NOT a marriage made in heaven!
EDA Chair Paul Arnott elected in Coly Valley along with Tory Helen Parr
NOT a marriage made in heaven!
Category Archives: EDDC
All three seats fall to Independents in Ottery St Mary – Paul Carter loses seat
Vicky Johns (Independent) – 1501 ELECTED
Margaret Anne Piper (Conservative) – 245
Geoff Pratt (Independent) – 1044 ELECTED
Harv Sethi (Independent) – 422
Paul Richard Carter (Conservative) – 477
Anne Edwards (Conservative) – 428
Peter Hamilton Faithfull (Independent) – 878 ELECTED
Luke Gray (Labour) – 381
Sidmouth Rural and Feniton – Indies Rule!
Sidmouth Rural (one seat)
David Barratt (Independent) – 258
Ray Davison (Labour) – 27
John Loudoun (East Devon Alliance) – 375 ELECTED
Lewis Ragbourn (Liberal Democrats) – 42
Chris Wale (Conservative) – 18
Susie Bond (Independent) – 638 ELECTED
Adam Michael Powell (Labour) – 37
John Tristam (Conservative) – 97
6 spoilt
A little light relief – Baldrick has a cunning plan
Tweet:
“I’ve left the Labour Party after nearly 45 years of service at Branch, Constituency and NEC levels,partly because of it’s continued duplicity on Brexit, partly because of it’s antisemitism, but also because its leadership is complete shit.”
Exmouth Brixington results now in – Lib Dems missed seat by 4 votes
And ONE vote between elected Conservative and unelected Conservative!
Exmouth Brixington (three seats)
Aurora Bailey (Liberal Democrats) – 627
Fred Caygill (Conservative) – 633 ELECTED
Maddy Chapman (Conservative) – 662 ELECTED
Andrew Colman (Liberal Democrats) – 652 ELECTED
Dilys Hadley (Labour) – 381
Cherry Nicholas (Conservative) – 632
Oh so close – shame on voters of all parties who didn’t show up.
3 out of 3 Cranbrook succesful candidates – Independent
Very low turnout compared to other areas. Yet to find out if Independent or “Independent” …
Woodbury and Lympstone – resounding wins for 2 Independents!
Woodbury and Lympstone (two seats)
William Carter (Conservative) – 383
Ben Ingham (Independent) – 1,453 ELECTED
Geoff Jung (Independent) – 1,396 ELECTED
Cheryl McGauley (Conservative) – 432
Exmouth Halsdon – 2 Independents and a Green! Jill Elson out!
40 years a Tory councillor – Jill Elson comes a trailing 4th out of 8 and is not elected!
What a comment on Tories in Exmouth!
Exmouth Halsdon (three seats)
Megan Armstrong (Independent) – 1,293 ELECTED
Jill Marion Elson (Conservative) – 475
Tony Hill (Conservative) – 380
Paul Millar (Independent) – 1,140 ELECTED
Pauline Stott (Conservative) – 447
Andrew Toye (Liberal Democrats) – 289
Brian Toye (Liberal Democrats) – 260
Tony Woodward (Green Party) – 647 ELECTED
BOTH Independents elected in Exmouth Brixington
Not sure why recounted 3 times as margins clear for 3 elected – shoulder chips? Sorry getting Brixington and Litleham mixed up. Stir crazy …
Exmouth Brixington (three seats)
Brian Bailey (Liberal Democrats) – 467
Bruce De Saram (Conservative) – 606 ELECTED
Keith Edwards (Labour) – 328
Nick Hookway (Independent) – 996 ELECTED
Ono Olmedo (Liberal Democrats) – 477
David Poor (Liberal Democrats) – 434
Alan Whipps (Conservative) – 536
Joy Whipps (Conservative) – 534
Chris Wright (Independent) – 1,071 ELECTED
Every vote DOES count – Exmouth Brixington on THIRD recount
A THIRD count is underway for Exmouth Brixington!
A few groans as it was announced, but the numbers must be close.
We’re also expecting the winning candidates to be announced for Woodbury and Lympstone soon, but we guess the Brixington fiasco has thrown things a bit out of loop.
We’re also expecting the winning candidates to be announced for Woodbury and Lympstone soon, but we guess the Brixington fiasco has thrown things a bit out of loop.
Watch this space.
https://www.midweekherald.co.uk/news/election/east-devon-election-results-live-1-6029987
Independent wins Honiton St Pauls!
Interesting only ONE vote separated the two Conservative candidates, one of whom got the second seat!
All to play for at EDDC … good news for Independents and Greens elsewhere in Devon
Count starts at 10 am … results early afternoon … perhaps … our Electoral officer isn’t the best organiser of these things …
Good luck to Independents!
The only true independent in Exeter won a seat from Labour. Standing on a single issue of loss of a sports centre and public open space – majority of over 300 votes. Greens and Lib Dems agreed not to stand against her.
Greens got their first seat ever in North Devon.
Lib Dems hold balance of power in Torbay where the role of Mayor was abolished by referendum. Tory incumbent enormously disliked.
Labour held on to Plymouth, gaining one seat from Tories, an unexpected boost for Labour which had been expecting more of a drubbing. Two independents were successful in Shiphay ward.
Nominate ‘Say No to Sidford Fields Industrial Park” campaign for award says lical
Letter in Sidmouth Herald:
“Sir/Madam,
In light of the recent call for recommendations for the welcome, annual Acland Awards (for those conserving/enhancing our local Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or AONB) – can I make a recommendation?
Someone please put forward the Say No to the Sidford Fields Industrial Park Campaign since they are doing more than anyone I know to protect East Devon AONB (I put them forward last year).
Their earnest activities to save this crucial part of Sidvale from unnecessary ruination is, in my opinion, exactly what Brigadier Acland had in mind during the process of setting up our precious and it seems, eternally threatened AONB. And they need all the encouragement they can get.
Peter Naysmith, Sidmouth”
Claire Wright explains why she believes people should not vote Conservative in tomorrow’s local election
” … As a former East Devon District Councillor who stood down in 2015, I left because I could not bear the continued nastiness of the ruling group anymore. It was a hard, challenging and ultimately game-changing time, where I exposed underhand practices, culminating in a police investigation, worked tirelessly on planning issues and did my best to make the council more transparent.
Things changed massively on EDDC as a result of my time there and I’m glad I did it, but I view it as a period of my life where I was battling the forces of darkness. That may sound melodramatic but I can tell you that is how it felt. Fortunately, I had massive support from members of the public during that time, who came to meetings, spoke at them and generally provided me with amazing support.
To think that this group might now be on the verge of falling and allowing a new progressive, representative group to take its place makes me very happy indeed. …
Polling day tomorrow. Please go out there and vote!”
Bats in East Budleigh: “licence to kill” say ecological campaigners
“A “licence to kill” has been granted, it was claimed, after plans to knock down a barn known to be home to rare and protected bats were approved.
Councillors voted by eight votes to five on Tuesday morning to give the go-ahead to demolish a barn in East Budleigh, known as The Pound, and for it to be replaced with a house.
A new bat barn will be built in the garden as mitigation and Clinton Devon Estates have said the new building will provide conditions “more suitable” for bats, including a dedicated loft area and ground floor with free flight access for the animals.
But concerns have been raised by ecological campaigners about the risk it would pose to the rare bats, saying the demolition of the barn could see them lose their homes and die.”
A correspondent explains why he won’t be voting Conservative on Thursday
“Unless your readers live in a new house on an estate they will have little understanding of what happens today.
I moved onto a new estate which had a grassed open area. I was aware that there was some infrastructure to prevent flooding beneath it and knew that I would have to pay a share of the upkeep. I did not fully understand was that it was a public open space which was available for anyone’s use, not just the residents on the estate.
Maintenance charges have rocketed whilst quality of service has been poor. Any talk of with holding service charge payments is referred promptly to debt recovery. The whole system is unregulated and frankly, stinks.
I have dug deep to try to understand how a simple purchase of a freehold house is suddenly caught up in a land charge where I am compelled to pay for maintenance of land owned by someone else.
The root cause of the problem seems to have started with the council. In this case EDDC. As part of the planning condition for the estate the developer had to provide a public open space and a SUDS system to prevent flooding. In all probability it was an attempt by the council to stick their fingers up at the developers and force them to provide facilities for public benefit at no cost to the local authority.
The next stage was to make the developers responsible for the maintenance of the new open spaces. They could either do that themselves or pay a lump sum to the council to maintain it for the next 25years. Clearly the developers were unable to afford that so they passed the maintenance charges on to the residents within the title deeds for each house.
That was very unpopular and most developers, wanting to distance themselves from the problem, gave the piece of public land to a land management company. It seems that none of those companies are regulated and can charge what they like. If you don’t pay their bill they could apparently seize your house. All quite outrageous.
There has been lots of bad press about these land management companies and the matter discussed in Whitehall although the housing minister has taken little interest.
In East Devon our Conservative council has decided to stick their nose in the trough and has decided to offer to take over the public open spaces at Cranbrook and offer to carry out the maintenance of the public open spaces and charge F band houses £370 per annum and H band houses £512 per annum. Both of those figures are in addition to the normal council tax which is supposed to cover supply and maintenance of public open spaces !!
So lets look at this…. EDDC created the problem by insisting that the developer provide the public open spaces which the council had no intention of maintaining. When it all starts to go wrong EDDC offer to take the responsibility over but only by penalising the residents who live on those estates.
To make it clear those public open spaces are available for use by anyone. So maintenance of those public open spaces should be maintained at public expense. The costs must be paid out of council tax revenue.
This mess has been created by EDDC who enjoy a massive Conservative majority. Any proposals are just nodded through without opposition.
I have always voted Conservative in the past but things have got out of hand. Things must change. The public has a chance to voice their opinion in the local elections on 2nd May.
I know I won’t be for any Conservative Councillor and no, it’s got nothing to to with Brexit….”
“Auditors find ‘significant weaknesses’ in record-breaking investment deal and slam Surrey council’s £1bn ‘property roulette’ “
“Auditors have slammed a district council in Surrey which undertook the most expensive property investment ever made by a local authority after it found “significant weaknesses” in its financial processes.
KPMG delivered a damning assessment of Spelthorne Borough Council’s purchase of a BP research centre in Sunbury for £385m in September 2016, one of a number of costly property investments in the authority’s £1bn portfolio.
The auditors found that the acquisition of the site was decided by council officers without any public scrutiny, and the decision-making process was conducted via email and was “generally poor and difficult to follow.”
This meant it was “difficult to identify whether all the risks associated with such a large and significant transaction had been fully considered and mitigated,” the auditor said.
KPMG said it found little evidence the council had properly considered legal advice which said the purchase, the largest of its kind by a local authority in England, may be “disproportionate” to the rest of its spending.
Most worryingly, the auditor failed to determine whether the council had considered the financial impact if BP had decided not to renew or change the terms of its 20-year lease of the site.
The council then took four months to publish its decision, leading the auditor to conclude that “we are not satisfied that, in all respects, Spelthorne Borough Council put in place proper arrangements.”
Spelthorne has been the biggest investor in property in local government and since 2016 has borrowed £1bn from the Public Works Loan for the takeover of BP’s business park – as well as the purchases of offices in Reading, Slough and Uxbridge for £285m and a number of other investments.
The authority told the Bureau of Investigative Journalism that the “adverse value for money conclusion does not mean that the auditors are saying the actual transaction does not represent value for money but that in their opinion some aspects of decision-making processes were not conducive to maximising value for money.”
Surrey County Council’s Robert Evans said he was surprised Spelthorne had not done due diligence around the deal, and said the authority seemed to be “playing property roulette with council taxpayer’s money.”
“If the climate is good that might be okay but with Brexit around the corner everything is uncertain and this is foolhardy at best and downright dangerous at worst.”
3 days to local elections – today’s pictures
Today our theme is developers, affordable housing and housing in general.
Did you know that EDDC has overperformed on the housing delivery test set by the government by 50%?
The government set East Devon a target of 1,762 homes to be built in 2018 whereas the number actually built was 2,632 – more than 900 extra, very, very few of which were “affordable” (see pictures below about that!).
Persimmon is making £73,000 per HOUSE profit, Taylor Woodrow £68,000 per HOUSE. Help to Buy is adding £33,000 to the price of new houses for first time buyers.
EDDC has been developer-led for YEARS because Conservative housing policies were designed by them and most major housebuilders are donors to the Conservative Party.
How to stop this? Vote Independent. Break the chain.
all this talk of a lack of affordable housing is exaggerated, i know, i’ve got six!
Affordable Housing Estate Agents – ‘It’s affordable if you’re rich…’
Designated area of outstanding natural profitability.
“Well one step down from our ‘Luxury Executive Mansion’ is our ‘crap terrace with outside loo’.”
New Planning Body in beauty spot – ‘Nice spot for our HQ…’
EDA Independent Paul Hayward (Yarty candidate) speaks on what real independents stand for
“On Thursday May 2nd next week, everyone over the age of 18 who is registered to vote gets to make a choice. You get to choose who represents you for the next four years at the District Council (EDDC).
For the past 4 years, as for decades before, the District Council in East Devon has been run under a Conservative majority.
So, if you think that the following are a great idea, then feel free to vote a Conservative candidate back in to act in what they claim to be your best interests, and they can carry on their good work:
Hospital beds withdrawn.
Youth services withdrawn.
Increased crime and anti-social behaviour
Fewer affordable houses built
Plans to concrete over great swathes of green fields
Destruction of the natural environment
Council debt increasing
Loans agreed to bankroll commercial developers
Secrecy and obfuscation as a matter of policy.
Regeneration of the town centres not even started.
However, if you believe that there is another way; politics for the people, rather than politics for a party, then you have another choice. Across East Devon, and across the UK, independent candidates are standing for election.
In Seaton, Jack Rowland and Daniel Ledger.
In Colyton and Colyford, Paul Arnott
In Axminster, Sarah Jackson and
In Yarty (covering the parishes of All Saints, Chardstock, Hawkchurch and Membury) I am delighted to be standing as the Independent candidate.
Our aim is simple and singular. To provide better services for the residents of the district. To talk with you, to listen to you, to act for you. And no-one else.
We are not beholden to landowners, and housing developers, and corporations. We represent you, the public, and you alone.
I would urge everyone to think about one question. Is your town or village or parish a better place than it was 4 years ago. Are the employment prospects better? Are there more opportunities for all? Is housing being delivered for everyone, or just for the select few? Are your streets safer? Is access to healthcare and social care better than before…? Is there less pollution and litter and graffiti?
If the answer is no (and the evidence sadly proves that to be the case) then the time has come to vote for change. To vote for a different style of politics at the District Council. Where things get done for the greater good, not just because it suits a certain group of people. Where Councillors vote on issues because they believe in them, rather than being told how to vote according to a national party policy, regardless of the dire consequences to the local area.
But, this change can only happen if you, the voter, allow it to happen. If you stay in next Thursday, thinking your vote will count for nothing, that nothing will change, that all politicians are the same – you will be proved 100% right. The next morning you will wake up and nothing will have changed
and the decline will continue.
But, if you take 10 minutes to vote for candidates who will deliver that change, you will see a different Council emerge on May 3rd. A new, vibrant, energetic and dedicated Council.
One that exists simply to serve you. One that makes decisions to improve your lives, to deliver better services, to make you healthier, stronger and to ensure that your children, and grandchildren, have access to all the things you want them to have.
Doing nothing on May 2nd will result in nothing but the same faces making the same old decisions.
On May 2nd next week, please vote for change.
Please vote independent.
Please vote.
It could be your cross in the box that makes the difference.
Thank you. Paul”
Can you be TRULY independent if you agree with EVERYTHING the Tories are doing locally?
Ian Thomas has updated his website (though it still has a Tory blue background.
In his statement, he says:
“… My decision was in no way related to the excellent case being presented by East Devon District Council Conservatives in the pre-election period. Theirs is an outstanding presentation based on the performance delivered by a capable and experienced Conservative led team.
It rather reflects deep disappointment in the performance of the Party elsewhere. …”
Can he REALLY then call himself Independent?
The full statement:
“With a heavy heart, I confirm my resignation from the Conservative Party on 17th April 2019.
My decision was in no way related to the excellent case being presented by East Devon District Council Conservatives in the pre-election period. Theirs is an outstanding presentation based on the performance delivered by a capable and experienced Conservative led team.
It rather reflects deep disappointment in the performance of the Party elsewhere.
I have resigned the leadership of the East Devon District Council Conservative Group but, remain Leader of the Council until the Annual Meeting on 22nd May, if re-elected; otherwise I will step down on 3rd May.
I am arranging that all 2,192 electors in my home Trinity Ward receive a personal letter, hand delivered by my team and me. This explains that should I be honoured by re-election, I will sit as an Independent Councillor not aligned to any political party or group.
To ensure that East Devon District Council delivers the services Axmouth, Combpyne-Rousdon and Uplyme residents want and value, in a caring, open and transparent environment.
Please note; as my resignation dates from after the closure of nominations, your ballot paper on May 2nd will still identify me as representing the Conservative Party. It is not possible to change how this is displayed, however I confirm that, should I be re-elected to serve Trinity I will immediately do so as an Independent Councillor, not aligned to any political party or group.
Ian”
East Devon Watch 