You say the district’s desperate need is for much more affordable housing.
Will any of the retirement flats be affordable? If not, why not?
If the loss of parkland is only a Sidmouth issue, will all S106/ potential Community Infrastructure Levy income be applied solely to Sidmouth in mitigation?
Very similar to Knowle?
Exeter City Council was minded to refuse but it did not determine the application within the required time so it goes straight to inspection.
“PLANS for a 60 -bed care home and a mix of assisted living flats and age restricted homes in Topsham are to be decided by the planning inspector.
The scheme by Waddeton Park has attracted more than 450 letters of objection.
PLANS for a 60 -bed care home and a mix of assisted living flats and age restricted homes in Topsham are to be decided by the planning inspector.
The scheme by Waddeton Park has attracted more than 450 letters of objection.”
Local literary links have inspired this poem, sent in by a correspondent:
A Vision
(with apologies to Coleridge)
In Honiton E.D.D.C.
Says its new offices shall be –
Far from the town where, as we know,
The office workers like to go.
No longer all Knowle’s greenery
But superstore and factory.
An Exmouth office, too, a place
Where few will find a parking space –
The building looks like an old barn,
Not like the “dome” in “Kubla Khan”.
But, Oh, the waste of public money –
The ratepayers don’t think it funny:
To build a glass and concrete shed
And trash the park and Knowle instead,
For “Our Great Leader” and his crew
Have no care for the public’s view;
Nor badger-setts, nor many a tree;
Nor office blocks, built ’83;
Nor Chambers, used by you and me;
Nor weekend tourist-parking, free;
Nor jobs and trade Sidmouth will lose;
Nor all the lovely parkland views –
All sold to builders for a fee –
And all for what? For vanity?
This Council, with no Local Plan,
Lets builders build where’er they can.
Yet in my crystal ball I see
A new look for E.D.D.C.:
Independents there will be
As councillors for you and me,
Come from every town and shire
With the Wright One to remove Swire,
Who all will cry: Please be aware:
We will not relocate somewhere
Based on false claims that there will be
“Big”(?) savings made in energy.
We come to bring Democracy,
And Probity, Transparency.
You all know there’s a better way –
It’s signposted by E.D.A.* ,
So, all you readers, lend a hand
And save our green and pleasant land.
(*EDA is East Devon Alliance)
Mike Temple’s letter in today’s Sidmouth Herald blasts the “cracking good deal” myth put about by Honiton Cllr and Tory Whip,Phil Twiss.
Here’s the letter:
‘Popping up like puppets on cue, Cllr Diviani’s obedient cabinet, aided and abetted by Sidmouth’s own Tory District councillors, nodded through the sale of Knowle last night (March 11) in the latest stage of the long-running farce that is the office-relocation.
According to the puppets, Sidmouth will never have had it so good. It’s getting “a cracking good deal,” piped Cllr Twiss (he who’d rather stick “hot pins in his eyes” than engage in a public debate with an Independent candidate – a serious case of “frit” perhaps). After all, Sidmouth is gaining a retirement community and we all know we need more of them, especially the expensive second-homes we so desperately lack.
No matter about the loss of community assets like the fine chambers used for concerts, religious services, talks and wedding receptions. No matter about the loss of 150 parking places for weekend visitors to a tourist town. No matter about the loss of the best of its unique woodland park, namely its magnificent prospect, the loss of which will trash the rest of the gardens – which no doubt can be built on later.
What’s more, it was all the fault of a vocal Sidmouth minority (like the 4,000 on the march) who , according to Cllr Diviani, prevented the Council from getting £10 million for the Knowle when its own plan to build all over the park was refused.
Yes, it’s all Sidmouth’s fault and all Sidmouth’s “gain”. And what goodies are we next promised? Well, look forward to Sidford Business and Industrial Park and then a superstore at the Alexandria Road estate and even more empty shops in town to let…’
East Devon Conservatives have taken a half page advertisement in the local press this week (* see link below). In this advertisement they make claims for what they have achieved during the last 4 years.
Let’s take a look at these claims.
First though let’s look at what ISN’T in the advertisement:
No Local Plan – four years and still nowhere near completion, the lack of a Local Plan has allowed a development free-for-all throughout the entire district.
No Knowle relocation – the vanity project of the Leader and three of his Executive Board councillors (see blog of Councillor Ian Thomas:
Using the construction estimate of £2,439/m2, and a building size of 2,776m2, overall construction costs at Honiton are expected to be £6.77M. However, the market value of the resulting premises is estimated to be only £3.25M. From an investment point of view, this indicates that there is an immediate deficit on the project, of £3.52M.
https://eastdevonwatch.org/2015/03/14/tort-cabinet-member-notes-knowle-relocation-risks/
A RECORD OF ACTION
Local homes for local people, building and buying homes for rent
Look at their latest press release dated 15th March 2015, which begins:
“Due to high house prices, relatively low incomes and a high need for affordable homes but limited existing stock, we have a major shortfall of affordable housing in East Devon. To overcome this shortfall, new residential development will need, in most cases to include some affordable housing.
However, recent developments have been allowed to cut their affordable proportion to NIL (e.g. Tesco site, Seaton) as house builders have pleaded poverty and EDDC has gone along with them. Saying you need affordable housing is not the same as getting it!
Waiting list cut from over 3 years to less than 1 year
In 2011, EDDC said that:
As at 17 January 2011 there are 2,800 people on the council’s housing register. There are currently 45 empty council owned properties in total. About a third of these are “long term voids” which are being re-developed, have serious structural problems or have suffered fire/flood damage.
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/affordable_housing_3
Many councils have cut their waiting lists by simply deciding that certain people will no longer qualify for social housing – e.g. people under 25. Where have all our housing waiting list applicants gone. Certainly not into affordable homes.
Community Development Workers to help local communities
Thriving communities do not need Community Development Workers – they are usually employed either in new towns (such as Cranbrook) or towns with multiple social problems or deprivation. Indeed at one time having a Community Development Worker was seen as a bad thing!
Cranbrook – a new town with employment opportunities close by
Well, yes, but have you been there and seen it! Tiny houses, tiny “gardens, narrow streets, very little parking, currently one shop (a pharmacy). Housing for Exeter people with Exeter jobs!
Supporting leisure opportunities, encouraging a healthy lifestyle
“Supporting” – such a useful word. Not “funding” – “supporting” – that’s all you really need to know!
Good development in the right places.
Now, that’s rich: in the last year we have had so much bad development in the wrong places, perhaps they have run out of wrong places! Just about every town, village and (currently) hamlet has its own “development horror story” and it is about to get even worse.
LOCAL ISSUES, LOCAL ACTION
Council Tax frozen for the 5th year
Sure, but many services have been stopped or charges raised, or they have been taken over by town and parish councils. It is simply the transfer of costs from EDDC to them which means an increase for us!
Supporting our local economy through regeneration projects
There are two: Exmouth and Seaton. Exmouth consists of a concrete jungle of paid-for “leisure facilities” and Seaton’s consists of a small Jurassic Coast Visitor Centre, a Tesco and over 200 high cost homes on the regeneration site (the developer having pleaded poverty and had 40% affordables reduced to 20% and then zero)
Improving recycling rates
Councils are penalised if they do not achieve certain recycling rates. EDDC still does not collect cardboard.
Conserving the Jurassic coastline, our nature reserves and AONB’s
One phrase: “Sidmouth’s beach management plan” – rather like the local plan – the promise of jam tomorrow, or maybe the day after, or maybe not.
Conservative East Devon offers “excellent value for money”*
*Independent auditors report
Ah, best not dwell on what this blog, others such as Sidmouth Independent News, and http://futuresforumvgs.blogspot.co.uk/ have said about this – just that a cosy relationship breeds contentment on both sides!
Here’s the EDDC ad. in question: Toryad17thMarch2015
The first NHS hospital to be made private was recently rated inadequate and the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee said:
“The Public Accounts Committee said in a report that in January 2013 the committee “expressed concerns that Circle’s bid to run Hinchingbrooke had not been properly risk assessed and was based on overly optimistic… savings projections …”.
“… Mrs Hodge said: “Despite our warnings about the risks, oversight of the contract by the various parties who had a role was poor and inadequate and no-one has been held accountable for the consequences.”
Now, where have we hard that before? Oh, yes, one of the major criticisms of EDDC’s relocation plans.
And who will take the consequences if the Honiton elephant turns out to be a white one?
We have all assumed that the (wholly Conservative) EDDC Cabinet was involved after all, that is what they are for. But there is an intriguing sentence in (Cabinet Member) Ian Thomas’s critique of the project on his website:
” … Recognising that the relocation project has been in the stewardship of the Executive Group of just four senior Members since 2013, I proposed to Cabinet remaining Members should be invited to inspect the underlying model, figures and assumptions, in an informal session in advance of a final decision to be made by Full Council on the 25th March, to ensure that the best possible decision is reached.”
Now, Councillor Thomas is a Cabinet member and his responsibilities are listed as:
Economy Portfolio Holder
Asset management forum
Budget working party
Capital Strategy and Allocation Group
Joint bodies:
Seaton regeneration programme board (Chairman)
Representative on outside bodies:
Exeter Science Park – board (Director)
Exeter University Innovation Centre Board
Now, if someone as senior as this says he was excluded fron discussions and decision-making on this multi-million pound spend, what does this say about the Cabinet style of managing the district? It appears that there is an “Inner Cabinet” of only four Conservative councillors which excludes not just backbench councillors but also other cabinet members, including the Economic Portfolio Holder, from its secret discussions.
This is obviously an urgent matter for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Which begs the question: how can they be a check and balance on the Cabinet when the Cabinet is so flawed?
Councillor Ian Thomas states on his blog:
… Cabinet has resolved that EDDC should leave its aging premises at The Knowle in Sidmouth, for a new much smaller purpose built office in Honiton and refurbished Exmouth Town Hall. A move, I understand originally mooted in 2008 and more actively pursued since 2011, has taken a large step forward.
Tonight this was overwhelmingly supported by a joint meeting of the Overview & Scrutiny and Audit & Governance Committees
A final decision will now be made by Full Council on 25th March.
Knowle Update
Pegasus Life has been appointed as preferred developer for The Knowle at an offer price between £7M and £8M, they are looking to providing a residential development of retirement and extra care facilities.
Not all of the Knowle site is to be sold, only the existing built area of 1.1ha and a further 0.8ha around the current buildings. This will leave the remaining area of over 3.5ha available for transfer to Sidmouth Town Council, to be managed as parkland.
Finances
A detailed analysis, professionally audited and assessed, concluded that all options to leave The Knowle are better than staying. The most cost effective, twin Honiton and Exmouth sites.
A budget of £2.2M representing the capital costs, less the capital receipts, was agreed to build the new accommodation and refurbish the existing Town Hall in Exmouth.
Moving from The Knowle is expected to save the council £6M over 20 years. It will also move council jobs from Sidmouth to Honiton and Exmouth, with the economic effect of the council’s activities retained within East Devon.
Sidmouth will share in the economic benefit of the project, through construction of the Pegasus development and activity of subsequent residents, Honiton and Exmouth from new offices and refurbishment.
Risk
Short term borrowing will be required prior to receipt of proceeds from sale of the Knowle site.
Initially £9.2M, with an additional estimated interest of £0.3m. This represents a potential risk, in that if the council borrows this sum, but planning permission is not secured by Pegasus Life, then the sale of The Knowle would not progress or the Council potentially be left with large borrowing and a redundant Knowle site.
I was assured this risk would be minimised, in that no such short term borrowing would be entered into before a full, unconditional, contract between EDDC and Pegasus Life.
Once repayment of the short term loan has been completed, the Council will be left with a fixed interest loan of £2.1M over 20 years, which would attract interest of £0.6M.
Residual values
In the debate, I questioned how ‘residual values’ have been considered.
Using the construction estimate of £2,439/m2, and a building size of 2,776m2, overall construction costs at Honiton are expected to be £6.77M. However, the market value of the resulting premises is estimated to be only £3.25M. From an investment point of view, this indicates that there is an immediate deficit on the project, of £3.52M.
The senior financial officer explained ‘residual value’ had not been considered as part of the evaluation, as the project seeks to provide accommodation for the council to complete its own business, rather than as an investment.
A personal conclusion…
There is no doubt in my mind that current facilities at The Knowle are unsuitable to provide appropriate modern office accommodation for the authority over the next 20 years, as it remains essentially an aging converted hotel.
Considering the District with ‘fresh eyes’, there is clear logic in locating our main facilities in Honiton (geographic centre of the area) and Exmouth, as the main population centre.
Whilst the financial case in investment terms is not overly compelling, as a means of providing the appropriate accommodation in the right locations at a sensible cost, the proposed solution is attractive when compared to staying at The Knowle.
Papers presented to Cabinet and other Members recently are complex and extensive. Recognising that the relocation project has been in the stewardship of the Executive Group of just four senior Members since 2013, I proposed to Cabinet remaining Members should be invited to inspect the underlying model, figures and assumptions, in an informal session in advance of a final decision to be made by Full Council on the 25th March, to ensure that the best possible decision is reached.
I do hope that this invitation is taken up.
http://www.trinitymatters.co.uk/index.php/eddc-east-devon/item/1078-a-new-future-for-the-knowle-eddc-cabinet-resolves-to-leave-sidmouth
note: apparently, his Leader was rather irritated by his probing questions (see post below)
Incursion into Knowle’s Public Open Space “has never been debated by councillors”
and from more than one senior Honiton Councillor, at various stages of EDDC’s ill-starred (jinxed?) ‘road to relocation’ project. Remember this SIN post, anyone? https://sidmouthindependentnews.wordpress.com/2014/02/17/watchdog-kennelled/
How come, if a buyer for Knowle (Pegasus Life) was only recently chosen, all the paperwork is ready to sign, seal and deliver before the end of March?
No final decision had been made on 22 January 2015:
The successful bidder was announced on 4 March 2015:
http://www.midweekherald.co.uk/news/mystery_knowle_bidder_revealed_1_3978943
and within 3 weeks all will be signed and sealed.
3 weeks to flog Knowle, 4 plus years and counting to get a Local Plan and it’s still outstanding business – no special meetings, few extra resources.
Says a lot about how these resources are prioritised and where the money goes on all those (uncounted and unaccountable) officer hours.
An early example of EDDC’s valiant effort to engage the public was flagged up on the SIN blog https://sidmouthindependentnews.wordpress.com/2012/10/31/spot-the-knowle-consultation/
Click here for news of the most recent one : http://saveoursidmouth.com/2015/03/13/public-consultation-was-limited-to-two-ads-in-the-sidmouth-herald-admits-eddc-legal-officer/
..was asked tonight by Sidmouth Cllr Graham Troman. Speaking at the special combined meeting two Committees ( Overview & Scrutiny, and Audit & Governance), he was bold enough to put the essential question “Could the contract (for sale of the Knowle) be signed before the election?” . “Yes”, said Chair-for-the-occasion, Cllr Tim Wood.
Later in the meeting, it was also confirmed that the sale contract could be signed within the so-called ‘purdah’ pre-election period.
Further report on tonight’s session, which became rather heated at times, to follow soon.
One was asked by Dr Cathy Gardner, a member of East Devon Alliance, who found a discrepancy in figures in the external auditors’ report. Her question to Head of the Relocation Project, Richard Cohen, was: “In paragraph 2 of the report from Grant Thornton and GLEES, the annual maintenance cost allowance is £145,000 per annum, but the maximum spend over the past five years was around £65, 000. How do you explain this?
The answer, from Mr Cohen and three of his colleagues, seemed to confirm there had been managed deterioration of the Knowle buildings (a familiar practice, some might say).
The next question came from possibly the youngest person ever to speak at an EDDC meeting, and who received a round of applause from the public present:
Here’s what she confidently said:
“Good Evening,
My name is Gemma Manley, I’m a Sidmothian, I am 16 and I am currently studying for my A-levels.
When it comes to the relocation project, like many others I am completely against it. However my question tonight is not why East Devon District Council think it is appropriate to refuse to prove to the public why this building is not fit for purpose. Nor why East Devon District Council feel it is appropriate to borrow millions to fund their absurd move. Nor even how they can sell one of East Devon’s greatest assets. But I want to simply ask, “Can the Leader of the council justify making the final decision on the project just weeks before the general and district elections? Does he honestly believe that this is the most democratic timing, especially when councillors will be asked to vote just BEFORE a Tribunal ruling on whether more documents, which EDDC wants to keep secret, should be revealed.
Thank you.
In case you missed our earlier post on the Cabinet meeting, you’ll find it here: https://eastdevonwatch.org/2015/03/12/a-very-noisy-group-of-people-in-sidmouth-have-irritated-cllr-tim-wood/
If, as (current) Leader Diviani believes (as he has recently said, that the consultants reports of 2013 on relocation were “not relevant” to current meetings (and their rescheduling to end hours before the Information Commission’s decision on said disclosure) –
Why has EDZdC spent £10,000 plus on legal advisers to attempt keep them secret?
Frantic rearrangement of EDDC’s schedule (“Nothing to do with the election” , said Cllr Paul Diviani at this evening’s Cabinet meeting) has prompted a correspondent to send us this:
‘I trust that when the next set of EDDC councillors control the army of Knowledge communications officers, the EDDC website will continue to provide as much amusement (and possibly a bit more information) for local residents. See eddc-press-release-manageable-growth ‘
Comments from Grant Thornton:
Overall, our review found the expected governance arrangements to be in place and working effectively, with only 3 areas for improvement identified. These points have been discussed with and accepted by management as follows:
1) Although evidence was seen of the Council’s intention to have a Terms of Reference for the Officer Working Group, no formal record of this was found at the time of the audit. There are no concerns over the effectiveness of the Officers Working Group or the decision making processes within it. The structure and operation of the Group reflects and supports the Executive Members Group, (where a Terms of Reference had been formally agreed and documented.)
Management have agreed to formally approve the Terms of Reference of the Officer Working group at the next meeting.
2) The Monitoring Officer advised that the minutes of the Executive and Officer Working Group should be assessed at the point they are approved to consider the appropriateness of making them available publically. It was not clear from the minutes of these meetings whether this had been formally implemented.
Management have agreed to formally consider the appropriateness of releasing minutes into the public domain at the next Officer Working Group meeting.
3) The Council has responded to queries and requests for information whether raised through the Freedom of Information route or directly to officers. For the later to continue, the Council has recognised that a formal structure needs to be in place to guard against duplication of resource and ensure the information is shared appropriately.
Comments from SWAP:
EDDC have gone to Court to defend their decision regarding the partially upheld decision. The request is in relation to the publication of the project update reports (Numbers 1-6), used by the Officer Working Group. The complainant felt that they should be made available but EDDC considers that they contain commercially sensitive information. The case is currently ongoing.
In January 2014 the Monitoring Officer advised the Deputy Chief Executive and Project Manager that discussions with the Information Commissioner in respect of these cases had been helpful in guiding the Council into making appropriate decisions over the availability of minutes and reports. She commented that she was liaising with the Democratic Services Manager to update the committee report template to prompt the author to assess when a confidential committee report may be considered appropriate to put in the public domain.
The Monitoring Officer further advised that it could be appropriate for the same assessment to be made at the time meeting notes are agreed at the Executive and Officer Group. It was not clear from the minutes of these meetings whether this had been implemented. There is a risk that a consistent approach to the publication of Executive and Office Group meeting notes may not be operating effectively.
and finally:
4.2.4 The conclusions above are based solely on the results of the Model and therefore do not consider any qualitative aspects of the options, and nor have we considered the extent to which the office relocation project will meet the Council’s service or efficiency aspirations/objectives
http://eastdevon.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/committees-and-meetings/overview-and-scrutiny-committee/agendas/
“A large number of part-time women are moving in to sectors like social care and cleaning where wages are low and contracts are often insecure.
“Unless we create better-paid part-time and flexible work opportunities, far too few women will see any real benefit from the recovery.”
Good enough as a 4 star hotel, not good enough for our Tories:
http://www.sidmouthherald.co.uk/news/knowle_from_4_star_hotel_to_council_offices_1_3982211
EDDC’s announcement in today’s Sidmouth Herald, of its preferred buyer for Knowle, could have massive repercussions, not least at the May District Council election.The plan is to change this prime employment site, and shrink the surrounding historic parkland, to make a residential development exclusively not for young people. The purpose is to relocate the District Council offices, to a much older building (Exmouth Town Hall) requiring major refurbishment, and a not-yet-built office at Honiton.
Here’s just one local conversation on the topic https://www.streetlife.com/conversation/3h3lq15pbi7i/
Photo supplied by https://sidmouthindependentnews.wordpress.com
East Devon Watch 