Category Archives: EDDC

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27 Feb 2017

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Accountability, Affordable and Social Housing, Consultation, Developers/ Development, EDDC, Environment (local), Greater Exeter, Infrastructure, Land Supply, Local Plan, Planning System, Sustainability, Transparency, Transport (local)

Greater Exeter Strategic Plan consultation – only one public meeting to discuss implications for East Devon

NOTE THAT, UNLIKE THE EMAIL TO EDDC COUNCILLORS (see earlier post) WE ARE NOT BEING ASKED IF WE WANT TO PUT FORWARD SECRET LAND HOLDINGS – THOUGH NO DOUBT THE TAXMAN WOULD BE VERY INTERESTED IF YOU DID!

THE BIGGEST PLANNING ISSUE TO HIT EAST DEVON SINCE THE LOCAL PLAN AND YOU MUST TREK TO HONITON ON 8 MARCH IF YOU WANT TO HAVE YOUR SAY. THAT’S IT – ONE MEETING IN ONE PLACE.

DO YOU RECALL BEING ASKED IF YOU WANTED TO BE PART OF GREATER EXETER? OWL NEITHER!

“Greater Exeter Strategic Plan Consultation: Issues

The local authorities of East Devon, Exeter, Mid Devon and Teignbridge in partnership with Devon County Council are working together to prepare a Greater Exeter Strategic Plan (GESP). This formal statutory document will provide the overall spatial strategy and level of housing and employment land to be provided up to 2040. Please visit http://www.gesp.org.uk for more information.

Engagement with stakeholders and communities will be critical to the success of the Plan. At this first stage, the authorities are consulting on an initial ‘issues document’ which, after setting out some background information, looks to explain the scope and content of the plan as well as describing the key issues facing the Greater Exeter area. This early stage of consultation is designed to stimulate debate and the local planning authorities are seeking your views on the scope and content of the plan as well as the key issues facing your area.

A number of other associated documents are also being consulted on:

Draft Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report:

· The Draft Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report is the first stage of work in undertaking the Sustainability Appraisal (SA) and Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA) for the plan. This process is used to assess the sustainability of the plan content as it develops.

Statement of Community Involvement:

· The joint Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) sets out the approach for consultation in the GESP. The SCI sets out the way in which we will be engaging with communities and other interested parties throughout the process.

The consultation will run from 27 February 2017 until 10 April 2017. To view the consultation material and to make your comments please visit http://www.gesp.org.uk/consultations/issues/.

Alternatively, paper copies of the consultation document are available to view at your local library and Council Office.

A series of exhibitions are being held during the consultation period in the following locations:

Honiton: Mackarness Hall, High Street, EX14 1PG – Wednesday 8 March 2017, 2pm-8pm

Tiverton: Mid Devon District Council Office, Phoenix House, Phoenix Lane, EX16 6PP – Wednesday 15 March 2017, 2-8pm
Exeter: The Guildhall, High Street, EX4 3EB – Thursday 16 March 2017, 2-8pm
Newton Abbot: Old Forde House, Brunel Road, TQ12 4XX – Thursday 23 March 2017, 2- 8pm

A ‘call for sites’ has also been arranged to run alongside the consultation. This is a technical exercise which allows interested parties to submit potential sites for development to the Local Authorities. The sites are then assessed to consider whether they are suitable for possible inclusion in the plan. Further information is http://gesp.org.uk/call-for-sites/.

If you need further information please visit the website, email GESP@devon.gov.uk or contact your Local Council using the phone numbers below:

East Devon: 01395 571533
Exeter: 01392 265615
Mid Devon: 01884 234221
Teignbridge: 01626 215735

As there are four Councils contacting their stakeholders for the consultation and call for sites, you may receive duplicate letters/emails. Please accept my apologies if this is the case.”

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26 Feb 2017

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Accountability, Democracy, EDDC, Transparency

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EDDC Councillors – tell us about your secret acres – so we can put them in our next plans says senior officer!

Extract from an unclassified (i.e. not confidential) email sent out to all councillors by Ed Freeman, Service Lead – Planning Strategy and Development Management, East Devon District Council on the lead-in to the “Greater Exeter Strategic Plan” consultation:

“… The consultation paper is attached for you to get an advanced preview and we would welcome your comments by 10th April. Alongside this will be a call for sites to land owners and developers for housing and employment land across the area which can then be considered for allocation to meet the needs of the area for homes and jobs in the future.

So if you are secretly sat on a few acres of land and would like to put it forward for development now is the time to tell us! …”

Yes, you read that right.

Let us know about any secret land holdings you are sitting on.

NOT so we can report you to the Monitoring Officer for not listing them on your declarations of interest – but so that we can do our best to help you to get them developed.

Owl, for once, hootless!

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24 Feb 2017

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EDDC, Tourism

EDDC “tourism champion” sets out her stall – adverts on walks website and posters at railway stations

East Devon District Council’s cultural tourism opportunities
Councillor Jenny Brown, Tourism Champion, spoke to the Forum about cultural tourism opportunities in East Devon.

The South West Coast Path Association was leading the way in marketing walking holidays for overseas visitors, encouraging year round visits and in turn helping rural and coastal tourism businesses in the region to benefit from the popularity of walking on the South West Coast Path. Suggested itineraries had been produced for 3, 5 and 7 day walking holidays. There were a number of ways that local businesses could benefit from this, including becoming a business member of the Association and having the tourism business listed alongside some of the walks on the website, which all link to the nearby places to eat, sleep, drink and do.

Councillor Brown also outlined the East Devon line partnership with South West trains, which involved displaying advertising boards at stations. Train stations could act as great shop windows. This initiative was 50/50 match funded, with councils providing the design materials and the station providing the frame. For example the station at Axminster could have a poster advertising Seaton Jurassic, Seaton Tram, Seaton Wetlands, Axminster and Seaton Town Councils and EDDC. The importance of co-ordinating bus and train times was discussed.

On behalf of the Forum the Chairman thanked Cllr Brown for her presentation.”

http://eastdevon.gov.uk/media/2002435/minutes-010217.pdf

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23 Feb 2017

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Accountability, Developers/ Development, Devolution, EDBF, EDDC, Exeter City Council, Local Enterprise Partnership

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The birth of our LEP – and it was planned to include the Chairman of the East Devon Business Forum!

This Exeter City Council committee document pretty much sets out how the LEP would take over council funds and transfer them to businesses – and the EAST DEVON BUSINESS FORUM:

“4.3 Given the geography of the area it will be challenging to get all the key public and private sector and development companies to have a role in the combined Board. However it is possible to identify the significant parties for each of the local authority areas that could be invited to attend. The private sector participation on the Board needs to be broader than just development related companies and needs to ensure representation from the wider local business community as has been successfully achieved in Exeter and Heart of Devon Economic Partnership and the Exeter and the East Devon business forums. The NGPSB currently has on the Board the Chairman of Exeter Vision and the Chairman of the East Devon Business Forum*. The Board has resolved Exeter Chamber of Commerce should also be on the Board. Teignbridge DC has been asked to nominate a business representative for Teignbridge.”

Click to access NGP%20EHOD.pdf

* The Chairman of the East Devon Business Forum at that time was subsequently disgraced Councillor Graham Brown:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9920971/If-I-cant-get-planning-nobody-will-says-Devon-councillor-and-planning-consultant.html

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23 Feb 2017

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Affordable and Social Housing, Cranbrook, Developers/ Development, EDDC

BBC Spotlight highlights Cranbrook district heating fiasco

A poor mother with 4 kids (including triplets) and no hot water, bathing them in the kitchen sink … intermittent problem … can’t stay warm … talking head from E.on says it is “bedding down” … consumers can’t switch … problems pretty much every day … residents think it is pretty rubbish … no option … E.on blames “internal plumbing” for at least one problem …

Oh dear – remember that award it got for “best new town” – though not eco-town” as it was originally labelled – that was quietly dropped.

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23 Feb 2017

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Accountability, Developers/ Development, EDDC, Exeter City Council, Knowle/Honiton/Exmouth relocation

Time for a relocation cost update?

Including the REAL cost of satellites in Exmouth and Manstone Depot.

“Exeter’s planned leisure centre and bus station now face an indefinite delay, sparking fierce criticism of the council for not having a tender in place before beginning disruptive city centre works.

The chair of the Leisure Complex and Bus Station Programme Board, Cllr Phil Bialyk, also says he cannot promise the current £26m and £6.25m price tags attached to the major development won’t increase as a result.”

http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/here-s-the-full-story-behind-the-indefinite-delay-of-st-sidwell-s-point-and-the-bus-station/story-30158750-detail/story.html

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21 Feb 2017

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Accountability, Audit (EDDC), EDDC, Sustainability, Transparency

Audit and Governance – internal audit appears to be not too happy with governance

“… In our sample of capital projects, it was evident in speaking to staff that the Council had not anticipated the level of funding required for the Seaton Workshop project at an early stage, which may suggest that insufficient research was done to review the viability of the project prior to approval of the project/budget.

The Finance Team should consider whether evidence to support capital appraisals should be clearly documented. They should also consider implementing clear guidance on the level of initial assessment which should be required to be undertaken for capital projects if this is not clearly stated on any current policy/guidance. Any approach should be based on the level of risk and funding of the project as it was evident that some capital projects are lower in risk and value than others.

There is a risk that proposed projects are not being subject to the right level of assessment which could increase the likelihood of funding the wrong projects, and could also lead to delays and overspend to individual projects.”

Click to access 020317combinedagagenda.pdf

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21 Feb 2017

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Accountability, Developers/ Development, EDDC, Exmouth, Grenadier, Infrastructure, Philip Skinner, Regeneration, Transparency

“Council questioned about Exmouth seafront application”

“District bosses say they will not begin building on Exmouth seafront if an application is approved, despite saying it would permit them to ‘take forward development’.

East Devon District Council (EDDC) has put in a reserved matters application for Queen’s Drive, seeking detailed permission for facilities. EDDC says this will extend outline permission, and allow consultation, but opponents say it would allow building to begin.

Seeking clarification, the Journal approached EDDC, citing the Government’s Planning Portal website, which says: “When all of the reserved matters have been approved, work may begin.”

In response, a spokesman said: “A planning permission that can be implemented is very important. Therefore, the council has applied for approval of matters which were reserved under the outline planning permission. In other words, reserved matters is permission to take forward development, but the council’s development role is limited in budget and authority to build the new road and car park only. The rest of the site will be delivered later and in full consultation with the public.”

When the Journal asked why the application was needed for the road and car park when reserved matters for these had already been approved, the spokesman said: “Yes, the council has a reserved matters approval already for the road and car park but it is necessary for the council to secure reserved matters for the entire site (phases two and three as well as phase one) before the road and car park can be built. In any event, the council will only start works on moving them when it is sure that [developer] Grenadier has secured planning permission for its watersports centre.

“Reserved matters on the rest of the site also enables Grenadier to take forward their plans to consultation, design and planning.”

In response, Independent EDA district councillor Megan Armstrong, who has previously criticised the plans, said: “Why don’t EDDC simply acknowledge the fact that approval of a reserved matters application is a full permission to build without further planning applications or consultation?

“The Government says ‘When all of the reserved matters have been approved, work may begin on the site’. So why doesn’t the council come clean instead of using back door tactics and obscure wording?

“I also find it most bizarre that the district council should apply for this when it seems that it has no intention of using it. What other planning applicant would do this, and at such huge cost to the council tax payer?”

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18 Feb 2017

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Affordable and Social Housing, AONB, EDDC, Freedom of Information Act, Villages BUAB

Developments outside village built-up boundaries since 2010 – all 17 pages of them

The result of a recent Freedom of Information request to East Devon District Council:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/386878/response/933239/attach/html/3/Outside%20BUAB.XLSX.xlsx.html

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18 Feb 2017

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Austerity cuts, Business Rates, EDDC, Small and Medium businesses

Do our councils have plans for the effect of increased business rates on small businesses?

“Tory ministers were so concerned about the impact of business rates on the high street that they were planning extra financial support before the election, The Telegraph has learned, but the plans were later abandoned.

The Communities Department is understood to have grown worried that retailers were getting “completely clobbered” under the current business rates formula and worked with the Treasury to better protect the sector.

Plans were developed throughout 2014 and a review published before the 2015 election, but a Tory victory and a reshuffle saw the changes never adopted, with more modest reforms adopted instead.

The revelation that recent senior Conservative politicians were ready to act to protect the high street will fuel calls for Theresa May’s government to help those worst affected by an upcoming rates change.

For the first time in seven years business rates are being updated in line with property prices this April, leaving some firms facing increases of up to 400 per cent.

Small business owners have warned they face being driven out of business by the change, but government figures say the majority of firms will see no increase in their rates.” …

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18 Feb 2017

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Affordable and Social Housing, Developers/ Development, EDDC, Greater Exeter, Local Enterprise Partnership, Local Plan

2+ 2 equals … er … run that past me again … a tale of big fleas and little fleas

“Big fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite ’em,
And little fleas have smaller fleas, and so ad infinitum”

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EDDC sets its housing targets in its Local Plan, paying consultants to come up with numbers they like, and the government agrees them (though note these are MINIMUM targets).

“Greater Exeter” is created (with no public consultation) and says: “Ah, but WE need even more houses for this bigger area to service the city, so you, East Devon will have to find more places to put them”.

The Local Enterprise Partnership says: “Ah, but we need even more houses for our (unsustainable)”economic growth” targets so Greater Exeter and East Devon – you will have to find even more space for even more houses.

The Government says: “It still isn’t enough – all of you will have to find MUCH more space or we won’t give you any money.

Developers say: “Stuff you all, we are laughing all the way to the bank as we dribble out new builds, get massive prices for them and create a market shortage. And if you meddle with us we will stop donating to Tory party funds.

And they all lived happily ever after:

– the district councillors drawing their allowances and officers drawing good salaries and hob-nobbing with developers keen to influence them;

– the Greater Exeter elite group of councillors and officers who are even more influential with the developers;

– the LEP who ARE the developers;

– the government whose coffers swell with donations from developers

– all except the hundreds of thousands of poor beggars who couldn’t afford to buy their own homes and who now can’t afford to rent them either.

Proper job!

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17 Feb 2017

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Cranbrook, Developers/ Development, EDDC

Cranbrook residents unhappy about “estate rent charges” and council taxes

“Cranbrook Town Council

LETTER FROM BLENHEIMS ESTATE & ASSET MANAGEMENT

Blenheims Estate & Asset Management are in the Younghayes Centre this afternoon until 4:00pm in a public drop-in session to answer residents’ queries

Today we have received a number of messages from residents who received a letter from Blenheims Estate & Asset Management regarding the estate rent charge in Cranbrook.

Every household in Cranbrook entered into a private contract with their developer agreeing the annual payment of the estate rent charge at the time of purchasing their homes. Housing association tenants pay the contribution via their rents. The charge is in addition to the council tax.

The estate rent charge covers the maintenance of communal areas in Cranbrook before those are transferred from private into public ownership, including the management of the Country Park, road maintenance, litter picking, bin emptying, maintenance of play parks and street lighting.

The council tax covers payments to Devon County Council, East Devon District Council, Cranbrook Town Council, Devon & Cornwall Police and the Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service. Devon County Council is responsible for services across the whole Devon, e.g. highways construction and maintenance, education, transport, public safety, social care, waste disposal, recycling centres and trading standards. East Devon District Council is responsible for services including rubbish collections, recycling, housing and planning.

Cranbrook Town Council works to resolve issues affecting the town and to championing improvements to its existing and future infrastructure, including revisions to Phases 1 and 2, street scene, landscaping, play areas, the Country Park and the train station. It also manages the Younghayes Centre, commissions a youth service, helps fund community organisations, develops the town archive and, since April 2016, has achieved e.g.

– successful trial of an electronic prescriptions system following liaison with the Pharmacy and the broadband infrastructure provider IFNL
– delivery of the traffic management/crossing facility when the Cranbrook Education Campus closed its on-site drop-off and pick-up facility in liaison with the school and the Consortium
– delivery of initiatives including a dog fouling education campaign, station artwork competition, Cranbrook Discovery Trail
– hosting/co-hosting of events including public defibrillator training on 15 May 2016, the Queen’s Birthday Picnic on 11 June 2016, First Cranbrook Fun Run on 17 September 2016, Cycle Sunday 2 October 2016, Community Fun Day on 11 March 2017, Annual Meeting of the Town on 3 April 2017
– delivery of bus shelters
– retention of car parking spaces on the Westbury show home car park
– removal of dog bins and replacement with bigger general bins

The Town Council recognises residents’ concerns about the potential double-payment of the estate rent charge and the council tax but as we tried to explain above, the two charges cover some very different items and the Town Council is maintaining a constant dialogue with all partner organisations regarding the potential reduction in the estate rent charge moving forward.”

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17 Feb 2017

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Affordable and Social Housing, Developers/ Development, EDDC

East Devon surpassed only by Exeter for percentage of new houses sold

Local authority per cent of housing market as new-builds:

East Devon – 10.5 per cent
Exeter – 11 per cent
Mid-Devon – 6.1 per cent
North Devon – 7.6 per cent
Plymouth – 7.6 per cent
Teignbridge – nine per cent
Torbay – 4.5 per cent
Torridge – 9.1 per cent
West Devon – six per cent

http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/exeter-sell-more-new-houses-than-anywhere-else-in-devon-and-cornwall/story-30144694-detail/story.html

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16 Feb 2017

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Accountability, Audit (EDDC), Cranbrook, Developers/ Development, EDDC, Environment (local), Section 106

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Cranbrook-another broken promise, this time allotment provision

An FAQ produced by the town council.

Summary: We were supposed to have them, developers won’t give up any land so we have no idea if we will ever get them even though we have a statutory duty to provide them.

Developers 1, Town Council 0

Take particular note of the answer to Question 2. Cynical Owl wonders if other Section 106 community benefits are triggered at this point and developers are dragging their feet about effective counting.

EDW-watchers will recall that almost £700,000 of such benefits was not triggered due to poor record-keeping on the part of EDDC and the need to rely on developers to tell EDDC when trigger points are reached. And most of that figure related to Cranbrook.

“1) When I moved in two years ago, the salesperson said there would be allotments in Phase 1?

We are afraid that was incorrect but we can see how the confusion arose. To set the record straight, although Cranbrook was always going to have allotments, the land originally set aside for them was not in Phase 1 but was part of the Sports Pitch land on Phase 2. This location was subsequently challenged as it was thought that adjacent to sports pitches was an unsuitable place for them. It was therefore decided to try to find an alternative location. This prompted a renegotiation of the original legal agreement. The revised agreement will still make provision for allotments in Cranbrook but a new location needs to be found (see also 2 below).

2) The Town Council’s website says one of its responsibilities is providing allotments, so why haven’t we got any yet and when are they coming?

Not only do they require a suitable location (see 1 above) a numerical trigger also needs to be reached before the work can begin. There are two stages to this process. Firstly, when approaching 1500 homes are occupied (i.e. not just built), the Owners (in this case the Consortium) are required to identify and gain planning permission for a location. Secondly, the Owners must, “use reasonable endeavours to complete the Allotments by the First Occupation of the 2000th Dwelling in accordance with the Allotments Specification and Delivery Programme and make them available for use as soon as practicable thereafter.” (extract from Section 106 agreement). Surprisingly, although there are many more new houses being built on Phase 2, we have been informed by East Devon District Council that Cranbrook still hasn’t quite reached the 1500 homes occupied figure.

3) So, where will the Cranbrook allotments actually go?

We regret we don’t have any information as yet about where they will be located but we are keeping a watching brief and will inform residents as soon as we have any new information.

4) I’ve heard the Town Council has a list of people who are interested in having an allotment, so can I join that?

Yes, we are keeping a list, so that when the allotments do become available they can be allocated fairly to people who have declared an interest. We currently have 13 names on the list. Please feel free to contact us on office@cranbrooktowncouncil.gov.uk or 01404 514552 if you would like to be added.”

Click to access FAQ-Allotments-Green-Spaces.pdf

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15 Feb 2017

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Coastal erosion, EDDC, Sidmouth/ Sidford/ Sidbury

Garden shed falls into sea: Sidmouth beach management plan speeds up … on the cheap

“Consultants will soon be appointed to draft the outline business case needed to secure £5.7million in Government funding for a project to shore up Sidmouth seafront.

East Devon District Council (EDDC) has begun the tendering process for coastal flooding and erosion experts who will conduct detailed investigations and technical reports for its beach management plan (BMP) for the town.

The chosen consultants will start this April and have until June 2018 to write an outline business case, which will be submitted to the Environment Agency for approval in order to access the funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Councillor Andrew Moulding, who chairs the BMP steering group, said there is a ‘good chance’ of securing the extra £3.3million needed to implement the authority’s preferred BMP scheme, option 1.

But a spokeswoman said EDDC has ‘not yet been able to identify’ where another £9million would come from for more costly defences that experts judged were the best, both technically and environmentally.

The BMP is likely to be implemented in 2019 at the earliest.

As part of the tender process, the consultants will be asked to price up option 1 – to build one or two additional groynes on East Beach, modifications to existing defences and periodic shingle replenishment and recycling.

This scheme was judged to give the best balance between technical viability, environmental acceptability and economic case.

Option 4 – to construct more offshore breakwaters – is still on the table and the consultants will have the option of adding it in if BMP steering group members determine that sufficient funding is available.

In phase one of the project, the consultants will develop computer models to predict how the shoreline will respond to storms and the resulting flood risk.

In the second phase, they will use the computer models from phase one to test and refine the preferred option with the aim of maintaining a healthy beach across both Sidmouth and East Beach.

EDDC is also tendering for surveys of the sea bed and sediment sampling via the South West Coastal Monitoring Programme so that those works can start as soon as possible, once the weather has improved.”

http://www.sidmouthherald.co.uk/news/eddc_seeks_consultants_to_help_secure_5_7million_for_sidmouth_s_bmp_1_4892584

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15 Feb 2017

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Consultation, EDDC, Exmouth

EDDC asks for public views on alcohol-related anti-social behaviour

“East Devon District Council is asking the public to have their say on plans to introduce new rules to crackdown on alcohol related anti-social behaviour in Exmouth.

The council recently revealed plans for a new Public Space Order Protection (PSPO) in the town centre. …”

http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/council-asks-for-public-8217-s-view-on-how-to-tackle-antisocial-behaviour-in-exmouth/story-30137722-detail/story.html

Will they take any more notice of this than the “consultation” on the seafront development? Only if it agrees with what they have already decided!

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15 Feb 2017

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Accountability, Affordable and Social Housing, EDDC, Housing (local), Land Supply, Local Enterprise Partnership, NPPF, Paul Diviani

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“Evidence” for housing need in the post-truth era

As the country quietly celebrates annual economic growth of 2%, it is worth reminding ourselves that our housing and employment land allocations were based upon an expectation of a 3% annual economic growth rate over the entire length of the East Devon Local Plan. This is because Plans must be “evidence-based”.

The problem with East Devon’s various plans is that the evidence was hopelessly optimistic and pre-dated the recession, based on consistent “high growth”. When the recession came along, the powers that be just ignored its implications and carried on with their highly optimistic projections.

So today, Britain’s economy has shown only 8% growth since 2007, when the numbers for our Plan were first formulated. But according to our Plan we should be 34.5% ahead of where we were then.

No wonder that Skypark and the Science Park are windswept desolate areas festooned with tumbleweed, and Sidford is looking like complete economic nonsense.

Even if the incredibly unlikely happens, and we see 3% growth until the end of the plan period, we will never fulfil the assumptions that gave us these huge allocations. And when – not if – we fail to reach those optimistic figures, no doubt the government will fine us by telling us our plans must be MORE optimistic next time – and probably will say we have no five-year land supply, so it will be a developer free-for-all again.

So much for evidenced-based Plans: stick your finger in the air, check which way the wind is blowing, make a complete guess (that favours developers) and stick with it, regardless.

Diviani has “withdrawn” his plan to continue as a DCC councillor to “concentrate on being Leader of EDDC” – and a board member of the Local Enterprise Partnership. Owl wonders where the Leader is leading us – by the nose.

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14 Feb 2017

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Accountability, EDDC, Health and Social Care (local), NHS (local), Scrutiny, Transparency

“East Devon District Council’s scrutiny committee blasts NHS Property Services”

From the blog of Claire Wright- good to see one committee at EDDC doing a proper job:

“East Devon District Council’s scrutiny committee has delivered a stinging rebuke against the secretary of state for health’s private company, NHS Property Services after the managers declined once again to attend a meeting.

A similar thing has happened at Devon County Council’s health and wellbeing scrutiny committee. The company claims to be part of the “NHS family” but it appears, only when it suits them.

The resolution below, speaks for itself. Congratulations to chairman, Roger Giles and all those councillors who spoke and voted for the resolution.

1. The Scrutiny Committee records its deep regret that the NHS Property Services has declined its invitation to a meeting of the East Devon District Council Scrutiny Committee;

2. The Scrutiny Committee to write to the three local MPs representing East Devon, expressing its concern at the failure of NHS Property Services to agree to attend a meeting of the East Devon District Council Scrutiny Committee, and asks the MPs to raise the matter with the Secretary of State for Health, with a view to his ensuring proper openness and transparency in the work of NHS Property Services, and ensuring proper public scrutiny of the work of the NHS Property Services, by requiring attendance at meetings of local councils when requested to do so;

3. The Scrutiny Committee to write to the Devon County Council Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee, expressing its concerns;

4. The Scrutiny Committee to write to NHS Property Services requesting details of the actual market rent for Axminster Hospital, Budleigh Salterton Hospital, Exmouth Hospital, Honiton Hospital, Seaton Hospital and Sidmouth Hospital, with details of how those figures were arrived at.”

http://www.claire-wright.org/index.php/post/east_devon_district_councils_scrutiny_committee_blasts_nhs_property_service

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14 Feb 2017

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DCC, Democracy, Dorset, EDDC

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Dorset to have two unitary councils if government agrees

Owl says: how long can Devon resist the change to one (or two) unitary councils in a county, entirely cutting out the district tier? Economies of scale now seem to require mergers or abolition of districts.

Will we be part of “Greater Exeter” or “Devon Unitary” by the next election – or both!

And where will headquarters be? Honiton isn’t exactly the centre of the Greater Exeter or Devon unitary universes!

“Based on the weight of public opinion, financial data and evidence of the likely benefits of change to the county as a whole, councillors have agreed that the two new unitary councils should comprise of the following existing local authority areas:

• Unitary A: Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.

• Unitary B: East Dorset, North Dorset, Purbeck, West Dorset, Weymouth and Portland – including the services currently provided by Dorset County Council in this area.

If approved, the new council would ‘go live’ in April 2019.

Leader of Dorset County Council Robert Gould said: “This is absolutely the right decision for Dorset County Council to have made. The final decision lies with the Secretary of State, but Dorset county councillors have made an historic decision which will help protect the frontline services and is in the best interests of all our residents.”

http://www.midweekherald.co.uk/news/dorset_councils_vote_for_change_1_4888091

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13 Feb 2017

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Accountability, EDDC, Exmouth, Moirai Exmouth project, Philip Skinner, Regeneration

Moirai Capital sacked in Swindon

“Ambitious plans to build a ski slope, an arena and hotel on the North Star site have been given a last minute reprieve with the involvement of Seven Capital Investments. In December [2016], development firm Moirai Capital was served with notice that Swindon Borough Council intended to call time on the project after repeated delays and unfulfilled commitments.

Seven Capital Investments Ltd, which is also one of the UK’s leading private capital funders, has agreed in principle to acquire control of Moirai Capital Investments in order to take forward plans to transform North Star with more than £100m of investment.

Currently managing a development portfolio of more than £800 million, Seven Capital has been responsible for major property investments across the country and has identified the North Star development as an ideal opportunity for it to invest in the leisure market.

Seven Capital’s interest in the regeneration project comes after the Council served Moirai notice of its intention to terminate the development agreement covering the former Clares site, which had been earmarked for an indoor ski slope, water park, hotel and other leisure and sports-related retail.

Moirai was given until 12 January 2017 to fulfil the terms of the notice or see the development agreement terminated. But following the proposal by Seven Capital, the Council has today (11 Jan 2017) withdrawn the notice of termination.

The plans for the North Star development include a cinema, 5,000-seat entertainment arena, ski centre, range of leisure activities, restaurants and cafes, retail space and a hotel.

A period of due diligence will now be carried out by both the Council and Seven Capital which, if successful, will see the Council’s Cabinet consider whether to approve the proposal.

Seven Capital has indicated it would also work with Moirai on the Oasis site.

If Seven Capital’s proposals are supported by Cabinet, detailed planning proposals could be submitted later this year.”

http://www.ozseeker.net/2017/01/22/seven-captial-resucues-swindons-north-star/?doing_wp_cron=1487023081.3896689414978027343750