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Posted on

11 Mar 2017

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Councillor Cathy Gardner EDA, East Devon Alliance, Health and Social Care (local), NHS (local)

“LET’S MAKE BRITAIN GREAT AGAIN. East Devon Alliance joins Devon’s NHS campaigners in Central London.”

“This was one message East Devon Alliance (EDA) representatives took to what the national press called “one of the biggest NHS rallies in history”, in Central London just one week ago ( Saturday 4th March). An estimated crowd of 250,000 from all over the country, included coachloads from Devon’s ‘Save Our Hospital Services’ (SOHS) network of campaigners, strongly supported by EDA. Prominent amongst the East Devon Alliance group were District Councillors Cathy Gardner (Ward Member for Sidmouth Town) and Val Ranger (Newton Poppleford & Harpford), along with Mayor of Axminster,Paul Hayward. Their call to the government is to reinstate the NHS, now being systematically dismantled, and to repeal the 2012 Health & Social Care Act NOW!

In bright sunshine, the marchers gathered in a densely-packed Tavistock Square at midday, to hear speeches. One was on behalf of hard-pressed Junior Doctors (“We have to take this fight to the streets”). Another example, from Devon’s SOHS , “ now a mass movement in the whole of Devon”, told of “cuts of 93 beds in 5 community hospitals, in Seaton, Okehampton, Honiton, Whipton and in Holsworthy” , and of “six-figure salaries of consultants parachuted in to Devon” who say that there will be “no red lines: any service could go”. Hence the SOHS events based on ‘protective red lines’ drawn by the public..in red clothes, hats, ribbons,etc,…around hospital services.

Due to the huge numbers, there was some delay until the procession to Parliament Square could begin, and for the same reason, it took a full 3 hours’ walk to arrive at Big Ben. On the way, SOHS led the chants outside Downing Street, enthusiastically echoed by the crowds, “Hey, Hey, Theresa May, How many beds have you cut today?” Throughout the event, a pervading mood of sincerity, calm determination, and decency, left the police on duty notably friendly and relaxed.
The policy of dismembering the NHS may not be good for the government’s long-term health, nor for ours!

Come and join the ‘Red Line’ actions in East Devon on Saturday, April 1st. Details coming soon.”

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East Devon Watch

Posted on

30 Dec 2016

Posted under

Accountability, Councillor Cathy Gardner EDA, East Devon Alliance, EDDC, Knowle/Honiton/Exmouth relocation, PegasusLife, Transparency

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More Knowle shenanigans- East Devon Alliance leader on the warpath

“Questions remain over East Devon District Council’s (EDDC) relocation project – amid rising costs and claims of a lack of transparency.

The authority has been accused of pushing ahead with the move away from Sidmouth to Honiton and Exmouth ‘at any cost’ after it approved adding nearly £700,000 to the bill.

Councillor Cathy Gardner last week argued proper scrutiny of the project cannot be achieved as long as documents are not made public. She also raised concerns about members being asked to endorse decisions relating to a contract – between the would-be developer of Knowle and the council – they have not even seen.

In response, EDDC leader Paul Diviani said the contract with PegasusLife is ‘commercially confidential’, but admitted that the developer could potentially ‘renegotiate’ a price for the site after its bid to build a retirement community was refused.

At a full council meeting last Wednesday, Cllr Gardner accused Cllr Diviani of failing to answer her questions and pressed for an answer on whether the contract with PegasusLife has an expiry date. Cllr Diviani said: “We have to wait to hear from PegasusLife. They have the option of coming through with re-submission, or appealing, and we will see what happens there.

“We will work to get the best possible result we can, but if it happens that the deal falls apart, then we will move forward.”

Cllr Gardner asked for reassurance that the £7.5million PegasusLife has agreed to pay could not be renegotiated.

Cllr Diviani said: “If the circumstances are such, then quite obviously they will be able to renegotiate, but let’s not have speculation about what’s going to happen, let’s have a decent dialogue with PegasusLife so we know exactly where we are going from here.”

Cllr Diviani refuted claims that EDDC’s approach to transparency involves releasing only documents relating to relocation that ‘no-one is interested in seeing and holding on to the rest’.

He said: “Documents will be released in due course. They are coming through on a fairly regular basis and it does take time to pull them all together, but they will be expedited as soon as they possibly can.”

Resident Richard Thurlow spoke out about increased costs relating to the refurbishment of Exmouth Town Hall ahead of relocation – which, he says, would now cost more than renovating the existing Knowle offices.

He claimed that there was no detail or adequate rationale to explain the reasons for the increased costs.”

http://www.eastdevonalliance.org.uk/in-the-press/20161230/sidmouth-herald-fresh-concerns-voiced-over-eddcs-relocation-from-sidmouth/

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East Devon Watch

Posted on

28 Dec 2016

Posted under

Accountability, Audit (EDDC), Austerity cuts, Councillor Cathy Gardner EDA, Developers/ Development, East Devon Alliance, EDDC, Exmouth, Knowle/Honiton/Exmouth relocation, PegasusLife, Scrutiny, Spin

East Devon Alliance: EDDC relocation “at any cost”

“East Devon District Council (EDDC) is leaving Sidmouth for new premises in Honiton and a renovated Exmouth Town Hall.

The latter is now vacant, but it will need work including a new boiler, rewiring and the removal of asbestos – renovations now estimated at £1,669,000, up from £1million in March 2015. [Mostly caused by EDDC doing their estimates and announcing projected estimated costs before commissioning a full structural survey which revealed nuerous expensive essential upgrades such as wiring, heating and insulation]

EDDC cabinet members last week agreed to accelerate the refurbishment so some key staff can relocate as early as November 2017.

Councillor Cathy Gardner told the Herald: “This truly is relocation at any price, because council tax payers will pick up the bill.”

The cabinet meeting heard that a new planning application to redevelop EDDC’s current HQ Knowle could be six months away or more after it refused PegasusLife’s bid for a 113-home retirement community earlier this month. The developer is yet to reveal if it will appeal the decision but the £7.5million it offered was intended to help fund the authority’s £9.2million [at the last estimate] relocation project.

Cllr Gardner said the project was initially sold to councillors as ‘cost neutral’ but is now costing taxpayers ‘over £2million and counting’ and cash will have to be borrowed. [This does not take into account building new offices for the EDDC Estates Department at Sidmouth’s Manstone Depot]

She added: “Proceeding with the refurbishment of Exmouth Town Hall weakens the bargaining position of the council with any purchaser of the Knowle – they know that the council is desperate to secure a sale.

“The cabinet approved this extra cost for Exmouth Town Hall without seeing an up-to-date report on the budget for the project overall. They have approved an increase in ignorance of the total costs.”

An EDDC spokeswoman said: “The council remains committed to relocating the rest of its staff into fit-for-purpose offices as soon as possible, despite the recent planning application for Knowle being rejected. The current budget and income projections for the overall project – taking into account both Exmouth and Heathpark – remain balanced. The council has a continued and reasonable expectation that relocation from Knowle will show significant savings compared to remaining in Sidmouth.

“The financial case will be tested again, as it was in March 2015 when the council decided to relocate.”

The decision was ratified at a full council meeting on Wednesday.”

http://www.eastdevonalliance.org.uk/in-the-press/20161228/sidmouth-herald-claims-eddc-is-relocating-from-sidmouth-at-any-cost/

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East Devon Watch

Posted on

15 Dec 2016

Posted under

Accountability, Audit (EDDC), Councillor Cathy Gardner EDA, Democracy, Economy, EDDC, Exmouth, Knowle/Honiton/Exmouth relocation, Planning System, Richard Cohen

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2 Comments

Officers of the council are neutral – aren’t they?

Update: it seems that Mr Cohen does not think that the word “stymied” indicated a lack of neutrality on his part. We leave that to readers to decide. Owl only adds that Mr Cohen was appointed to lead regeneration AND relocation – so it is hardly surprising that any interference with either of those roles is difficult for him to handle.

However, fortunately, help is at hand for him in the shape of EDDC’s own Constitution, where, on page 212, it states:

“39. Officers have a contractual and legal duty to be impartial. They must not allow their professional judgment and advice to be influenced by their own personal views”

Click to access constitution-july-2016-web-version.pdf

Owl – always happy to help and advise.

As expected last night’s EDDC Cabinet meeting unanimously rubber stamped the decision to raise another half million or so of taxpayers’ money to fund the refurbishment of Exmouth Town Hall as part of their Relocation Plan.

But, in an extraordinary outburst, Deputy CEO Richard Cohen, in charge of relocation, made a scathing attack on last week’s Development Management Committee’s decision to refuse planning permission for Pegasus Life’s application to develop 113 “assisted living” apartments on the Knowle.

He said the Council’s “commitment” to sell its HQ had been “stymied by a decision of the committee, (taken) purely about planning” (sic!) It hadn’t considered “the future of the Council, nor the independently proven savings” of relocation but made its decision “only because of heights (of buildings), a listed curiosity and arguments about care provision.”

So much for the myth that EDDC leaders, pursuing the relocation agenda, will allow the planning committee to serenely make its decisions on planning grounds alone, and won’t try to pressure it!

East Devon Alliance councillor Cathy Gardner was shocked, and said it was “inappropriate” for a council officer to criticise a planning committee in such a way.

But then Richard Cohen has form when it comes to arrogance and a cavalier attitude to convention. He handled the Council’s appeal in 2014 against the Information Commissioner’s call to publish documents about secret aspects of relocation. The Tribunal described the Council’s failure to cooperate properly and its economies with the truth as “discourteous and unhelpful”.

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