Perhaps the most significant concerns Local Government Reorganisation (LGR).

Cllr Brazil points out that LGR was was never part of Labour’s manifesto. Devolution was, but that’s now been kicked into the long grass.

Time for another U-turn! – Owl

Cllr Julian Brazil www.midweekherald.co.uk

I had three letters from ministers at the end of the year, writes Cllr Julian Brazil.

The first was from the Minister for Children and Families.

It’s good that he’s recognised the improvements we have been making, but like him, we understand this is just the beginning.

There is a long way to go, and we must remain laser-focused.

The threat of a trust model intervention still hangs over us.

It may be a legacy of over a decade of underperformance and failure, but the responsibility now lies with the new administration.

Invitation

I’ve been invited to a meeting with the minister.

I’m looking forward to it.

He wants to hear at first hand our plans.

We’ve been working on the strategy over the past few months.

It covers a whole raft of policies but at its core are prevention, early intervention and inclusion.

To get this right, we know we must work in partnership and that includes government.

I’m hoping it will be a two-way conversation.

More clarity around the whole Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) agenda.

Stability around funding and, of course, delivering these services in a rural area.

Cancelling Elections

The second letter was from the Minister for Local Government and Homelessness.

Slipped out just before the Christmas break, it was about cancelling local elections this coming May.

Dressed up as a scheme to help overworked councils embroiled in local government reorganisation (LGR) and save council taxpayers money: you couldn’t make it up.

They must think we’re stupid.

Everyone can see it’s a rather shabby attempt to pervert the course of democracy.

It sets an incredibly dangerous precedent; if you’re going to lose an election, cancel it.

To be fair, Plymouth City Council swiftly announced they would be going ahead with their elections.

It was the honourable thing to do.

Exeter voted to cancel, despite howls of protest outside the Guildhall by the residents the council purports to serve.

Here we are with a government trying to cancel elections because, they claim, it’s all becoming too complicated with LGR.

Of course, LGR was never part of their manifesto.

Devolution was, but that’s now been kicked into the long grass.

Why can’t they just admit they’ve got it wrong?

Many of us can see what they’re trying to achieve, and we agree with a lot of it, but the way they’re going about it smacks of total incompetence.

When you’re in a hole, as the saying goes, stop digging.

Instead, the government has got the JCB out.

Control Freakery

The third letter was from the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

I don’t know if he actually wrote it, but it’s one of the most disingenuous letters I’ve ever read.

To be fair, that’s not what really riled me; we’re getting used to this.

It was the thinly disguised and unashamed threat to micromanage a council in Cambridge.

It’s exactly what one of his predecessors, Michael Gove, tried to do.

Even he backed down when faced with academic research.

Struggling with recruitment issues, particularly around planning and legal officers, the council introduced the innovative strategy of a four-day work week.

In many ways, mimicking the private sector.

Whatever one’s views about the four-day initiative, that’s not really the point.

The thing is, you have a local council, elected by local people, delivering services in the best way it thinks it can.

If they fail, they can be voted out by the same local people.

It’s called democracy.

How outrageous that a SoS starts trying to throw their weight around.

Maybe he should spend more time helping his own government; goodness knows they need it.

Despite the rain the BBC reported last night that the protest did take place.

Independent councillor, Melanie Martin, said: “This is a fantastic turnout considering the weather is so bad.

“It just goes to show how strongly people feel about this development of 700 houses.”

Exmo 20 –  3,500 responses have already raised concerns

Bradley Gerrard www.exmouthjournal.co.uk

Campaigners against plans for a monster 700-home development in Exmouth are trying to amplify opposition as the deadline for objections nears.

A Facebook group has been set up to try and publicise the plight, which is essentially vociferous opposition to a possible plan for up to 700 homes on the outskirts of the East Devon town.

The group, whose name is ‘Stop Exmo.20, Exmouth’ Supersize Development’ has alerted people to the deadline for responses, and even provided answers that residents can use to cut and paste into their objection.

East Devon residents are being asked for their views on the district’s local plan, which identifies areas where it is acceptable for homes to be built and commercial land to be created between now and 2042.

Residents have until midday on Monday 26 January to provide any comments on the plan, which can be submitted on a dedicated section of the council’s website known as Commonplace.

The site known as Exmo_20, which has courted the vast majority of opposition, would allow for the development of around 700 homes near St John in the Wilderness Church.

Even if the local plan is approved, developers would still need to submit planning applications for specific schemes, and these would need to comply with planning policy and secure the planning committee’s blessing to be approved.

Earlier this year, an initial public consultation on the local plan saw 3,500 responses from residents who raised a range of concerns.

But more than 1,100 of those were against the St John’s scheme.

Major fears related to potential harm to the nearby pebblebed heaths, which has four different designations aimed at protecting it, including being a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Besides concerns from residents about the heaths, environmental organisations including Devon Wildlife Trust, the RSPB and Natural England also voiced their fears.

Some worried that the Grade II* listed St John in the Wilderness Church could be impacted by such a large development of homes, while others feared heightened flood risk due to the clay soils and upstream location relative to Withycombe Brook.

Members of the strategic planning committee, who are responsible for crafting the local plan, heard from members of the public at their July meeting, with the majority of those speakers outlining their opposition to the St John’s site.

Other issues have also been flagged by residents. A recent water cycle study, that assessed the efficacy of the district’s sewerage system and its ability to take on waste from more homes, has raised concerns as it suggests some treatment plants are at or near capacity, and at present would exceed capacity if more homes are added to the system without upgrades occurring.

In spite of vocal opposition, though, Exmo_20 has remained in the local plan.

The district council is trying to find locations for around 21,000 homes, and if it diluted or even removed the Exmo_20 site, it would have to find other places in the district to accommodate them.

There’s also further pressure in relation to government timelines; East Devon District Council is trying to ensure its local plan is submitted within a certain timeframe, because if it misses that deadline, then it might have to build a further 5,000 homes – taking it to 26,000 over the life of the plan.

“Hitting those higher housing figures would be extremely challenging,” Ed Freeman, assistant director for planning strategy and development management at East Devon District Council, has said.

“We don’t have a solution as to how we would hit those and so that’s important to understand.”