this white paper [from the government], there is no mention of residents or the lack of services.

“We need to get in the door and then alter the thinking of the creation process.”

Finally Richard Foord’s view can found here:

MP raises fears about ‘skills drain’ amid council restructures

Are you keeping up at the back? – Owl

The deputy police and crime commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has resigned, five months after his controversial appointment.

Alison Stephenson, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk

Former Torbay Conservative councillor Mark Kingscote was hired by police and crime commissioner (PCC) Alison Hernandez last July to assist her whilst she dealt with leadership issues in the force.

The police and crime panel, which scrutinises her work, didn’t back Mr Kingscote’s appointment at July’s confirmation hearing.  They said the formed the view that he didn’t “have sufficient experience that he would be unable to work on behalf of all residents of Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly…[or] meet the minimum requirements of the post.

They recommended he shouldn’t get the £59,000 a year job, but Ms Hernandez appointed him anyway.

Just months later, he has gone.

Ms Hernandez said in a letter to panel members that Mr Kingscote had resigned “due to personal circumstances”.

She hasn’t disclosed what those circumstances are, but in a letter to police and crime panel members, Ms Hernandez wrote: “I am particularly grateful for his assistance on scrutinising our estates’ plans, attending public and civic engagement events, the police museum and many other matters.”

She is not expecting to recruit another deputy in the near future.

When selecting Mr Kingscote, in the face of the strong recommendation of the police and crime panel against the appointment, Ms Hernandez claimed her deputy had “a unique set of skills” including working with people with complex mental health needs over his 30-year career in the NHS.

She said he would focus on issues such as anti-social behaviour issues in Torbay, while she concentrated on the leadership of an organisation “in dire straits”.

At the time of Mr Kingscote’s appointment, chief constable Will Kerr had been suspended over allegations of serious sexual assault in Northern Ireland, which he strenuously denies. Deputy chief constable Jim Colwell stepped up automatically to act as chief constable, but then was himself suspended in November last year over claims he misused his work phone.

Both the permanent chief constable and the acting chief constable are now subjects of separate investigations by the Independent Office of Police Conduct.

Last month Ms Hernandez appointed former chief of Dorset police James Vaughan as interim chief constable, saying the move would be welcomed by residents, police officers and staff.

Ms Hernandez has the power to appoint a deputy without the panel’s support but apologised to the panel after informing journalists of the appointment before notifying them.

The police and crime commissioner’s office says it will not comment about Mr Kingscote’s resignation as it is “a staff matter”.

Chair of the police and crime panel Cllr Sally Haydon (Lab, Plymouth City Council) said she is” surprised and disappointed, given all the motions we went through at the time”.

But she maintained the view she expressed last July that she would rather the deputy PCC’s salary be spent on “more bobbies on the beat”.

The role was expected to run for 12 months, with the option of extending it until 2028, when elections are next held for the police and crime commissioner, which is a political appointment. Ms Hernandez, a Conservative,  was elected last year for the third time.