In a run-off the 180,000 Tory members get to make the final choice on behalf of 46.5 Million voters

Guess what, it never had planning permission! – Owl

Everyone knows about Exeter Airport, and Devon also has airfields at Branscombe and Dunkeswell Airport. But Devon has a ‘secret’ airport that very few people know about.

Daniel Clark www.devonlive.com

Farway Common Airfield was established 36 years ago and it was originally operated under the ’28 day rule’. The Airfield consists of two runways, but despite being an ‘airport’ for the last 36 years, technically the site doesn’t have planning permission.

However, for over 20 years, the airfield has operated significantly in excess of 28 days, and has always been available 365 days a year to both resident and visiting aircraft, had the details of the airfield published specifically to assist in the conduct of safe and considerate flying, and had aircraft owned and operated by the owner of Moorlands Farm, just outside Sidbury in East Devon.

The new owner of the land has now applied for a Certificate of lawful development for the 30 acres used as an aerodrome. This involves taking off, landing and manoeuvring of aeroplanes on the ground, and would allow operation 365 days per year – and regularising the use that currently takes place.

The Town & Country Planning Act 1990: Section 191 as amended by section 10 of the Planning & Compensation Act 1991 states that the local authority has a period of up to 10 years to take enforcement action against breaches of planning control. After the time limit has passed, the development becomes lawful, in terms of planning.

In the statement with the application, the applicant, James Hortop, states: “The airfield is used by both aircraft based on site and those visiting. This has occurred for more than 28 days per year continuously for over 20 years. The airfield has been available to aircraft 365 days per year to both based and visiting aircraft during this time.

“The hangar and outside parking areas are used by aircraft for both short and long term storage. These uses have been continuous since the establishment of the airfield 36 years ago.

“A flying school, of which employment and a commercial business depends is based at Farway Common Airfield. This use has been established for over 10 years. Slots for lessons are available 365 days per year as training has to coincide with different types of weather conditions and student/instructor availability.”

Farway Common Airfield

It adds: “James Hortop, the owner of Moorlands Farm/Farway Common Airfield also bases his aircraft in the hangar. His locally based business supports the UK emergency services and defence industry. He uses his aircraft for a regular commuting to offices on the Isle of Wight, Poole and Manchester; the aircraft is also used for travelling to business meetings around the UK and Europe. James’ business is dependent on his ability to quickly and effectively get to sites to meet urgent customer requirements.

“For example, during COVID, his business delivered 500 x COVID vaccination and test vehicles in just three months – his ability to move equipment, people and himself depended on the aircraft – restrictions in use at Farway would have a dramatic effect on his business.”

The airfield, located 9nm east of Exeter, closed in 2021 after the death of the previous owner. Farway Common Airfield has now reopened under the new owners.

Farway Common is a private airfield located in East Devon. The Airfield consists of two runways, orientation North/South & East/West of 550m each with a large parking area. “Our goal is to make Farway a haven for those who are passionate about flying,” a statement on their website says.

Farway Common now operates under a Letter of Agreement with Border Force which allows departures and arrivals to countries outside of the UK. This is provided that PPR has been obtained and the appropriate GAR and flight plan have been lodged.

The statement concludes: “The land has had an established change of use to that of an Aerodrom available for use throughout the year. The use of a building as a hangar for the parking of aircraft and the use of land for the parking of aircraft has been established for more than ten years.

“Historically the land was used as an airfield under planning permitted development rights. The use of the land as an airfield continuosly over the last 20 years for in excess of 28 days shows that a change of use has occurred and that it has now has a legal, established, use as an Airfield. The documentary evidence demonstrates that the change in use has occurred and is indeed lawful.”

East Devon District Council will determine the fate of the Certificate of lawful development at a later date.

“The Prime Minister has taken the right and honourable step given the situation. The Conservative Party must now quickly unite around a new leader to continue to deliver for our great country.”

Deliver what exactly more chaos, more austerity?

So why did you take a job as PPS the other week?

(Probably on business or hols in the Caribbean)

For what did these “frackers” trash their green and net zero credentials?

It appears we still don’t really know the true voting numbers, such was the chaos on Wednesday night. – Owl

The motion to secure Commons time to consider legislation to ban fracking, as put forward by Labour, was defeated by 230 votes to 326, majority 96.

Bertie Adam www.devonlive.com

The numbers announced in the chamber did not match the numbers on the division list released by the Commons authorities.

The list released after the Commons vote contained 228 names in the ayes and 319 names in the noes.

It may be updated further by parliamentary officials to include any missing names to ensure the numbers match the ones announced in the chamber, or it could be a counting error by the whips.

The division list showed 36 Conservative MPs in total did not take part in the fracking vote, although this does not automatically equate to an abstention – but in many cases will be.

Here is a list of all MPs across Cornwall, Devon, Plymouth, Dorset, Somerset, Bath, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. Have a look how they all voted:

Ayes

Devon

Ben Bradshaw (Exeter)

Richard Foord (Tiverton and Honiton)

Bristol

Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East)

Thangam Debbonaire (Bristol West)

Somerset

Wera Hobhouse (Bath)

Nays

Cornwall

George Eustice (Camborne & Redruth)

Scott Mann (North Cornwall)

Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall)

Steve Double (St Austell and Newquay)

Derek Thomas (St Ives)

Cherilyn Mackrory (Truro and Falmouth)

Devon

Simon Jupp (East Devon)

Anthony Mangnall (Totnes)

Anne Marie Morris (Newton Abbot)

Selaine Saxby (North Devon)

Gary Streeter (South West Devon)

Mel Stride (Central Devon)

Johnny Mercer (Plymouth, Moor View)

Somerset

Rebecca Pow (Taunton Deane)

Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater and West Somerset)

Jacob Rees-Mogg (North East Somerset)

Liam Fox (North Somerset)

John Penrose (Weston-super-Mare)

Marcus Fysh (Yeovil)

James Heappey (Wells)

Dorset

Tobias Ellwood (Bournemouth East)

Christopher Chope (Christchurch)

Michael Tomlinson (Mid Dorset and North Poole)

Simon Hoare (North Dorset)

Robert Syms (Poole)

Richard Drax (South Dorset)

Gloucestershire

Richard Graham (Gloucester)

Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury)

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (The Cotswolds)

Alex Chalk (Cheltenham)

Mark Harper (Forest of Dean)

Luke Hall (Thornbury and Yate)

Chris Skidmore (Kingswood)

Jack Lopresti (Filton and Bradley Stoke)

Wiltshire

Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire)

John Glen (Salisbury)

Danny Kruger (Devizes)

Robert Buckland (South Swindon)

Justin Tomlinson (North Swindon)

James Gray (North Wiltshire)

No vote

Geoffrey Cox (Torridge and West Devon)

David Warburton (Somerton and Frome)

Conor Burns (Bournemouth West)

Chris Loder (West Dorset)

Siobhan Baillie (Stroud)

Darren Jones (Bristol North West)

Karin Smyth (Bristol South)

Next please

Tourism and recreation experienced the fastest fall in output of any UK business sector last month, the latest data shows.

Well done hospitality spokesman and champion, Simon JUpp. – Owl 

Mabel Banfield-Nwachi www.theguardian.com 

Output in the sector, which includes pubs, hotels and restaurants, declined at the fastest pace since February 2021, when the UK was last in lockdown, with a tracker score of 36.3 in September, according to the Lloyds Bank UK Recovery Tracker. Any reading below 50 indicates contraction.

The drop was caused by demand falling for a fourth consecutive month – to a tracker score of 38.5 last month – as consumers reined in spending amid rising inflation.

However, five of the 14 UK sectors that make up the tracker reported faster growth in output in September, compared with just three the previous month. A tracker reading above 50 indicates expansion.

Output growth was highest among software service providers at 55.8, down from 63.1 in August, followed by healthcare firms, rising to 53.6 from 47.8.

The tracker showed that overall input cost inflation for businesses intensified in September for the first time since May. The increase was driven by rising energy prices for manufacturers, which exceeded a previous peak during the 2008 oil price shock.

Jeavon Lolay, the head of economics and market insight for commercial banking at Lloyds, said: “While we expect UK inflation to remain stubbornly high in the coming months, there are clear signs of an easing in pipeline cost pressures in our latest UK Sector Tracker report.”

Between the second and third quarters this year, the average pace of input cost inflation slowed in all 14 sectors monitored by the tracker. This was supported by easing wage and shipping cost pressures – with reports of higher shipping costs reaching a 21-month low in September. The pace of inflation in prices charged to customers slowed in 12 sectors.

“That’s not to say that businesses won’t continue to face intense cost pressures, but suggests that peak inflation is near,” said Lolay. “This will be welcome news for both businesses and consumers.”

However, he said the recent news that the energy price guarantee scheme from April would prioritise support for the most vulnerable means that what happens to wholesale energy prices will, again, have a significant bearing on UK inflation from then on.

“The Bank of England will need to assess carefully prospects for both inflation and growth as it considers just how much more tightening is needed,” he added.

Labour dig a Heffalump trap in plain sight.

What do the Heffalumps do? 

Walk straight into it.

(Careerist Jupp does his duty). – Owl

Peter Walker www.theguardian.com 

A crunch Commons vote on the future of fracking has descended into mayhem after more than 40 Conservative MPs failed to back Liz Truss’s government, with MPs alleging ministers physically pulled some wavering Tories into the voting lobbies. [The chaos was great that even the voting numbers remain unclear Pippa Crerar now writes: Initially it looked like Liz Truss herself had missed the vote, but we’re told she did in fact vote… just forgot to swipe her pass.

Shortly after the vote, there were reports that the chief whip, Wendy Morton, and her deputy, Craig Whittaker, had lost their jobs. However, Downing Street later cleared up the rumours by saying the pair “remain in post”.

The government victory, by 326 votes opposing the Labour motion to 230 backing it, was marred by claims of intimidation and bullying on a turbulent night in the Commons.

While ministers successfully defeated the Labour motion, which sought to set up a vote which would formally ban drilling for shale gas in England, a total of 40 Tory MPs failed to support the government.

While some, like Boris Johnson, are simply away, the rebels included Tory MPs who had promised to defy a three-line whip, including Chris Skidmore, the former minister who heads up Truss’s review into net zero policies.

Other confirmed rebels included another former minister Tracey Crouch and MPs including William Wragg and Angela Richardson. No Tories voted directly with Labour.

Tory whips had written to MPs in the morning to warn that the vote was being seen as confidence measure, meaning the government would collapse if it lost and rebels would lose the whip.

However, near the end of the debate, with several MPs saying they would risk losing the whip, the climate minister, Graham Stuart, told the Commons: “Quite clearly this is not a confidence vote.”

Shortly after the vote, the Labour MP Chris Bryant used a point of order to tell the Commons that he saw Tory MPs being “physically manhandled” into the government voting lobby. He asked for a formal investigation.

In the wake of the chaos, Penny Mordaunt, the Commons leader, was seen trying to calm a group of mostly female MPs who had gathered to discuss what they witnessed. Mordaunt was seen encouraging witnesses to send her evidence or further details on WhatsApp.

One Tory backbencher said it was “the most bullying, screaming and shouting” they had seen in the voting lobbies, with Morton and Whittaker being engaged in a “full-blown shouting match”.

Another said Whittaker had been seen telling colleagues: “I am fucking furious and I don’t give a fuck any more.”

Afterwards, whips were said to have been gathered for an urgent meeting, with several parliamentary private secretaries deciding they would tell Morton and Whittaker to go.

Veteran Tory backbencher Charles Walker, who is due to step down as an MP at the next election, said the scenes on Wednesday were “inexcusable”. “I think it’s a shambles and a disgrace,” a visibly shaken Walker told the BBC, before railing at the “talentless” people in the cabinet.

He added: “I’m livid and I really shouldn’t say this but all those people that put Liz Truss in No 10, I hope it was worth it, it was worth it for the ministerial red box, as it was worth it to sit round the cabinet table, because the damage they have done to our party is extraordinary.”

However, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the business and energy secretary, disputed this, pointing to the government’s majority in the vote. He said: “This is a government that is functioning well.”

The bedlam risks obscuring a potentially even more significant Tory fracture over the disquiet of many government MPs about Truss’s decision to overturn the moratorium on fracking in England.

Skidmore, a leading voice of green Tories, said earlier he was willing to “face the consequences of my decision” to not back the government, even if this meant losing the whip.

“As the former energy minister who signed net zero into law, for the sake of our environment and climate I cannot personally vote tonight to support fracking and undermine the pledges I made at the 2019 general election,” he tweeted.

Crouch retweeted Skidmore’s message with the added word, “Ditto”, as did Richardson.

Despite efforts by Rees-Mogg to quell MPs’ fury by setting up a public consultation on fracking, a series of other Tories had told the debate that they were furious about the change of policy.

A number said they would only support the government because they felt Labour were trying to “play politics” with a motion that would give the opposition control of the order paper.

Ruth Edwards, the Rushcliffe MP, castigated the Tory frontbench for, she said, forcing her and colleagues “to choose between voting against our manifesto and voting to lose the whip”.

She added: “They should take a look at the faces of colleagues behind them, colleagues who have fracking sites in their constituencies, and they should hang their heads in shame. A Conservative government will always have my confidence, but its leadership today has severely tested my trust and the trust of many colleagues and I would advise them not to do so again.”

Simon Hoare, the North Dorset MP, said he would have rebelled but wanted to keep his “voice and vote” as a Tory. He warned, however, that fracking was doomed as a project. “It’s not going to happen. These are bald men fighting over a comb. No local community is going to grant consent,” he said.

Ed Miliband, the shadow climate and net zero secretary, said the government was pursuing a “frack me or sack me strategy”, saying fracking was “one of the most unpopular causes in the country”.

He added: “In normal times such an idiotic idea would have been dismissed out of hand but these are not normal times. But I say to the house and I say to members opposite, they all know that the prime minister will be gone in a matter of weeks, if not days, if not hours.”

The Conservatives’ 2019 manifesto promised to maintain a moratorium on fracking unless there was new evidence on the risk of earthquakes from the practice. But Truss’s government changed this last month.

In a message to all MPs on Wednesday morning, Whittaker had said: “The second debate is the main event today and it is a 100% hard three-line whip. This is not a motion on fracking. This is a confidence motion in the government.”

Labour sources said Tory whips had walked into a trap set for them, and that although they did not expect to win the vote, the opposition had online adverts ready to go targeting every Tory MP who backed fracking.

It has been widely reported (BBC and Telegraph) that Liz Truss held a meeting with her “parliamentary private secretaries” (PPSs) on Tuesday morning, one indicating that it was billed as a “breakfast meeting” and only involved 20.

In the dying days of Boris Johnson’s premiership, a large number of PPSs resigned, hastening his departure. So keeping them “on side” in Team Truss would be vital. Could this be the reason for the meeting?

Many of these PPSs were first elected in 2019 and could be under serious threat of losing their seats the next time the UK goes to the polls.

Another source, London Playbook on Wednesday, claimed a senior Tory set out pretty much the worst kind of intel that No. 10 could hope to hear. “Every single MP I’ve spoken to basically says she’s got to go, apart from fanatics and the careerists,” they said. Even some moderates who had accepted jobs under Truss are “schmoozing up to colleagues all of a sudden because they know which way the wind is blowing.” Outreach in the party was summed up as “mega shit” and whipping in the division lobbies “invisible.”

Although the role of PPS is unpaid, it’s considered an important stepping stone for ambitious MPs.

So is Simon a plotter, fanatic or careerist?

Last night we learned that he is a “fracker” so we can rule out the first possibility. – Owl

Chair, East Devon Alliance, writes in the Herald:

As the Conservative government disintegrates, they are bringing the country down with them. The shambolic failures of Liz Truss, like Boris Johnson’s lying and cheating, will have serious consequences for people in Devon. Whether or not Truss is still in office when you read this – she is so obviously a disaster that many MPs are actively trying to get rid of her – if this government clings on, we face a grim two years.

The appointment of Jeremy Hunt fills me with foreboding. As Health Secretary, he presided over a long decline in the NHS. It was Hunt’s cuts that led Devon health bosses to close community hospital beds in Axminster, Honiton, Ottery and Seaton, the folly of which became apparent when there was nowhere to send patients when the main hospitals overflowed in the pandemic (and Hunt had shelved the UK’s pandemic plans). Hunt’s aim of selling off ‘surplus’ NHS buildings encouraged managers to dispose of some of the sites, and only community protests stopped this happening.

Hunt’s warning of a new round of ‘efficiency savings’ (spending cuts to you and me) confirms that, as Chancellor, he will be Mr Austerity once again. It is not just the NHS, with chronic staff shortages, a failing ambulance service and 7 million people waiting for operations, which simply cannot be allowed to face new cuts. The vulnerable cannot live without an inflation-matching rise in benefits. Hard-pressed schools cannot cope with declining real funding. Councils desperately need real increases to look after vulnerable children and old people.

Hunt will tell us that there is no alternative (after Truss’s budget has made government borrowing more expensive). But Britain is still a rich country and new resources can be found: close down tax havens; end ‘non-dom’ status; introduce a proper windfall tax on oil and gas firms; tax wealth as well as income; and raise tax well above 45 per cent for the bankers with their bumper bonuses and the other people who receive hundreds of thousands or millions each year.

The truth is that cuts are a political choice from a government which is in denial about the damage it has done. Truss or her successor may drone on about ‘growth’, but she and Hunt have each been ministers while Britain has stagnated over the last 12 years. George Osborne’s austerity took the wind out of the recovery from the financial crisis, just as

Hunt’s threatens to end the UK’s recovery from the pandemic.

The biggest harm has come from Brexit, the red-tape bonanza which has strangled trade with the UK’s largest market, sacrificed our farmers, and deprived our NHS of European doctors and nurses. Even some Daily Telegraph writers now accept that the warnings against Brexit were right, but Brexit ideology – of which Truss’s ‘trickle-down’ economics is a part – is now the religion of the Conservative Party. They seem more likely to abolish the monarchy than abandon this failed experiment.

Despite all this, Devon Tories remain in thrall to their leaders. Last week Hugo Swire, the former East Devon MP who bailed out rather than face Claire Wright at the last election, jumped back on the gravy train by taking a seat in the Lords (courtesy of Boris Johnson’s resignation ‘honours’ list), while his successor Simon Jupp accepted a bag-carrier role in Truss’s government. I thought rats were supposed to leave sinking ships!

In this situation, it’s timely that Richard Foord, the Liberal Democrat who won June’s by-election, is speaking about his first months as an MP at an open meeting in Axminster Guildhall this Saturday (22nd) at 10.30 am. He will be interviewed by my fellow-columnist Paul Arnott, the Independent East Devon Alliance leader of East Devon District Council. This will be a valuable opportunity for us to discuss the future without Conservative rule, and I very much hope to see readers there.

A few weeks ago, in his weekly news column, Simon was promoting Kwasi Kwarteng and Liz Truss’ unfunded, tax cutting, “growth” “mini-budget.

In this week’s Exmouth Journal, published today, he rides on the coat-tails of EDDC’s announcement of its successful bid for £500K to help support the homeless and returns to his recent attack on EDDC for continuing to hold virtual meetings.

No mention of the fact that the budget he supported a few weeks ago has been scrapped and the country plunged into austerity 2.0 by one of the architects of austerity 1.0 and by the reckless actions of the government in which he plays a minor part. Obviously no apology either.

Today inflation has risen to levels not seen for 40 years, driven by increases in food prices. People are yet to feel the increases in mortgage rates coming down the tracks.

What’s the point of an MP who is “not free to speak” and “not free to act”?

Can someone give him sight of a newspaper? – Owl

Figure returns to double digits in September, with households under pressure from cost of living crisis

(The September figures are the ones normally used for the inflation uplift to pensions and benefits, though Liz Truss is flip flopping on this manifesto pledge – Owl)

Richard Partington www.theguardian.com 

Inflation in the UK has risen above 10% for the second time this year as households come under mounting pressure from sky-high energy bills and rising food prices amid the cost of living crisis.

The Office for National Statistics said the consumer prices index rose to 10.1% in September, returning to double digits after a slight dip to 9.9% in August. The figure was last higher in 1982.

City economists had forecast a modest increase to 10%.

Ambulances in the South West operated by the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) took an average of 11 minutes and 10 seconds to respond to category one calls during September.

From today’s Western Morning News

Such calls are the most serious, for life-threatening conditions and injuries. The average was down from 11 minutes and 27 seconds in August, but was far longer than the target of seven minutes set by the NHS. It is also the longest wait for category one calls of any ambulance service in England.

Category two calls, which cover conditions like strokes, were responded to by SWASFT in an average of one hour eight minutes, well short of the 18 minute target and up from 59 minutes and 45 seconds the month before. It is the second-longest wait across England.

Category three calls, meanwhile, were responded to by SWASFT in an average of two hours 50 minutes, compared to a target of two hours, and category four calls were responded to within an average of three hours 22 minutes, compared to a target of three hours.

Response times vary across England. While SWASFT had the slowest response to category one calls, in London they were responded to in an average of seven minutes and 14 seconds.

A spokesperson for SWASFT said: “Our ambulance clinicians strive every day to give their best to patients, but our performance has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, partly due to handover delays at emergency departments.

“Health and social care services are under enormous pressure. We are working with our partners to ensure our ambulance clinicians can get back out on the road as quickly as possible, to respond to other 999 calls within the community.”

For category one incidents, the average response time across England is nine minutes, 19 seconds. The best performing region is the North East, at seven minutes 14 seconds, and the worst is the South West, at 11 minutes 10 seconds.

East of England Ambulance service has the worst record for category two calls. Those calls should be responded to within 18 minutes, but in the east they take an average of one hour and 14 minutes. SWASFT had the second-longest wait time, at one hour, eight minutes and 53 seconds.

The England average was just under 48 minutes for a category two call. The East Midlands arrived in 53 minutes and four seconds, East of England in one hour 14 minutes and 12 seconds, with London, the North East, North West, South Central and South East Coast all around 40 minutes. 

A grant for more than half a million pounds has been awarded to help tackle rough sleeping across East Devon has been.

eastdevon.gov.uk 

East Devon District Council (EDDC) has successfully bid for funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities through the Rough Sleeper Initiative.

A total of £568,074 has been given to the district to tackle rough sleeping and contribute towards EDDC’s ambition to end rough sleeping in the district, over the next three years.

The money has helped to provide a more stable platform allowing EDDC to finance and hire officers in the following posts:

• Two ‘Rough Sleeper Navigators’ who undertake outreach sessions to follow up new reports of rough sleepers and work with existing rough sleepers with the aim of helping them to obtain suitable accommodation options.
• One ‘Housing Officer’ dedicated to providing wraparound support to former rough sleepers accommodated through the ‘Housing First’ programme.
• One ‘Private Sector Liaison Officer’ working with homeless applicants, and former rough sleepers, to access accommodation within the private sector through the council’s rent deposit and bond scheme.

Several positive outcomes for former rough sleepers have been achieved over the past few years, within a very challenging housing environment, through this funding stream which has played a major part in enabling the council to work towards its aim to end rough sleeping in the district.

There were 159 reports of new rough sleepers within the district in 2021/22, and a further 122 over the last six months between April and September, 2022/23.

In the past 12 months, between September 2021 and September 2022, the number of verified rough sleepers at any one time in East Devon has varied from three to 14 – with August, September and October seeing the highest numbers (between 11 and 14) and February, March and April seeing the lowest numbers (with three).

Councillor Dan Ledger, EDDC’s portfolio holder sustainable homes and communities, said:

With the cost-of-living crisis that we are currently facing as well as other winter pressures on the horizon, this funding is really welcomed.

We acknowledge that some of our residents will struggle in the coming months and as a Council we wish to help wherever possible.

These additional posts will ensure that the council is able to offer full assistance to anyone requiring it, giving timely help, advice and support to our residents who need it most.

This will hopefully keep as many people as possible off our streets over the next few years and help to achieve positive outcomes in securing long term sustainable accommodation for those individuals and families.

• Proposed single storey rear extension and alterations to rear access and parking area. 3 Townsend Avenue Seaton EX12 2AZRef. No: 22/2224/FUL | Validated: Fri 07 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Installation of external condensing unit Victory Hall Broadclyst Exeter EX5 3EERef. No: 22/2228/FUL | Validated: Fri 07 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of an agricultural building acting as dairy cows accommodation to include site filling and associated works. Rookery Farm Upottery Devon EX14 9PFRef. No: 22/2230/MFUL | Validated: Fri 07 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Prior approval for change of use of agricultural building to residential dwelling (use class C3) with associated works Agricultural Land And Building 1 West Of Upcott Farm Upcott Broadhembury Honiton EX14 3LPRef. No: 22/2226/PDQ | Validated: Fri 07 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Installation of a battery energy storage system with associated infrastructure and works. Pound Road BESS Land North East Of Axminster National Grid Substation Pound Road HawkchurchRef. No: 22/2216/MFUL | Validated: Wed 05 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1, Magnolia : The height is to be reduced by approximately 1.5 – 2 metres, The North, South, and West spreads are to be reduced by approximately 1 metre, the laterally extended eastern branch being reduced by approximately 1.5 – 2 metres Stepsway Market Square Axminster EX13 5NJRef. No: 22/2219/TCA | Validated: Wed 05 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Certificate of Lawful Development for a Proposed conversion of the existing garage to provide a bedroom and ensuite.3 Maple Close Honiton Devon EX14 2XWRef. No: 22/2212/CPL | Validated: Tue 04 Oct 2022 | Status: Approved
• T267 – Cherry: fell. Street Record Church Stile Lane Woodbury EX5 1HNRef. No: 22/2213/TCA | Validated: Wed 05 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Removal of existing conservatory and proposed single story rear extension. Flintstone Lodge Fore Street Otterton Budleigh Salterton EX9 7HBRef. No: 22/2211/FUL | Validated: Tue 04 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Conversion of roof space to habitable use to include a front dormer, replacement side extension, conversion of side extension from store to home office, alterations to fenestration and associated works Claywell New Street Honiton Devon EX14 1BURef. No: 22/2210/LBC | Validated: Tue 04 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Conversion of roof space to habitable use to include a front dormer, replacement side extension, conversion of side extension from store to home office, alterations to fenestration and associated works Claywell New Street Honiton Devon EX14 1BURef. No: 22/2209/FUL | Validated: Tue 04 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Conversion of roof space to habitable use to include a rear dormer, 3 x roof lights and rear roof extension. Replacement front porch extension, single storey side extension and single storey rear extension to include demolition of an outbuilding and rear conservatory. 43 Glebelands Lympstone Devon EX8 5JDRef. No: 22/2204/FUL | Validated: Thu 06 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• 2 willows : Pollard to 6 -7m Mdc 30cm length 10m maximum Reason : To bring off highway pavement and driveway clear road signs and lamp posts to give clearance from house and driveway, to control future growth and to stop broken branches which has been a regular occurance 18 Upland Chase Honiton EX14 2FTRef. No: 22/2192/TRE | Validated: Mon 03 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed two storey rear extension following demolition of existing conservatory 35 Brixington Lane Exmouth EX8 4JGRef. No: 22/2198/FUL | Validated: Mon 03 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Purpose built agricultural barn for the storage of tractors and machinery Chadstone Farm Rousdon Lyme Regis DT7 3XPRef. No: 22/2196/AGR | Validated: Mon 03 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Mature beech located on N/E boundary towards north corner of plot, completely overhanging outbuilding, partially overhanging main house. Applying to raise crown clear of buildings/phone line from 3 metres to approximately 5.5 metres (measured from patio) by removing 2 x primary limbs measuring 18 centimeters and one of 4 centimeters, all of which are the lowest limbs on the trunk, one above the other on the south side (nearest corner of main house). Work to be done winter if agreed to. 10 Little Knowle Budleigh Salterton EX9 6QSRef. No: 22/2189/TCA | Validated: Wed 05 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Single storey side extension, single storey rear extension, demolition of conservatory, kitchen and store room. 31 Withycombe Road Exmouth EX8 1TFRef. No: 22/2195/FUL | Validated: Wed 05 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Certificate of Lawful Development for the proposed use of a C3 Dwelling House as a C2 Residential Institution (Childrens Home) without a change to the use class of the premises.Blue Anchor Payhembury EX14 3HGRef. No: 22/2181/CPL | Validated: Thu 06 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Single storey rear extension with alteration to fenestration, installation and extension of balustrade on ground floor balcony, installation of render, proposed rear roof solar panels. 19 Upper Churston Rise Seaton EX12 2HDRef. No: 22/2179/FUL | Validated: Tue 04 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Field Maple trees – cut back all of the over hanging branches by 2.5m, encroaching onto the pavement. They will carry out tree works by removing limbs, raising canopies and reducing tree heights by 2m. Complaints from the local community that the trees are overhanging roadside pavement along side of the store. Sainsburys Supermarkets Ltd Hind Street Ottery St Mary Devon EX11 1BWRef. No: 22/2184/TCA | Validated: Mon 03 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Barn conversion and associated works to form 2no. holiday units. Pale Farm Upexe Devon EX5 5NDRef. No: 22/2186/LBC | Validated: Fri 07 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Barn conversion and associated works to form 2no. holiday units Pale Farm Upexe Devon EX5 5NDRef. No: 22/2185/FUL | Validated: Fri 07 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Installation of replacement gate. Asas Fee Dolphin Street Colyton EX24 6NARef. No: 22/2188/FUL | Validated: Fri 07 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed change of use from agricultural to use class E(g)(i) Spurtham Farm New Road Upottery Devon EX14 9QDRef. No: 22/2167/PDR | Validated: Mon 03 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Completion of an outdoor menage and the surfacing of the existing driveway utilising an existing vehicular access The Oaks Aylesbeare Exeter EX5 2DERef. No: 22/2166/FUL | Validated: Fri 07 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1, Cedrus atlantica Glauca : Reduce extended branches by up to 2 metres ( maximum) to eleviate stress on previously pruned branches; formative prune tree to restore the specimens natural form / shape after historical pruning; crown raise over the neighbouring property to give a 3 metre clearance from the roof; the works aim to prevent further failure and will not have a negative impact on the trees visual amenities 19 Cyprus Gardens Exmouth EX8 2DPRef. No: 22/2139/TRE | Validated: Mon 03 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Two storey side extension. 36 Brooks Warren Cranbrook Exeter EX5 7AJRef. No: 22/2136/FUL | Validated: Mon 03 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of a 20m x 5 driveway 2 New Cottages Weston Devon EX14 3NZRef. No: 22/2117/FUL | Validated: Tue 04 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Renewal of full planning permission to construct an office building [Class E(g)(i) Office Use] including the demolition of an existing single storey garage block North Corner Country House Estate London Road Strete Ralegh Whimple EX5 2PTRef. No: 22/2107/FUL | Validated: Fri 07 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Prior approval application for the change of use from agricultural building (Barn 1) to dwellinghouse Bridge Farm Stoke Hill Stoke Canon EX5 4EERef. No: 22/2068/PDQ | Validated: Thu 06 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Prior approval application for the change of use from agricultural building (Barn 2) to dwellinghouse Bridge Farm Stoke Hill Stoke Canon Exeter EX5 4EERef. No: 22/2069/PDQ | Validated: Thu 06 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Replace existing 600mm chimney pot with 900mm chimney pot with the addition of a 125mm cowl on top Little Thatch Beacon Luppitt Honiton EX14 4TTRef. No: 22/2042/LBC | Validated: Tue 04 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Retention of mixed use premises for childminding and residential purposes. 9 Cooks Mead Uplyme DT7 3XJRef. No: 22/1979/FUL | Validated: Mon 03 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Division of existing dwelling to create 1 additional dwelling for use as a holiday let and demolition of existing conservatory, lean to extension, glazed seating area and grey flat roof building (shower room) The Old Stores Lyme Road Uplyme DT7 3THRef. No: 22/1870/FUL | Validated: Mon 03 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Partial reserved matters application (layout, scale, appearance and landscaping) pursuant to outline planning permission 14/0330/MOUT for 32 houses, 23 apartments (with bin and cycle stores), a fibre cabinet associated roads and parking Goodmores Farm Dinan Way ExmouthRef. No: 22/1839/MRES | Validated: Wed 05 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Install 12no. photovoltaic panels on rear north east elevation 1 Knowle Mews Dalditch Lane Budleigh Salterton EX9 7AHRef. No: 22/1776/LBC | Validated: Mon 03 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision

Hardship and heartbreak as Devon families lose homes to Airbnb lets.

Some of those who have been evicted are living in camper vans, caravans, even on boats. There are families who have been booted out of their homes crammed together in holiday park chalets or single rooms while others have had no choice but to give up and leave the area completely.

Steven Morris www.theguardian.com 

The dramatic rise of short-term holiday lets in Woolacombe and neighbouring villages and towns in north Devon is causing hardship, heartache and anger as landlords and investors cash in and local people are squeezed out.

“It’s really dire,” said Emma Hookway, a founder of the North Devon and Torridge Housing Crisis campaign group. “I constantly come across people in tears after they have been kicked out of rented accommodation because landlords want to turn places into holiday lets.”

Hookway, a 43-year-old cleaner, began the group after she and her young son were forced to leave their rented house. They eventually found a flat above a working men’s club. “It felt soul-destroying moving back into a small flat in my 40s. But I had to suck it up and now I realise that, actually, we are the lucky ones.

“Tourism here has boomed, especially since Covid. Landlords who were making £1,000 a month renting to a tenant can make that in a week now and investors are snapping up properties to make money out of them. It’s easy money for them.”

Renting out through Airbnb in the area is lucrative. Two-bedroom flats in the modern Oceanpoint and Narracott developments in Woolacombe will cost about £1,200 a week this autumn. A small studio above the Tides Inn is almost £100 a night.

But there is, undoubtedly, a price to pay for the community.

Another member of the campaign group, Graham Bell, who works at a local hospital, said key workers were being forced out. “We lose nurses and teachers who grew up here because they can’t find anywhere to live. They move to Exeter, Bristol or further afield. Families are being pushed into holiday parks, hotels, B&Bs. Children are having to sit their exams while living in caravan parks. Education and life chances are being affected.”

One emergency worker in his 30s, who asked not to be named, described how he and his partner were evicted from their flat in Woolacombe and now lived in a van on a campsite. “We’re making that work for now but it’s not ideal. It’s not what we want long term. It feels like a downward spiral for the area. How are they going to find people to staff the hospitals, the fire station, the shops if nothing is done?”

A woman with a small child who is being compelled to move out of her Woolacombe home this winter after almost a decade summed up her feelings as “heartbroken, scared and helpless”. Another parent who has been given notice to leave said she was “genuinely terrified” at the prospect of becoming homeless.

Dan Stokes, 40, who works as a chef in Woolacombe, has struggled to find stable accommodation. “There are dozens of applications for every rented place.” It means there are acute staff shortages in hospitality. “Probably most businesses have 60 or 70% of the staff they need because there’s nowhere for them to live.”

Stokes said he knew of a hospitality worker who lived in a camper van in Woolacombe and a family of three – two parents and a grownup son – who shared one room. “Something has got to be done.”

The feel of the place is changing. Locals say they cannot afford the “London prices” charged in many pubs, bars and restaurants and there are frequently complaints about the behaviour of short-let visitors – loud music, excessive drinking, antisocial behaviour (often when hot tubs are involved).

According to North Devon council’s figures, 47% of places in the Mortehoe parish, which includes Woolacombe, are second homes or holiday lets. The figure for the nearby village of Georgeham is 45%. In 2020-21, the number of section 21 eviction notices issued by landlords to tenants in north Devon was 39; in 2021-22 it was 103.

The council’s chief executive, Ken Miles, has been busy drafting a report in response to the UK government’s call for evidence on holiday lets. The draft report says the council is “particularly concerned about community cohesion in areas where there is a high intensity of short-term holiday lets”.

Examples Miles cites include a primary school struggling to maintain enough pupil numbers to remain viable and he points out a road in Georgeham where only one dwelling is occupied in the winter. “Communities cannot be sustained with that level of holiday use,” the draft report says.

It goes on to highlight the case of a senior college worker in north Devon who has to live 40 miles away and an employee of a local care home who had to give up her job when she was evicted.

The report says that in recent years “the nature of the tourist accommodation offer has changed with the rise in prominence of sites such as Airbnb”. It suggests consideration of a licensing scheme for holiday lets and perhaps the requirement to apply for planning consent for change of use where residential premises are converted to holiday lets to allow more control.

Malcolm Wilkinson, the council’s lead member for coastal communities and a resident of Woolacombe for half a century, said there was some good news. A community land trust has been formed to build 21 affordable homes for local people next to the village hall. “We hope that will help a little,” he said.

Tensions are surfacing. One second-home owner, who rents her place out when she and her partner are not there, said a guest recently left early because they did not feel welcome by local people. “They were told that tourists weren’t wanted,” she said.

The owner, who asked not to be named, said she did not make huge profits and employed a local cleaner and used local companies for laundry and building work.

She argued that Woolacombe had long been a tourist destination. “Our guests use local attractions, cafes, restaurants and shops. I don’t know what would happen to the place if there weren’t any visitors.”

A sharp rise in the number of Airbnb listings in coastal areas of England and Wales has prompted fears that some seaside areas will become “theme parks for the wealthy”.

(This articles linked to one describing the particular problems in Devon: Hardship and heartbreak as Devon families lose homes to Airbnb lets)

David Blood www.theguardian.com 

The number of “entire places” for rent in coastal spots in England and Wales increased by 56% between 2019 and 2022, compared with 15% in non-coastal areas, according to analysis.

The rise means coastal areas now have three times the rate of Airbnb listings per dwelling than in non-coastal areas, up from twice the rate pre-pandemic.

Housing campaigners say the trend indicates that landlords in popular seaside towns and quiet coastal getaways may be favouring tourists over tenants at a time when many such communities are being hit by rising living costs, mortgage and house prices.

“Tourists don’t want to visit ghost towns. And most people can’t afford to live in a theme park designed for wealthier visitors,” said Will McMahon, the director of the charity Action on Empty Homes, who coordinated the Action on Short Lets campaign.

He added that the current situation “ultimately kills the very communities that were once considered to be part of the attraction to visitors”.

The analysis, which calculates the number of Airbnb listings advertised as an “entire place” for rent – as opposed to a room in a house or a shared room – as a rate of local housing stock in statistical reporting regions known as middle-layer super output areas, found that in May 2019, one in every 105 dwellings in coastal areas in England and Wales were advertised as an Airbnb.

In May 2022 it was one in every 67 coastal dwellings, while in inland locations it was one in every 196 properties, according to Inside Airbnb, a non-commercial project that aims to highlight the impact of the service on residential housing markets.

Data also showed that some seaside locations had a far greater proportion of Airbnb listings.

One in four houses and flats in Woolacombe, Georgeham & Croyde in north Devon were listed on Airbnb in May this year, up from one in six in 2019, as were homes in the Scores, overlooking the sea in St Andrews, Scotland. And one in five dwellings in St Ives & Halsetown in Cornwall were listed while one in six properties in the Cornish town of Newquay and Whitby in North Yorkshire were advertised on the site.

Dan Wilson Craw, the deputy director of Generation Rent, said one of the driving forces behind the rise in Airbnb listings was a lack of tax and regulation for holiday lets.

“In the past seven years, the government has withdrawn mortgage interest tax relief from residential landlords but left the holiday let sector untouched. That has encouraged landlords in holiday hotspots to switch their properties from tenants to tourists. As a result there are fewer listings on the rental market and rents have soared, pushing people out of the towns and villages they grew up in.”

The rate of Airbnb listings in coastal areas across Great Britain grew by 40% in the three-year period compared with 17% in inland locations. Of the 50 areas with the highest proportion of Airbnb listings per dwelling, two-thirds were in coastal areas although coastal locations make up just one quarter of the small areas covered by the analysis.

The analysis looked only at Airbnb listings advertised as an “entire place” for rent, as opposed to a room in a house or a shared room, and did not distinguish between properties let out full-time, and included caravans, pods and manor houses, which make up a fraction of listings.

Airbnb questioned the accuracy of the findings, emphasising that unusual listings such as caravans or large manor houses, used for events, may not affect the local housing stock.

A spokesperson said: “The pandemic changed the way we travel and moved demand from densely populated cities to coastal and countryside communities, which created new economic opportunities for local families to boost their income by occasionally renting their home.

“The typical UK host rents their own home for just a couple of nights a month to boost their income, and over a third say the additional income helps them afford rising living costs. Airbnb welcomes new rules and we proposed a host register to the UK government, and we continue to support its consultation on the matter.”

McMahon pointed to potential solutions in other countries: “In Scotland councils are empowered to limit short lets, in Wales new powers are coming in to make short lets and second homes separate planning classes from homes in normal residential use.

“It is time we ensured a decent supply of affordable housing for local people is maintained and that means ensuring that all the local housing isn’t snapped up by investors with deeper pockets who then just rent it on Airbnb for huge profits.”

Nationally Conservatives are disintegrating, now it looks like the same is happening locally. – Owl

Plymouth City Council’s Conservative group is set to undergo yet more losses following on from the suspension – and deselection – of its former leader, Nick Kelly. Saturday night saw news that the former leader of the council – who was ousted from his position in March this year following a vote of no confidence – had been suspended by his own group following claims of “several serious and different complaints and allegations”.

Carl Eve www.plymouthherald.co.uk 

The Plymouth Conservative Group released a statement saying that allegations had been made formally to its Group Executive team and it confirmed Cllr Kelly, who represents Compton ward, had been “suspended from Plymouth City Council Conservative Group, pending all necessary investigations.”

However, Cllr Kelly took to his Facebook page to reveal that he had undergone the selection interview process with the Approvals Panel on Saturday and had been informed that he would not be selected to stand as a Conservative in his own ward at the next local election in May 2023. Cllr Kelly said he was “extremely disappointed that the local Conservative Party have deemed that I am not fit to represent the party” at the forthcoming election.

Read next: PM Liz Truss ‘laughed’ as she sacked Plymouth MP Johnny Mercer

PlymouthLive has learned that Cllr Kelly wrote to the Conservative group following his ‘deselection’ and then suspension, saying he was resigning his position. Since then there have been a number of claims circulating which suggest he is looking to create an ‘Independent Alliance’ with other Independent Plymouth councillors. Sources have told PlymouthLive at least three councillors are in talks about forming a new group.

In addition, PlymouthLive has now heard from three sources who have stated that a second Conservative councillor – Cllr Patrick Nicholson – who represents the Plympton St Mary ward – has also not been selected to run as a Conservative at the next election. It is understood that Cllr Nicholson aims to appeal the decision.

Mr Nicholson has been contacted to confirm this information.

PlymouthLive has also had sight of an emailed response from Cllr Kelly to Conservative Group Chief Whip Cllr Pat Patel, (St Budeaux ward) who had informed the former leader he was being suspended pending an investigation over “a number of complaints”. In his strongly worded reply, Cllr Kelly wrote asking him him to explain under which rule of the “Plymouth City Council Conservative Group Rules” he had been suspended and “the specific reason/s for this suspension.”

He argued that in his opinion the “professional way to conduct such an act” would have been to adhere the the group rules, ensuring that it was only the “Group Leader who has the ability to suspend a member.”

He added: “To make unfounded allegations, without any specific details, and circulate these to the media is quite dangerous from a defamation point of view.”

He went on to make a number of allegations regarding Cllr Patel and pointed out that he “formally resigned from the Conservative Group on the 15th October 2022.”

Cllr Kelly’s deselection and suspension has drawn the ire of other former councillors who were themselves told they would not be selected to represent the party at the next local election..

Dave Downie wrote on Cllr Kelly’s official Facebook page: “The best most forward-thinking and innovative leader this council has had for a long time. Stabbed in the back by a clique who will not have the courage to explain why this decision was taken. A complete disgrace. Conservative politics in Plymouth are being dictated by a group of non-accountable, unelectable idiots who are not acting in the best interests of the city. They only want ‘their people’ front and centre. If you dare challenge them, you are not approved to stand for election again. Things must change. Party politics is over.”

Similarly, former Lord Mayor Cllr Terri Beer, who left the Conservative group earlier this year but who has continued her role as ward councillor for Plympton Erle Ward as an independent, wrote: “You are such an amazing Councillor Nick. This is what unelected people do to hardworking councillors. Conservatives self-destruction. Vote Independent in May.”

Amongst the mini budget reversals announced in the emergence statement, Jeremy Hunt cut the previously announced freeze on alcohol duty.

We all know that Simon Jupp’s great cause is helping the hospitality sector. So he must be disappointed that his recent acceptance of an “insider” job as a parliamentary private secretary to Simon Clarke, an uber Truss loyalist, (S of S Levelling up, housing and communities) has had so little impact or recognition. 

Worse, he will have to support and argue the merits of this change next time he goes to the pub.

Cheers – Owl

For the May 2021 local elections in England, the government temporarily changed the law so that council candidates only had to get two, rather than ten, nomination signatures to stand. This was in line with what’s already the norm in Scotland, but was only a temporary measure to reduce the need for signature gathering during a COVID-19 crunch.

Could the Tories be finding it difficult to muster 10 signatures for a candidate? With current poll ratings that seems quite possible for the pariah party. – Owl

Mark Pack www.markpack.org.uk

The rules then reverted to normal, but now the government has consulted the Electoral Commission on draft legislation that would permanently reduce the number of subscribers required on a nomination paper for principal area elections in England from ten to two.

Under this plan, the change would come into effect for elections and by-elections on or after 4 May 2023, i.e. including the normal May 2023 local elections.

As well as being good for democracy in general, this would also be beneficial for the Liberal Democrats, given the importance of upping our candidate numbers.

As I’ve written on that topic before:

There are … huge benefits [to the party] in standing even in wards that we are not likely to win for a very long time yet (if ever).

One set of benefits comes from the opportunity to practice, train and learn. Winning elections isn’t easy and some of the skills required are very hard to pick up outside politics.

So we should be using every opportunity to add to our experience, try out things and get better.

Even if we don’t do very much, or any, campaigning, there is still the chance for a new election agent to practice getting the paperwork right. Or to take a new person out on their very first canvassing session. Steps such as those are if anything easier in a ‘no hope’ by-election as the pressure is much less and so you can concentrate on the learning.

Those benefits are specific to by-elections on their own. There are other benefits too, which apply even if you’ve got other elections on the same day – and to non-target wards in the usual run of elections…

One of the biggest challenges the Liberal Democrats face is to build up a large group of loyal supporters who persistently support us. Our core support is much smaller than that of our main rivals – and we suffer for it. It makes us more vulnerable to bad times. It means we have further to go and harder to work to get to the winning post than rival parties with larger core votes.

Yet the one sure way to ensure people don’t become persistent supporters is to insist that they should not be allowed to vote for us thanks to not putting up a candidate. No Liberal Democrat on the ballot paper means us saying to voters: ‘we refuse to let you be loyal supporters of us’.

Standing also helps the party identify better where its support currently is, and isn’t. Having a full slate of candidates across the board helps spot areas that can be promising to target and try to win in the future.

Although the legal change isn’t yet 100% confirmed, it’s very likely. So if you have local elections next May, now is a great time to be planning how to either stand a full slate or, if we’ve not managed that before, our best-ever tally of candidates.

Remember too that if we don’t make good use of this opportunity, others may do so – and so may use it to sideline the Lib Dems in the eyes of local voters unless we match or beat their candidate numbers.

Lest we forget!

A good resume of the life a well connected Tory leads.

But what did Hugo Swire ever do for East Devon?  – Owl

Edward Oldfield www.devonlive.com 

A former East Devon Conservative MP Hugo Swire who was caught up in the parliamentary expenses row has been given a place in the House of Lords in the list of political peerages recommended by Boris Johnson. Sir Hugo, 62, represented the East Devon constituency from 2001 to 2019, when he stepped down at the General Election and was replaced by Tory Simon Jupp.

The Eton-educated former Grenadier Guard, who worked as a financial consultant and director of the auction house Sotheby’s, was a close ally of Tory leader David Cameron. In his bachelor days he dated the model Jerry Hall, who later married Rolling Stone Mick Jagger.

His wife Sasha is the daughter of Sir John Nott, the Conservative Defence Secretary during the Falklands War. She was Sir Hugo’s parliamentary assistant for 18 years, and caused a stir in 2020 with the publication of her memoir Diary of an MP’s Wife. It gave an insight into life at the top of Tory party, with less than flattering descriptions of senior politicians including Mr Cameron as ‘drunken Dave’, Boris Johnson as ‘calculating’ and Theresa May as a ‘glumbucket’.

Sir Hugo featured in leaked footage from a Conservative Party fundraising auction in 2015 when he joked about people on benefits and buying luxury cars on MPs’ expense. In 2009, after controversy over MPs’ expenses hit the headlines, Sir Hugo revealed he had voluntarily paid back £395 he claimed for a leather Mulberry laptop bag, which he said he used every day. He said after reviewing his expenses, he decided it could be considered ‘extravagant’.

He also came under media scrutiny in 2010 for claiming £23,000 a year to rent his family home in his East Devon constituency, while living in a London property owned by his wife, according to the Mail Online . His claim was said to have been cut to £10,000, the equivalent of a one-bedroom flat, but he appealed arguing that the decision was unfair on MPs needing to rent a home in their constituencies. Details emerged after he was told to repay £788 claimed in expenses for a gardener at his constituency home. Sir Hugo said he had been unaware that there was a guideline price.

In 2013, the Sunday Mirror reported he had claimed £3,198.61 for oil and gas in the year to March – the eighth-highest amount for any MP. In response, his office told a local newspaper in a statement that he had followed Parliamentary rules and was working to reduce his expenses claims. He earlier justified employing his wife as an assistant, telling an East Devon newspaper in 2009 she was a “highly qualified journalist” who ran his website and produced his press releases, and “has an extraordinary knowledge of the constituency”.

Sir Hugo Swire, pictured with his wife Sasha, represented East Devon from 2001 to 2019 (Image: Express & Echo/Gareth Willians)

A close ally of Conservative prime minister David Cameron, in 2010 he was appointed as Minister of State for Northern Ireland in the newly-elected Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government. He was then given the job as Minister of State for Europe and the Americas in 2012. He resigned in July 2016 alongside other ministers close to Mr Cameron, after the prime minister quit following the Brexit referendum. He was knighted in the prime minister’s resignation honours list.

Sir Hugo tweeted on Friday, when the list of life peerages was published: “Honoured and delighted to be going to the House of Lords”.