and must stop …..
Category Archives: EDDC
It’s election year part 601
…. when your MP, after putting his nose down drains, then picks up a shovel. The giveaway is that he does it wearing a suit and tie!
(Though Leader Diviani looks as though he has absolutely no intention of following suit!)
Speaker tells politicians that people are contemptuous of what is not straight dealing
In other words: speaking truth to power.
On Monday, the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, suggested the government’s attempt to avoid a vote on the issue of the European arrest warrant – and therefore sidestep a backbench rebellion – would be regarded by the public as contemptuous.
In an extraordinary attack on the government, he said:
“I think I have given a fairly clear indication that this has been a sorry saga. And the house should not be put in this position. Most of us think that a commitment made is a commitment that should be honoured, and we should try to operate according to sensible standards, rather than try to slip things through via some sort of artifice.”
“It may be the sort of thing that some people think is very clever, but people outside of the house expect straightforward dealing. And they are frankly contemptuous, and I use the word advisedly, contemptuous of what is not straight dealing. Let’s try to learn from this experience and do better.”
http://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/nov/11/labour-force-vote-european-arrest-warrant
The missing 6,000 plus voters: Freedom of Information request uncovers worrying developments
It would appear that, far from carrying out telephone enquiries in preference to door-to-door canvassing, the East Devon Electoral Returning Officer (Mark Williams, also CEO of East Devon District Council) did no canvassing at all for several years. Also that the Electoral Commission was aware if this. Indeed, we have no idea what canvassing was done before 2011 because EROs reported on their own performance with no checks or balances at all until then!
What on earth is going on? Will we ever know – as the ERO himself is exempt from answering Freedom of Information requests and, when asked by the Parliamentary Committee who his boss was he said “No-one”. Only the fact that the Electoral Commission IS expected to comply with the Freedom of Information Act revealed the true situation.
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/electoral_registration_is_teleph
It would also seem clear that laws may have been broken but, if that is the case, that there will be no sanction as (thanks to EDA and Mr Freeman) at least 28 people are now out in the community correcting a situation that could have affected the outcome of recent European elections when the missing voters might have changed the result.
It should be noted that Mr Williams has refused to answer questions put to him by local residents on this matter because he says he is “too busy” dealing with the current situation.
It seems that, as canvassing is now being done , the Electoral Commission is happy to sweep the past under an already very dusty carpet.
Could you, too, be a SWIMBY?
Check this link and consider.. http://www.transitionnetwork.org/blogs/rob-hopkins/2014-10/our-month-rethinking-real-estate-why-i-m-proud-be-swimby
A chance to put questions to Police and Crime Commissioner at Knowle this Thursday (13 November)
Reminder:
THURSDAY 13th NOVEMBER,6.30pm Knowle.Final Overview and Scrutiny Committee for 2014, with presentation by Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Hogg. Agenda here http://new.eastdevon.gov.uk/media/476265/131114-os-agenda-combined.pdf
Don’t forget EDDC’s new rules…’Where members of the public wish to raise a question on an issue which is not included on the agenda, this must be submitted in writing to democratic services two working days before the meeting.’
Presumably, Cllr Tim Wood, as the O&S Chair, will take this opportunity to ask Tony Hogg some searching questions on behalf of fellow councillors and the public http://eastdevonalliance.org/2014/09/16/councillor-vows-to-challenge-police-commissioner/
Consultation on even more houses for Exmouth
150 houses on fields between Higher Marley Road, Hulham Road and Dinan Way -in addition to the 700 already earmarked at Goodmores Farm and Plumb Park near Littleham. The site for the development is on fields between Higher Marley Road, Hulham Road and Dinan Way.
The consultation will take place at Brixington Church on Tuesday 18 November between 4pm and 8pm.
Exmouth to have ” holistic transport hub”
Definition of “holistic”:
“concerned with wholes rather than analysis or separation of its parts”
… bit like the draft local plan then!
What the general public thinks about Knowle relocation and “East of Exeter Growth Point”
Sale of Knowle HQ inevitable Sidmouth Herald
Reading the article in the Sidmouth Herald…..the jobs at the New Exeter Science Park (well paid jobs) would hardly benefit Seaton and Axminster……it seems they seem to be thinking of Cranbrook.
These jobs will also help Exeter people more than East Devon. The Science Park is too close to the City of Exeter.
Comments
Showing 2 of 2 replies
Pining Lass about 20 hours ago
I also found it sadly amusing that it was said that as the Knowle would eventually have to be sold when that tier of government was scrapped that there shouldn’t be protests about it being sold now!
Can’t they see that there is a world of difference between an empty resource being sold because it is no longer needed and the selling of a resource at a huge cost to the taxpayer to move somewhere else?
They have spent a large amount of money already, are intent on spending millions more and borrowing so the taxpayer has liability for debt ….. and now they are accepting that EDDC will disappear anyway. What are they like?
Theinquisitiveranter about an hour ago
I would like to have a public enquiry into how they are blatantly wasting taxpayers’ money. When this move was first mooted, the public were told that it would be cost neutral. Now that it isn’t, we should be permitted to have our say. It is clear that the merry bandleaders treat the public with utter disrespect. The move to the airport site should be abandoned due to in-accessibility for a great part of the taxpayers. Will the council pay for taxis for people wishing to visit their offices? Perhaps they will be offering free airport parking to us all!
Source: https://www.streetlife.com/conversation/3row0w9ul8zuq/#comment-2
Wainhomes and Feniton flooding
Temporary attenuation tanks and a temporary ditch on the Wainhomes site do not appear to have alleviated surface water run off from the site at all.
See (with particularly harrowing pictures)
https://susiebond.wordpress.com/
Recall that Wainhomes excuse for not putting in the permanent attenuation tanks on this site (before 6 the homes which are now occupied and which the planning inspector said must be put in before ANY homes were occupied) was that they are planning to put in different tanks to accommodate other planning applications they will put in at some point in the future and which may or may not get permission.
What a nightmare this small village is suffering still.
Retiring director of National Trust slams Prime Minister
In an article in today’s Sunday Times, Sir Simon Jenkins says:
“PM ‘ has wrecked beautiful Britain’
Summary
He argues that Britain has a better record of protecting urban environments than rural ones;
“We have looked after our cities very well for decades”
“We are very good at preserving architecture. But we are now really bad at protecting the countryside and landscapes.”
Over the past year, the trust has received about 400 calls from people in towns and villages objecting to what they consider unsightly and unnecessary applications for developments on their outskirts, “Yet five years ago we used to get a handful annually,” said Jenkins.
He ends by saying: “This guerrilla warfare between developers and the countryside must be stopped.”
More jobs – but who WANTS them?
East Devon has very low unemployment levels. East Devon District Council says its aims is to create thousands of new jobs and thousands more houses for the people doing those jobs.
In Northamptonshire they also have low unemployment and a local company is having to fill vacancies for new jobs by advertising them in Hungary because locals are not applying for them:
Greencore, which employs 1,200 staff in the US and Britain, is currently advertising for machine setters, cleaners, porters and quality monitors to work at the new factory.
Mrs Russell said recruiters would be heading to Hungary tomorrow to find new employees. She said: ‘In Northampton, we do have a problem in that there is very low unemployment. There aren’t enough people around and it is not always the kind of work people have wanted to do.’
She said Greencore had run a scheme with job centres in Northampton, but had still not attracted many applicants from the town. She said: ‘Ideally we would be flooded with applications, but actually we are having to work really hard to find people who will come and work for us. Everyone has an equal opportunity, but we haven’t been able to find the staff coming to us locally.’
Those missing voters and telephone canvassing
Mark Williams maintained to the Parliamentary Commission on Voter Engagement that his telelphone canvassing method was superior to door-to-door canvassing in producing voter registrations.
An Ofcom survey reveals that only 28% of 16-24 year-olds use a landline phone compared to 64% of all adults. 94% of this age group say their mobile is the main way they make and receive calls.
How did Mr Williams track down the mobile phone numbers of voters in this age group and people in other age groups who have only a mobile phone? Or were they tracked at all?
Anyone ever seen a personal mobile phone number in a telephone directory? Perhaps he used forms that people sent in for other reasons where they divulged their numbers to EDDC – but how many of the missing voters would that have caught bearing in mind he was looking for people who had not registered on the electoral roll and he missed opportunities to match data?
Affordable retirement flats in Seaton?
According to today’s Sunday Times McCarthy & Stone (now owned by hedge funds) plans to list on the stock market next year having had a “fivefold surge in profits” – sales up 25%, profits up from £12.5m to £63.2m.
More than half of its shares are owned by Goldman Sachs, TPG, Anchorage Capital and Strategic Value Partners. Its investment bank is Rothschilds.
So, we can surely look forward to a large percentage of the retirement flats in Seaton (and wherever else they build in East Devon) being “affordable” can’t we!
Cranbrook – stable, ooh look the door is open – well what do you know, the horses have bolted!
Quick, let’s spend lots of money building new stables for new horses … no don’t worry about the doors … we can always retro-fit them if we need them… let’s just employ a lot more people and have a meeting … get the sherry in …
http://www.cranbrookherald.com/news/eddc_s_challenge_cranbrook_grows_while_funds_shrink_1_3833357
Poor, poor Bovis – or is it poor, pathetic East Devon District Council?
EDDC agreed to allow Tesco to drop all the affordable housing on their Seaton site as Tesco said it would be uneconomic for any developer to build there if affordable housing was included.
The Development Management Committee agreed a “surcharge” on the site so that if it DID make a profit, EDDC would see some of it. When the planning consent was ratified, that clause had disappeared. No-one quite understands where, why or how that happened, but it did.
Bovis are currently building the first 50 of a planned 300+ houses on the site (in addition to the McCarthy and Stone 42 apartment block which is on the site previously earmarked for a hotel).
Bovis announced yesterday that they expect their profits to be up 10% on last year and is forecasting higher dividends for shareholders. They mention that rising house prices have absorbed increased costs and says they have a substantial order book for 2015.
Lucky Bovis, unlucky Seaton, pathetic East Devon District Council – the developer’s friend.
Sale of Knowle HQ ‘inevitable’, says EDDC Chief Executive
So reads the headline of a report in today’s Sidmouth Herald, about Mark Williams’ recent talk to the Sidmouth Men’s Forum. The EDDC CEO is also quoted as telling the group, “It is very nice to be (at the Knowle) but it is too big for what we need”. A pity he hasn’t looked carefully at the research by Robin Fuller ….http://saveoursidmouth.com/2013/08/16/serious-questions-over-size-of-modern-offices-at-knowle/ , nor considered properly costing the option of ‘staying and improving’ , as prudent householders do in times of austerity.
In his presentation, Mr Williams dropped some hints about the future reorganisation of local government, possibly towards one large unitary authority for Devon. This chimes with what EDA has heard from those in the know, who believe East Devon is likely to merge with Exeter and Teignbridge. Could this be more than a rumour….?
3 Dorset councils to merge
They will keep the same number of councillors as before but only one administration service with one Chief Executive.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-29944622
Watch now for East Devon merging with one, two or three councils around us – after spending more than £250,000 of our money in 2007-11 telling us that this was not a good idea and resisting a Devon unitary authority. And when one of the first things that the new Coalition government did was to stop all talk of such a deal saying it would not be beneficial to us
Truly, a year is a long time in politics!
Science Park gets top-notch companies – Skypark gets an energy plant, call centre, parcel depot – and EDDC HQ!
Science Park right by M5 junction and the planned new shopping centre and getting high status tenants (Met Office new computer cenntre, Blur Group) with high-tech, high-value jobs. Skypark near the incomplete and (some say) problematic Cranbrook, adjacent to Exeter airport runway and, well let’s say, less high-value job and less high status tenants (energy plant, call centre, parcel depot – and EDDC new HQ)!.
Where would I rather be? Hmmm – hard question!
The missing 6,000+ voters – whoops, that should read “the missing 5,997+ voters”!
We notice from the What do they Know website
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/conduct_of_the_may_22_2014_local#outgoing-397991
that EDDC has refused to answer a question about Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) Mark Williams’ evidence to the Commons Constitutional Reform Committee on October 13th about several thousand names apparently missing from EDDC’s latest electoral register. He told the Committee that he had not “knocked anyone off the electoral register” because, he said:
“…… at the European election if an elector presented themselves to vote and they were not on the developmental register as I call it, the presiding officer would phone up and say, ‘That’s okay, they are on my old register. We will do a clerical error and they can go back on.’”
The implication seemed to be: “Don’t worry about thousands of missing names, they just needed to turn up and they were allowed to vote! “.
On 15th October Sidmouth resident Tony Green put a Freedom of Information request to EDDC asking how many such cases there actually were at the European and local elections last May.
On 4th November EDDC refused to answer because they said EROs are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, and anyway Mr Williams and his team are too busy working on the next election to be bothered with pesky questions concerning precise numbers.
In fact, in the meantime, EDA has learned from a reliable source, that the total number of electors able to vote in May using the procedure above was precisely…..THREE!
East Devon Watch 