The idea of an industrial complex in Sidford has not died – it could return at any minute. This was the situation when two large vehicles met on one of the narrowest parts of the road – vehicles were trapped for more than an hour … imagine if there had been a medical emergency or fire during that time …
Sidmouth DCC councillor Stuart Hughes has responsibility for transport issues in Devon.
A picture is worth a thousand words …
Owl reported last week in Hugo Swire’s grandiose ideas about redevelopment of Sidmouth’s Port Royal, including his suggestion to bring in Prince Charles’s design team:
Thankfully, the district council has gone for a more “modest” plan. Swire bemoans this and says plans should have been more “ambitious”. Sadly, these days “ambitious” is a word often interchangeable with “greedy” in modern planning terminology!
“District chiefs will not bring in the Prince of Wales’ design team after they opted for a ‘more modest’ direction for Port Royal.
East Devon MP Sir Hugo Swire said the Prince’s Foundation could create a development that has the community’s backing.
But a scoping study for the site revealed a number of ‘unresolved uncertainties’ so East Devon District Council (EDDC) has limited its proposals to marketing the Drill Hall. A spokeswoman said: “Had we felt that it was possible to go forward with a comprehensive redevelopment of the Port Royal site then the involvement of the Prince’s Foundation was certainly worthy of exploration.
“However, as explained, this is a much more modest and specific direction proposed that involves the Drill Hall site only.”
Sir Hugo told the Herald focusing the redevelopment on the Drill Hall would be ‘missed opportunity’ and it required an ambitious approach.”
Starting in Sidmouth and hopefully spreading across a “Plastic Free East Devon” and “Plastic Free Devon”.
PRESS RELEASE:
“Futures Forum of the Vision Group for Sidmouth
Press release: Thursday 8th February 2018
The Futures Forum of the Vision Group for Sidmouth will be holding a meeting open to all later this month to facilitate the bringing about of a ‘Plastic Free Sidmouth’.
This follows in the wake of several key campaigns in the Sid Valley, including the beach cleans by Sidmouth in Bloom’s Sidcombers, Surfers Against Sewage and the Sidmouth Plastic Warriors.
All of these groups are concerned about the amount of plastic making its way into our seas – and the devastating effect it has had, as seen on the BBC’s Blue Planet.
Denise Bickley of the Plastic Warriors has also been at the forefront of an on-line petition to ‘Make Sidmouth a single-use-plastic-free town’ at Change.org.
As for their part, the Town Council is going to be installing water fountains, and more businesses are looking at their use of plastic – including offering a free refill of water bottles.
And in Penzance, Surfers Against Sewage have been pioneering an ‘action plan’ for towns who want to go ‘plastic free’ with their Plastic Free Coastlines community toolkit.
On Thursday 22nd February there will be a public meeting to look at how Sidmouth could take a plastic free project forward – starting 7pm at the Leigh Browne Room of the Dissenters’/Unitarian Church Hall, opposite the Hospital.
It will be hosted by the Futures Forum of the Vision Group for Sidmouth and will be chaired by Robert Crick.
“Plastic waste on our beaches has doubled over the last decade”, he says. “Other towns have initiated town wide schemes to reduce plastic. Could this be an initiative for Sidmouth to adopt?”
Meanwhile, the Plastic Warriors will be having another plastic clean up on Saturday 17th February around the Woolbrook area, starting and finishing at the Youth Centre, 2 to 3pm: join the group on Facebook.
Their group’s founder Denise Bickley says: “We have lots of big ideas in the Sidmouth Plastic Warriors group and are keen to discuss the way forward at the public meeting on the 22nd.”
Anyone interested in a ‘plastic free Sidmouth’ is welcome to come along.
For more information go to http://www.visionforsidmouth.org”
He says Prince Charles’s architects would be “non-political” But in the absence of the Prince he says:
“My view of the Ham is that we could do multi-storey car parking there. It could be wrapped in retail or starter flats. There’s terrible parking pressure there already. You could have more people living in that part of the town.
“I think it would be a missed opportunity to just do something with the Drill Hall and not the rest of it. It requires an ambitious approach.”
And that’s not political? Pull the other one!
What do you bet Diviani comes to the same conclusion – by coincidence, of course!
“The number of second homes in Exmouth has fallen by almost three per cent since 2015. But, the town still has the second highest number in East Devon.
An FOI request, submitted by the Journal, revealed that on average, for every 38 properties in the town, there was one second home.
The statistics revealed there were 16,987 households in Exmouth and of these 422 were second homes, meaning they made up around 2.6 per cent of the total number of properties.
Over the last three years, the number of second homes across the district has slowly been decreasing. Across East Devon there are 69,333 households, with 2,339 being used as second homes. This has fallen by 2.8 per cent since 2015.
In Exmouth, the drop was slightly more, with a three per cent decrease from 459 to 442. Estate agents have suggested this is down to the increase on stamp duty when purchasing a second house. Mike Dibble, a director Bradleys Estate Agents, said anybody who bought a second home now paid an extra three per cent in stamp duty. He added: “For example, if you are a first-time buyer and purchase a home for £250,000, the stamp duty would be £2,500.
“But, if you are buying a second home or a buy-to-let then you would pay an extra £7,500, paying a total of £10,000 in stamp duty”.
Mr Dibble added the estate agents sold ‘nowhere near’ as many second homes as they used to.
The town with the most second homes was Sidmouth, which by April of this year, had a total of 471. The town has half the number of households compared to Exmouth and statistically, of Sidmouth’s 7,885 properties, six per cent are second homes.
The third highest was Seaton where around 5.4 per cent of the total number of properties are second homes – for every 19 properties in Seaton there is around one second home.
An East Devon District Council spokeswoman said: “There are a large number of second homes in East Devon for which the owners pay council tax in the same way as do all other home owners in the district.”
Source:
Journal 14 December 2017
The original article:
“In July, ‘Three Rs’ campaigners unveiled their alternative vision to ‘retain, refurbish, re-use’ the site’s existing buildings.
They wanted to challenge suggestions that the ‘only apparent option’ for the development of eastern town was to construct a multi-use building with 30 homes that could stand up to five storeys high.
Campaigners argue the existing buildings should be retained, the whole area should be refurbished as needed and sites such as the Drill Hall and the old boat park should be re-used.
In a bid to keep the public informed, they have created four information sheets ahead of the publication of a final report on Port Royal.
Councillor Cathy Gardner, [Independent East Devon Alliance] who is one of those leading the Three Rs campaign, said: “We think it is important people have more background information for the proposals for the Port Royal area, particularly while we are waiting for the final report from the scoping study – we are expecting that in January.
“We have tried to be as factual as we can. People ask a lot of questions and sometimes there are misunderstandings, and we just want to help clarify it for everybody.”
The information sheets explain the challenges East Devon District Council (EDDC) faces in redeveloping the site and the importance of the authority deciding on what happens, and argue it is essential to retain the Drill Hall.
The guides also look at what the Ham is and its conveyance, the role played by Sidmouth Town Council, what the Local Plan has to do with Port Royal, and where Devon County Council comes in.
As well as this, the information sheets will address how the car parks could be refurbished.
Cllr Gardner said the campaigners could also cover other topics so asked residents who were unsure on anything or think something should be clarified to let them know.
The information sheets have also been pinned up on a notice boards around Sidmouth and are available online at http://www.retain-refurbish-reuse.uk.
Alternatively, email cathy.gardner@eastdevonalliance.org.uk for an electronic copy.”
“A website which lists the worst places to live in the UK lists nine places as the worst in Devon – and the reviews on the website iLiveHere.uk are all written by local people. It includes Axminster and Sidmouth.
7 – Axminster – Blink and you’ll miss it
Axminster is a small town where everybody knows everybody, in fact most people know about your business before even you do.
8 – Sidmouth, it is paradise… for the retired or elderly
Visit the Donkey Sanctuary, it’s the richest charity in the UK which takes the p*** a bit because donkeys are no longer needed for anything.”
http://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/nine-worst-places-live-devon-931270
Oh dear!
It is interesting to compare the Millbrook development in Exeter with PegasusLife’s at the Knowle, Sidmouth.
At Millbrook [the retirement complex in Exeter, Exeter City Council being the planning authority] the development was considered to be C3 (dwelling houses) and therefore attracted affordable housing provision which consisted of a payment to the Council of £5.65 million plus the transfer of land at no cost to enable the Council to construct a public extra care facility on the site. In addition the developer contributed almost £300,000 towards sports facilities and £35,000 towards archeological recording.
And what are PegasusLife, who are backed by Oaktree, a billion-dollar equity giant with offshore tax-haven connnections, contributing?
Answer: nothing, whether the development is adjudged to be C2 (residential institution) or C3. Unless of course, you include an information board to tell you where the elegant lawn terraces in the public gardens used to be.
So how many “affordable” houses (or other provision) is East Devon losing out on?
The recently-leaked ‘Paradise Papers’ on tax havens seem to have revealed an interesting side to the activities of the billion-dollar US equity giant behind Pegasus Life the developer currently appealing EDDC’s refusal to give it planning permission to build 113 luxury flats for old people at Knowle in Sidmouth.
As the Pegasus Life website proudly proclaims, Oaktree Capital Management founded the company in 2012:
https://www.pegasuslife.co.uk/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIrLb85_bZ1wIVz7vtCh0bLAZkEAAYASAAEgKf3fD_BwE
The Paradise Papers suggest that, at about the same time, Oaktree was setting up a joint venture with Australian and Chinese billionaires to fund a 3.2 billion dollar casino in Macau through the offices of legal firm Appleby in the the British Virgin Islands tax haven:
Appleby became alarmed about the refusal of Oaktree and its partners to allow identity checks on its shareholders – the cornerstone of global efforts to stop money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
Oaktree and the others allegedly threatened to take their business elsewhere if Appleby insisted on the checks. Appleby didn’t, and the joint venture was duly incorporated in the British Virgin Isles with the shareholders remaining secret! The Casino opened in 2015.
All this is literally thousands of miles from the fond hope expressed by Philip Hammond in this week’s budget speech that local homes should be provided by small local companies with a real stake in their community.
Howard Phillips, current CEO of PegasusLife, was, until 31/08/2012, CEO of McCarthy & Stone. He led the restructuring of McCarthy & Stone’s £900M debt and under his watch the company is alleged to have engaged in the dubious practices exposed by Ch 4 Dispatches that year.
On 24 September 2012 a Channel 4 Dispatches programme on retirement leasehold was a brilliant example of television journalism that was extremely damaging to both McCarthy and Stone, and to Peverel, including their effect on this site:
https://www.betterretirementhousing.com/channel-four-dispatches-exposes-retirement-leasehold/
The Inquiry will commence at
10.00am on
Tuesday 28 November 2017
in the Council Chamber, Council Offices,
Knowle, Sidmouth EX10 8HL
The Inquiry is expected to be heard for the duration of five days.
Knowle site identified [correction – identified as Stowford Lodge site]
“Cllr Cathy Gardner, who jointly led the ‘Three Rs’ campaign to retain, refurbish and re-use existing buildings at Port Royal, said: “I’m delighted that the reference group has reacted to the views of residents and the consultant will reconsider their recommendations.
“The redevelopment of this area of town is important to all of us and a chance to do something wonderful for the town.
“The Three Rs campaign group will be working to encourage a community-based solution that makes the most of the heritage of the area without over-commercialisation.”
Owl says: starting a consultation by illustrating it with a detailed schematic plan of 5 storey buildings is asking for trouble – duh!
If you then go on to construct those 5 storey buildings, it would get very murky indeed!
“A campaigner determined to see Sidmouth’s Drill Hall considered as part of any regeneration plans for Port Royal has slammed ‘propaganda’ from project leaders.
Mary Walden-Till’s research into the history of the eastern town has covered much of the same ground as the scoping study commissioned by landowners Sidmouth Town Council (STC) and East Devon District Council (EDDC).
Town clerk Christopher Holland and Councillor Jeff Turner sat down with the Herald in a bid to reassure residents nothing has yet been decided – but Ms Walden-Till took issue with several of the points they raised.
She raised: “I know that both Cllr Turner and Mr Holland are committed to doing what they think is the best for Sidmouth so I was very disappointed to read something in the Herald (‘Port Royal could see massive development – or nothing at all’) which appeared to be propaganda rather than unadorned fact.
“If we want the best outcome for the town, we all need to make sure we are not playing games, even accidentally. If they can’t avoid ‘spin’ then they can’t claim to be open-minded on the issue. It is a matter of fact that both of them are on record as being vehemently opposed to preserving the Drill Hall.
“If the starting point is that the Drill Hall must be demolished, then it has to be accepted that it is unlikely that a developer would be interested in such a small plot, so then the search begin for a way to make it worth a developer’s time.
As a designer, it is important to me to start a project with no preconceptions about what should be removed or retained in order to achieve the desired result.
“The scoping exercise consultants should have started from the same point, and we should be able to see that they had considered a range of ways of increasing what Port Royal can offer to the town.
“This development should be about the town and not about ways of making money for the district as a whole. The district has already benefitted from Sidmouth’s loss in far too many circumstances: for example the loss of Fortfield Hotel to expensive apartments, the Section 106 money from which went to the district not solely to Sidmouth, and the upcoming loss of the council jobs at the Knowle, moving employment from Sidmouth to other areas of the district.
“To suggest that reusing the Drill Hall will of necessity ‘take away from other users’ of Port Royal is clearly ridiculous. How would preserving what is there at the same time reduce what is there?”
In a joint statement, Mr Holland and Cllr Turner said: “STC and EDDC would like to reiterate the aims of the scoping study. It is to research, investigate and report on the opportunities and constraints of improving the whole important Port Royal area.
“The councils have yet to receive the independent consultant’s Scoping Study to even begin discussing issues such as detailed designs, which would come further along in the project.
“The study is the start of a process that would, if supported by the councils, involve a much more detailed visioning for future consideration.
“To champion a single building at this stage which is a small part of a much larger area and be in constant opposition to a simple study which only aims to help inform councillors is not helpful.
“Members of both councils will decide how and if to proceed once the scoping study report is presented to them.”
Residents have until Wednesday (September 6) to make their representations after a developer appealed the refusal of its plans for a 113-home retirement community at Knowle.
Deadline looms on developer’s Knowle planning appeal
PUBLISHED: 19:32 03 September 2017 Stephen Sumner
Residents have until Wednesday (September 6) to make their representations after a developer appealed the refusal of its plans for a 113-home retirement community at Knowle.
PegasusLife’s proposals for the site of East Devon District Council’s (EDDC) current HQ were denied permission last year.
The Planning Inspectorate’s five-day inquiry to hear the appeal is set to open on November 28. It is not clear when a decision will be reached.
EDDC’s development management committee defied officer advice to refuse the scheme – arguing it represents a departure from Knowle’s 50-home allocation in the authority’s Local Plan.
Members also objected to the scale, height, bulk and massing of the proposed development. The developer has set out its arguments for the inquiry and will say it is ‘thoughtful and considered’.
EDDC said the development would result in a loss of light and privacy for adjoining properties, although PegasusLife says it will only ‘materially impact’ Hillcrest.
It will claim the development will not have a direct impact on Knowle’s listed summerhouse and that the scheme’s benefits outweigh any potential harm to it.
There was also a dispute with EDDC about whether the scheme should be classed as C2, care accommodation, or C3, housing, and PegasusLife will maintain that it should be the former. If the planning inspector agrees, it will not need to provide any ‘affordable’ housing or community funding for the town.
PegasusLife will argue that there is a ‘compelling need’ for extra care accommodation in East Devon. It says the development will be tailored to meet the needs of occupants as they age, with on-site communal facilities.
Under the proposals, there will also be a compulsory healthcare needs package for all residents, and an age restriction on the properties so at least one occupant is aged over 60.
The deal with PegasusLife is worth £7.505million to EDDC, subject to planning permission, although councillors have voted to press ahead with the authority’s £10million relocation to Exmouth and Honiton before any payment is made.
Comments on the application can be made at https://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk with appeal code 3177340.
http://www.sidmouthherald.co.uk/news/deadline-looms-on-developer-s-knowle-planning-appeal-1-5177063
This is a REALLY important decision as it establishes principles that surely MUST form a part of PegasusLife plans for the Knowle. And it will also apply to other developments.
Or has EDDC conveniently agreed to overlook this with PegasusLife – whose massively greater number of flats at eye-wateringly higher prices will give a MUCH greater profit than Green Close?
“A developer’s appeal over its bid to demolish a Sidmouth care home and build 36 sheltered housing apartments for the elderly has been dismissed.
Churchill Retirement Living took its case to the Planning Inspectorate after East Devon District Council (EDDC) failed to decide on its application within the allotted time.
Its plans, for the site of the closed 23-bed former Green Close care home, were approved in November subject to a £41,000 contribution towards ‘affordable’ housing.
But the two sides were subsequently unable to agree on an ‘overage’ clause that would have seen Churchill share half of any profits with EDDC that exceed the former’s current forecasts.
Planning inspector Thomas Bristow said: “I accept the proposal would be beneficial in resulting in additional sheltered housing accommodation in East Devon, in supporting employment during construction, and as future occupants would make use of nearby services and facilities.
“I have also taken account of the various reports submitted by the appellants related to housing older people, which highlight the importance of housing provision for an ageing provision.
“However, the support accorded in general terms to enabling housing delivery is not at the expense of ensuring that all development makes appropriate provision for affordable housing.
“Moreover, as there is no dispute over whether the council are presently able to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply, the development proposed cannot be said to be necessary to meet housing requirements as they stand in East Devon.”
Town councillors had slammed Churchill’s £41,000 offer towards off-site ‘affordable’ housing as an ‘insult’ to Sidmouth – claiming the developer stood ‘make millions’ from the development.
EDDC accepted Churchill’s viability assessment showing it could make no more than the ‘relatively modest contribution’, but tried to impose the overage clause in case its profits exceeded expectations.
Mr Bristow found in the council’s favour and refused planning permission.
Churchill acquired the site from Green Close owner Devon County Council subject to planning permission.
A spokesman for the firm said it is considering its options.
A new photo-montage reveals the size and scale of the proposed PegasusLife luxury retirement complex planned for the Knowle site when EDDC decamps to Honiton.
Owl thinks it looks rather like a Premier Inn adjacent to a Travelodge next to a Holiday Inn! With maybe a soupcon of Cranbrook thrown in for good measure!
Oh unlucky Sidmouth to have such a building foisted on it.
http://futuresforumvgs.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/knowle-relocation-project-shocked-to.html
Sunday’s picnic in celebration of The Ham open space took place in bright Sidmouth sunshine, suiting the mood of the organisers, and catching the attention of a steady stream of passers-by.
Information sheets showing the Scoping Study single ‘Proposal’, as displayed at the public consultation, were the subject of much discussion and concern from locals and visitors alike. More signatures were eagerly added to the paper copies of the 3Rs petition, calling for Retain-Refurbish-Reuse, an alternative plan for Port Royal. ..with the numbers already far outweighing the signatures collected online.
To view the petition, search 38 degrees Sidmouth Retain.
It will be handed in to the joint Scoping Study partners, East Devon District Council, and to Sidmouth Town Council which next meets on Monday 4th September, 6.30pm at Woolcombe House, Woolcombe Lane. Public can attend the meeting.
All the presentations, and programme for the meeting, are detailed here:
Slides are here:
Click to access 23-aug-3rs-final-slides.pdf
Report of meeting:
“The five perfectly-pitched short presentations at last night’s Public Meeting were each restricted by Chair, Di Fuller, to not much more than 5 minutes. This maximised the time for questions and comments from the audience packed into Sidmouth’s All Saints’ Church Hall, and ensured ample time for the questions to be answered. There was a clear strength of opinion in the room, that Port Royal regeneration should be carefully conceived as a suitable legacy for the town. Local knowledge from those attending, raised issues such as flood risk and contamination that could disadvantage residential development on this site. Potential loss of existing public parking behind the lifeboat station was also a concern.
Speakers were EDDC Councillors Marianne Rixson (Ward Member Sidmouth-Sidford), Cathy Gardner and Matt Booth (Ward members Sidmouth Town); and local residents Mary-Walden-Till and Jeremy Woodward.
Mary Walden-Till concentrated on The Ham conveyance land.
She told the crowd:
“Under the terms of the Conveyance the land was given to the inhabitants of and visitors to Sidmouth as a place of recreation ‘for ever’. Subject only to ‘reasonable restrictions and regulations in accordance with the law for the time being affecting the use of Public Parks and Pleasure Grounds’.
It was a Trust for which Sidmouth Town Council is now the Trustee, with all the legal responsibilities that entails. Sidmouth Town Councillors act to manage that trust on behalf of the Council. It is a complex legal arrangement but it does not in any way affect the terms of the Conveyance which forms the Governing Document of the Charity.
It was therefore incorrect to allow part of The Ham to be included in the Local Plan area ED03 as being available for redevelopment. The toilet block stands on Ham land, and the Land Registry deed says it is covered by the terms of the Conveyance. I have asked EDDC Councillors to correct the boundary of ED03 but they never even bothered to acknowledge my email.
None of The Ham land is available to be built on or to be used in any way other than for free recreation for all. It can not be used as parking for cars or boats, as that is restricting its use. Using it as car parking was suggested, and thrown out, in the early part of the 20th C. Nothing has changed since then as far as the Conveyance is concerned. And nothing can change with the Conveyance except through our connivance or apathy.
It is in breach of charity law to do anything which adversely affects the rights of a charity’s beneficiaries, and any of those beneficiaries has the right to complain to the Charity Commission. Anyone who has ever been to Sidmouth is covered by the terms of the Conveyance, so there are a large number of people who can demand that the terms are kept.”
“Public Meeting this
Wednesday, 23 August 2017
from 7-9pm
All Saints Church Hall, All Saints Road, Sidmouth EX10 8ES
Organised by 3Rs campaign ..Retain, Refurbish, Reuse..an alternative plan for Port Royal
Details provided by the organisers, as follows:
Retain Refurbish and Reuse
Public meeting Wednesday 23rd August
Purpose of the meeting:
To present an alternative vision for Port Royal for East Devon District Council and Sidmouth Town Council to consider.
We shall discuss how to:
-Retain existing buildings and uses, for the benefit of all;
-Refurbish buildings;
-Renew street furniture;
-‘Green’ the car parks etc;
-Reuse old buildings and spaces such as the Drill Hall and old boat park behind the Ham play area.
The meeting will include presentations and discussion on:
-a summary of the consultation findings
-Neighbourhood Plan findings on Port Royal
-the current EDDC proposal
-ideas for an alternative vision
-how an alternative vision could be funded and delivered
We want to hear your views and answer questions
Where to next? Protest, petition, write letters!
To help get this alternative considered, it’s important that you :
-Sign the petition online: search 38 degrees Sidmouth Retain
-Write to Town and District Councillors to explain what you want
-Join us on Facebook: Retain Refurbish Reuse
-Attend the picnic on the Ham on 27th August from 1-4pm
East Devon Watch 