Category Archives: Democracy

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27 May 2014

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Democracy, EDBF, EDDC, Local Plan

EDDC Overview and Scrutiny Committee – it’s not too late …

…to include an agenda item of the next O and S committee in June on the “Business Task and Finish Forum” investigating the creation, running and administration of the East Devon Business Forum and its effect on planning and the Local Plan debacle.  You know, the one you kicked into the long grass for as long as possible.

Oh, and where is Mr Harrison – EDDC Economic Development Officer – these days?  Since his job as Hon Sec of EDBF finished he seems to have gone totally silent when, in the past, he had such a lot to say about individual developments, particularly those of EDBF members.

And just when “economic development” is an even hotter topic.

What exactly are we paying (and paying handsomly) this person to do?

 

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26 May 2014

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Budleigh Salterton, Democracy, EDDC

Former EDDC Tory deputy leader speaks of “ill-thought out and undemocratic move” of EDDC council!

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It is not often that common-sense prevails at EDDC so we should celebrate it when it does. Last week EDDC withdrew their planning application for all year round siting of beach huts on Budleigh beach. This may seem a rather parochial matter and had the cabinet listened to ward councillors and common-sense prevailed from the start, EDDC would not have suffered a series of damaging blows to its reputation for competence and there would be no story to tell. But it didn’t and there is plenty to tell.

Ever since beach huts replaced bathing machines in Budleigh they have been overwintered in storage to preserve them from the elements. Last year, however, following a cabinet decision, EDDC wrote to beach hut owners saying they could leave them in place all year round. The claim was that ten hut owners had made a request to do so but, since owners weren’t consulted (see below), many think it was just an excuse to hike up the annual rent by around 50%, netting a mere £20K.

The Town Council, aware of the winter storms that have periodically scoured the beach under the beach hut sites, opposed the idea. The really bad storms of 1950, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1982, 1989, 1990, 1991 and 2000 are well recorded in photos, videos and newspaper cuttings from the Journal and have passed into local folklore. The question of planning permission was also raised. Council members recalled that EDDC had required a fisherman to make a full planning application to replace his fishing hut but was apparently giving a free pass to bathing hut owners.

Natural England pointed out that since the site was an SSSI, EDDC could not claim permitted delegated authority to allow the change and planning permission or permissions would be needed.

For over a year EDDC allowed this “planning anomaly” to run, leases to be issued, and the beach huts to stand until six weeks ago when a planning application was submitted for all year siting for 61 EDDC and 94 privately owned huts.

EDDC commissioned a flood risk assessment from consultants which contained the following disclaimer:

“This report gives estimates of likely flood depth, but does not attempt to quantify risk from waves or storm surges. Flooding from the sea is analysed solely on modelled extreme water levels which are assumed as calm.”

However, the assessment concluded that the permanent retention of beach huts was acceptable.

WHAT NO WAVES OR STORMS ON A BEACH!!!!!

This flood risk assessment was dated January. In the first week of February the waves from a combination of spring tides, a deep depression and SSE gale force winds overturned and smashed many of the huts at the western bathing station. A small turn of the compass and the gabions underlying the eastern bathing station would have been ripped open as they last were in the storms of both 1989 and 1990.

Despite this, EDDC continued preparing the planning application which it submitted at the end of March (including specifying a maximum size of beach hut smaller than those redeployed from Exmouth a few years ago!).

The Environment Agency (EA) made its formal comment with the benefit of hindsight in May:

“It is clear that to site beach huts permanently on the beach will significantly increase the likelihood that they will be damaged in winter storms. Given that; a) sea levels are rising and are predicted to rise at an increasing rate; b) that such storms are predicted to increase both in terms of wind speed and wave height (NPPF, Table 5) we recommend that this proposal be refused on the grounds that is not safe, sustainable and puts people and property increasingly and unnecessarily at risk.”

No doubt the EA don’t want to pick up the bill for more irresponsible EDDC decisions, see the article posted here on May 23 entitled: “Environment Agency picks up the tab for EDDC blunder”.

The views of the majority of beach hut owners, especially the local ones, are summed up by the following letter of objection by Ray and Judith Franklin, published on the planning web site:

“……We were dismayed that there was no consultation whatsoever regarding this move. We now understand that a planning application is needed. Surely this will result in additional costs to the council tax payers?

The rent has increased by £242.40 per annum (excl VAT) but we have enjoyed no additional benefit. In fact, ourselves and several of our neighbours were unable to gain access to the huts due to swelling of the timbers and rusting of the locks. Some of our neighbours forced open the doors but then found they were unable to close them. We appreciate that it was a particularly wet winter but these problems would happen during any winter.

………..Speaking with other beach hut owners and renters we have found only one or two who are in support of this ill-thought out and undemocratic move.”

Could this be Ray Franklin one time deputy leader to Sarah Randall Johnson? If so, then we can all think of many more examples of ill-thought out and undemocratic decisions made by him and cabinet members against the wishes of the people of East Devon.  Case of the pot and the kettle?

We will file this as an example of an omnishambles.

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26 May 2014

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Democracy

So, what do the Euro elections tell us about our district?

Well, it tells us that, on the right, there are 14,475 people in our district who preferred to vote UKIP to Tory.

It also says that there were 11,683 preferring to vote (in rough political terms) to the left of them.

That means 26,158 who don’t want to vote for the current majority party and 13,647 who do.

Rather worrying if you are a majority party member.

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25 May 2014

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Democracy, EDDC, Misc

East Devon votes in Euro election – UKIP gets more votes than Tories; Greens get more votes than Lib Dems or Labour

East Devon results:

UKIP – 14475

Tories – 13647

Green – 4975

Labour – 3623

Lib Dems – 3085

Read more: http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/LIVE-South-West-England-European-election-results/story-21140908-detail/story.html#ixzz32llEizvr

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25 May 2014

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Democracy, EDDC, Skypark

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And we’ve saved the best till last! How EDDC is going to “transform” itself when (if?) it moves to Skypark!

[square brackets and BOLD are our comments]

Transforming the council

Relocation is a central part of our plans to transform this Council into an organisation that meets the needs of its residents and businesses in an accessible, cost effective and joined up way [oh, no, the dreaded jargon joined up!]. So that we can keep abreast of customer demand and rising customer expectations, East Devon is working hard to transform and modernise the way staff go about their work and the ways in which customers can do business with the council.  Key to these new ways of working are a number of projects which include the following:

Mobile device policy rollout – this will ensure that officers will have the right IT equipment to allow them to work from home, flexibly (between home and office) or in a mobile way.  [Er, does this mean an iPad for every worker perhaps and no-one ever needing to actually work at Skypark?]

Creating a fully ICT equipped mobile workforce will help us improve efficiency and customer service.

Open for business – web channel – this project will see us totally revamp our website using the principles already established by the successful gov.uk website. As well as fresh content which is easier to find, this project will deliver 230 additional on-line services for our customers [230 more online services – can you imagine it – well, if you don’t have a computer you can’t]. We know from the feedback in from our Viewpoint Survey that 72% of our customers are satisfied with our services [anyone see the survey?  It would be ripped to shreds by any professional survey organisation!] but we want to improve this figure by offering our services where and when our customers want them [er, I think you will find they want them in Sidmouth, or possibly Honiton but certainly not Skypark!].

In addition to this East Devon is currently reviewing facilities across the district to understand what existing space we can use for mobile officers to ‘touch down’ across the district so that they will not need to make unnecessary journeys back to the office [a new phrase!  we are not having “hubs” any more – they are “touch downs”!]. We are also drawing up proposals to firm up what service provision will be available for customers across the district following relocation [translation: we have no idea what we are going to do].

 Public and stakeholder engagement and consultation

[Isn’t this interesting:  the headline shows that EDDC doesn’t consider the public to be stakeholders!]

We will be carrying out consultation with our equality partners and from a Best Value perspective to help us understand what service provision customers, key stakeholders and partners would like to see around the district following relocation. [Anyone like to try to translate what seems to be like meaningless jargon again?]

Communication

We continue to update staff on progress and following this report further staff sessions will be arranged.  Additionally, we continue to communicate externally and our communications strategy is constantly under review. The stakeholder meetings, East Devon Extras and engagement with all media channels regarding office accommodation have been helpful in getting our messages out there. These will continue. [groan, groan: sounds like the staff are going to be brainwashed and the media is going to continue to be blasted with pro-move propaganda]

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25 May 2014

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DCC, Democracy, EDDC, Sidmouth/ Sidford/ Sidbury

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AND naughty DCC and Planning Inspectorate – you have upset EDDC too!

Same agenda as post below

Extract:

Rights of Way

 Another approach to attempt to restrict the Council’s development plans for parts of the Knowle has been Right of Way (RoW) applications.

 These applications were originally rejected by Devon County Council but on appeal against that decision the Inspector directed the County to make Orders in respect of two routes (one of which itself splits into two routes). The County made the Orders in March and the Council (and others) have lodged objections to the Order.

 The Planning Inspectorate will now deal with the matter. It is anticipated that the appeals will be heard (method yet to be decided) in the Autumn. The Council may well choose to withdraw its objections, which may shorten the process slightly, but it will still be determined by the Inspectorate due to other objections (unless they too are withdrawn). It is probable that a final outcome (so either a dismissed appeal or confirmed Order) is likely to take until early winter.

 As was made clear in the Feb 2014 Cabinet report there are a number of ways that objections may be mounted toward the Council’s relocation plans. Project costings have reflected the potential impact of delay and the costs that such objections may result in for the Council.

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23 May 2014

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Democracy, NPPF

Election news from fellow-member of CoVoP

FRAGOFF (Formby Residents Action Group Opposition From Formby), a group from the new national organisation Community Voice on Planning (CoVoP)* of which EDA is an active member, has just sent this e-mail:

Hi All
Many thanks to all our supporters and helpers with our campaign, without whom we would not have been able to put a candidate forward, we won by over 500 votes and FRAG now has a Councillor inside. We have proved if the community stick together no matter what political beliefs they may have you can win and make changes.
Community Action and Not Party Politics has proved to be a winning combination for FRAG and the fact that we are non party political but represent the residents of the community.
Taking a seat from our labour run council who are voting all the housing through makes us feel even better.
If you want to know how we did it just ask us and we can let you know and guide you to a success at your next election. You can do it as well.
Kind regards
Maria

http://www.fragoff.co.uk

*http://covop.org/

N.B. The East Devon Alliance has not put forward candidates for election, but FRAGOFF’s example serves to show what can be done.

 

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23 May 2014

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Democracy, EDDC

Bloody noses, but will they listen?

Warning shots fired over the bows of all the major parties and now the war is escalating  and there are likely to be major casualties – mostly US.  Will the major parties (which now presumably includes UKIP) listen?

We will be here.

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20 May 2014

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Democracy, EDDC

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EDDC “Member Champions” – who are they and what do they DO for US?

EDDC has 16 member Champions

According to the dedicated EDDC web page they:

Each Member Champion keeps a focus on their area of responsibility by:

  • Raising the profile of the issue and showing the communities of East Devon the Council’s commitment to the issue.
  • Fostering the engagement of a wider range of Members in the review and development of the issue.
  • Promoting effective communication and positive working relationships both within the Council and amongst partners, stakeholders and community groups.
  • Promoting the positive work that is being undertaken within the District, both at a regional and national level.
  • Providing positive support, and on occasions constructive challenge, to officers in driving forward the Council’s agenda on the issue.

and

to fulfil their role effective a Member Champion also needs to be able to:

  • foster cross-party co-operation and be able to engage community groups and officers
  • understand and express the opinions and priorities of the community
  • be sensitive to Council priorities; although they may be advocating the opinions of the older people, for example, they should not do so at the expense of Council Policy and Corporate Policies. Champions cannot allow themselves to “go native” and forget about their broader role as a Councillor.
  • Lead and respond to the whole range of issues rather than focussing upon a pet interest.

So, let’s examine them individually:

Asset Management – Bob Buxton (Dunkeswell)

Now, we plebs actually don’t know what happens at Asset Management meetings because they are held in secret with no agendas or minutes. So how do we know what he is championing and why?

Business – Mike Allen (Honiton St Michaels)

The man who was in charge of the second round of Local Plan meetings and doesn’t know how Sidford Fields crept into it. Perhaps kinder to skip this one …..

Culture – John O’Leary (Honiton St Pauls)

This pretty much seems to mean publicising the Thelma Hulbert Gallery at every opportunity – the loss making “asset” that we all own and throw money at and the Beehive in Honiton to which we have ALL contributed so many hundreds of thousands of pounds via EDDC grants.   Oh, and he lets us know what is on at EDDC owned facilities such as the Manor Pavilion – at least I think he does.

Customer Services – Vivien Duvall Steer (Exmouth Halsdon)

Ah, the lady who is presumably standing up for all those of us who won’t be able to get to Skypark. No? Why not?

 Exmouth Town – John Humphries (Exmouth Littleham)

A lot of unhappy people in Littleham these days – which is not at all Little any more.   Plus the demolition of Elizabeth Hall and the “regeneration” of the seafront into money-making businesses is not popular either.

Health and Wellbeing – Peter Sullivan (Sidmouth Town)

Er, anyone know what EDDC is doing for our health and wellbeing?  OK, he does have a Twitter feed where in April he suggested that people take their dogs for a walk! But Googling him doesn’t uncover anything else.

Member Development and Engagement – Maddy Chapman (Exmouth Brixington)

Oh dear, given that our members keep being hauled before the Standards Committee because they are being naughty seems to show that she isn’t having much effect!

Planning, Design and Heritage – Alan Dent (Budleigh)

Anyone want to point out anything he has done to protect our heritage or improve design of buildings – he certainly won’t be able to point to anything about planning given the mess that EDDC is currently in.

Flood Alleviation – Peter Bowden (Broadclyst)

Well, at least he lives in a flood prone area!  But the Chief Executive has taken charge of flood grants.  Hope he gets a look in.

Procurement – Mark Williamson (Exmouth Littleham)

Ah, procurement – another of those things that no-one tells us about. We are not even sure what he oversees about the subject. Procuring Skypark? Paperclips?   Who knows?  We are certainly not allowed to see documents about procurement so quite why WE have a champion for it is a moot point.

Rural Broadband – Mike Howe (Clyst Valley)

Er, not progressing very well at all – some areas of the district barely have a snails pace service and dates for upgrade keep getting pushed back and back. BT appears to have the monopoly. Not sure what he can achieve.

Rural Communities (including Post Offices) – Newton Poppleford and Harpford

Oh dear – the rural community of Newton Poppleford is NOT a happy one – did he stick up for it recently? Er ….

Rural Communities (incorporating Post Offices) – Ken Potter

Anyone see him at the Feniton inquiry or the Colyford Green Wedge? No?  When you read EDDC Minutes he does attend a lot of meetings and reads a lot of Post Office literature.

Seaton Town – Stephanie Jones (Seaton)

Seaton: the town that has more old people than just about anywhere else in the country and which is about to have even more on its “regeneration area” – the one where Tesco can’t afford affordable houses. Promised so much, delivered so little.  I wouldn’t put that on my CV!

Tourism – Sheila Kerridge (Sidmouth Town)

Sheila who? Tourism – East Devon? Surely some mistake, we don’t do tourism we only do building lots of houses in inappropriate places and huge sheds for “employment”.

Youth – Christine Drew (Sidmouth Sidford)

Youth services which are being decimated across the district. I can only refer you to this interview that she had with a work experience person at EDDC. She does “loads” of things but can name only one though she does go to lots of youth clubs (well, that’s about to stop now DCC is closing them all) and, as she says, does have children.

So, there we have it – LOTS of Champions but it seems that really their job is not that of Champion of the People but (at least those whose heads appear above the parapet) instead they do PR for the majority party – but even this some of them do woefully or not at all.

Still, they probably go to a lot of local, regional and national events and have lots of canapés for us.

But what exactly have they achieved for US? Over to you.

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18 May 2014

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Democracy, EDDC, Local Plan, Uplyme

East Devon Alliance welcomes dialogue with local councillor for Uplyme

We welcome Cllr Ian Thomas’s contribution to the early discussions about the prospective planning application near Uplyme in the AONB (see post and comment below). Open discussion through forums such as this (or by the soon to be restricted contributions at East Devon Development Management Committee meetings) is essential at this vulnerable time. Thank you, Ian.

We applaud Ian’s stated support for AONBs and the natural environment, but he may perhaps concede that the actions of his party in this district have spoken more loudly than his words: EDDC’s tardiness in getting its act together on the Local Plan and a five-year land supply have surely put greenfield sites, including those designated AONB, at risk”.

It was clear, too, from a recent Development Management Committee meeting to discuss an action plan for the revised Local Plan that there is likely to be much more development near Exeter as well as around selected villages and in the area near Lyme Regis. Coupled with the Planning Inspectorate’s observation that EDDC had failed to co-operate with West Dorset on the Local PLan, it seems to a number of us that the Uplyme proposal could be the first cuckoo in this unwelcome spring.

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18 May 2014

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Democracy

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Voting at the European elections on Thursday: a handy guide

How does your vote work on Thursday’s European Elections?

The EDA research team has found that most of the people they talk to haven’t a clue as to how the European Election works. When you read this you may not be  entirely surprised. But it is important for the democratic process that you do understand before you get to the ballot box.
The voting system used is a form of proportional representation called the – “closed list”.

Who am I voting for?

Between three and ten Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to represent your region. The UK is divided into regions, one for each of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and nine covering England. Each region is allocated a number of MEPs according to its population. Our region is the South West and we are represented by six MEPs.

How do I vote?

Well, always read the instructions for filling in the ballot paper carefully, even if you have voted before. The ballot paper lists political parties and independent candidates. Under each party name is a list of candidates who wish to represent that party. Simply put an X (a cross) next to the party or independent candidate that you wish to vote for. If you make a mistake then you can ask the polling staff to give you another ballot paper. You may also be voting in other elections on the same day. In our region (super constituency) we have no independent candidates but we have eight parties to choose from. Remember with no independents we cannot vote for a candidate, only a party. We have one vote although we are electing six MEPs.

So who is elected? (Take this slowly- it is not quite a complicated as it sounds).

In a given region the allocated seats are awarded using a quota system in successive rounds of counting, until all MEPs are elected. For each round the quota for that round is the total number of votes received by a party (or independent candidate) divided by the number of seats already gained in that region +1. So, for a party with no seats (and for the first round) the number of votes received is divided by one, and so stays the same. If the party already has one seat then its number of votes is divided by two, if it has two seats it is divided by three, and so on. This means that the more seats you have already won, the harder it is to gain extra seats, so the overall allocation of seats is more proportional to the number of votes received. The first seat that a party wins goes to the first person on its list, the second seat to the second person, and so on, until the party has either not won any more seats or has run out of names on its list. An independent candidate is treated as though he or she were a party with only one name on its list. –

See more at:
http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/how_do_i_vote/voting_systems/european_parliament_elections.aspx#sthash.dR8dQIRf.dpuf

What are the Eight Parties standing and who are their candidates?

A pdf of the list of candidates can be found at:
http://www.europarl.org.uk/en/european_elections/candidates2014.html

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18 May 2014

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Democracy, Misc

“Town hall sexism turns women off local politics”

Story in today’s Sunday Times that the best way to get more women into local politics would be to set up a body that would examine reports of misconduct in local government.

The report says “sexism and sexual harrassment, which is being increasingly scrutinised in Westminster, is equally prevalent in the corridors of our local town halls” and goes on to say that some female councillors end up resigning because of sexist or inflexible behaviours that are hard to combine with family life.

It suggests that any aspiring female politicians, for whom local government could be a stepping stone to Westminster, are turned away by sexism.  In England 32% of councillors and 12.3% of council leaders are women.

The society’s head of policy says, “Sexism in local government is both a cause and effect of the lack of women councillors.  We have found numerous examples of male councillors making sexist, offensive and derogatory remarks”.

Lucky for us then that councillors such as Eileen Wragg, Claire Wright and Susie Bond continue to do their sterling work.

But how long before the situation changes?

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17 May 2014

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Democracy, EDDC, Newton Poppleford

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No sanctions to be taken against Cllr Graham Salter.

Councillors and officers..and all of us… are busy people. But there are signs that the Standards’ sub-committee were having their own time wasted, as well as Cllr Graham Salter’s valuable worktime (he’s self-employed) at this week’s hearing called by EDDC’s Monitoring Officer. It went on and on…..and after only a majority vote (2 to 1) , he was found to have breached the councillors’ code of conduct on one count. But it was clearly not a serious issue, as it was then decided no sanctions were warranted.

Consultants (paid)  council officers (paid), Cllr Salter (unpaid )  and members of the public (unpaid) were obliged to wait for hours, while the sub-committee deliberated.

Had this been a serious case, the expense and length of the hearing could be seen to be justified….  and not perceived as part of a District-wide pattern of apparent attempts to gag dissenters.

Our earlier report on the same hearing is here: https://eastdevonwatch.org/2014/05/15/why-did-you-become-a-councillor/

 

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17 May 2014

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Axminster, Democracy

Yet another councillor reported to the EDDC Standards Committee

Pattern?  What pattern?  (see post below)

http://www.eastdevon.gov.uk/axminster_town_council_code_of_conduct_finding.pdf:

Code of Conduct Finding

An investigation into a complaint by District Councillor Twiss (Conservative Council and Whip)  about Axminster Town Councillor Cllr Hayward (known for his independent views)  has concluded that Cllr Hayward breached the councillor Code of Conduct.

In paragraph 4(a) of the Code of Conduct, it says: ‘You must treat others with courtesy and respect’. The Investigator found that, in an email to a group of councillors, Cllr Hayward was disrespectful towards a member of staff at the District Council.

His report states:

‘Treating people with courtesy and respect involves having regard for them and their feelings and showing politeness towards them. The requirement to treat a person with respect applies even if they are not present.

I found that three of Councillor Hayward’s emails were written in his capacity as a councillor. Having examined the content of these, I have found that…Councillor Hayward was disrespectful…He therefore failed to follow paragraph 4(a) of the Code of Conduct.’

In the Complaints Procedure, where there has been a finding of a breach of the Code of Conduct, it is possible to resolve the com

plaint to both the complainant and councillor’s satisfaction. In this instance, Cllr Hayward has withdrawn his disrespectful comments and

accepted that the officer was not as he described. Cllr Twiss has accepted this, although he would also have preferred Cllr Hayward to apologise for his disrespectful and inappropriate behaviour.

During the course of this complaint, Cllr Hayward stated his wish to make a counter complaint against Cllr Twiss, however there was not sufficient evidence to warrant further action.

This Finding will be posted on the Council’s website on the Standards Committee page under public notices.

Denise Lyon

Deputy Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer

7 May 2014

 

Note from EDA: For the record, here are some possibly disrespectful comments made publicly by Councillor Twiss. The second example comes from his letter to a local newspaper,  in his official capacity as Tory Party Whip.

… (about a councillor who used to be a Conservative but is now an Independent) “This is a bit rich coming from someone who now flies under a white flag having previously been a Conservative party Councillor and Whip who paraphrasing his wording presumably chanced his arm to get elected having jumped ship from one political group to another.”

….(about all Independent Councillors)  ”Invariably a single issue with ancillary directly related ones is the overriding reason for Independents standing, holding back progress and directly disadvantaging their communities by paying little attention to other matters as a result.”

EDA would be interested to know if there have been any formal complaints against Cllr Twiss, and if so, how they have been dealt with.

For the full version of Cllr Twiss’s letter, and more comment, go to  http://sidmouthindependentnews.wordpress.com/2013/11/29/have-whip-but-dont-ever-use-it/

 

 

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16 May 2014

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Democracy, EDDC

Public gagged, councillors gagged … and the strange case of the Legal Highs!

Decisions this week, likely to be rubber-stamped by Cabinet and Full Council, mean that now the public must make written representations in advance before being (possibly) allowed to speak at the Development Management Committee (only 5 objectors will be allowed 3 minutes each on a first come, first served basis).

Councillors are now to be banned from putting motions that are not appropriate to the business of the council – the final arbiter probably being the Chief Executive (or perhaps one of his Deputies – see post below).  The Council’s Constitution will be so amended – even though the introduction of the amendment has not followed the procedure laid down in the current Constitution!

Proposed by Councillor Bloxham who recently put forward a motion to ban the use of Legal Highs and who spoke so eloquently for 27 minutes recently, emphasising that restricting public questions should be an essential part of saving time for committees.

So Councillor Bloxham, which councillor is that is using Legal Highs – I think we should be told!

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16 May 2014

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Democracy, Newton Poppleford

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Guilty, not guilty, punish, don’t punish … the mad, mad world of the EDDC Standards Committee

Councillor Salter, Independent parish Councillor, Newton Poppleford Parish Council.  Spoke out against a develop near to him which majority of councillors seemed to be in favour of, majority of parishoners appeared not to favour.  Reported to police because “anonymous” complainant said he should have declared a pecuniary interest.

Police found no case to answer.  “Anonymously” reported to EDDC for declaring a personal interest but then staying in the room and voting.  Monitoring Officer decided he had a case to answer.  Hearing yesterday, most of the day.

Conclusion:  Yes, he did break the rules.  Three councillors then met in private to decide his punishment (1 Independent, 2 Tories).  Majority decision:  no punishment as he was deemed to have been speaking for the people of Newton Poppleford not just for himself!

Truly, it is a mad world, my masters – with shades of the situation in which which (Independent) Councillor Giles had to face at Ottery St Mary where he was found guilty by his parish councillors when he reported some of them to his (Independent) district councillor because they had not told her about a secret meeting they were having with developers – suggested punishment by majority vote: ban him from the Planning Committee but they voted again and decided not to punish him.

Ottery Town Council and Councillor Giles were then investigated by the Monitoring Officer:  town council found deficient, no charges against Councillor Giles but no apology for his treatment.  And between Independent Councillor Giles and Independent Councillor Salter, Lib Dem Councillor Eileen Wragg (Lib Dem) dragged before the Monitoring Officer (again) for failing to respect another (Tory) Councillor at Exmouth town council and forced to apologise and be named in the press.

Can anyone see a glimmer of a pattern here?

Our Monitoring Officer is one of the two Deputy Chief Executives and each time these hearings take place an independent consultant is brought in to investigate.

Is this the best (or the most appropriate) use of this officer’s time?  How many man and woman hours are being wasted in this way, lost income for the councillors being investigated and all the council’s costs being paid for in the end by US and our council tax?

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16 May 2014

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Democracy, EDDC

Lies, damned lies – and Minutes!

It isn’t just Lord Salisbury and his Cabinet who would be proud of Norman Tebbit – he is almost certainly a hero to some at EDDC:

…. Finally, to the problem that bedevils coalition ministers: the feeling that after just one term in government, quite a few of them have been around too long. Francis Maude, Cabinet Office supremo and cutter-in-chief, is one such, and a peek at his parliamentary biog explains why: “Member for Horsham 1997–; Member for North Warwickshire, 1983-92; Contested North Warwickshire byelection 1900.” He didn’t win, of course. That’s a shame. Lord Salisbury and his cabinet would have thought the world of him.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/may/15/hugh-muir-diary-paxo-permutations