Author Archives: East Devon Watch

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3 Jun 2021

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Council thanked for moving travellers off Sidford Rugby Pitches

A group of travellers who occupied Sidford rugby field during the Bank Holiday weekend were moved on by East Devon District Council, which owns the land.

Philippa Davies sidmouth.nub.news 

A number of caravans and other vehicles were seen on the site, which is used by Sidmouth Rugby Club, on Sunday, May 30.

Their arrival was reported to the district council (EDDC), which took swift action.

A spokesperson said: “Council representatives visited the site over the weekend and followed usual procedures to serve the travellers with notices to leave.

“They left on Monday morning. The site has now been secured.

“Some litter was left on the site, but our Streetscene Team quickly reacted and the site was tidied within an hour.”

On Monday, Sidmouth RFC posted a message of ‘heartfelt thanks’ to the council for dealing with the issue.

It said: “We would like to sincerely thank EDDC estates & property team for their reactiveness & robust response in ensuring sports fields in Sidford are once again available for boys & girls to enjoy rugby & recreational activities.

“EDDC have been superb & communicated with the club throughout.”

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2 Jun 2021

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“Super Boris” V the “Delta Variant”

The World Health Organization, in an attempt to simplify labels for COVID-19 variants – and to avoid stigmatizing certain countries – has renamed the various variants of the virus.

Instead of referring to them by the name of the country in which they were first discovered, such as the Indian, Brazilian or British variants, the WHO wants them to be known by letters of the Greek alphabet.

So the so-called Indian variant (B.1.617.2), the cause of much alarm around the world, is to be known as Delta, the Brazilian (P.1) variant as Gamma, and the British one (B.1.1.7) as Alpha.

These are “easy-to-pronounce and non-stigmatising labels” according to the organisation, which will be “easier and more practical to be discussed by non-scientific audiences”.

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2 Jun 2021

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UK ranked last in Europe for bathing water quality in 2020

Despite the recent “awards” for our local bathing beaches, the reality is that their water quality was not tested in 2020. See interactive maps referenced below. – Owl

Fiona Harvey www.theguardian.com

Swimmers in the UK hoping to enjoy waters certified clean and healthy this summer have been let down again. Only 110 coastal and inland sites were judged excellent in the latest bathing water quality data from Europe’s environmental watchdog.

Most of the UK’s bathing sites were not classified in 2020, however, because Covid-19 restrictions prevented sampling. This meant that out of 640 sites, 457 received no verdict in the rankings, compiled annually by the European Environment Agency and published on Tuesday.

Twelve sites where a verdict could be delivered were found to be poor, 29 of sufficient quality and 32 good.

The lack of data pushed the UK to the bottom of the European league table, rivalled only by Poland, where just 22% of sites were rated excellent, in the 31-country rankings of EU member states plus Albania and Switzerland. The other 29 countries all had at least 50% of the monitored bathing sites classified as excellent quality, and for the vast majority – 24 countries – the figure was at least 70%.

Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Croatia and Austria led the pack with 95% or more of their sites qualifying as excellent. All of Cyprus’s sites received top marks.

The 2020 data will be the last to include the UK. The EEA includes EU member states and non-members such as Turkey, Iceland and Switzerland, but the UK has chosen to opt out of EEA membership post-Brexit, meaning no such comparisons will be possible in future.

The UK has performed poorly in bathing water quality for years, regularly appearing near the bottom of the table while other countries, including eastern European states, have made marked improvements.

A Guardian investigation last year found that water companies had poured raw sewage into rivers on more than 20,000 occasions in 2019, and dumped thousands of tonnes of raw sewage on beaches.

A government spokesperson said: “The quality of bathing waters in England has improved significantly in the last 20 years. The latest data from 2019 shows that that 72% achieved the highest standard of Excellent, while 98.3% passed the minimum standard.

“Visitors to coastal and inland swimming spots have over 400 bathing waters to choose from and can find out more information of the Environment Agency’s ‘Swimfo’ website.”

Overall, the EEA said 83% of coastal and inland sites around Europe were found to be excellent in 2020, broadly in line with recent years. Only 1.3% of the sites tested, or 296 across the continent, were judged to be of poor quality, down from about 2% in 2013. Coastal sites fared better than inland sites, with 85% and 78% respectively classified as excellent.

About 6% of the sites normally monitored across Europe could not be reached because of Covid-19 restrictions. Countries also tend to leave out many bathing sites that are used in practice, so the true picture could be different, especially for inland sites, and people could be put at risk if the bathing places they use are not monitored.

Lidija Globevnik, a project leader for bathing water at the European Topics Centre and an author of the report, said: “There are many sites that are not identified as bathing waters, but people still swim there. There should be higher attention paid by the authorities to observe these sites, and act if there is a problem.”

She said the climate crisis was also having an impact on bathing water and on inland sites especially, because dry spells reduce the amount of water in rivers and lakes, which could concentrate pollutants from agricultural runoff and other sources.

“There is not enough water in some places, which means a proliferation of bacteria in inland waters and higher risks,” she said. “This can be managed better through looking at agriculture, hydrology and water extraction. These all need to be carefully managed.”

The European Commission has recently launched a review of the bathing water directive as part of its zero-pollution action plan. The current rules could be updated, and an online public consultation is planned for suggestions on the improvements needed.

Virginijus Sinkevičius, the European commissioner for the environment, fisheries and oceans, said: “Bathing water quality in Europe remains high and it’s good news for Europeans who will be heading to beaches and bathing sites this summer. This is the result of more than 40 years of the bathing water directive, hard work by dedicated professionals and cooperation. The zero pollution action plan adopted in May will help to keep the waters healthy and safe, and our seas and rivers clean.”

The Covid-19 pandemic had no impact on the quality of water, but led to many bathing sites being closed or access limited because of social distancing requirements, although many people were driven to take up wild swimming.

Hans Bruyninckx, the executive director of the EEA, said: “The quality of European bathing water remains high after four decades of action aimed at preventing and reducing pollution. EU law has not only helped raise the overall quality, but also helped identify areas where specific action is needed.”

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2 Jun 2021

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Plans for up to 80 homes refused

Exeter City has refused plans for significant development just outside the built up area of Exwick. This is a site on the other side of the Exe, on the western boundary of the city. The reasons for refusal are the harmful impact they would have on the landscape character of the area. However, Exeter doesn’t have a five year land supply, the pressure is on to find land. 

The EDDC “New Guard’s” bold decision last year to pull out of GESP (Greater Exeter Strategic Plan) has removed the soft option of simply expanding east of the Exe.

Think how Topsham has now effectively become an Exeter suburb and how much Grade I agricultural land was sacrificed for Cranbrook.

Exeter will have to confront the implications of their expansionary plans – Owl

Plans to build homes on the edge of Exeter have been refused because of the harmful impact they would have on the landscape character of the area they were built in.

Daniel Clark, Local Democracy Reporter www.radioexe.co.uk

The proposals would’ve seen the dwellings located beyond the built-up area of Exwick on the land to the east of Redhills. 

The application included 80 homes, with 35% being affordable housing, as well as two play areas.

Officers’ planning assessment concluded that the benefits of the proposed housing do not outweigh the harmful impact the development would have on the landscape character of the area, and councillors agreed with that at Thursday night’s planning committee meeting.

There had been 281 objections from local residents to the plans, on the grounds of the impact on landscape character, the impact on wildlife and biodiversity, concerns about flooding, the need to follow Liveable Exeter’s vision and build on brownfield sites, and that with the plans for development on the Teignbridge site, it would be overdevelopment of the area.

Cllr Rachel Sutton said that the scheme on the site would have a detrimental impact and that it will be visually intrusive, adding: “We need to be looking at brownfield sites for development before green field sites. We are keen to encourage people to walk and cycle but looking at that footpath, the idea that anyone with a shopping trolley or a small child will go up or down the hill is frankly ludicrous, and the bus stops are miles away.”

Cllr Rob Hannaford added: “This is a huge concern given the location and the challenging topography of the site. At our last meeting, we were discussing a car-free development, but this is the opposite to that, and the way it has been developed with sustainability, this would be a car essential development if you are not careful. It would be isolating if you didn’t have your own transport.”

The report read: “The fact that housing on-site is visible within an area of land does not necessarily make a development unacceptable and as the application is in outline and therefore the appearance of the proposed dwellings is not for consideration. However, it is the impact the built development would have on the overall landscape character of the area, which remains the fundamental consideration as to whether the scheme is acceptable.

“The fundamental consideration, therefore, is whether the provision of 80 dwellings (including 28 affordable units), provision of onsite open space/play areas and the associated highway improvement and mitigation measures put forward in support of the application take precedence against the detrimental impact the development would have on the landscape character of the area both locally and from a wider landscape setting.

“The assessment is clearly a balanced one, however, it is considered that the landscape quality of this valued site and the harmful visual impact intrusive created by the housing development should be afforded greater weight, in this instance.

“It is considered that the adverse impacts of granting planning permission would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of the proposal, and accordingly the application is recommended for refusal.”

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1 Jun 2021

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Planning applications validated by EDC fro week beginning 17 May

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1 Jun 2021

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Impact | Community carbon calculator

Impact, the parish-level carbon emission estimator, gives parishes and small communities usable data on their carbon emissions that is easy to interpret and easy to share.

[Developed with major contribution from University of Exeter’s Centre for Energy & the Environment.]

impact-tool.org.uk

It tells you how people in the parish travel and heat their homes, and other activities in the area that contribute to the local carbon emissions total.

Impact identifies the main ‘carbon impact areas’ in the parish or town – those places where focused community-based action can make the biggest contribution to cutting local emissions.

This tool was developed by the Centre for Sustainable Energy as part of their Climate Emergency Support Programme, working jointly with the University of Exeter’s Centre for Energy & the Environment as part of their South West Environment and Climate Action Network.

It was built in response to a demand from smaller settlements like parishes, town or city neighbourhoods to have robust and accurate data on their carbon footprint, so that they can best direct their efforts to tackle the climate emergency.

We have assumed that most parishes and small communities don’t want to analyse detailed data sets but would rather have the information graphically displayed. However, if you do want to access the raw data, this is available on our Downloads page.

Impact meets all national data protection regulations. No personal or individual household information is contained in any of the data used.

The tool was funded by CSE, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and the UKRI Strategic Priorities Fund.

At this time, the default geography for the tool is the Civil Parish. This means that you need to find your community by searching for the name of the parish or town council that serves your area (if you don’t know the name of your parish, you can find it by using the Ordnance Survey Electoral Boundaries map).

Once you enter your parish name, the tool will display the carbon footprint for your community.

You can view your community’s carbon footprint in two ways. ‘Territorial’ emissions only show the emissions that are directly produced from your parish (from heating buildings, transport, any industry or agricultural operations within your boundary, for example). This follows the same methodology as national emissions data sets, but many people find this a frustrating approach at the very local level as it largely ignores what we buy and what we eat (where that is imported from other parts of the UK or the world).

So you can also select to see your emissions displayed on a ‘Consumption’ basis. This will most likely give a slightly higher footprint in most cases, but includes our best estimate of these additional emissions. The differences between the two approaches are explained in detail in our Methodology document, which you can download here, and you can see a more detailed exploration of the differences between the two approaches on the Using the Tool page

You can use the ‘Compare’ page to see how your area’s footprint compares to other parishes in your area, your district council’s average, and the national average.

During 2021, we will be working on improving and extending the tool, so any ideas you have for additional features should be emailed to impact-tool@cse.org.uk.

We already have a set of features that we want to build next, so visit our ‘Support Us/Donate’ page to see more details about those, and contact us if what you want is not already on the list.

To learn more about the tool, what the footprints show you, how to use it, and for resources on what to do next, visit the Using the Tool page.

GET STARTED to find what is driving your community’s carbon footprint. You can also compare it with other local communities and with the average for East Devon.

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1 Jun 2021

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Cliff fall at Sidmouth (again) leads to warning for tourists

Lots of rain followed by hot sunshine on sandstone cliff faces leads to……?Owl

Alex Green www.devonlive.com

People moored up on a beach in Sidmouth looked on as part of the cliff face crumbled down, leaving behind a huge sandy red cloud that could be seen from across the beach.

The cliff fall prompted a warning from Drew Parkinson, HM Coastguard Area Commander for South Devon & South-East Cornwall Coastline, as tourists head down to the South West for a Bank Holiday break.

Sidmouth-based Jurassic Paddle Sports, who took to their social media channels to spread awareness of the dangers around the edges of cliffs, is within close proximity to where the cliff face fall happened.

A post on their Facebook page reads: “Please take care around the cliffs they are constantly falling down and this mornings cliff fall was close to town and large.

“Please take note of warnings signs, they are there for good reason. Thank you”

Taking to Twitter to warn beach-goers not set up camp directly beneath the cliffs, Mr Parkinson shared the photo of the cliff face fall which appears to have happened moments before.

In a tweet, he said: “With the incredible weather this week the cliffs are going to be drying out and the risk of cliff falls significantly increases.

“This was this morning at Sidmouth by @JurassicPaddles Please don’t set up for the day underneath the cliffs – stay safe and enjoy the #BankHoliday.”

Other cliff falls in Sidmouth

Dust cloud from Sidmouth cliff fall (Image: Sue Little)

DevonLive has reported on numerous cliff falls in the past. In May 2020, the area saw five separate cliff falls of note, with three taking place within 24-hours.

And in August last year, giant plumes of red dust were once again seen billowing around the base of the infamous Sidmouth cliffs.

The landslide was photographed by two separate eyewitnesses, one near the beach and another further afield at the Sidmouth Hotel & Spa.

Vicki Lomas reported the August 2020 landslip to DevonLive when she was out with her husband.

Vicki, who regularly visits the seafront for her early morning walks, explained that she managed to get pictures because this cliff fall was in fact the second of three that happened in a very short space of time.

“Ten minutes previous to this fall myself and my husband witnessed a smaller one.

“Then we saw this and 15 minutes later we saw another.

“All three happened whilst we were watching the lifeboat being launched out on the sea.”

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1 Jun 2021

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Devon and Cornwall Covid cases remain low

The number of new coronavirus cases confirmed across Devon and Cornwall in the last week was the second lowest since the start of September – with the majority of cases in age groups yet to be vaccinated.

Daniel Clark http://www.devonlive.com

A total of 132 new cases were confirmed across the two counties in the last week – with the total since the start of the pandemic at 48,419 – but slightly up on the total from the previous week which only covered six days due to a day when a net negative was recorded due to false positives being removed.

The 132 though is still the second lowest weekly total since 154 were recorded in the week of September 6-12. The week of August 30-September 5 was the last time the total was lower, when 96 cases were recorded.

Only one case in anyone aged 80 or over was recorded, with more than half of the areas of the two counties not seeing any cases in the over 60s either.

Infection rates in Cornwall and Torbay are in the bottom ten in England, with Plymouth and Devon also well below the national average.

Government stats show that 132 new cases have been confirmed across the region in the past seven days in both pillar 1 data from tests carried out by the NHS and pillar 2 data from commercial partners, compared to 108 new cases confirmed last week, albeit only covering six days.

Of the 132 new cases confirmed since May 21, 16 were in Cornwall, 7 in East Devon, 18 in Exeter, 9 in Mid Devon, 7 in North Devon, 24 in Plymouth, 18 in South Hams, 11 in Teignbridge, 13 in Torbay, 8 in Torridge and 1 in West Devon.

This compares to the 108 new cases confirmed between May 15-21, of which 26 were in Cornwall, 5 in East Devon, 11 in Exeter, 4 in Mid Devon, 6 in North Devon, 14 in Plymouth, 19 in South Hams, 13 in Teignbridge, 4 in Torbay, 2 in Torridge, and 4 in West Devon.

Despite the total for this week carry seven not six days’ worth of data, the number of new cases in Cornwall, the South Hams, Teignbridge and West Devon are down week on week.

Infection rates are highest in the 0-19s across Devon and Cornwall – although lower than they were a month ago – while only one person – someone in their 90s in North Devon – of those aged 80+ tested positive in the most recent week.

Six of the 11 areas over the two counties also saw no positive cases in those aged 60-79 either, while in East Devon, no-one over the age of 29 tested positive in the last week.

At a district level, infection rates in East Devon, Mid Devon, North Devon, South Hams and West Devon are highest in the 0-19s, with Torbay, Plymouth, Exeter and Teignbridge in the 20-39s – the groups least likely to have been vaccinated and most likely to be mixing.

In Torridge, the 40-59s had the highest infection rate, but this consists of one person aged 40-44 and one aged 50-54, the only two cases from the relevant seven day period for specimens.

No cases in the 0-19s in Torridge, in 20-39s in Torridge and West Devon, 40-59s in East Devon and West Devon, 60-79s in Torbay, East Devon, Mid Devon, the South Hams, Torridge and Teignbridge, and over 80s in everywhere across Devon and Cornwall but North Devon with its one case were recorded from specimens from May 16-22.

Steve Brown, Director of Public Health Devon said: “We have a low coronavirus case rate across Devon, and that is thanks to the effort everyone continues to put in to complying with the restrictions and following the guidance around regular asymptomatic testing, social distancing, hand washing and wearing a face covering when required.

“We need to be cautious though, because outbreaks can and do still happen and when numbers are low, even a small rise can cause a big jump the case rate.

“There’s a spike in cases in the South Hams at the moment because of a small outbreak in a school. It’s being well managed by the school and our public health team.

“Although the number of cases in the rest of the South Hams is still comparatively low and all other cases in the area are single positive cases, it highlights the importance of continuing to take care as restrictions ease to reduce the risk of catching or transmitting the virus as much as possible.”

He added: “Make testing part of your regular week. Build it into a routine, and use the lateral flow device tests as well when you know you’re likely to be meeting up with friends or family. These tests are so fast now that you will have your result and peace of mind in half an hour. If it comes back positive, then you’ll prevent others from catching it by staying home and arranging a confirmatory test.”

Cllr Jonathan Hawkins, South Hams District Council’s Portfolio Holder for Health and Wellbeing, said: “The pandemic is not over yet and we can’t be complacent. We need to work together and continue to support our communities by being cautious and following the rules. It’s the only way we’ll continue to make progress and keep restrictions lifting.”

It comes as there are now just three patients in hospitals in Devon and Cornwall following a positive Covid-19 test, figures giving the position as of Tuesday show.

There have been no patients in hospital in North Devon since April 3, while Torbay Hospital has been free of patients since April 13 – the only day since March 30 it housed a patient.

Derriford Hospital is also once again free of Covid-19 patients after the patient who was admitted on May 14 left the hospital on May 20, while the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital also has one patient, the lowest for the Trust since October 8, with September 11 the last time it was free of Covid.

There are two patients in hospital in Cornwall, the same as the previous week, with one of them in a mechanical ventilation bed.

In terms of hospital deaths, there have been none in any of Devon and Cornwall’s hospitals in the last seven days, although there was a death at the Royal Cornwall Trust on May 19 – the first in any hospital since April 29.

In terms of the latest MSOA cluster maps, that cover the period of specimen dates between May 17-23, there are 219 areas of Devon and Cornwall with between 0-2 cases, with only 11 areas reporting three or more cases.

The MSOA areas with clusters of three or more cases are Chillington, Torcross & Stoke Fleming (9) South Molton and Keyham (both 4), and Helston, Tamerton Foliot, St Budeaux, Cullompton, Heavitree West & Polsloe, Ogwell, Mile End & Teigngrace, Marldon, Stoke Gabriel & Kingswear, Loddiswell & Dartington (all 3)

No area of East Devon, Torridge, West Devon or the Isles of Scilly reported more than 3 cases.

It comes as nearly three quarters of adults in Devon and Cornwall have had their first Covid-19 vaccine, with nearly half having had both doses.

The statistics, which provide the position as of May 26, show that there have been 1,169,431 vaccines delivered in Devon, with 755,614 being a first dose, and 521,861 being a second dose.

In Cornwall, 357,562 people have had a first dose, with a further 252,361 having had a second dose. Across Devon and Cornwall, around 73 per cent of adults have had their first dose, with around 50 per cent having had a second dose.

The latest figures on the coronavirus dashboard, which calculate the total percentage of people aged 18 and over who have received a Covid-19 vaccination, are based on those who have an NHS number and currently are alive. The denominator used is the number of people on the National Immunisation Management Service (NIMS) database.

Of this adult population, 72.8 per cent in Cornwall, 77.9 per cent in East Devon, 58.5 per cent in Exeter, 74.8 per cent in Mid Devon, 75 per cent in North Devon, 66.6 per cent in Plymouth, 75.6 per cent in South Hams, 76.9 per cent in Teignbridge, 74.5 per cent in Torbay, 77.2 per cent in Torridge, and 79.1 per cent in West Devon, have had one dose.

And of this adult population, 51.4 per cent in Cornwall, 54.9 per cent in East Devon, 37.4 per cent in Exeter, 49.1 per cent in Mid Devon, 53 per cent in North Devon, 43.2 per cent in Plymouth, 52.3 per cent in South Hams, 51.7 per in Teignbridge, 57.7 per cent in Torbay, 55.2 per cent in Torridge and 59.4 per cent in West Devon, have had a second dose.

West Devon’s 59.4 per cent for a second dose is the second highest of any region in England, with only Wyre having a higher figure, with Torbay having the fourth highest percentage

The impact of England moving out of step 3 of lockdown on Monday would have begun to be seen in the new positive cases figures from the start of this week due to the lag between infection, symptoms, testing and positive results.

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31 May 2021

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Police called to Travellers at Sidford rugby pitch – live updates

A large group from the Traveller community has arrived at a rugby pitch in Sidford this afternoon, and police are in attendance.

Alex Green www.devonlive.com (also features in the print edition of The Times)

Photos show a large number of vehicles, including cars and caravans, with a police car in attendance as people look on at the pitch from the edge.

Peter O’Brien, Honorary Secretary at Sidmouth Rugby Club – which uses the Sidford pitch – said that the club is aware of the situation, and informed us that the authorities had been informed.

He said that the most worrying part was the potential that the pitch, which has seen money invested in it to get it into top-quality condition, could be damaged.

Peter said: “The club is aware of it, and has informed the authorities. It’s not our pitch, it belongs to the East Devon Council.

“Obviously it’s not good for us because of the amount of money we’ve spent. Hopefully they won’t be damaging it, but I heard about some damage caused at Topsham recently, so it may well be.

“We would have the council repair them if they were damaged, but we’ve spent a lot of money to get the pitches to the quality they’re at. As I said, we’ve informed the authorities, but there’s not much we can do.”

We have approached Devon and Cornwall Police for more information on this matter.

We’ll keep you updated on this with all the latest developments and photos from the scene via the live news blog below.

Key Events

16:43Alex Green

Sidmouth Rugby Club is ‘aware’ and has informed the authorities

Peter O’Brien, Honorary Secretary at Sidmouth Rugby Club – which uses the Sidford pitch – said that the club is aware of the situation, and informed us that the authorities had been informed.

He said that the most worrying part was the potential that the pitch, which has seen money invested in it to get it into top-quality condition, could be damaged.

Peter said: “The club is aware of it, and has informed the authorities. It’s not our pitch, it belongs to the East Devon Council.

“Obviously it’s not good for us because of the amount of money we’ve spent. Hopefully they won’t be damaging it, but I heard about some damage caused at Topsham recently, so it may well be.

“We would have the council repair them if they were damaged, but we’ve spent a lot of money to get the pitches to the quality they’re at. As I said, we’ve informed the authorities, but there’s not much we can do.”

15:58KEY EVENT

More photos of the Travellers pitched up in Sidford

Travellers arriving at a rugby pitch in Sidford (Image: Submitted)

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31 May 2021

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Paramedics declare critical incident due to extreme pressure

South Western Ambulance Service has declared a critical incident due to “extreme pressures” currently on paramedics in the region.

Sam Beamish www.devonlive.com

The NHS Foundation Trust has tweeted that some patients may need to wait longer for an ambulance while others might need to seek help elsewhere.

Patients are also being urged to only dial 999 if they’re in a life-threatening emergency.

The statement on Twitter does not give an explanation as to what the extreme pressures are that the service is dealing with, but people are being urged to “make the right call”.

A spokesman for South Western Ambulance Service said: “We have declared a critical incident due to extreme pressures on our service.

“As a result, some patients may wait longer for an ambulance while others could be advised to access alternative services if their call is not life-threatening.

“We need you to only call 999 in a genuine, life-threatening emergency so we can help those most in need.”

South Western Ambulance Service responds to around 2,650 emergency incidents a day.

The service is encouraging people to contact NHS 111 if you have a non-life threatening but urgent medical problem, for example, broken or fractured bones, sprains or burns.

There are also a number of other NHS services available.

South Western Ambulance Service has been approached for further comment on the situation.

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31 May 2021

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Staycation boom forces tenants out of seaside resort homes

The lockdown shackles are off. The great half-term getaway began with predictable traffic chaos on Friday night as Britons finally got the chance to escape to the seaside.

James Tapper www.theguardian.com

But some people living in the resorts are being forced to head in the opposite direction along the clogged-up roads, priced out of their homes by a coastal housing crisis that has been turbocharged by the pandemic.

Landlords in popular seaside destinations are favouring holidaymakers over long-term tenants, leading to a catastrophic shortage of homes. Cornwall currently has more than 10,290 active Airbnb listings. Yet, in comparison, the housing website Rightmove had only 62 properties available to rent across the whole county on Friday evening. Renters in seaside towns are facing unprecedented competition, with some landlords in Cornwall, Kent and Norfolk given the choice between up to 80 prospective tenants chasing a dwindling number of properties.

People who kept their jobs and accumulated some of the estimated £192bn that Britons have saved since March 2020 have been spending it on second homes. Others have moved away from cities, taking advantage of the stamp duty holiday to find a place large enough to make working from home a comfortable option.

Airbnbs are also booming, with the number of active listings on the website up by 43% in Great Yarmouth, 34% in Scarborough and 40% in Bridlington in April compared with the same time last year, according to AirDNA.

Louise, a 42-year-old deputy headteacher, moved from Leicester to Newquay in Cornwall with her husband, a delivery driver, and two daughters in December to take up a job at a primary school. “We started looking in September last year,” she said. “

We sold two properties – I had one and my partner had his. We’ve got a decent deposit, but there was nowhere to buy and nowhere to rent. Estate agents told us that hundreds of people were fighting for the same properties.”

They settled for an off-season Airbnb at a cost of £1,300 a month – just about manageable on her salary of more than £40,000. “I was sure we’d find somewhere but it hasn’t happened. We had to be out last week because the owner would double her money in holiday season.”

On Saturday, Louise and her family packed up and drove back to Leicester to stay with her parents over half-term, with nowhere to live when they return.

The crisis has forced even those who would normally be considered comfortably off to resort to food banks to feed their families. DISC Newquay, a charity for homeless people, was handing out 60 meals on a Monday evening before the pandemic. That has risen to 4,000, according to its manager, Monique Collins. “I think there are over 500 people in the Newquay area who don’t have a home,” Collins said. “I’ve got a pregnant woman who is sofa-surfing. A hospital porter and his wife. I’ve had a girl text me today saying she has to leave by the weekend. People are being turned out because their landlord wants to turn the property into an Airbnb.

“There are no homes. If they don’t stop this second-home ownership, it’s going to turn Newquay into a ghost town.”

Cornwall’s reputation and climate have made it a favoured location for second homes for many years, but Collins said lockdown had turned the situation into a crisis.

House prices have risen by 15% across the county since April last year, but the buying frenzy has seen extraordinary situations – a bungalow sold for £315,000 five minutes after it was listed, according to local reports.

That mirrors a nationwide trend. Rob Love, co-founder of Crowdfunder, which is based in Cornwall, said they had seen nine times as many food bank projects registering for help between 2019 and the pandemic hitting in 2020.

He said: “Cornwall has been badly hit, but food bank use is rising everywhere. It’s a terrible indictment on the UK in 2021 that so many people are struggling to put food on their tables.”

In north Norfolk, Theo Wakeman said he had only been able to view three flats since he started hunting in the Cromer area a year ago. “The estate agents will say, ‘We’ll take your number but we’ve had 80 other applicants’. It’s never less than 20. It’s horrible. I feel trapped.”

The Norfolk coastline from Blakeney to Burnham is known as Chelsea-on-Sea to locals. “The village shop shut down, and now it’s reopened as a hat shop,” Wakeman said. “You can’t buy a loaf of bread, but you can buy a hat.”

Kent’s seaside towns are showing similar scarcity for renters, according to Rightmove. Margate (population: 61,000) and Whitstable ( 32,000) both had 11 properties to rent, and Herne Bay (39,000) had six. Inland, Canterbury (135,000) had 893.

Dan Thompson has lived in Margate in Kent for nine years after being priced out of Worthing in Sussex, but the 47-year-old artist and writer says he is being forced out again.

“I don’t want to go but there’s nowhere to rent here,” he said. “My landlord is selling and there is literally nothing to rent here. I just don’t have a choice.”

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Tory plan to turn town hall blue ‘sets a dangerous precedent’

Plans to turn a town hall blue in Darlington to match the council’s ruling Tory group’s colours set a “dangerous precedent” opponents have claimed.

A “Rainbow” Blackdown House? – Owl

BBC News www.bbc.co.uk 

Darlington Town Hall

Plans to turn Darlington Town Hall blue have not been universally popular among councillors: image Google

They said Darlington Borough Council’s £20,000 rebranding would undermine the position of non-political staff.

Conservative deputy leader Jonathan Dulston said the changes reflected an overhaul of the council’s identity.

The town hall’s concrete exterior has not changed since it was opened in 1970 by the Princess Royal.

Labour shadow portfolio holder Nick Wallis said the “botched rebranding” could lead to long-term damage to the council’s reputation.

“They are fixated with PR and the promotion of themselves at all costs,” he said.

“They don’t care about wasting public money if they believe it advances their political interests.”

‘Palette of colours’

The rebranding plans include painting the concrete outside wall of the town hall and changing the authority’s logo to reflect what the council called a “progressive agenda”, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Assets featuring the council’s logo, such as bins, would only be updated during scheduled works or when they needed replacing, Mr Dulston said.

In-house skills and resources had been used, keeping costs to a minimum, he added.

Green Party leader Matthew Snedker said council building paintwork and coronavirus publicity had already changed to blue and further works set “a very dangerous precedent”.

Publicising it on social media before it had been approved by cabinet appeared “to do away with the political process”, he said.

Liberal Democrat group leader Anne Marie Curry said the town hall needed to remain a politically neutral colour and there was a “massive palette of colours they could choose from”.

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1,250 new Exeter student flats approved on campus

“Best way to reverse the trend of family homes being occupied by students.” 

Was pressure to find student accommodation one of the driving forces behind the “Greater Exeter Strategic Plan” (GESP) and Exeter’s expansion?

Daniel Clark, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk

They’ll replace existing campus accommodation.

Plans for an extra 1,250 student flats on the University of Exeter campus have been given the go ahead.

The development of the Clydesdale, Nash and Birks Grange Village halls of residence off Stocker Road, has been overwhelmingly supported by Exeter City Council’s planning committee.

Councillors agreed with planning officers recommendation of approval, saying that purpose-built accommodation on the university campus was the best way to reverse the trend of family homes being occupied by students.

Backing the plans, Cllr Rachel Sutton said that it was for the redevelopment of a part of the campus which already accommodates students. She added: “Yes it is at a greater density, but I am quite certain that there are residents in other parts of the city who will welcome this as it means housing currently occupied by students comes back into occupation by families.”

Cllr Ruth Williams added: “The only way to reverse the trend is to build more purpose built student accommodation so we have to recognise if we want to halt the loss of family homes in Exeter, this is what we have to do in providing purpose built student accommodation.”

But Cllr Michael Mitchell said that he was concerned about the building density and the scale of the current proposals and the impact on residents. He added: “This is a massive increase in floorspace and student numbers in the area and up to 1,200 extra bed spaces, on top of what  already exists on site. I don’t have confidence that for local residents this wouldn’t be overpowering and overshadowing and it needs to be scaled back to get my support.”

The outline proposals were approved by 10 votes to one, although councillors called for further discussions around the impact of light pollution.

The planning officers said: “Given the recent number of student accommodation schemes submitted in off-campus locations, the proposal for such a significant number of bed spaces within a sustainable location on campus is to be welcomed. It is accepted that the quantum of development proposed is substantial, however, it is considered that the parameter plans effectively limit the level of development to an acceptable scale.

“The proposed building heights to accommodate this would have a considerable impact on the character and appearance of the area, however, it is an accepted planning practice that where development is considered acceptable in principle, most efficient use of the land should be sought.

“In addition, the Passivhaus approach to the scheme is to be welcomed and is accepted will in some instances dictate the orientation, form and design of the resultant buildings.”

The application will see:

  • The demolition of the existing two and three storey buildings at Clydesdale and Nash Halls and replaced with new student accommodation ranging in height from three to eight storeys. These buildings will include ancillary service such as shops, cafes at the ground floor level and arranged in courtyard settings with associated hard and soft landscaping.
  • The demolition of the existing service centre and replace with student accommodation buildings varying in height from three to four storeys, with a replacement estates service centres to be located to north east part of the University campus
  • The demolition of the existing Birks Grange refectory building and construction of a new six storey student accommodation building, with ancillary social and amenity space on the ground floor.
  • Refurbishment of existing accommodation block A-E of the Birks Grange to achieve equivalent Passivhaus standards to include external alterations to the walls, windows and roof to include solar panels. The demolition of the refectory removes catered halls from this part of the campus, resulting in the need for new kitchens within each flats and which as a consequence reduces the overall number of units.
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They are even Changing the Guard in leafy Surrey!

Spelthorne Conservatives ousted from leader and mayor roles

Julie Armstrong http://www.getsurrey.co.uk

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The Conservatives have been ousted from four major roles on Spelthorne Borough Council as a new style of administration was voted in.

John Boughtflower, who has been leader since last June, had the support of all his Conservative colleagues in Thursday’s annual meeting, but 18 Tories are outnumbered by 21 councillors in opposition and Cllr Boughtflower lost the vote to the Liberal Democrats’ Lawrence Nichols.

Despite the opposition being made up of seven different groups, they all also stuck together to choose Joanna Sexton, leader of Independent Spelthorne Group, as deputy leader over Conservative Jim McIlroy.

Independent councillor Ian Beardsmore said: “Just as a historical note, this is the first time in the history of Spelthorne the Conservatives have lost five major votes in a row. I am delighted.”

Cllr Boughtflower fought off a motion of no confidence less than three months ago when the Liberal Democrats and Labour decided to abstain.

The role of council leader has since changed, as Spelthorne council introduces the more democratic committee system, a bottom-up approach.

Decisions will now be made by all members in full council, not just a select few of the ruling party in a cabinet chosen by one person. Expect them to take longer, but everyone who won their ward’s vote will have a say.

Cllr Tom Fidler, who seconded Cllr Nichols for leader, said: “Had we operated under the strong leader model, this would never have been appropriate for Lawrence, because that is not the person he is.

“For him it isn’t about the power, it’s not about the title, it’s about the corporate responsibility.”

Cllr Nichols was accountable for more than £500 million of trade credit risk in his former role as director for a Royal Bank of Scotland subsidiary.

In recognition of the leader’s role no longer including executive responsibilities, the Independent Remuneration Panel has recommended reducing his allowance from £14,616 to £11,000, in addition to the £6,403 allowance received by all councillors.

Ian Harvey elected as 2021-22 mayor

Continuing the trend of removing Conservatives, Ian Harvey outraged some councillors by breaking with tradition to challenge the deputy mayor for the role of mayor – and won.

Proposer Olivia Rybinski, also from the United Spelthorne Group, said Cllr Harvey had “protected Spelthorne council from financial disaster” by making “investments that now generate over half the net council income”.

Normally, after a year of supporting and understudying the mayor, Tony Harman would have progressed to the position.

Cllr Tony Mitchell, who proposed Conservative Cllr Harman for mayor, said: “I have known only once, in 2002, that there was another nomination against the councillor who was to be the mayor.”

He said Cllr Harman had been a “mediating force” as deputy to Cllr Harvey’s recent council leadership and “without his support, Cllr Harvey might not have been able to maintain his role as leader”.

On accepting the robes, Cllr Harvey thanked Cllr Harman for his support to outgoing mayor Colin Barnard.

As mayor, Cllr Harvey will chair all full council meetings for the coming year. He said: “It is unfortunate that we are in such a fractious and divided situation. It is my desire that we can operate in an atmosphere of constructive cooperation and civility and preferably with cordiality. I will do my best to further this.”

He promised that where it was necessary to use the mayor’s casting vote in a tie position, it would not be decided along political lines.

He has not yet chosen his charity of the year but said he wanted to help young people with special educational needs.

Cllr Sue Doran, leader of the Labour group, was elected as deputy mayor.

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Pressure grows on Matt Hancock over Covid policy for care homes

Guardian reports on Dr Cathy Gardner’s demand that the health secretary now releases crucial internal documents.

Robert Booth www.theguardian.com

Matt Hancock is facing further pressure over the measures put in place to protect care homes early in the coronavirus pandemic following allegations from Dominic Cummings that he misled the prime minister over the issue.

A woman whose father died of Covid in a care home that admitted an infected hospital patient is demanding that the health secretary release crucial internal documents about his risk assessment before thousands of people were discharged into care homes without tests.

The move is part of a potentially explosive high court case against Hancock, the NHS Commissioning Board and Public Health England scheduled for a three-day trial in October. It is likely to shed new light on this week’s claim and counter-claim between the prime minister’s former chief adviser and Hancock over care homes policy in the first weeks of the pandemic.

Cathy Gardner, who lost her father, Michael Gibson last April, said her lawyer was seeking the key documents before the autumn hearing to decide whether the discharge policy had broken the law. Government research this week concluded that hospital discharges had caused 286 Covid deaths, but the actual toll is likely to be significantly higher when fatalities who were not tested before death are counted.

Cummings told MPs about a discussion in government of the risks associated with the discharge policy, which he recalled as “Basically, ‘Hang on, this sounds really dangerous, are we sure?’”

He said the view was that there was no alternative because of the need to free up NHS beds to deal with the coming wave of patients. Crucially, he said, Hancock assured him and the prime minister that people who were being discharged into care homes from hospital would be tested.

Hancock responded on Thursday by saying he had told Downing Street they would be tested when sufficient capacity was available. He said it hadn’t been possible to test hospital discharges at the start of the pandemic, but he put that capacity in place.

Government guidance issued on 2 April 2020 said: “Negative tests are not required prior to transfers/admissions into the care home.”

The UK already had capacity for 10,000 daily tests at the start of April 2020, but Hancock said “we had to prioritise it by clinical need”. Between 17 March and 15 April, when tests were finally required before admission into care homes, around 25,000 people were discharged from hospitals into facilities, the National Audit Office has found.

The row has left people bereaved by Covid angry and frustrated at a lack of transparency. “People need the facts, instead of all this ‘He said, she said’,” said Gardner.

Gardner alleges that Hancock, the NHS Commissioning Board and Public Health England contravened the European convention on human rights, the Human Rights Act and the Equality Act when their policies allowed people to be discharged into care homes without being tested. The health bodies strongly dispute the claim.

Political allies backed Hancock on Friday. The business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, said care home residents “were protected as far as we could. We were absolutely focused at that time on saving as many lives as possible”.

But Sam Monaghan, the chief executive of MHA, the UK’s largest provider of not-for-profit care homes, which lost 121 residents to Covid in the three weeks to 7 April 2020, described the discharge strategy as “like putting kind of a live explosive into a box of tinder”.

Sarah Knowles, whose father Graham died of Covid in a Manchester care home on 27 April 2020, said the policy was “just wrong” and highlighted other vulnerabilities. She said her father’s carers were improvising face masks from plastic document folders in April.

“They should have had PPE,” she said. “It makes me angry. If people were discharged into the care homes, they should have been tested.”

Amos Waldman, 41, whose grandmother Sheila Lamb died of Covid on 2 April 2021 in a care home in north London, said: “It feels as though they are trying to cover their own backs with one eye on the future public inquiry.”

The Department for Health and Social Care has been approached for comment.

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Mid Devon District Council gets £50K to develop “Beautiful” design codes

  • 14 councils across England given £50,000 each to develop new design codes [includes Mid Devon]
  • Codes will set out design principles for new development in local areas
  • Local design codes will be expected to enhance the character of the local area – for example by using honey-coloured stone in the Cotswolds or red brick in the Midlands
  • Selected areas will test how to give communities a real say in the layout, design and appearance of buildings in their area – helping the country Build Back Better

[Is six months long enough for a serious trial? – Owl]

www.gov.uk 

A new national design code meaning areas are beautiful, well-designed and locally-led is being tested across 14 areas in England, Housing Minister Rt Hon Christopher Pincher has announced today (21 May 2021).

The code will ensure future developments are beautiful and fit in with local character.

It gives local planning authorities a toolkit of design principles to consider for new developments, such as street character, building type and façade as well as environmental, heritage and wellbeing factors

The shortlisted councils [includes Mid Devon – Owl] will take part in a 6-month testing programme to apply the National Model Design Code (NMDC) in their area and help Britain Build Back Better, by making sure current and new residents alike will benefit from beautiful homes in well-designed neighbourhoods.

It is intended to provide councils with the guidance and parameters to shape new developments in a way which reflects what their communities truly want.

The measures mean the word “beauty” will be prioritised in planning rules for the first time since the system was created in 1947 – going back to a previous time when there was a greater emphasis on whether a building was considered attractive to local people. The government recently consulted on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework to take this forward, alongside the draft NMDC.

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The Conservative Party received tens of thousands of pounds from non-existent companies

  • EXCLUSIVE: The Conservative Party accepted tens of thousands of pounds from companies that had been struck off, an investigation by Insider has found.
  • Tory politicians, including one currently serving government ministers, received the donations.
  • Political parties are obliged to carry out checks on any company offering them a donation.
  • Labour is calling for the Electoral Commission to launch an urgent investigation.
  • “This just doesn’t pass the smell test,” Labour Party chair Anneliese Dodds told Insider.

Henry Dyer www.businessinsider.com

The Conservative Party pocketed nearly £30,000 from companies that were no longer trading at the time the donations were made, an analysis of Electoral Commission records and Companies House data by Insider has found.

Under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, UK political parties can only receive donations from actively trading companies and they are obliged to carry out permissibility checks on all donations from companies.

However, Insider’s investigation has found four donations from three companies that official records show were either dissolved or in the process of dissolution, with two of the donations received by currently serving government ministers.

Following Insider’s findings, the opposition Labour party called for an official investigation into the donations.

Anneliese Dodds MP, Chair of the Labour Party, told Insider: “This just doesn’t pass the smell test. The Conservatives need to explain why it seems they pocketed tens of thousands of pounds from companies that only existed on paper.

“The rules are clear: political parties must check that companies making donations are carrying on business in the UK. The Electoral Commission must launch an urgent investigation to find out what’s happened here – and any breaches of the law should be punished fully.”

Two donations received by a government minister

The first donation identified by Insider was to Wendy Morton, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Aldridge-Brownhills, and a junior minister in the Foreign Office, from a company called Unionist Buildings.

Companies House records show that Unionist Buildings was struck off the register on 17 January 2017, following an application, filed on 21 October 2016, by its directors.

However, Electoral Commission records show Morton’s local association received £6,000 from Unionist Buildings on 2 June 2017, less than a week before the 2017 general election. The donation was accepted on 5 June 2017.

Nearly three years after Unionist Buildings was struck off the register, Morton declared a further £4,000 received by her local Conservative association from Unionist Buildings and registered on 9 January 2020. Her entry also contains the £6,000 donation from 2017.

At the time Morton received the £4,000 donation in January 2020, she was a junior minister in the Ministry of Justice.

There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Unionist Buildings, who did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication. Morton did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication either.

Donations were received from dissolved companies

Another donation was received from a company whose sole director was Conservative minister Charlotte Vere.

Vere is a Conservative life peer and a junior minister in the Department for Transport.

Companies House records for the firm Conservatives In, established to support the Remain vote in the 2016 Brexit Referendum, show it was struck off the register on 2 May 2017 following an application, filed on 3 February 2017, by Vere, the company’s sole director from June 2016 onwards.

On the application which Vere signed on 10 January 2017, she declared that “none of the circumstances described in section 1004 or 1005 of the Companies Act 2006 […] exists in relation to the company”.

Section 1004 of the Companies Act 2006 states that a company may not apply to be struck off if it has, “at any time in the previous three months […] traded or otherwise carried on business”.

But Electoral Commission records show that less than three months prior to this, Conservatives In gave £9,754.98 to the Conservative Party’s central office. The donation was made on 22 December 2016, the day after Vere was appointed a government whip in the House of Lords. 

Vere’s entry on the register of ministers’ interests in November 2019 disclosed that her husband, Mike Chattey, is the head of fundraising at the Conservative Party. He has held the position since 2009.

Baroness Vere did not respond to a request for comment.

A company listed as a donor denies knowledge of donation

for the firm Stridewell Estates show it was also struck off the register in November 2016, following an application made in August 2016.

Over three years later, the Conservatives accepted a donation of £10,000 from Stridewell Estates. 

A spokesperson for Stridewell Estates told Insider that the entry on the Electoral Commission’s website “must be a mistake.” She said “no payments were made from this company after it was dissolved. It is very possible that the company that donated has been recorded incorrectly.” 

The spokesperson was unable to provide further details by the time of publication.

There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Stridewell Estates.

“This just doesn’t pass the smell test”

Insider referred all of these donations to the Conservative Party. A spokesperson for the party said: “Donations to the Conservative Party are properly and transparently declared to the Electoral Commission and are published by them.”

The party did not seek to claim that any of the donations did not occur.

A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission said: “Political parties can only accept donations over £500 from permissible sources. This includes companies who are registered and incorporated in the UK, and who carry on business at the time they make donations. 

“We carry out our own permissibility checks on donors, though the legal responsibility lies with the parties to ensure that they only accept money from legal sources. Should there be evidence that the rules have been broken, we would consider it in line with our Enforcement Policy.”

Campaigners say there needs to be a stronger set of regulatory requirements for parties to ensure that they are receiving donations from permissible sources. 

Susan Hawley, executive director at Spotlight on Corruption, told Insider: “It is high time that political parties be placed under a proper legal obligation to do thorough background checks on the origins of donations and the Electoral Commission be given robust powers to penalise them when they fail to do so. 

“The public need to have confidence that electoral finance is squeaky clean and there aren’t any loopholes that would allow illegal or foreign donations which might skew our electoral process.”

Our Brexit Insider Facebook group is the best place for up-to-date news and analysis about Britain’s departure from the EU, direct from Business Insider’s political reporters. Join here.

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Covid: What happened to care homes early in the pandemic? Reality Check

Testimony from the prime minister’s former chief adviser, Dominic Cummings highlighted the issue of care homes during the first wave of coronavirus.

By Reality Check team www.bbc.co.uk

“We were told categorically in March [2020] that people would be tested before they went back to care homes. We only subsequently found out that that hadn’t happened,” Mr Cummings told MPs. He claimed it was Health Secretary Matt Hancock who said this.

Mr Hancock said: “My recollection of events is that I committed to delivering that testing for people going from hospital into care homes when we could do it…I then went away and built the testing capacity… and then delivered on the commitment”.

So, what actions did the government take and what guidance did it give the care sector in England, where there have been more than 40,000 deaths involving Covid-19.

Moving patients from hospitals to care homes

On 19 March 2020, NHS guidance said that “unless required to be in hospital, patients must not remain in an NHS bed”.

This policy was implemented to free up beds in advance of an expected surge in coronavirus patients.

On 2 April, the rules on discharging to care homes were clarified, saying “negative [coronavirus] tests are not required prior to transfers/admissions into the care home”.

Even elderly patients who tested positive could be admitted to care homes, according to the document, if measures – such as wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) and isolation – were used.

From 15 April, the government said that all patients discharged from hospitals would be tested for coronavirus.

By this time, an estimated 25,000 patients had been discharged to care homes. In July, Panorama gathered data from 39 hospital trusts, which showed three-quarters of people discharged were untested.

Up to this point more than 5,700 care home residents had died in England and Wales (either in homes or in hospital).

Public Health England has published research into the impact of hospital transfers. It found that 1.6% of the lab-confirmed outbreaks in care homes that they knew about by mid-October 2020, had come from people discharged from hospitals.

But it is not clear what percentage of outbreaks up to 15 April (when the testing policy changed) were the result of patients being moved to homes.

And it is important to note that, at this time, there was a lack of testing so not every outbreak may have been recorded. Also, the figures do not count people who were not previously care home residents who were transferred into them from hospitals.

The government has repeatedly said that decisions to discharge patients from hospitals during this time were made by medical professionals on a case-by-case basis.

Testing

On 14 March 2020, the government began prioritising the most vulnerable individuals for testing, including those in hospitals and care homes.

If an outbreak was suspected, a handful of residents at a home could be tested.

Reality Check understands that some care providers found access to testing to be very limited at this time.

Chart showing coronavirus deaths

Figures for March to May 2020

On 15 April, the social care action plan was launched, as care home deaths in England were peaking at around 400 a day. This included a pledge to test all care staff who needed one, for example if they were in a household that was self-isolating.

At that point, just 1,000 care staff had been tested out of an estimated half a million who work in care homes.

All care home residents with coronavirus symptoms would also be tested.

On 28 April, this was extended to all care staff and residents, regardless of whether they had symptoms.

It’s important to remember that early in the pandemic it wasn’t widely understood that people who didn’t have symptoms could pass on coronavirus.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

In March 2020, specific guidance related to coronavirus said that the PPE in care homes should be similar to that used in hospital settings.

The government launched the National Supply Disruption Response on 13 March, a centralised line for care and health providers to raise concerns.

This was followed on 19 March by a promise to deliver 300 masks to each care provider.

Concerns over PPE peaked at the end of March and early April, as bodies such as Unison, the Royal College of Nursing and care homes themselves highlighted shortages.

Because care homes are generally privately-run, they are responsible for purchasing their own PPE. Many found their local suppliers were running low and that they were competing with better-funded hospitals.

A letter from the government on 2 April recognised “the challenges providers may have experienced in obtaining PPE supplies over recent weeks,” and promised that the supply chain would be bolstered, with support from the armed forces.

On 10 April the government announced a PPE action plan, which included freeing up up 34 million pieces of equipment to “local resilience forums” who would then distribute it to care homes through local authorities.

By this point, 3,100 care home residents had died in England and Wales.

Visiting care homes

General guidance produced on 25 February 2020 included advice for carers on what to do if they came into contact with someone with Covid-19 – but there was nothing advising against visits to care homes.

In one section it said: “It remains very unlikely that people receiving care in a care home or the community will become infected.”

Another section said: “Currently there is no evidence of transmission of Covid-19 in the United Kingdom. There is no need to do anything differently in any care setting at present.”

However, the government’s own Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) had advised on 10 February that “it is a realistic probability that there is already sustained transmission in the UK, or that it will become established in the coming weeks.”

Updated chart

Figures for 2020

On 3 March, the government released its coronavirus action plan – the document did not mention restricting visits to care homes.

By 5 March, England had had 273 cases of people with the virus.

That day the Chief Medical Officer for England Prof Chris Whitty told a committee of MPs that as there were cases that could not be traced back to people who had come from abroad, it was “highly likely therefore that there is some level of community transmission in this virus in the UK now”.

Italy suspended visits to care homes at this point, five weeks after recording its first case. A day later, Nursing Homes Ireland, which represents hundreds of care homes in Ireland, banned non-essential visits, just six days after the first confirmed case in the country.

On 10 March, Prof Martin Green, head of Care England which represents independent care providers, directed criticism in an Independent article at the government for its response.

At this point in England nearly 800 people had caught the virus, but the article noted that the generic guidance published by Public Health England appeared out of date, as it said there was no evidence of transmission within the UK. Prof Green said: “There is no evidence of a plan. I’m not even certain they have these plans and aren’t just making them up as they go along.”

Nevertheless, some homes were deciding to close their doors to visitors, with care groups Barchester and HC-One stopping non-essential visits on 10 March and 12 March.

Scottish Care – a representative body for social care in Scotland – advised care homes to close to visits on 11 March.

On 13 March, the government’s guidance from 25 February was updated to say that “care home providers are advised to review their visiting policy, by asking no-one to visit who has suspected Covid-19 or is generally unwell, and by emphasising good hand hygiene for visitors”.

On the same day Bupa and Four Seasons care homes stopped non-essential visits.

It wasn’t until 16 March that it was announced that social distancing should be carried out by everyone, in particular those aged over 70 and vulnerable people.

That day, the prime minister was asked about care homes and said: “We don’t want to see people unnecessarily visiting care homes.” By this point there had been 3,200 cases in England (although the figure given by the authorities at that point was less than half of that; positive cases are now dated to the day the sample was given).

In the period between 25 February and 16 March, 14 deaths of care home residents were reported along with 30 outbreaks in England’s 15,000 care homes.

On 21 March, guidance was introduced to encourage medically vulnerable people to remain indoors as much as possible until the end of June – a process known as shielding.

On 24 March, lockdown began with people ordered not to leave their homes at all except for “essential” reasons, which didn’t include visits to care homes.

Finally, on 2 April another document from the Department of Health and Social Care said that “family and friends should be advised not to visit care homes, except next of kin in exceptional situations such as end of life”.

Speaking on 15 May, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that on the basis of the 13 March guidance “many of the care home providers, for instance Care UK, at that point stopped visitors”.

There have since been extensive changes to the guidance, with restrictions relaxed as lockdown eased.

This piece was originally published in July 2020 and has been updated to include the findings of the PHE report into the impact of patients discharged from hospitals to care homes in 2020.

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Tory Rebel Warns Boris Johnson Of Election ‘Spanking’ Over Planning Reforms

The Tories’ voter coalition could “unravel” in an election “spanking” over Boris Johnson’s planning reforms, one of the party’s MPs has warned.

Arj Singh www.huffingtonpost.co.uk

Bob Seely told HuffPost UK’s Commons People podcast that “dozens” of Conservative MPs were now lining up against the prime minister’s plans because they fear house-building would be concentrated in the party’s southern heartlands.

He warned that the planning bill could give the Liberal Democrats a chance to “revive” in the south and start threatening Tory seats, stressing the party this month lost control of the council in his Isle of Wight seat “because people are fed up” of planning.

The new proposals risked becoming a “developers’ charter” to build on greenfield land, Seely warned.

He told Commons People: “If we end up with a developers’ charter, it won’t work and we will take an absolute spanking in the local elections and probably national elections from now on.

“And we will immediately start to unravel that amazing coalition that we’ve got.

“And actually that’s a really dumb thing to do.

“Tories lost control in the Isle of Wight because people are fed up, in part, of planning, people are fed up, in part, of development.”

Johnson is facing fresh rebellion over planning after MPs on his own side last year effectively killed off a so-called “mutant algorithm”, which would have dramatically increased house-building in southern Tory cities and shires.

But the PM is believed to think home ownership is key to cementing the party’s gains in the so-called “red wall” in the north and Midlands and returned with fresh proposals to overhaul planning in this month’s Queen’s Speech.

The government has said it wants to speed up the planning process to deliver new homes and infrastructure more quickly, at the same time as protecting the environment, as part of efforts to hit Johnson’s target of building 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s.

But Tory rebels and countryside campaigners have warned that the bill will divide places into areas earmarked for either growth or protection, and that growth areas would undermine local democracy and give developers a green light to build on rural land.

Former prime minister Theresa May has said it would mean “the wrong homes being built in the wrong places”.

Seely meanwhile warned the government against casting opponents of the bill as “nimbys”, adding: “If you start throwing meaningless insults, it proves you’ve lost the case and actually, nimbys tend to be Tory voters.

“They are people that love their area, that care about it, who care about their communities, who very often take a part in the local plans because they realise they need homes, very often for their kids and grandkids.

“But at the same time, they reject the unsustainable, destructive, mass-produced, large-scale, low-density, car-dependent greenfield housing estates that just spoil the areas they are built on.”

Seely said the rebels are trying to unite around three issues: that development should be community-led, that it should be ambitious and focused on brownfield sites like London Docklands, and that it must be environment-led.

He said: “How on Earth are we going to meet carbon targets when we know the most inefficient form of housing environmentally, ecologically is low density greenfield housing?

“If government is going to be coherent, you can’t have an ‘anything goes, concrete the south-east and we’re going to be very, very green’ [strategy] – you do one or the other, you ain’t doing both”.

Seely also said there could be close to 100 Tory MPs opposed to the plans.

“There’s not 100 but there isn’t that far short of it – but those are people who have been concerned about the algorithm as well,” he said.

“If you are stripping away some local democracy and that’s combined with higher targets and no community say, and it gives a chance in the south for the Liberals to revive, then I think you are going to start to feel pressure.”

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29 May 2021

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Is it time for the East Devon AONB Partnership to “Come Out”?

From a planning correspondent:

This self- congratulatory e-mail from the East Devon Area of Natural Beauty set me thinking

 “After a successful bid for funding, the East Devon AONB partnership are looking forward to delivering a brand-new programme to help people creatively connect, experience, and better understand our natural environment. 

Over the next year, on behalf of the AONB, artist Emma Molony will work with a range of creative facilitators, organisations, and the non-arts sector to co-deliver a series of high quality, accessible and inclusive art experiences for schools, families, wider communities, and marginalised groups.

Supported by the Arts Council England (ACE) lottery fund, the project will work to build links between community, cultural and landscape partners, bringing together different fields of expertise to engage rurally and culturally isolated communities in East Devon.”

AONBs and National Parks are of equal importance regarding landscape and scenic beauty and have EQUAL STATUS when it comes to planning decisions on landscape issues.

They both exist for the purpose of conserving and enhancing their natural beauty. National Parks, BUT NOT AONBs, in addition to this, have other very important purposes;

a) to promote understanding and enjoyment of the area’s special qualities by the public and because of this extra (and substantial) layer of responsibility they have their own independent National Park authorities with full planning powers running them.

b) the National Parks conservation and enhancement purpose specifically includes “wildlife and cultural heritage”.

East Devon planning watchers may be surprised that AONBs have a planning role at all, given the silence of the East Devon AONB Partnership on even the most sensitive planning applications in its area. East Devon District has 2/3rds of its district covered by the two AONBs of East Devon and the Blackdown Hills. So what part will East Devon AONB play in this difficult time when the government has a BUILD BACK BETTER agenda and EDDC has to find close to 1,000 new build houses a year? 

I think the answer may be found in their latest management plan.

On planning matters the partnership will: 

“Respond to planning consultations in accordance with the AONB protocol AS RESOURCES ALLOW” 

But on the other hand, resource seems to be directed to secondary, and arguably less contentious priorities: “Whilst recreation is NOT a primary purpose for designation, it is recognised that DEMAND SHOULD BE MET THROUGH ACTIVE MANAGEMENT”

See: https://www.eastdevonaonb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/AONB-Partnershipplan_lowres_final.pdf

This active management can be seen in the variety of projects which have been undertaken and are now being actively pursued. The latest very commendable project (see above) required much active management to acquire the Arts Council England (ACE) lottery fund funding. The project will work to build links between community, cultural and landscape partners, bringing together different fields of expertise to engage rurally and culturally isolated communities in East Devon, not part of its statutory remit. One of the latest projects –“Saving the Grey Long Eared Bat – East Devon AONB “ is, again, not a statutory obligation. 

So, to the person in the street, it looks like the partnership has chosen to include projects not part of their primary purpose and relegate their statutory planning responsibilities only when resources allow.

 If the partnership wants to act like a National Park, it should “come out” and actively join and promote the “East Devon and Dorset National Park” initiative, so that these commendable ideas can be properly resourced. We might also get a bit of landscape sensitive planning as well.