A tale of three (or four or more) placards … perfect placement is all!
Category Archives: East Devon Alliance
It’s another sign!
Approach to the election, on the A 35.
It’s a sign!
Noticed these poster boards springing up all over East Devon? This one’s on the A3052.
Vigorous and optimistic public meeting with candidates
Congratulations to Vision Group for Sidmouth (VgS) for organising last night’s hustings, in a particularly civil atmosphere, thanks to the VgS Chair, Dave Bramley.
All candidates standing in Sidmouth and Sidford Wards, for election to East Devon District Council, had been invited. ONLY ONE current District Councillor, Christine Drew, turned up, making the absence of all the others appear all the more reprehensible.
Candidates who did take this opportunity to engage with the public were: Dawn Manley (East Devon Alliance Independent,iEDA, Sidford Ward); Matt Booth (iEDA, Sidmouth Town Ward);Cathy Gardner (iEDA, Sidmouth Town); Marianne Rixson (iEDA, Sidford);Christine Drew (Conservative, Sidmouth Rural); David Barratt (Independent, Sidmouth Rural); John Dyson (Independent, Sidmouth Town).
A broad range of topics were raised, including affordable housing; interaction between Town/ District/ and County Councils; current EDDC management style: neighbourhood plans, etc. All were thoughtfully addressed.
Hats off to the iEDA Independents,for their positive message of how together they could improve the way things are done at District Council. Their pooled knowledge of local issues, and individual expertise in such things as sources for grants; tourism and marketing; and most urgently, the importance of encouraging neighbourhood plans, was impressive.
Next VgS hustings, for Sidmouth Town Council candidates, is at Sidmouth College, 6pm, on Tuesday 21 April. Wonder how many candidates will take advantage of this pre-election platform offered to them? We’ll see.
As election looms, only a week left to make sure you can vote
If you haven’t checked that you are registered to vote, time is running out!
The deadlines for registering, and for postal votes, are in this press release (14 April) from EDDC:
Last chance to join the register before polling on 7 May
Residents of East Devon are reminded that there’s just under a week left to
ensure you have registered as an elector and can vote on 7 May. The last day
for receipt of applications is Monday 20 April.
If you are already registered, but want to have a postal vote rather than
going to a polling station on election day, time is also running out. You
must apply by 5.00 p.m. on Tuesday 21 April to ensure you can vote by post.
Details of all the candidates in the Parliamentary election and for district
and parish council wards are now on EDDC’s website at:
http://www.eastdevon.gov.uk/elections-and-registering-to-vote/election-documents
The website also carries information about the opening times and locations
of polling stations around the district.
Register online
Don’t forget that under the new system of Individual Elector Registration
(IER) it is up to each individual to register, not the head of the household
as before. If you still haven’t registered to vote, you can do so online at:
http://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
To get help with registering to vote or to ask for a postal voting
application form, you can also contact the district council’s Electoral
Services team on 01395 517402, or email: electoralservices@eastdevon.gov.uk
With the General Election and local elections now less than a month away,
being registered as a voter is obviously necessary so you can have your say.
But there are other advantages too – like finding it easier to get a credit
card, take out a loan or even obtain a mobile phone.
Don’t delay. Do it today!
REMINDER: Meet the Sidmouth Candidates for District Council, TODAY, Weds 15 April, St Francis Hall, Woolbrook
As you can see on our HOME page, several pre-election hustings are being organised by independent bodies around the District. This evening, there’s one in Sidmouth, where for the first time, every single District Councillor is being challenged by Independent candidates. So, tonight’s hustings is a particularly newsworthy event for the press, who will be there.
St Francis Hall, Woolbrook, will be open from 7.30pm, and the hustings will start at around 7.50pm. Questions in advance, please, to Dave Bramley (VgS Chair) or submit them on arrival, to the organisers.
For details of the meeting, and to contact Dave Bramley, click here: https://www.visionforsidmouth.org/calendar/2015/april/district-council-hustings.aspx
The full list of Sidmouth Election Candidates is on the front page of the latest edition (14 April) of Pullman’s View from Sidmouth. You can’t miss the headline: ‘Independent alliance target Sidmouth’!
Urgent: Save Clyst St Mary public meeting 15th April re. Westpoint planning application
Westpoint has applied for an exemption to its planning permission to allow timed car trials on its site. Obviously this is a concern as it is likely to be very noisy and could potentially cause additional pollution to the area too..
This is the link to the planning application (15/0139/VAR):
https://planning.eastdevon.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=NIGLWSGHHHM00
Save Clyst St Mary spokesperson, Gaeron Kayley, says:
“Having spoken to The Parish Council, I can confirm there will be a public meeting in the School Hall on Wednesday 15th April Starting at 19.30″
East Devon Alliance: candidates on You Tube
EDA candidate videos now going on Youtube.
Just search for East Devon Alliance and there they are!
They will also be linked from the candidate pages on their website.
eastdevonalliance.org.uk
Twenty-first century technology for twenty-first century candidates!
East Devon Alliance Press Release
Just two months ago the East Devon Alliance announced that it would form an umbrella group to support candidates wishing to stand at the District Council election on May 7th 2015. Yesterday, nominations closed.
Of the 29 wards to be contested, 24 will be fought by Independent candidates. A total of 37 Independent candidates have come forward to stand across the district, of whom 22 will be “Independent East Devon Alliance” on the ballot papers, and 15 will be Independent.
57 Conservatives will be standing, 19 Liberal Democrats, 6 Labour and 5 Greens. Despite free national news coverage every day for the last year, Ukip can only raise 9 candidates. For the first time ever the number of Conservative candidates – 57 – is overshadowed by the number of non-Conservatives – 76. In an historic first, the people of East Devon now have a genuine free choice at the election to entirely change the guard at their district council.
In the lead up to nominations a Conservative councillor, Phil Twiss repeatedly scaremongered the local electorate by absurdly suggesting the Independent movement was an alliance of left of centre groups. Yesterday this was shown for the false assertion it always was. Between them, the Liberal Democrats, Labour and Greens are fielding no fewer than 30 candidates of their own, who will rightly feel insulted by him.
Of more significance to him and his party comrades is that two of the most outstanding Independent candidates are well-respected members of the EDDC Audit and Governance Committee, who have honourably resigned from the Conservative party in order to stand as Independents in their areas, with the real expectation that they will be re-elected on May 7th.
East Devon Alliance Chairman Paul Arnott said, “Taken together with the unstoppable rise of Independent Parliamentary Candidate for East Devon, Claire Wright, this phenomenal offer by 37 Independents to the people of the district proves that East Devon better represents the desire for change in democracy than anywhere else in the United Kingdom.”
Express and Echo on East Devon elections
The Express and Echo today reports today that “the surge in Independents going for the seats can be attributed to the East Devon Alliance campaign group, which has transparency and openness at its heart, re-launching itself in February as an umbrella organisation for prospective independent councillors.
The aim was to give independents who share the objectives of the alliance, the opportunity to explain to voters who they are and what they stand for, ensuring they have equal opportunity of notoriety as their party specific counterparts.
In order to comply with electoral law the group had to register as a party with the Electoral Commission.’
Statement from East Devon Alliance Chairman, Paul Arnott
“Nominations for the East Devon District Council closed on April 9th, and a published list of candidates is at the link below. The headline news is that there is a genuinely historic representation of Independent candidates. No fewer than 24 of the 29 wards are being contested by an Independent. 37 Independents in total are standing. And 22 of them are standing under the East Devon Alliance banner.
In a comic twist, Conservative councillor Phil Twiss – who was in the local papers again this week trying to characterise Independents as Reds-Under-The-Bed – will have to explain to the public why two of the Independent candidates were, until their honourable resignation from his party, serving Conservative councillors. Like so many of us, they’d had enough. The phoney war is over. Now let’s make every day count.”
Read more at: http://www.eastdevonalliance.org.uk/
Housing ‘crisis’ based on shaky foundations?
Simon Jenkins believes so. For those who missed it first time round, here’s his evidence…http://www.spectator.co.uk/features/9452952/the-myth-of-the-housing-crisis/
Meet the Candidates (East Devon PPCs, and for Sidmouth Town and District Council), organised by VGS
Click here for details: VGS hustings poster1.pages
Sidmouth Streetscene, Easter 2015
A correspondent writes: Streetscene at East Devon District Council are responsible for emptying litter bins and keeping streets and footpaths clear of litter. This is how they dealt with things over the Easter Bank Holiday 2015. Surely our Sidmouth District Councillors should insist that this is better managed?
Westpoint- Planning application to remove exemption for Speedway/Timed Car Trials. Public Meeting planned 15th April (tbc).
New concerns for Save Clyst St Mary campaigners, outlined in this message today from organiser Gaeron Kayley:
‘ In case you weren’t aware, Westpoint has applied for an exemption to its planning permission to allow timed car trials on its site. Obviously this is a concern as it is likely to be very noisy and could potentially cause additional pollution to the area too..
This is the link to the planning application (15/0139/VAR):
https://planning.eastdevon.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=NIGLWSGHHHM00
As you can see, there is barely any info about what it actually entails at present
Here are the links to the company’s website:
http://www.bhpperformanceshow.com/
and
http://www.bhpperformanceshow.com/gallery
It might also be useful to have a look at their own clip on YouTube:
Although the application is for one day, we fear this will be a sliding slope and that there might be additional requests for more days – hence the reason we have brought it to your attention.
Having spoken to The Parish Council, I can confirm there will be a public meeting in the School Hall on Wednesday 15th April Starting at 19.30 (This date and time is subject to confirmation once the school has re-opened).
On a different note, we understand there have been some recent changes in personnel at East Devon District Council, including a new Head of Planning. However, at present, there is no clarification of this on their website. To save time and ensure that we can have direct contact with the right people, if and when this is required,we would be grateful if any member of our group working for EDDC could contact us to confirm appointments and contact details. This will ensure we can get in contact with the right people and not disturb those unconnected with our interests!’
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Happy East Devon Easter!
Shaping East Devon’s future……Keith Owen’s inspirational legacy (thanks to the Sid Vale Association’s work!) is bringing much more than just spectacular swathes of Spring flowers. It’s hit the national headlines….and the tourism trigger!
And community spirit has been raised to a new high: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/11514052/Millionaires-valley-of-a-million-bulbs-dying-dream-fulfilled.html
Cranbrook to swallow Rockbeare?
Neighbourhood plans to the rescue?
Lympstone residents, Hugo Swire, and Ben Bradshaw, discuss this in the Sunday Politics show:
Going, going, gone!
Auctioneering, and electioneering, feature in the latest posts on http://realzorro1.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/independents-vote-in-change-vote-out.html
East Devon sees ‘the biggest Independent effort in British electoral history’
The new Devonshire Magazine has this report: http://www.eastdevonalliance.org.uk/news/20150331/return-of-the-good-stewards/
East Devon Watch 