Hospitals have been asked to identify sites for up to 4,000 emergency beds to deal with a potential wave of Omicron admissions in England, as cases hit a record 183,000.

Rowena Mason www.theguardian.com 

On Wednesday, more than 10,000 patients were in hospital with Covid, a figure not reached since March.

NHS England confirmed that it was creating new small-scale “Nightingale” facilities with up to 100 beds each at eight hospitals across the country. The health service said it had asked trusts to identify empty spaces to accommodate beds in places such as gyms or teaching areas. NHS managers are aiming to create up to 4,000 beds as surge capacity if needed, with work on the first tranche, in temporary structures, starting this week.

A number of huge temporary hospitals, called the “Nightingales”, were built in exhibition halls in the first wave of the pandemic but were dismantled without being used to capacity.

The new approach will ask for surge capacity to be built in the grounds of hospitals to make it easier for staff to move between new and old sites and keep patients closer to diagnostics and emergency care. The first sites will be at Preston, Leeds, Birmingham, Leicester, Stevenage, St George’s in London, Ashford and Bristol. There are currently almost 90,000 adult acute and general beds available in England, with occupancy at about 90% on 19 December.

The announcement came as new data showed there were 10,462 people in hospital in England with Covid as of Wednesday, although it is still unclear how many were admitted with the disease and how many are there for another reason while also testing positive.

The number of patients on mechanical ventilation has remained fairly stable in recent weeks and even reduced since November. On Wednesday the number of deaths reported was 57.

Boris Johnson returned from his Christmas break at Chequers on Wednesday with a visit to a vaccine centre to urge people to get their booster jabs, saying up to 90% of people in intensive care had not received their third dose. He said people should celebrate New Year’s Eve but called on them to exercise caution and take tests.

The prime minister also warned that Omicron continued to “cause real problems” even though it was “obviously milder than the Delta variant”.

The NHS has called on people to have a “jabby new year”, highlighting research from the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre (ICNARC) that found that at the start of last month about three out of five patients in London’s intensive care units had not received a jab, a figure that it said was rising.

Prof Stephen Powis, the NHS national medical director, said the health service hoped never to have to use the surge beds but added: “Given the high level of Covid-19 infections and increasing hospital admissions, the NHS is now on a war footing.”

Sajid Javid, the health secretary, also said it was “absolutely right that we prepare for all scenarios and increase capacity”.

With the government still concerned about the possibility that the high case numbers of Omicron could overwhelm the NHS, Johnson is holding off from cutting the Covid isolation period to five days for those without symptoms.

The prime minister has come under pressure to reduce the UK’s isolation period again, after the US decided to halve it for those without symptoms from five to 10 days as long as they wear a mask in public.

The UK reduced its quarantine period from 10 to seven days last week if people test negative by lateral flow, but some other countries around the world are now looking at going further.

Sir John Bell, regius professor of medicine at Oxford University and the government’s life sciences adviser, has indicated support for a shorter isolation period “if it was supported by lateral flow data”.

A No 10 source said everything was “kept under review” but insisted that there were “no immediate plans” to revise the quarantine period again so soon.

Several Tory backbenchers called on the government to consider a move similar to the US. Andrew Bridgen urged Johnson to reduce the isolation period, saying the biggest threat to the NHS was “forced absentees due to self-isolation”.

David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, said a five-day isolation period followed by a lateral flow test “sounded sensible” for Omicron cases. “If the Americans are doing it, the question is why are we not doing it, not why we should,” he said.

Davis also called on the government to make sure it has enough doses of therapies such as Paxlovid that can reduce the risk of hospitalisation in severe Covid cases and to improve data on how many people are in hospital because of the coronavirus, rather than for another condition while also testing positive for the virus.

Lee Anderson, a 2019 intake Tory backbencher, said “all options to get people back to work quicker should be looked at”. Another MP added said “isolation could be a bigger issue than actual illness” and they would “support a review at the very least”.

Chloe Smith, the minister for disabled people, health and work, said on Wednesday there were “no current plans in England to change the period” for isolation. She told BBC Breakfast on Wednesday: “Of course, we have actually only recently taken it down from 10 to seven, and we want to look at that – we want to make sure that that is working as we believe it ought to. We think the current period, therefore, is the right one, so we haven’t any plans to change that further.”

NHS managers have said they are as worried about the impact on patient care of staff shortages from people having to isolate as they are about surging admissions from Covid.

The chief executive of NHS Providers, Chris Hopson,said the effect of greater social mixing over Christmas was still to come. He told BBC Breakfast: “We’re now seeing a significant increase in the level of staff absences, and quite a few of our chief executives are saying that they think that that’s probably going to be a bigger problem and a bigger challenge for them than necessarily the number of people coming in who need treatment because of Covid.”

In response to the new Nightingale sites, Hopson said it “must be the right ‘no regrets later’ move to make these preparations now” but highlighted the difficulty of staffing them.

“Given the other pressures on the NHS and the current level of staff absences, staffing this capacity would be a major challenge,” he said. “But co-location on existing hospital sites maximises the NHS’s ability to meet that challenge.”

Hopium – a judgement altering hallucinogenic derived by distilling minced facts and discarding all but the most volatile condensate, the so-called opinion fraction. Dulls the critical faculties.

Usually taken aurally in tea rooms and bars, especially in the Palace of Westminster.

Particularly effective in those of a conservative and rebellious disposition, especially with libertarian tendencies.

Common side effects include: delusions of infallibility and loss of sense of reality.

Contraindications: not to be taken by anyone seeking to be taken seriously. 

Suppliers can be found through various WhatsApp groups and from any registered Tory Shaman.

(With acknowledgements to London Playbook for seeding the idea)

Is the Government losing control over when to call the next election?

Not so long ago it seemed possible that Boris Johnson could call an early election, as early as the end of 2022 or maybe early 2023, on the back of a successful vaccination programme, after declaring “victory over Covid.” Now so many dark clouds are gathering on the economic front that it is hard to see either him or his successor having many favourable options (e.g. after a “give away” budget or with rising income expectations) prior to hitting the buffers on Thursday, 2nd May 2024. – Owl

www.independent.co.uk 

There’s little cheer for the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, as he looks to spin a positive narrative about the UK economy in the year ahead.

Wage growth is expected to stay below inflation throughout 2022, according to a forecast from the Resolution Foundation, an economic think tank that examines living standards. In its words: “The medium-term outlook for wages is uncertain but far from rosy.”

The upshot: families can expect an extremely painful £1,200 hit from next April on average, as taxes and energy prices rise.

The holiday season was cancelled for some Treasury officials when the Bank of England revealed in mid-December that it now believes inflation could reach 6 per cent in spring next year. Few officials can remember a time when price growth was so strong. The central bank’s forecast is three times the Bank of England’s 2 per cent inflation target.

But few economists expect there to be much aid from Threadneedle Street in the coming months. Higher domestic interest rates can do nothing to quell energy price spikes on international markets.

So, what can No 11 do? It can hope that wages stop climbing across the board, as wage growth can end up feeding inflation in a self-perpetuating spiral. This was the nightmare scenario of the 1970s, as Jill Rutter, a senior fellow at UK in a Changing Europe, told The Independent on Wednesday – the worst possible fear for the Treasury.

The Treasury could rethink April’s tax rises, intended to help pay for NHS repairs after the pandemic via higher national insurance contributions. These will eventually be switched towards funding social care against the backdrop of an ageing population.

Yet that would force the chancellor to borrow more, particularly if GDP growth continues to lose momentum or even swing negative in the first half of next year – and he will be keen to avoid further borrowing, having already had to offer huge sums to support the economy through the pandemic.

After the epic costs of furlough, and other mitigations to help businesses and consumers through the impact of Covid-19 restrictions, many Tory MPs and cabinet ministers are opposed to any further splurges.

Swift tax cuts to ease the pressure on household budgets are unlikely to be introduced. Although Sunak’s Budget underlined his ambition to be a low-tax chancellor, the tax burden is now at its highest level since the early 1950s.

The chancellor has tasked officials with creating a blueprint for lower taxes in recent weeks, with the aim of reporting early on in 2022, and Sunak is set to deliver a spring statement in March next year. Still, it is not clear whether he might announce tax-cut plans early in 2022, particularly as the Treasury wants to have just one annual Budget each autumn.

Investment in skills and infrastructure, along with relaxing immigration rules, are potential routes for boosting productivity – the “goldilocks” growth that increases profits and wages without feeding inflation. The Treasury has shown it is keen to try to focus on these areas, with policy ambitions such as those laid out in its net zero review.

Still, productivity growth has been the holy grail of many governments, to little avail. And where policy efforts have paid off, none have been short-term wins.

Sunak is very eager to boost productivity, and has made a close personal study of the issue, but he will also understand it is no overnight salve in the face of rising inflation.

The impact on the UK’s poorest households is likely to be so severe that the government will be forced to act. The harder question is whether even the weak GDP growth the UK has achieved in recent months can be sustained if consumers, particularly those who have added to their savings during lockdowns, are too worried about the economy to go out and spend.

Households will be feeling the pinch in 2022, but there may still be some pent-up demand to tap once the cloud of Omicron lifts a little. That could help improve the outlook for the chancellor’s ability to borrow – based on his fiscal rules.

However, Sunak will be left with few tools in his armoury if savers do not become spenders in the year ahead. It will be similarly bleak if wages continue to climb, because businesses may be forced to slash headcount to allow them to offer above-inflation salary increases to key staff. And higher wages could further feed inflation.

Although this kind of wage-driven domestic inflation is something that the Bank of England can address, raising its key interest rate adds to businesses’ and households’ borrowing costs, potentially acting as a handbrake on GDP growth.

A hard, lasting squeeze on incomes in the run-up to the next general election – something that some inflation and GDP forecasts are starting to hint at – could be very costly indeed. There is no stronger example of cut-through than what is left in the bank account at the end of the month.

Covid cases Wednesday catch up with delayed holiday reporting

Daily reported coronavirus cases in the UK jumped to a record 183,037 on Wednesday. (Close to the doomsters’ forecast). See BBC here. (Reports over the next few days may be subject to test availability).

And a total of 10,462 people were in hospital with Covid in England as of Wednesday morning, figures from NHS England show.

This is up 48% from a week ago and is the highest number of admissions since 1 March.

Not all the patients in hospital will have been admitted for Covid – latest data suggests about three in 10 have the virus but were admitted to hospital for something else.

Hospital numbers are rising more slowly than cases though, once again showing the Omicron variant is leading to milder illness.

However, the numbers who are seriously unwell with Covid are still going up. (Small percentages of a very large number can still be large).

The high stakes gamble

Boris Johnson has staked everything on the booster programme to avoid the need for further restrictions. Indeed, thanks to rebel MPs such as Simon Jupp he has no other political choice and his future, and our health and welfare, may depend on its success. 

The article below suggests there is growing frustration with the unvaccinated. If all forms of exhortation, nudges and persuasion fails and restrictions are deemed necessary, Johnson may have to confront a difficult choice, unpalatable to his party, about whether everyone – the vaccinated and the unvaccinated – are all in it together any more. 

So how does a “Libertarian”  such as Simon Jupp react: back further restrictions or mandatory vaccinations? Owl assumes he will be getting advice from someone he trussts.

Get the message?

Johnson broke cover on Wednesday, having laid low for a week, to talk to the press. He used the term “booster” in just about every other sentence, suggesting a sense of desperation. His message wasn’t subtle news.sky.com: 

“I’m sorry to say this but the overwhelming majority of people who are currently ending up in intensive care in our hospitals are people who are not boosted,”

“I’ve talked to doctors who say the numbers are running up to 90% of people in intensive care, who are not boosted.

“If you’re not vaccinated, you’re eight times more likely to get into hospital altogether.

“So it’s a great thing to do. It’s very, very important. Get boosted for yourself, and enjoy New Year sensibly and cautiously.” [This overlooks the fact that all covid vaccinations take a couple of weeks to become effective.]

No 10’s Covid dilemma

Rowena Mason www.theguardian.com

A growing sense of frustration with people who have not been vaccinated against Covid has been creeping into the speeches of senior government figures from Sajid Javid to Boris Johnson in recent weeks.

The health secretary has accused those who have chosen not to take up the offer of free vaccination of taking up hospital beds, damaging society and potentially harming their families as well as themselves.

The prime minister also began rolling the pitch for a possibly tougher approach towards the unvaccinated when he spoke of the need for a “national conversation” about how the NHS would cope with the Omicron wave and further new variants.

“I don’t believe we can keep going indefinitely with non-pharmaceutical interventions, restrictions on people’s way of life, just because a substantial proportion of the population still, sadly, has not got vaccinated,” he said.

Given the libertarian instincts of today’s Tory party, No 10 has followed the path of allowing people to choose freely whether or not to get vaccinated, unless they want to work in the NHS and the care sector.

A mandatory vaccination policy would almost certainly result in a challenge to Johnson’s authority from his backbenches. Those same MPs, however, are also opposed to national restrictions that hit all of society to prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed.

If another Covid wave were to push the health service to the point of collapse, Downing Street would face two possibilities: lock down everyone or reserve the harshest restrictions for the 5 million people who have declined to be vaccinated in the hope it would ease the burden on hospitals and slow the spread of an outbreak.

Javid has estimated that 90% of the most severely ill in hospital at the moment are unvaccinated.

Urging people to have a “jabby new year”, the NHS said on Wednesday that research from the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre (ICNARC) found that at the start of last month about three in five patients in London’s intensive care units had not had a jab, and that the figure was rising.

Some countries have already decided that choosing not to be vaccinated should carry a cost, given the impact on wider society of Covid spreading more quickly among the unvaccinated and the greater potential for hospitalisation.

Greece and France went down the Covid passport route as early as July. Israel and Denmark also adopted pass systems early, phased them out, and then brought them back when infections were surging.

In Italy, proof of vaccination, recovery or a negative test has been required for many indoor public places since October and a new super-green pass was added in December that is available only to people who have been vaccinated or recovered from Covid in the last six months.

All moves by the UK government so far to encourage vaccination have been firmly rooted in persuasion and “nudge” theory. It has been almost all carrot and no stick, even when it comes to Covid passports. Ministers insist they should not be called “vaccine passports” because people will be allowed to show a recent lateral flow test result instead.

The approach of encouragement is continuing, with a campaign texting everyone to “get boosted now”. But there also now appears to be an attempt to introduce an element of social stigma to vaccine refusal, and a move to suggest it is people’s civic responsibility to get jabbed.

No 10’s view is that there is still scope to drive up vaccination rates further – particularly when it comes to the booster – and that this is preferable to using vaccination status as a dividing line. Almost 90% of over 12s have now had a first dose, 82% have their second and 56.5% are boosted.

One major missing piece of the puzzle, currently under consideration, is a strategy that gets to the bottom of why 5 million people remained unvaccinated, especially those in communities with an ingrained distrust of authority.

No 10 even turned to an artificial intelligence (AI) company earlier in the year to determine the causes of vaccine hesitancy, but Whitehall sources acknowledge there is still a lack of understanding about how many of the unvaccinated remain so because of entrenched anti-vax ideology, misconceptions that could be turned around, a lack of time or transport to get to vaccine centres, or just apathy.

One option being weighed is the idea of greater personal outreach – learning from the personal touch of GPs who have phoned all their most vulnerable vaccine refusers. Ministers are even thinking about teams of door-to-door vaccinators who could deliver shots on the spot.

If this last push were not to work, however, and further restrictions are deemed necessary, Johnson may have to confront a difficult choice, unpalatable to his party, about whether everyone – the vaccinated and the unvaccinated – are all in it together any more.

What else would you expect a Tory Eton Toff, estimated to be worth £15 million, to do with a “Levelling Up Fund” – the clue is in the name! – Owl

www.thelondoneconomic.com

A Conservative aristocrat dipped into the government’s Levelling Up Fund to the tune of £300,000 in order to fill half a mile of potholes on his driveway, it has been revealed.

The fund, which was supposed to support left-behind communities, was used by the Eton and Oxford-educated former Tory peer to repair roads on his land in East Sussex.

The track leads to Charleston Farmhouse, an independently run museum and art gallery within the grounds of his Firle Estate.

Charleston Farmhouse

The museum applied for the funds, even though the drive itself is owned by the millionaire aristocrat.

Visitors to the former home of Bloomsbury artist Vanessa Bell, Virginia Woolf’s sister, had complained for years about the potholes.

One warned in a review: “You risk your car’s suspension – and you need to wear a sports bra.”

But despite the viscount’s wealth being estimated at £15 million, his Firle Estate Management team helped the Charleston Trust secure the cash from the Getting Building Fund, part of the Levelling Up Fund specifically aimed at helping Covid-hit infrastructure, the Mail Online has reported. [The Mail account contains a more colourful report about the “Virile Viscount” and close friend of Prince Philip]

“Arms around people”

Boris Johnson announced the Getting Building Fund to show his administration was “putting its arms around people at a time of crisis”.

The Trust blamed ‘poor drainage’ for corroding the driveway to obtain the grant.

But according to Harry Fone, grassroots campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, the cash injection doesn’t represent value for money for the public.

The Charleston Trust said: “Our charity is grateful to South East Local Enterprise Partnership and the Government’s Getting Building Fund for providing the funding needed to rebuild the severely damaged access track.

“The new road provides safer, easier, and greener ways for visitors to reach Charleston and will help support the recovery and growth of the region’s creative and visitor economy.”

The South East Local Enterprise Partnership, through which the grant application was made, said the fund has created 11 new jobs and “helped to boost the local creative and cultural sector”.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: “Charleston is internationally recognised as a site of cultural importance and this funding will help open it up to more visitors and improve its contribution to the local economy.”

The evolution of Covid since August in Devon has followed a rather different trajectory from the rest of England.

From the end of August through to December we have had three distinct waves of infections in the 0-19 age range, followed by smaller waves in the 40-59 year olds. These are much less pronounced in the national figures and resulted in Devon having one of the highest overall levels of infection. This has been attributed to “Freedom Day”, the “Boardmasters” festival effects and general “Staycations” in the region.

From December the pattern has changed. 

Nationally, infections in all age groups began to rise in early/mid December, the surge attributed to Omicron. In Devon, however, infection rates have fallen throughout December in the 0-19 age group, and are currently stable in the 40-59, 60-79 and 80+ age groups. The only age group to see infections rising is the 20-39 year olds. For the moment it looks as if we have yet to see the expected Omicron surge. The social dynamics over the holiday period will undoubtedly have an impact one way or another.

[See the extract from the Covid dashboard that Owl has posted below this article.]

Nicola Davis www.theguardian.com

The UK has seen another record rise of daily Covid cases, with 138,831 reported in England, Scotland and Wales alone – but a leading scientist said the Omicron variant was “not the same disease we were seeing a year ago”.

According to official figures from the UK government’s coronavirus dashboard, a record 117,093 cases – infections that are picked up through testing – were reported for England on Tuesday, up from a previous high of 113,628 on Christmas Day. In Wales 12,378 cases were reported on Tuesday, also a record high.

The Scottish government later reported 9,360 cases in the past 24 hours, making the total of 138,831 cases higher than at any other point in the pandemic for the entire UK, despite data missing for Northern Ireland.

It came as Sir John Bell, regius professor of medicine at the University of Oxford, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Omicron “appears to be less severe and many people spend a relatively short time in hospital”, and high Covid death rates in the UK are “now history”.

There were also calls from some scientists for the period of self-isolation to be cut. Paul Hunter, a professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, said people with Covid should eventually be allowed to “go about their normal lives” as they would with a common cold.

“If the self-isolation rules are what’s making the pain associated with Covid, then we need to do that perhaps sooner rather than later,” he told BBC Breakfast. “Maybe not quite just yet.”

Prof Tim Spector, who runs King’s College London’s Zoe Covid study, said reducing the period of isolation would “protect the economy”.

Currently, people in England who have tested positive for Covid can cut their self-isolation from 10 days to seven if they have negative lateral flow tests on days six and day seven. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, it remains 10 days.

Data from NHS England released on Tuesday revealed that the number of patients in hospital had risen by more than 1,000 in a day, with 9,546 beds occupied by people with Covid on Tuesday, compared with 8,474 the day before – although some trusts, thought to have about 220 Covid patients in total based on recent submissions, did not report their figures for Monday.

Tuesday’s hospital figure is a 38% increase on that reported on 21 December and the highest since 3 March, although far below the peak last winter of more than 34,000 people in hospital with Covid.

Dr Simon Clarke, an associate professor of cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, cautioned the latest daily case figures do not take into account changes in testing behaviour over the festive period, or delays in processing tests.

Clarke added that while some people in hospital with Covid will have been admitted for a different reason, the situation should not be dismissed as insignificant.

“These are vulnerable people whose condition is serious enough to require them to be in hospital over Christmas,” he said. “There is no condition I know of that cannot be made worse by Covid-19.”

However, some scientists have struck a more upbeat note. Bell said that although hospital admissions had increased in recent weeks as Omicron spreads through the population, fewer patients were needing high-flow oxygen and the average length of stay was down to three days.

“The horrific scenes that we saw a year ago of intensive care units being full, lots of people dying prematurely, that is now history, in my view, and I think we should be reassured that that’s likely to continue,” he said.

The figures came a day after Downing Street confirmed that no new coronavirus restrictions would be introduced in England before the new year. In the rest of the UK, a raft of measures are in place, including the closure of nightclubs in Wales, and limiting socialising in Scotland to groups of up to three households.

The decision has been criticised by some scientists, with one expert describing it as “the greatest divergence between scientific advice and legislation” since the start of the pandemic.

While the latest data suggests the risk of being admitted to hospital is up to 70% less for people with Omicron compared with those infected with Delta, the sheer numbers of people with the new variant has caused serious concern in terms of the number of people requiring hospital care and widespread impact on staffing.

According to the Office for National Statistics, an estimated 1 in 35 people had Covid in the week ending 19 December, a figure that was even higher in London, at 1 in 20.

Experts have cautioned that it is not yet clear how the virus has moved through the population over Christmas, and what will happen once the rate of infection begins to rise in older people.

The disparity in Covid rules and guidance across the four nations of the UK has also led to other concerns, including that partygoers might travel across the border from Wales to England to celebrate new year.

Nick Newman, chair of the Cardiff Licensees Forum, said he expected many people to leave Wales for England. “It’s 40 minutes from Newport to Bristol and it’s easy to get from north Wales into Manchester or Liverpool. English businesses are going to benefit.”

Meanwhile, those in England attempting to follow government advice to take a lateral flow test before mixing with others faced difficulties on Tuesday.

Pharmacies in England have reported running out of test kits before Christmas, with deliveries of supplies delayed by the Christmas and Boxing Day holidays – and some pharmacies remained shut on Monday and Tuesday due to the bank holidays.

Availability of walk-in lateral flow or PCR tests in England was also disrupted on Tuesday morning, while people attempting to order lateral flow tests online in England also faced obstacles.

Comparison of confirmed infections, by age groups, for Devon and England from May 2021

The story of the ‘princes in the tower’ – young royal brothers aged nine and 12 – alleged to have been murdered by their uncle more than 500 years ago, may have taken another twist, with claims the older one may have escaped to a tiny Devon hamlet.

Paul Nero www.radioexe.co.uk

Researchers say that the boy who should have become Edward V was smuggled to Coldridge in Mid Devon, not far from Winkleigh and Crediton, where he lived out his life as a man called John Evans.

The popular story is that Edward and his kid brother Richard of Shrewsbury were killed on the order of their uncle, Richard III, also known as Richard of York.

The team which led a length investigation to find the body of Richard III near Bowsworth Field, where he was killed in battle, has now released the results of its latest enquiry. 

His bones were found under a car park in Leicester in 2012.

The investigators believe St Michael’s Church at Coldridge holds the key to the mystery. Historic documents they have discovered suggest Yorkist symbols and an effigy of a man called John Evans are clues left for future generations to connect the dots.

Lead researcher John Dike told the Daily Telegraph.“The idea of a missing prince lying low in Devon might appear fanciful at first. With all the secret symbols and clues, it sounds somewhat like the Da Vinci Code. But the discoveries inside this church in the middle of nowhere are extraordinary.”

He continued: “Once you take all the clues together, it does appear that the story of the princes in the Tower may need to be rewritten.”

William Shakespeare’s version of Richard III popularised the idea that the young princes were murdered in the Tower whilst they waited for the coronation of the elder boy. Richard then claimed the throne, but his reign lasted only two years before he died at the hands of the first Tudor king, Henry VII.

The leader of Mid Devon District Council says it’s time to “start the dialogue” about development around junction 27 of the M5.

Will this create a new economic development zone to the east of Exeter? Will there be a TESP (Tiverton economic strategic plan)? – Owl

Ollie Heptinstall www.devonlive.com 

The Local Plan allocation includes a site of approximately 71 hectares adjoining the southbound carriageway of the M5 motorway adjacent to junction 27 for major development.

The allocation makes provision for an agronomy visitor centre, 1,000 square metres of ancillary retail, an outdoor adventure zone including a surf lake, lagoon, beach, high ropes adventure area, and an outlet shopping village.

Now at a meeting of the community policy development group, Councillor John Downes (Lib Dem, Boniface) said investment in the area could return “significant revenues” to the council, given the need to balance the books.

The council’s senior officers are tasked with finding savings, with Mid Devon estimating a total shortfall of just over £1 million next year – rising to a projected £1.6 million in 2026/27.

Leader Bob Deed (Independent, Cadbury) said Cllr Downes’ comments were “music to my ears,” adding that it was “time to start a dialogue” on the future of the junction.

He likened it to the lengthy process of reopening Cullompton railway station, which stemmed from starting a committee seven years ago. It recently moved a step closer after receiving millions of pounds from the chancellor’s budget.

“Now that was a 10-year project from the outset because things do take time, especially on the rail.

“We’ve now got something similar as a challenge in junction 27 and what it needs is there to be a caucus that are interested in developing junction 27, if for no other reason, than it will produce employment for people within the district and income for Mid Devon.

“So, I’m very interested and will support the economy [policy development group] through John Downes if you like, to seriously start the dialogue to do something with the junction 27 area.”

Junction 27 and Eden Westwood plans pictured here are a major talking point of the Local Plan

He said it was time to “take the brakes off the development” that’s delayed progress for six years.

Deputy chief executive Andrew Jarrett acknowledged that, while both junction 27 and junction 28 at Cullompton could see “significant both commercial and residential growth,” the economic challenge meant any development may not be as quick as people would like.

He added: “It would be brilliant for Mid Devon – and this is just from a financial perspective – if there was sizable development of both of those motorway junctions.

“That would see a very, very different financial sure for Mid Devon District Council’s bottom line. And also, this is just again my opinion, and for many residents of the district and increased jobs, etc, etc.

“I know there are always mixed feelings and emotions about the size of the economic growth in a beautiful rural area like we live in, but it has to be the right growth at the right time in the right place.”

Sir Tim Smit, the man behind the Eden Project as well as promoter Malcolm Dudley Williams, have backed plans to create a £200million surf lake and a ‘mini’ Eden Project. It is a partnership project by the Eden Project and investors Friends Life, part of the Aviva Group.

The Eden Ark will be at the centre of the scheme that will be split into four zones and will include a hotel, a visitor hub, an artificial surfing lake, a food hall, outdoor play areas, cafes and restaurants, shops for small businesses and a designer clothes outlet discount shopping centre.

The surf lagoon will be at the heart of the outdoor adventure zone, similar to Surf Snowdonia, Wales.

Was Health minister Gillian Keegan on Simon Jupp’s Christmas card list? – Owl

Sophie Morris news.sky.com 

A health minister has defended the government’s decision not to offer the hospitality sector more financial support, saying venues remain “pretty full”.

Business leaders have issued a fresh call for more economic help for the hospitality sector after fears around the new Omicron variant led to a steep decline in trade in the usually busy run-up to Christmas.

But Gillian Keegan said the government had already issued a £1bn package of measures for the sector before the festive period and implied further assistance is not necessary as “people are still going out”.

A man walks past a largely empty restaurant in central London on 21 December

Asked if businesses need more financial support if the government is calling for people to remain “cautious” with their New Year’s Eve plans, Ms Keegan said: “Well, that is why we have put a package of measures, a £1bn package of measures in place just before this period.

“But I have been out a couple of times – my sister is over from the States, so we have been out to a couple of restaurants – and they have been pretty full.

“So, you know, I’m obviously in London at the moment, but I think people are still going out, but they are just taking a lateral flow test before and obviously being a bit more cautious.”

New Year’s Eve parties given the green light

The minister added that, after Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced no new restrictions would be implemented in England before 2022, people should “enjoy” themselves over the New Year, “but cautiously”.

Ms Keegan suggested those attending events should consider going to well-ventilated places if possible and take a lateral flow coronavirus test beforehand.

The industry has broadly welcomed the health secretary’s announcement that there will be no new COVID restrictions ahead of the New Year beyond the Plan B measures already in place.

Treasury support ‘won’t go far enough’

However, the British Chambers of Commerce warned the move would not make up for hospitality venues’ lost trade during what should have been the busiest time of year, as people stayed home to avoid catching coronavirus.

“I am delighted to see that we are protecting New Year’s Eve, but it just won’t go far enough,” its president Baroness McGregor-Smith told the BBC.

She added that while the Treasury has announced grants of up to £6,000 for businesses affected, some were losing more than that each day. She has urged the government to extend the business rates relief and the emergency rate of VAT beyond the end of March.

Chief executive of Adnams brewery Andy Wood agreed, saying there had been a 50% drop in visitors to pubs and hotels after England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty urged people to be cautious about socialising.

“There is going to need to be support for the sector through the dark months of January, February and March,” he told the BBC.

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‘Last weeks of December were a stealth lockdown’

Latest COVID data

Pressed on whether more restrictions could be brought in early next year, Ms Keegan said ministers “watch very carefully all of the data” – including the number of hospitalisations.

The health minister also confirmed that 32.4 million boosters have been administered.

While there is relief among business that New Year’s Eve celebrations will be able to go ahead in England, some scientists have expressed concern about the lack of new restrictions following the surge in COVID cases.

The decision also means England is out of step with the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, which have all brought in new post-Christmas COVID rules.

The latest government figures showed there were a record 113,628 new COVID cases in England on Christmas Day, with 1,281 new COVID-19 hospital admissions – up 74% week on week and the highest since 16 February.

As of 8am on 27 December, there were 8,474 people were in hospital in England with COVID-19 – the highest number since 5 March.

“Reassuring words” from the Government over the past 48 hours:

“There will be no further measures before the new year,” Javid told reporters, adding: “When we get into the new year, of course we will see then whether we do need to take any further measures.”

He said that the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the virus now accounted for around 90% of cases across England and urged people to celebrate New Year cautiously.

UK care minister Gillian Keegan followed up with: “People should enjoy themselves but be cautious when celebrating new year.” 

So Celebrate; don’t celebrate? – Owl

Lewis Clarke www.devonlive.com

It’s not been the season of festive cheer for Mid Devon’s restaurants, with owners’ pulling their hair out over Christmas party cancellations.

Earlier this month, government advisors, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson, urged caution on people going out to celebrate due to fears over the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

Rhys Roberts of Visit Devon said this is the worst crisis he has known in his 30-year career.

He said Christmas cancellation rates are said to be running at between 13-15 per cent nationally, but he said, “that is not what I am being told,”

“The current levels are running at between 40 per cent and 50 per cent, and that is simply not sustainable.”

Charles Lloyd runs the Mount Pleasant Inn in Nomansland, near Tiverton, said: “We are almost being treated as if we are the acceptable collateral damage in trying to save the NHS.

“There is no clear message coming out of the Government. It is obvious pubs are hurting.”

The Hartnoll Hotel in Tiverton has seen 80 per cent of its bookings cancelled, with customers demanding refunds.

Shane Naylor, general manager, explained: “By October, we had been fully booked for Christmas hotel bookings, we had been fully booked for our Friday and Saturday Christmas parties during December, so much so that we had also opened up Thursday dates too.

“Since the Government announcing that people can still go out but be cautious, 80 per cent of Christmas party bookings were cancelled, all demanding refunds.

“Since that announcement, we have had over 350 cancellations; that week alone was 200 cancellations. Our Christmas break package was full, and now we only have six rooms booked.”

He said they were ‘very annoyed’, adding: “In my opinion, the Government are very clever in what they have said. Telling people to be cautious and not go out but actually not imposing any restrictions means we cannot claim any financial assistance.

“£6,000 will not go very far. I have a monthly wage budget of £70k at the moment we are not even breaking even we are now losing money.

“Because the Prime Minister cannot make his mind up and give clear guidance, we are not even sure if we should order the food in for New Year, so we have a choice order the food, and if restrictions come into place, we end up losing the money or risk not ordering the food, and we have no food for New Year. The Government need to introduce a flexi furlough scheme for the hospitality sector, at least for three months to help us support our staff.”

In terms of staffing levels, he added: “We finally managed to retain our staff during the staff shortage because we were loyal to them and ensured they had the hours and increased wages.

“But not as we do not have the clientele, we are reducing hours like no tomorrow. Staff are finding other jobs, which means we will go into the New Year with staff shortages again. We have had a few staff call in sick due to isolation but not many.

“It’s troubling times. We do not even know if we will be able to open in January. Ninety per cent of our January bookings have cancelled.”

Another restaurant in Tiverton, Elsie May’s on Phoenix Lane, is often busy at Christmas.

Elsie May’s in Tiverton

Mandy Jenks, from the family-run business, said: “We went from being fully booked for our Christmas party nights to having some cancellations. This was due to the parties reducing their numbers with people having to self-isolate.

“One particular Friday evening in December, we went from fully booked to having availability three times. It ended up being half full, which isn’t ideal. A couple of our cancellations have been from the corporate companies instructing the staff to cancel.

I guess they need to ensure they have enough staff to carry on trading.

She added: “Our daytime business has been reasonably and consistently good due to the loyalty and support of our regular customers who have been amazing.”

She said that staffing levels for December had been good, but they struggled in November.

“We still have our covid screens, face masks and waitress service in place and will continue to do so for our customer’s peace of mind.”

The restaurant closed from 4 pm on December 24 until January 4 to allow staff rest and time off with their families; however, there are fears for the return.

“I am worried about our January and February trading going forward as it is normally a very quiet time, but I feel this year will be worse.

“Whilst I welcome the Government help, it is nowhere near enough. The return of Flexi Furlough would be very welcome for these two months.”

Meanwhile, in the Culm Valley area, it is a similar story.

At the Five Bells in Clyst Hydon, the month started well for bookings and parties before cancellations began.

James Garnham said: “The reaction was unsure; we had Christmas parties ringing us up to say they might cancel, but weren’t sure what to do, and in the end, a lot of them did cancel because it was better to be safer.

“For us, it was like the Government had said this is another lockdown, but without it being mandatory. We feel that a lot of people have listened to the Government, but many haven’t.

“People are careful with meeting up in bigger groups now but still are happy to meet in smaller groups. We also think that people are choosing to book during times that they feel would be quieter in the pub, so our Tuesday and Wednesday daytime and evening bookings have been very busy, but the weekends have been quiet because people think there will be another 50 people in the building with them.”

He said that the Government grant would provide for ‘basic losses for a day or two.

He added: “Whilst any help is welcome, it’s not going to go far, for us or any hospitality business out there. We need more support, and another VAT cut or extension to the current VAT cut is needed.

“Whilst we are open, there are still restrictions that stop us trading as we would pre-pandemic, so we need the support to keep hospitality alive.

“For us, we have a big year planned with some national recognition coming our way. But we need our doors to be open and staffed accordingly to make 2022 our biggest year yet, and these are the two issues that worry us the most.

“Staffing is still a struggle, especially chefs. The never-ending cycle of lockdowns needs to end so that we can be clear to run out business the way we want to, whilst keeping the safety of our customers at the top of the list of priorities.”

He concluded: “The Government also needs to do something to promote the hospitality industry employment rates by creating incentives to stay in the industry.”

At Porters, a bar and grill in the heart of Cullompton, the owner, Billy Porter, predicts up to £12,500 in lost revenue.

“We were taking a lot of Christmas parties and Christmas bookings in October and early November,” he said. “We were very well booked up by the start of December.

“When government advisors started telling people to restrict their social interactions, we found small tables cancelling and the odd person on their tables. This all added up.

“When announcements were made, everybody in the restaurant was devastated to hear these things because it’s obvious the reaction the public. We had 150 individual cancellations; we lost about three or four Christmas parties, including one table of 30 who decided not to come.”

Billy Porter in Porters

He said the government support was ‘absolute rubbish.

“We’ll be getting around £2,700 in help, but I estimate we’ve lost around £12,500 in sales. The financial support doesn’t touch the sides.

“People are still worried about what they’re going to do in January and February, so it’s wholly inadequate what they’ve been pressured into giving us.

“Heading into 2022, I’m worried, being cautious and not as optimistic as I’d like to be. I’d like to think that we can find a way of finally knocking this Covid thing on the head. I don’t think the Government are ready to go anywhere near that yet. People listen to the Government and the media.

“I don’t think we’ll see so many cancellations for the foreseeable future, but bookings are going to be few and far between, and maybe people will walk in off the street if they want to go out for a meal, but I can’t see bookings being very good.”

In the rural village of Bampton, The owners of The Swan pub and Spelt café – Paul and Donna Berry – have also struggled.

Donna said: “Things have been very slow, very quiet, with lots of cancellations, especially at The Swan.

“At Spelt, we’ve been lucky to only lose the odd couple, but the rest of the party have come. One day last week, we had over 40 booked in the evening at The Swan and only did ten. We lost 24 for Christmas Eve, and the bookings are falling apart.

“We were going to do the Christmas draw for the Foxhounds on Sunday evening, which takes up the whole pub, but they cancelled, and we ended up just shutting the whole pub for the night.”

She added that Spelt had been lucky thanks to loyal customers but that Paul at The Swan had been ‘pulling his hair out.

“The money from the government will not cover it,” Donna said. “We’ve been told we can claim up to £6,000, and I’m certainly not going to get anywhere near that, and neither is The Swan.

“What we’ve lost in takings, as compared to the Christmas of 2019 we were rammed.

“Now we’re just sitting around waiting for another lockdown; there is so much uncertainty. I think they’re going to make it so hard that we won’t be able to open.

“We’ve got outdoor space, but who’s going to sit outside? We can get as many heaters and umbrellas out there, we’ll serve takeaways, and carry ongoing for as long as we can.”

Donna Berry and Spelt / The Swan

She said that restaurants and pubs were ‘a lot safer than the supermarkets’.

“Our staff have their masks on, everywhere is sanitised after anybody leaves, we’ve got space, we’re not bundling people on top of each other. We’re one of the safest places to go; I’d rather come here than go to a supermarket.

“I think it’s got to come to a point where we’ve got to try and get back to some sort of normality.

“Paul is ripping his hair out; he’s at the end of his tether.”

Care services in the community could be rationed amid the spread of Omicron, which is causing staff absences in England’s public services to rocket.

Nicola Slawson www.theguardian.com 

Choices will need to be made about what services can and cannot be covered, according to Patricia Marquis, the England director of the Royal College of Nursing.

“Services are already really stretched and it won’t take a lot – either further staff absences or increasing numbers of patients needing to be seen because the hospitals are full – to really push the services over the edge,” she said.

Marquis predicts that as services begin to reopen after Christmas, it will become clearer how much more pressure they are facing.

Community nursing is a particular area of concern and those services could end up being rationed, Marquis said. “Everyone automatically thinks about hospitals, but staff shortages aren’t just affecting hospitals. Limiting the number of community services that are available will possibly need to be considered.”

Stephen T Chandler, president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, also warned that social care provided in people’s homes could be badly hit by the Omicron wave.

“In some places, people are having to wait longer to be discharged from hospital or may be waiting longer for people to come out and assess them. In some instances, it will result in some services being unavailable in the short term and that’s what we mean by rationing,” he said.

A day care facility in Oxfordshire has already had to temporarily close due to staff shortages, he said. Homecare is likely to be badly affected, as it is harder to redeploy staff.

“The best-case scenario would be a stranger would come into your home who is not familiar with your care and the worst case is the number of visits having to be reduced,” he said.

Chandler said care provided in the community plays a crucial role in protecting the NHS as it can reduce the number of people visiting hospital. “This is why it is so critical that you don’t have anything happening that would risk that,” he said.

Meanwhile, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the council of the British Medical Association, warned that GPs are being hit by staff shortages and said the government’s focus solely on hospitalisation data when making decisions about further Covid restrictions was shortsighted.

Nagpaul said: “To me the elephant in the room is the alarming levels of NHS staff shortages, and hospital data do not include general practice, which is being impacted significantly.”

The BMA has been told that large numbers of appointments are being cancelled as a result. “We’re also seeing cancellation of clinics for blood tests, for example where nurses are off sick. Reception staff are also going off sick, which means phones are going unanswered.”

When people can’t get GP appointments, A&E visits usually increase, so there is a knock-on effect on hospitals. “The government’s focus purely on hospital absence and Omicron hospitalisation is missing the larger picture of the impact on general practice, which is for patients that first point of contact.”

Public transport also continues to experience pressure due to Covid-related staff shortages. The Rail Delivery Group, the British rail industry membership body, said that on Monday 6.8% of trains were cancelled, up from an average of 5.4% in the seven days to Friday 24 December. The annual average of cancellations is 2.9%.

A spokesperson said: “Our staff are working in difficult circumstances and, like everyone else, they are susceptible to the virus.”

Waste collection services also continue to be disrupted in some areas of the country, with Basingstoke and Deane borough council having had to announce on Christmas Eve that some collections may not take place owing to Covid-related staffing issues.

Bin collections for Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire between Christmas and the new year also had to be revised, with some collection dates delayed by five days.

Green bin collections in the area were suspended from 13 December due to the number of absent drivers and loaders, particularly due to Covid-19 or self-isolation, the Greater Cambridge Shared Waste Service said, with rounds not due to return to normal before 24 January.

Cash-strapped councils in London have sold off historic public assets worth over £70 million in the last five years, Metro.co.uk can now reveal.

Remind anyone of the Knowle? – Owl

Gergana Krasteva metro.co.uk 

Some historic buildings in London will be turned into boutique hotels after they were sold off by councils 

In a big blow to communities, instead of refurbishing Grade I and Grade II-listed landmarks to use as youth centres or much-needed housing, some councils gave them away for ‘very, very low’ sums.

This is the case of Fulham Town Hall – built in 1890 with Georgian architecture – which was bought by developer Ziser London for £10 million to be turned into a boutique hotel, spa and a restaurant.

But leader of Hammersmith and Fulham Council Stephen Cowan pointed out that the Grade II-listed landmark opposite Fulham Broadway Station was sold ‘rather incompetently’ under the former Tory council.

The councillor argued that in Fulham, it is hard to buy a house for ‘anything less than £2 million’, so its selling price was ‘absolutely ridiculous’.

He told Metro.co.uk: ‘Our predecessors sold it in 2014 alongside a lot of other properties very, very cheaply.

‘We are not necessarily against selling it, just against selling it for so cheap.

‘When the Conservatives were in office, they decided to sell off community centres, youth clubs and two big council estates – all of which for very low, knocked-down prices – including Fulham Town Hall.

‘We viewed this decision as unbusiness-like and bad value for money. We tried to stop it when we came into office but they had exchanged contracts already with the people they sold the town hall to.

‘So, we did our best to review it but we were legally obliged to honour it. The building was actually sold in 2013 but the process was not complete until 2017.

‘And we thought it was a very bad thing as it was too low and it was sold for ridiculous purposes.

‘If you sell it, sell it for proper value and make sure it is of community use.’

According to dozens of Freedom of Information requests to all London borough authorities, Hammersmith and Fulham Council is not alone in disposing of historic public assets.

After years on the market, Greenwich Council finally cashed in on the dilapidated former East Greenwich library.

The Grade II-listed property, which shut in 2015, was bought by the Redeemed Christian Church Of God – an expansionary religious movement from Nigeria – in 2019 for £1.8 million.

A spokesperson for the council, however, insisted that the sale was not driven by a need to generate money.

In another controversial move, the City of London also sold Snow Hill and the 1960s Wood Street police stations in 2020 for £14.9 million and £40 million respectively.

Magnificent Hotels bought the Grade II-listed building on a 151-year lease to convert the Wood Street property into a five-star boutique hotel after City of London Police declared the station was surplus to operational requirements.

Located a 10-minute stroll from Wood Street, Snow Hill police station is also being transformed into a 219-room hotel by Premier Inn.

A City of London Corporation spokesperson said: ‘Both properties were sold to hotel developers and, once redeveloped, will represent a boost to overnight accommodation in the Square Mile.

‘The capital released by these sales will be reinvested into the new state-of-the-art headquarters for the City of London Police which will form part of the Salisbury Square Development on Fleet Street.’

Another historic property viewed as ‘surplus’ is the former Drill Hall Theatre in Chenies Street, Bloomsbury.

The 19th-century building was snapped up by RADA for £3.4 million in December 2017.

The National Trust has  just published their list of Wildlife’s winners and losers in the face of the extreme weather events of 2021. 

One of the winners is beavers which gives Owl an excuse to publish the following photo sent in before Christmas by a correspondent. It shows evidence of “beaver activity”  just below Otterton Mill. 

Owl assumes that the rain in the past few days will have caused more sewage releases across East Devon, including into the Otter.

Going, going……..

[Results from the Scottish beaver trials show beavers fell larger than average trees, with a very strong preference for trees that re-sprout such as willow These provide an immediate and longer term source of food, and the upper branches can be used for dam building material. Beavers dam small streams to provide ponds of deeper water for a  safe underwater entrance to their lodges, rather than larger rivers. So this activity around Otterton looks to be related to feeding. (Readers may be better informed – Owl)]

“Boris Johnson cannot act because his party will not let him.”

Editorial: www.independent.co.uk 

It hardly needs to be stated that no government of almost any kind, let alone a free, democratic one, likes to impose restrictions on its people’s most basic liberties. At various points over the Christmas period, new, legally binding restrictions have been or will be imposed in Wales, in Northern Ireland and in Scotland.

These include limits on the numbers of people who can meet indoors and outdoors, in different kinds of venues. In Scotland, pubs have been restricted to table service only, and only three households may mix together. In Wales and Northern Ireland, nightclubs are shut, alongside various other limits on social interaction of the kind we are all too familiar.

Political leaders take these measures with unimaginably extreme reluctance, and they do so because their scientific advisers have warned them of the consequences coming down the line if they do not act.

And yet the overall prime minister of these three semi-autonomous countries, Boris Johnson, has not acted. He has received, by and large, the same advice as Mark Drakeford, as Nicola Sturgeon and as Paul Givan and Michelle O’Neill. But the part of the country over which he does have authority, namely England, has the most severe Covid crisis on its hands by a huge margin, and yet no new legal measures have been introduced, and given the time that it would take to do so, nor will they before the end of this calendar year.

The reasons for this are clear. They are political. Boris Johnson cannot act because his party will not let him. Last time he tried to bring in new restrictions, he was dependent on the Labour Party to do so, and a hundred of his own MPs rebelled. That is a massive rebellion, quite possibly the second largest in parliamentary history. (Only Theresa May’s first meaningful Brexit vote, when 118 of her own MPs voted against her, was more damning.)

It means, in no uncertain terms, that the prime minister does not have the authority within his own party, which is the governing party, to act on the advice of his own scientific advisers, to take the very basic steps that other parts of his own country consider to be necessary to maintain public health.

The politicians and the large part of the media that continue to support him will continue repeating the same old debatable and uncertain narratives (we deliberately stop short of the word facts); that the Omicron variant causes less severe illness, that the data is not sufficient, as if they somehow understand more than the scientific advisers, when they palpably do not. The data is sufficient for leaders with political authority to act. They have already acted. Because they can, and because they know it’s the right thing to do.

All that is happening is the same old dreary ideological battle, except it’s not dreary, it’s deeply unsettling, not least because it’s happened so many times already in the last almost two full years, with the same consequences, and the same lack of action.

There are many reasons to believe that we, which is to say the rich countries, are reaching the end of our epidemic (the pandemic is not nearly over, and nor will it be until the rich countries get real about vaccinating the entire world). New therapeutic and retroviral treatments that will make Covid-19 a manageable disease are about to hit the mainstream. But they do not mean that the need to act, for one last final push, now, has gone away. It’s obvious. It’s just that the only people who refuse to see it are calling the shots, with entirely predictable results.

• Construction of side extension 5 The Pines Honiton EX14 2JFRef. No: 21/3280/FUL | Validated: Fri 17 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erection of roof over silage clamp Challenger Farm Membury Axminster EX13 7JTRef. No: 21/3276/FUL | Validated: Fri 17 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erection of a roof over an existing silage clamp and extension to livestock housing Challenger Farm Membury Axminster EX13 7JTRef. No: 21/3277/FUL | Validated: Fri 17 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed rear extension Brook House Sowton Exeter EX5 2AFRef. No: 21/3283/FUL | Validated: Fri 17 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1 and T2 as per sketch plan : Fell to ground level. Reason: to locate container on site to increase storage. Unit 1-2 Hungry Fox Estate Broadclyst Exeter EX5 3LYRef. No: 21/3282/TRE | Validated: Fri 17 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erection of roof over slurry storeChallenger Farm Membury Axminster EX13 7JTRef. No: 21/3278/FUL | Validated: Fri 17 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Variation of condition 2 (approved plans) for application 20/2674/FUL Harcourt Wiggaton Ottery St Mary EX11 1PTRef. No: 21/3271/VAR | Validated: Thu 16 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Replacement extension to rear, 2 new roof lights, 2 new windows to southern gable and internal alterations. Cork Tree Cottage 49 Bridge Street Sidbury Sidmouth EX10 0RURef. No: 21/3266/FUL | Validated: Thu 16 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1 (012400) English Oak Adjacent to no 12 : Reduce limb growing over roof by 2.5m; prune the upper crown back to about 0.5m behind fence (grass side) T1 (97024) English Oak Adjacent to no 15 : Prune to give 2.5m / 3m clearance from house; crown lift over fence and garage to achieve 1 – 1.5m clearance. Reason: Appropriate arboricultural maintenance to ensure long-term clearance. 12 Old Bystock Drive Exmouth EX8 5RBRef. No: 21/3272/TRE | Validated: Thu 16 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Mechanical lift to front door to allow wheelchair access 20 Gipsy Lane Exmouth EX8 3HWRef. No: 21/3263/FUL | Validated: Thu 16 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Conversion of single storey open fronted agricultural barn to single storey 3-bedroom larger dwellinghouse and change of use of building and associated curtilage to domestic use. Clapperentale Farm Escot Park Ottery St Mary EX11 1LURef. No: 21/3273/PDQ | Validated: Thu 16 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Installation of external wall insulation in textured render finish, including ancillary works to roof verge and replacement of PVCu/timber windows with aluminiumNewholme Northcote Lane Honiton EX14 1NHRef. No: 21/3253/CM | Validated: Wed 15 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1, Beech : Fell Reason: See attached arboricultural report. Replant with one replacement native species (to be confirmed). Wainholm West 13 Knowle Road Budleigh Salterton EX9 6ARRef. No: 21/3262/TRE | Validated: Wed 15 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erection of enclosed porch 10 Beavor Lane Axminster EX13 5EQRef. No: 21/3261/FUL | Validated: Wed 15 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use of part of building to B2 use and retention of single storey side extension Building North Of Harbour Close Combpyne EX13 8SXRef. No: 21/3255/FUL | Validated: Thu 16 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Bay (T2) – Fell because tree is growing against wall and likely to cause damage in the future. Holm Oak (T3) – Pollard at height of 4 meters as tree has weak union at base of roadside stem. Cedar Shade All Saints Road SidmouthRef. No: 21/3259/TCA | Validated: Thu 16 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1, Oak : Prune because of excessive shading to give approximately 2 metres clearance to greenhouse. Regis Court Hillside Road SidmouthRef. No: 21/3252/TRE | Validated: Wed 15 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of single storey rear extension. 52 Mill Street Ottery St Mary EX11 1ADRef. No: 21/3248/FUL | Validated: Tue 14 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of existing garage with replacement proposed single storey side/rear extension, roof lantern to kitchen, raising chimney height to NE (party wall) and new cowl to chimney on SW elevation, re render existing cottage with lime render and replacement 1st floor window to south west elevation Thatch Colestocks Honiton Devon EX14 3JRRef. No: 21/3250/FUL | Validated: Tue 14 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of existing garage with replacement proposed single storey side/rear extension, roof lantern to kitchen, raising chimney height to NE (party wall) and new cowl to chimney on SW elevation, re render existing cottage with lime render and replacement 1st floor window to south west elevation Thatch Colestocks Honiton Devon EX14 3JRRef. No: 21/3251/LBC | Validated: Tue 14 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision

• T1, Silver Birch : Crown reduce by no more than 3m in height and reshape ensuring the tree retains a balanced and uniform shape as shown in the attached photograph; crown lift to no more than 5m in height from ground level by tip pruning as necessary; maximum diameter of cuts no more than 50mm. 12 Westminster Close Exmouth EX8 5QSRef. No: 21/3231/TRE | Validated: Mon 13 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use to cease holiday use and make ancillary to Sowton Farm Sowton Farm Buckerell Honiton EX14 3EHRef. No: 21/3239/FUL | Validated: Mon 13 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Two new sash windows to the front elevation with alteration to fenestration and widen existing access6 Fore Street Hill Budleigh Salterton EX9 6PERef. No: 21/3238/FUL | Validated: Fri 17 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Garage Extension forwards as per plan 1 Home Farm Cottages Rousdon Lyme Regis DT7 3XTRef. No: 21/3240/FUL | Validated: Mon 13 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Single storey rear extension with alteration to fenestration. 24 Honey Park Road Budleigh Salterton EX9 6EGRef. No: 21/3234/FUL | Validated: Mon 13 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1 Ash – fell. Reason: dying back and poor form. Windrush Broadway Sidmouth EX10 8RQRef. No: 21/3233/TCA | Validated: Mon 13 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of single storey rear extension Little Cote Beatlands Road Sidmouth EX10 8JHRef. No: 21/3232/FUL | Validated: Mon 13 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Rear single storey extension to replace existing conservatory and new dormer to the front and French door to the rear with alteration to fenestration. Fairchildes 3 Salston Ride Salston Ottery St Mary EX11 1RHRef. No: 21/3221/FUL | Validated: Wed 15 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Single storey front and side extensions, front and rear hip to gable roof conversions and side dormer. 28 Hill Drive Exmouth EX8 4QQRef. No: 21/3226/FUL | Validated: Tue 14 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of existing garage and erection of garage with two storey side extension and single storey rear extension. 27 Hazelwood Close Honiton EX14 2XARef. No: 21/3220/FUL | Validated: Tue 14 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Single storey rear extension; erection of new rear dormer; first floor front extension and internal remodelling 17 Higher Woolbrook Park Sidmouth EX10 9EDRef. No: 21/3229/FUL | Validated: Mon 13 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed conversion of a redundant building to form 1 no. residential dwelling and associated works Land And Building South East Of Courshay Springs HawkchurchRef. No: 21/3211/FUL | Validated: Tue 14 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of existing 20th century kitchen extension, outdoor WC and lean-to roof, to be replaced with new kitchen and rear porch extension; new garage pitched roof to replace existing flat roof structureWoodbury Cottage Woodbury Salterton Exeter EX5 1PGRef. No: 21/3213/FUL | Validated: Fri 17 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of existing 20th century kitchen extension, outdoor WC and lean-to roof, to be replaced with new kitchen and rear porch extension; new garage pitched roof to replace existing flat roof structure.Woodbury Cottage Woodbury Salterton Exeter EX5 1PGRef. No: 21/3214/LBC | Validated: Fri 17 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed two storey side extension to dwellinghouse and erection of new boundary wall and fence. 9 Ash Hill Court Beer Seaton EX12 3NGRef. No: 21/3202/FUL | Validated: Mon 13 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of a garden office Little Oak Hill Oakhill East Budleigh Budleigh Salterton EX9 7DWRef. No: 21/3173/FUL | Validated: Thu 16 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Outline application for up to 6,000 sqm GIA (6,350 sqm GEA) of office development with associated infrastructure (all matters reserved except access) Land To The East Of Anning Road/ Tithebarn Way Redhayes ExeterRef. No: 21/3148/MOUT | Validated: Thu 16 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of 49 MW solar farm, with permission being required for 40 years, comprising solar arrays, equipment housing, sub-station, fencing, CCTV, ancillary equipment, and associated development Land Adjacent To Peradon Farm Clyst HydonRef. No: 21/3120/MFUL | Validated: Tue 14 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Valid commencement within three years of permission granted under 19/0318/FUL issued on 23/04/2019 for Raising of roof and provision of dormer windows to create first floor accommodation (Re-submission of 15/2544/FUL) Homebuoy Southdown Road Beer Seaton EX12 3AERef. No: 21/3072/CPE | Validated: Thu 16 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Replace 2no. dormer windows on rear south west elevation The Belfry Country Hotel Yarcombe Honiton EX14 9BDRef. No: 21/3046/LBC | Validated: Wed 15 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Erection of 30 dwellings to include highways, drainage, landscaping and ancillary incidental works Land West Of Prestaller Farm Beavor Lane AxminsterRef. No: 21/3025/MFUL | Validated: Fri 17 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Replacing old garden shed and store box with new garden shed / store room. Flat 4 Boughfield Bickwell Valley Sidmouth EX10 8SGRef. No: 21/3032/FUL | Validated: Tue 14 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Install 2no. rooflights and 1no. roof vent on rear (west) elevation; second floor: removal and construction of walls, ceilings to be removed from both bedrooms and the creation of vaulted ceilings Ley Farm Yarcombe Honiton EX14 9LWRef. No: 21/3026/LBC | Validated: Thu 16 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Widening of existing carport and conversion of logstore into a studio/workshop Woodhayes Cottage Luppitt Honiton EX14 4TPRef. No: 21/2977/FUL | Validated: Fri 17 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed replacement parapet to terrace at Rockfish Restaurant The Waterfront Pier Head Exmouth EX8 1DURef. No: 21/2903/FUL | Validated: Fri 17 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of existing workshop and erection of detached garden room/gym Highlands Ship Lane Clyst Honiton Exeter EX5 2NQRef. No: 21/2733/FUL | Validated: Wed 15 Dec 2021 | Status: Awaiting decision

A banker is set to become the new chairman of NHS England in a bid to make it more “accountable” for its funding.

www.newschainonline.com 

The Department of Health and Social Care confirmed former TSB chairman Richard Meddings is the Government’s preferred candidate for the role on Thursday.

The Telegraph reported that ministers wanted Mr Meddings to provide an “outside eye” to make the NHS accountable for its additional funding, and said the Government was anxious to identify a “heavyweight” from the private sector with experience in digital and data, in order to help the NHS make better use of technologies.

The NHS still relies on paper records at some of its hospitals.

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid has invited the Health and Social Care Committee to hold a pre-appointment scrutiny hearing with Mr Meddings.

The role of chairman with NHS England will become available when Lord Prior of Brampton steps down early next year.

The Telegraph also reported that Cabinet ministers stressed their expectation that the NHS must achieve value for money after an additional £5.5 billion was channelled towards it for the second half of 2021 and a national insurance increase is set to fund an extra £12 billion for it next year.

As chairman of TSB, Mr Meddings oversaw what he described as “its most challenging year” in 2018 when it accrued losses of £104.5 million.

The migration of its IT system cost the bank £330.2 million, with higher charges related to customer compensation, additional resources and fraud.

Around 80,000 customers switched their bank account away from TSB the same year.

Mr Meddings is also a non-executive director at HM Treasury and Credit Suisse and is the former group finance director for Standard Chartered bank.

The Department of Health and Social Care said he was selected as preferred chair after an open public appointment process.

Following the select committee hearing, it will then set out its views on his suitability for the role of chair and the Secretary of State will then consider the committee’s report before making a final decision.

E.g,: ‘Dodgy data’ used in push for tighter Covid restrictions

Health chief accused of disseminating misleading statistics on hospitalisations that overstated the risk from omicron – Telegraph 25 December

Editorial www.independent.co.uk 

Professor Chris Whitty and other high-profile public health officials are tipped for new year honours, and rightly so. Sir Chris, as we may soon learn to call him, and his fellow scientists have been voices of calm, consideration and, above all, truth throughout the pandemic. They have told the public the facts as they emerged, framed them against scientific understanding – so far as it went – and counselled caution.

They were not always right, such as in their early dismissal of face-coverings, but their successes have greatly outweighed their failures. On the big calls, such as radically reducing social interaction, they have been proved right. Where there have been problems it has been because scientific guidance hasn’t been sufficiently heeded.

The rapid development of vaccines – in which Britain played a pioneering role, though it was the result of intensive international collaboration – is one of the great medical achievements of this or any age. Many lives have been saved by the dedication of scientists and clinicians, and by the public’s trust in them.

And yet, even as they are honoured by many, these public servants are also increasingly the subject of derision and abuse, and from people who should know better. Not only is this unkind and ungrateful, but the tendency to undermine public trust in science and medicine actively undermines the effort to control the spread of the virus, relieve pressure on the NHS and save lives.

Sometimes it is said, lazily, that the world has to “move on” and “learn to live with Covid” because of the damage public health measures can do to the economy. An uncontrolled spike in infections, however, will invariably do much more harm to jobs and businesses, even if the value of the lives of those killed – avoidably – by the virus can somehow be discounted to zero.

Worst of all, the political and media tide of criticism of the likes of Professor Whitty – or, most recently, Dr Jenny Harries – feeds the conspiracy theories and the cranks in the anti-vaxxers’ topsy-turvy world. If people want to believe that Omicron, for example, is “mild” and no worse than the common cold or a case of the sniffles, then of course they will be unwilling even to wear a face-covering or avoid crowded spaces. If it is supposed that independent scientists are responsible for “dodgy” data, and that they have some secret agenda to control peoples’ lives for the sake of it, then of course people will cease to take reasonable precautions to protect themselves and others. Careless talk costs lives.

It is shameful, then, that such language is being used against public servants whose only agenda is to protect public health. For issuing warnings about the ominous Omicron variant, officials are derided as “scaremongers”, “doomsday scientists” and “Dr Doom”. The modelling they have to use to assess policy options is supposedly always wrong, even though it is never a prediction of anything more than a range of possible outcomes if no action is taken and public behaviour remains unchanged. It is grotesque that someone such as Jacob Rees-Mogg tries to challenge Sir Patrick Vallance on epidemiology.

When, as now, it becomes clearer that a case of Omicron is less likely to lead to hospitalisation and is thus, on this definition, “milder” than the Delta variant, some media channels and politicians twist this into saying it is “mild”, meaning almost benign. It is not the common cold, however. In truth, it can still kill, and it will certainly add to the pressures on the NHS, which is struggling to catch up with the considerable backlog of non-Covid illnesses.

Spectrums of likelihood are turned into binary facts. So vaccines are said to be no help in preventing transmission, even though they may reduce transmission in some settings. Similarly, because people with vaccines do still succumb to Covid, it is claimed that the vaccines don’t work. It is sometimes said that natural immunity is superior to vaccines (and that vaccines are therefore useless). It is ludicrous, but such crude nonsense is stated with depressing frequency. Sad to say, it carries a good deal of political motivation.

Comparatively modest measures, such as Covid-status certificates or social distancing, are characterised as “lockdown”, when they are not. The cycle of new variants of concern and countermeasures is presented as never ending, yet Professor Whitty has explained, in his patient, honest way, that in around 18 months’ time, new and powerful polyvalent vaccines, as well as a range of improved treatments and techniques, will indeed mean that people can learn to live with the virus – but safely. With widespread polyvalent vaccination, variants will be less likely to be vaccine-evasive, and less likely to circulate freely if basic precautions are taken.

At the moment, it is not possible to learn to live with the coronavirus, because it is still too widespread and too deadly. Therefore, periodic intrusions on liberty to protect lives and to protect the economy will continue to be necessary, as will vaccinations and boosters, and not just in the rich world but globally. Beating Covid will need political leadership, perseverance and money, as well as clear, balanced messaging and honest debate through the media.

There is no need to shoot the messengers: all the scientists can do is point the way.

The Prime Minister says he will not hesitate to take further action on Omicron – despite a revolt in his party when he last imposed restrictions. – various press reports

[Data reporting is often delayed over weekend and holidays.]

Owl not holding their breath.

Jessica Elgot www.theguardian.com 

Boris Johnson is expected to examine crucial hospital data on Monday before making any new announcement on Covid measures, but has no plans to recall his cabinet, with ministers still deeply sceptical of further legal curbs.

Sources said the prime minister would “take stock” after being encouraged by improving data on Friday, a sign that No 10 is leaning away from stricter curbs in England, but Downing Street sources said he would act quickly if there were new causes for concern.

Instead, Johnson will receive only his regular data briefing over the bank holiday with England’s chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty – expected to be knighted in the new year honours – and the chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance.

Key evidence that the government will examine on Monday includes data on the length of stay in hospitals, the transition rates to ICU and new death figures. There is concern among some government figures about undeclared positive cases – including those asymptomatic but also those isolating after a lateral flow test whose results are not recorded by the NHS because they do not take a PCR.

However, cabinet ministers are still highly sceptical of further legal restrictions, a week after a tense three-hour cabinet meeting in which the majority pushed back against any new curbs.

One cabinet minister said the positive data on Omicron’s severity – a Health Security Agency analysis found those catching Omicron are 50% to 70% less likely to need hospital care compared with previous variants – proved they had been right to hold out.

“The data so far is still struggling to be persuasive of legal changes to be required,” one cabinet minister said. Another said it was “right that we didn’t rush last time given positive, early data”.

But a hospital doctors’ trade union urged ministers to implement further measures without delay to help the NHS, including limits on household mixing and table service only in hospitality venues.

Dr Paul Donaldson, the general secretary of the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association, warned Johnson that “it would be ludicrous” not to respond more decisively to Omicron, and that Christmas mingling would inevitably have spread Covid.

“There is a high probability we are moving too late,” said Donaldson, a consultant microbiologist.

“We will soon start to see the impact of Christmas. We are holding out hope that hospitalisations are at the lower end of projections. But given the uncertainty we face it would be ludicrous not to take additional precautions,” he added.

The HCSA also wants to see social distancing measures applied in retail and hospitality settings, such as mask-wearing, table spacing, limits on capacity and queueing systems, as well as social distancing and bubbles in all schools and continued working from home.

The NHS Confederation, which represents health service trusts in England, said any further steps would help the NHS, given the rising number of hospitalisations and staff off sick due to the virus. There were 1,171 people admitted to hospital across the UK in the previous 24 hours, the government disclosed on Friday.

“Any new restrictions which are brought in to help ease the pressure on the NHS need to be clearly explained to the public. Confusion and complacency can make any new restrictions ineffective,” said Matthew Taylor, its chief executive.

The prime minister has pledged to his restive backbenchers, a significant number of whom rebelled over the last set of restrictions, that he will recall parliament before implementing new restrictions but it is possible any vote could be retrospective, should the decision be taken later in the week.

Johnson faced significant opposition from his cabinet before Christmas during a three-hour meeting where the decision was taken to delay any new curbs until after the festive weekend.

The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, and the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, were said to be the most sceptical of restrictions, while the levelling up secretary, Michael Gove, and culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, have urged the most caution.

On Friday, papers released from government scientific advisers showed modelling for the impact of implementing “step 2” restrictions from Tuesday – a date now unlikely to be practicable. That would mean an end to indoor gatherings and introducing the rule of six outdoors, with bars and restaurants only able to serve outdoors.

The modelling suggested that restrictions could reduce deaths by 18% if kept in place until mid-January or 39% if retained until the end of March.

Cabinet resistance to further restrictions is also likely be deepened by the collapse in Johnson’s own poll ratings over the scandal of No 10 Christmas parties and deep rifts with his own party over plan B restrictions to enforce home working, mask-wearing and new Covid passes for large venues.

Speaking to the Observer on Sunday, Conservative MPs suggested that those who wished to eventually replace Johnson should resist further Covid restrictions.

Johnson and the education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, are said to be determined that schools reopen on time in January. Step 2 restrictions would allow schools to remain open, as well as non-essential shops, subject to social distancing rules.

New coronavirus restrictions come into force from Monday in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. From Boxing Day, a maximum of six people will be allowed to meet in pubs, cinemas and restaurants in Wales, as well as other restrictions on numbers for larger events.

In Scotland, up to three households can meet, with 1-metre distancing between groups at indoor and outdoor venues such as bars, restaurants, theatres, cinemas and gyms. Table service is also required at places where alcohol is served.

Northern Ireland is also recommending restricting socialising to three households, while up to six people can meet in pubs, bars and restaurants.

However, there are serious concerns in the NHS that the large number of frontline personnel falling sick as infections spiral because of Omicron is hampering the service’s ability to provide care.

Staff absences in England due to Covid have been soaring during December, the latest official figures showed last Thursday. The number of days lost to illness caused by Covid went up by 38% to 124,855 in the week to 19 December, while the number of staff off sick rose by 54% from 12,240 to 18,829, both compared with the previous week.

At some hospitals in London, which has been hit first and worst by the new variant, the number of staff off ill with Covid has trebled since the start of the month, NHS England’s figures showed.

Taylor said that the service was facing a “double emergency” of sharply rising staff absences because of illness at the same time as the demand for hospital care was rising.

Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers, has said that the loss of frontline staff to sickness is “a big worry” for hospital bosses who are facing growing demand from patients, especially as the NHS in England has almost 100,000 vacancies anyway.

With a focus on the problems in Exeter – Owl

Robert Booth www.theguardian.com 

Jonathan Taylor was pleased by his first peek at a sparkling new studio apartment that could one day become his home. The 24-year-old from Exeter has been living in YMCA accommodation since he was 19 but, as he viewed freshly painted white walls, the reality of a more settled home dawned.

“If I lived in this place I’d feel more important,” he said. “I’d feel I’ve landed on my feet.”

Taylor, who juggles cleaning jobs at a builders’ merchant and a pub, is a victim of what many fear is a deepening housing crisis in the Devon cathedral city fuelled by surging house prices, the spread of short-term Airbnb lets and rising social waiting lists.

It means the chance to rent a decent, affordable home like the one Taylor is viewing is vanishingly rare. The fact Taylor may soon be given a chance to move in is down to YMCA Exeter, which is converting a former Poundstretcher warehouse into 26 homes for priced-out young people for a £140-a-week rent – well below the market rate.

The small attempt at a solution comes as Exeter and many other parts of the UK are facing a new challenge to further complicate the housing crisis: the arrival of metropolitan homebuyers seeking more space and less stress. Pandemic exiles are selling up high-value homes in places such as London and snapping up bigger properties for a fraction of the price.

Latest figures show that Londoners bought more than 112,000 homes outside the capital this year, an increase of 62% compared with 2020, according to the estate agent Hamptons.

They spent £54.9bn, the highest annual spend on record, reflecting soaring property prices, which have been lifted by the government’s temporary cut to stamp duty. The average UK house price has risen from £450,460 in 2020 to £486,890 in 2021.

“It is getting tense,” said Rob Hannaford, leader of the Labour group of Devon county council. “People coming down with big budgets is causing anger and resentment.”

Exeter is among several UK areas that have become honeypots for city people who decided during the lockdowns that another life must be possible. House prices are surging too in Richmondshire in North Yorkshire, Pembrokeshire in west Wales, and the Scottish borders. Cities such as Exeter are seeing already threadbare supplies of affordable housing pushed to breaking point.

“Local people can’t get anywhere in the system,” said Hannaford. “People from London are coming in and putting in a ridiculous offer over the asking price and getting what they want. These might not be houses that local people could afford, but it does trickle down.”

Exeter’s social waiting list grew 47% from 2017 to 2020 to reach about 2,600 households. House prices went up 8.5% in the last year. Meanwhile the population grows, more properties become second homes and private landlords increasingly switch long-term rentals to short-stay Airbnbs.

The pressure is such that Hannaford said the council was even concerned about how to find homes for 67 Afghan refugees currently in a hotel after this summer’s evacuation from Kabul. Attracting social workers, teachers and care workers is becoming harder. There is a plan to build 500 council homes but it is playing catch-up.

Blaming the arrival of outsiders may not be entirely fair given the affordable housing crisis in Exeter has been brewing for years. Landlords have bought up swathes of stock to rent to students and, in a nationally recurrent theme, there is public opposition to construction on the surrounding green fields.

Newcomers resist any suggestion they are causing a problem and some stressed they wanted to become part of the community and contribute with their different skills and experience.

“The pandemic and lockdown gave us some unexpectedly clarity,” said Sabrina Russo, who moved from London to Exeter with her family in December 2020. “We realised that a bigger home, time outdoors and a slower pace had become real priorities … Exeter is friendly and welcoming and we’ve started to meet people and make friends. We bought a house that we love.”

But, said Laura Wright, the Exeter city councillor in charge of council housing and deputy leader, there was “growing alarm at the prices that some people are willing and able to pay to move here from London”.

“As a nation, we have been locked into a way of thinking and acting over the last 20 years which values making the biggest profit possible above collective responsibility for social cohesion and welfare.”

The sharpest house price rises in the year to August have been in desirable, more spacious locations outside the major cities where there have also been substantial increases in people waiting for social housing. The list includes Wychavon, Stratford-upon-Avon, County Durham, Cheshire West and Newark and Sherwood in Nottinghamshire. In these places, average house prices rose between 13% and 20% in a year while waiting lists have lengthened over the last three years.

“My age group is being pushed out of the city,” said Natalie Overson, a 23-year-old who aspires to be a midwife and has been on Exeter’s social housing waiting list for five years. “A lot of it is people buying second homes, or buying to rent out. It is the middle and upper classes that are making it harder for us to live in the cities we grew up in.”

Becky Merriman, 34, a youth worker, has been unable find a rental home in Exeter, which means she has to commute 40 minutes each way and continue to live with her parents.

“I’ve been trying since May and it has been quite traumatic,” she said. “We would ring agents as soon as a property went up [online] and they would say the viewings were all gone in 10 minutes. It’s mentally exhausting.”

In West Devon, which includes half of Dartmoor, house prices have risen 20% in the last year and 800 households are waiting for social housing.

“We as a local authority have got to be building houses,” said Neil Jory, West Devon’s Conservative leader, who added that people moving from London and Bristol was “causing us a great deal of concern”. “There are cases in Devon where teachers have come to the county to work and three months later they have gone back to where they came from because they can’t afford anywhere to live.”

A flood warning has been issued for parts of Devon on Boxing Day following heavy rainfall across the South West.

Maxine Denton www.devonlive.com

The county was battered with rain yesterday (December 25), causing some significant delays to traffic and travel, following severe flooding on roads across the region.

The Environment Agency has now issued a flood warning for the River Clyst from Broadclyst to Clyst St. Mary for Boxing Day evening, after heavy rainfall in the River Clyst area on Christmas Day.

The warning alerts residents to “act now” as several areas can expect flooding to properties and farms before levels begin to fall today (December 26).

The Government website states: “Flooding is expected on Saturday evening. Heavy rain has been falling in the River Clyst area throughout Saturday. This has caused the River Clyst to rise and the river will remain high overnight before levels begin to fall on Sunday.

“There is likely to be road flooding at Broadclyst Bridge, Clyston Mill, Dymond’s Farm and Sowton Barton areas and flooding to properties and farms between Clyst St. Mary and Topsham including Newcourt Barton and Cotts Farm.”

It continued: “Flood waters may be deep and fast flowing in these areas. Residents are strongly urged to take action now. Remain safe and be aware of your local surroundings. We will be closely monitoring the situation throughout the night and this message will be updated as the situation changes.”