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South West “worst” for ambulance response

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. 

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£500k grant will help tackle rough sleeping in East Devon

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 

Rough sleeper, homeless

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.

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Planning applications validated by EDDC for week beginning 3 October

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‘Nowhere for them to live’: the Devon families pushed out by Airbnb

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.”

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Alarm over sharp rise in Airbnb listings in coastal areas of England and Wales

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.”

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Plymouth ‘Independent’ group may emerge following Tory chaos 

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.”

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PS: Hunt delivers kick in the teeth to Simon Jupp PPS

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

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Government set to make it easier to stand in English council elections

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.

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Ex-Devon MP caught up in expenses row is made a Lord

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”.

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Mid Devon ‘losing thousands’ for communities in lost deals with developers

Mid Devon has been accused of losing thousands of pounds of money from its agreements with developers. At a Cullompton Town Council meeting on Thursday, September 29, the Cullompton Community Association (CCA) requested funds from S106 agreement funds, which developers provide when they build in the town. The CCA requested money to renew the play equipment at the CCA Fields.

Lewis Clarke www.devonlive.com

Councillor Matthew Dale said: “I think we should support this because the equipment down there is getting old and it does get well used after school by children with their parents. I think we ought to look at developer contributions from future projects towards it.”

Councillor Gordon Guest added: “There are various S106 pots. Mid Devon has always been very slow in administering these concerning Cullompton. I can think of at least two occasions where several thousand pounds had to be returned from the S106 box to the developer because Mid Devon had been too slow in spending them in the time provided. My response to this request would be to approve anything that gets hold of S106 money for any project. We should be taking it as quickly as we can. Even if we say yes, it might take Mid Devon a long time to process. Their track record is abysmal in relation to Cullompton Town Council, so I strongly suggest we support this request.”

Councillor Mike Thompson said: “We’ve got several play areas in town. Over the last ten years, this town council has put considerable money into costly play equipment. Most of the play areas we’ve leased or taken on from Mid Devon are costing us a small fortune. I’ve nothing against the CCA and what it represents, but as they’re a charity, have they done sufficient lobbying to raise money for various sources so they can replace this equipment themselves? It is not a town council play area.”

However, Councillor James Buczkowski added: “There are a number of S106 pots held by Mid Devon that are available for the community. Some of them are allocated. There is also an unallocated part, and this is for the purchase of new equipment. The request from the CCA was that the council supports the CCA charity accessing the unallocated pot of money that’s already been taken from developers and is sat at Mid Devon doing nothing and has been for some years. It’s not the town council’s money that will be paid, and it won’t affect our precept or budget.”

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East Devon by-election: Candidate list confirmed for November 10 poll

The candidates for a by-election to be held next month in East Devon have been announced. Voters in the Newton Poppleford and Harpford ward will go to the polls on Thursday, November 10 – in what could be a real test of the Conservatives’ popularity.

The best memorial for Val is for the people of Newton Pop to vote for who will best represent the interests of their community – should be a “no brainer”. – Owl

Daniel ClarkContent Editor & Politics Reporter www.devonlive.com

The by-election has been called following the death of former councillor Val Ranger. The Independent councillor died in August after a battle with cancer.

Three candidates have been nominated to stand in the election as her replacement. The Conservatives, the Labour Party, and an Independent will stand.

The candidates are:

Chris Burhop (Independent)

Paul Carter (Conservatives)

Caleb Early (Labour)

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Tories facing wipeout as Labour takes 36-point lead in new poll

The Conservatives are facing a near-wipeout in a general election as Liz Truss’s government continues to implode, a new poll suggests.

Based on these latest polls the Scottish National Party would form His Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition not the Tories!

How bad can this get for the Tories? Hang in there Liz, spin out the drama! – Owl

Jon Stone www.independent.co.uk

The survey released on Monday afternoon is the worst yet for the Tories, with Labour now a vast 36 points ahead of the governing party – the highest lead ever recorded by any pollster for any party.

If replicated at a general election the results would likely see the Scottish National Party become the official opposition at Westminster with the Tories reduced to a small rump of MPs.

The release of the Redfield & Wilton survey comes after Ms Truss tried to firefight the reaction to her tax-cutting budget by firing her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and U-turning on a whole slate of policies.

The exact number of seats the Tories would be left with would depend on where votes were cast – but on a uniform national swing they could be left with just one MP, according to the Electoral Calculus website.

Other predictions based on the data suggest they would be left with around 20 seats, still fewer than the Scottish National Party and Liberal Democrats would be expected to win.

Labour would win 56 per cent of the vote, up three on the previous survey, and the Tories just 20 per cent, down 4 per cent on last week. The Lib Dems would win 11 per cent, the Green 5 per cent and SNP 4 per cent.

The results follow another similar survey by Deltapoll, which earlier today showed the Conservative 32 points behind Labour, also losing ground on previous polls.

There is some variations between different pollsters, but virtually are now showing vast Labour leads of at least 20 points, with many over 30 per cent.

Ms Truss skipped a parliamentary scrutiny session on Monday with Labour leader Keir Starmer and instead send out Commons leader Penny Mordaunt to answer questions about the government’s record.

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Hunt, Rees-Mogg, Coffey and Johnson all set to lose seats in Labour election landslide, poll says

Jeremy Hunt, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Thérèse Coffey are among 10 cabinet ministers who face losing their seats, according to a poll which found the Conservatives are on course for a general election wipeout.

Thomas Kingsley www.independent.co.uk

The poll by Opinium, using the MRP method to estimate constituency-level results, projected a 1997-style landslide for Labour, with the party winning 411 seats.

The research, commisioned by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), indicated the Conservatives would lose 219 seats to end up on 137, with the Liberal Democrats on 39 seats and SNP on 37. It projected a vote share for Labour of 43 per cent, with the Conservatives on 28 per cent, the Lib Dems on 13 per cent, Greens on 7 per cent, and SNP on 4 per cent.

Those results would be the Tory party’s worst election performance since 1906, when it secured 156 seats.

The poll was carried out with more than 10,000 adults from 26 to 30 September – two weeks before Liz Truss scrapped large parts of her mini-Budget and sacked her chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng. Polling since then suggests her government has sunk further in popularity.

Among those whose seats were projected to be lost by the Tories were the new chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, Simon Clarke, the levelling-up secretary, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the business secretary, Thérèse Coffey, the health secretary and deputy prime minister, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the transport secretary, Chloe Smith, the work and pensions secretary, Alok Sharma, the Cop26 president, Jake Berry, the Tory party chair, and Robert Buckland, the Wales secretary.

Boris Johnson, the former prime minister, is also on course to lose his seat, according to the poll, and the Conservatives would lose all 45 out of 45 so-called red wall seats in the north of England.

The poll also asked voters about their support for EU-derived workers’ rights, such as paid leave and limits on working times, which are under threat from the Conservatives’ legislation scrapping laws and regulations that originated in Brussels.

Overall, 71 per cent of voters support retaining EU-derived workers’ rights such as holiday pay, safe limits on working times and rest breaks. They received overwhelming backing even in the seats of Mr Rees-Mogg, where 72 per cent supported them, and Liz Truss, where there was a backing of 63 per cent.

Head of political polling at Opinium Chris Curtis said: “Voters are convinced that the Conservatives are on the side of the wealthy rather than workers. If they want to avoid a wipeout at the next election they need to turn this around. One way they could do this is reverse their position on workers’ rights.”

Ms Truss has already watered down her leadership campaign pledge to scrap all remaining EU laws by the end of 2023 – allowing some to remain in place until 2026.

A new bill will aim to axe up to 1,500 items of so-called retained law – on workers’ rights, the environment, data privacy, road standards and much more – in just 15 months’ time.

But the government has given itself a get-out clause, after warnings that the accelerated timetable was a recipe for “chaos” and further damaging disruption for business.

A statement from Jacob Rees-Mogg, the business secretary, said: “The bill includes an extension mechanism for the sunset of specified pieces of retained EU law until 2026.”

In contrast, in July, as she campaigned for the Tory leadership, Ms Truss sought to outflank her rival Rishi Sunak by pledging “to scrap all EU regulation by the end of 2023”.

Nevertheless, huge concerns remain over the bonfire of EU laws – even on a slower timetable – because it will be carried out through regulations, behind MPs’ backs.

A former government lawyer warned “human review” of decisions made by computer algorithms will be quietly axed, risking a repeat of the 2020 “A-levels fiasco”.

Tearing up protections could also come at a price, if divergence triggers disputes under the Brexit trade deal – potentially allowing Brussels to curb access to EU markets for British firms.

Responsibility for the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill remains with Mr Rees-Mogg – who once suggested cutting EU safety standards to levels in India – after his switch from the Cabinet Office to the business department.

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A pledge for 10,000 homes turned into 18 houses and liquidation

Liverpool Council’s house building company – which once promised to build 10,000 new homes across the city – is to be liquidated after developing just 18 properties.

A Case Study – Owl

Liam Thorp www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

In early 2018, Liverpool Council announced the launch of a flagship new housing company that it said would ‘radically reshape Liverpool’s housing market.’

In a major launch, then Mayor Joe Anderson said the new ‘ Foundations’ company would deliver 10,000 properties across the city, fuelled by an estimated £500m investment programme. There would be a focus on building homes for foster families, the elderly, people with disabilities and the homeless as part of an ‘ethical’ housing company.

Since that point, Foundations has built and taken ownership of just 18 properties – none of them at social rent – and will now be wound down.

The launch of Foundations was a big deal for the council. Mayor Anderson described it at the time as the most exciting policy of his time in office. The announcement garnered national headlines and was seen as a radical and forward thinking approach to tackling the housing crisis in the city.

An impressive team was put in place to lead the company, with former Liverpool Councillor and Housing cabinet member Frank Hont as Chairman.

Other board members included Andrea Titterington former chief executive of Regenda and chartered surveyors boss Maggi Howard.

Mark Kitts, the council’s Assistant Director for Regeneration was installed as Chief Executive while company records show that his boss, the now suspended Nick Kavanagh, was also a director of the company for a short period.

Other experienced staff were recruited for areas like business development and finance. Following its inception, the first big announcement regarding new homes came in March 2018.

The council announced that the first phase of Foundations would see £50m spent on building 500 houses within an 18 month time period. But around a year later another major council announcement would change the direction that the local authority’s housing plans would go in.

In May 2019, the city council announced that it was to start building council homes for the first time in 30 years. Mayor Anderson said this had become possible after weeks of negotiations with central government had ended with an agreement to wipe off hundreds of millions of pounds of debt that had kept the city’s Housing Revenue Account locked for many years.

So Foundations was no longer the big story for the council as it could now start looking at building its own homes directly – rather than through a separate company.

In July 2020 the council announced a new strategic housing delivery team that would bring forward a viable portfolio of sites for development in a bid to contribute to the city’s need to develop 30,000 new homes. It was around this time that four staff members from Foundations left their employment on the basis of a settlement agreement.

In a press announcement in July 2020, the council said Foundations would continue to operate as a stock holding company owned by the city council and would retain its existing responsibilities as an operational landlord for properties it had already built.

The release also stated that Frank Hont would remain as the chairman of Foundations – although company records show that he resigned just two months later on September 30. He wasn’t the only one.

Board members Andrea Titterington and Margaret Gilkes resigned on the same day, while Darrell Mercer left his position at the end of December and Angela Forshaw resigned from her role on the board on January 31. Former senior council officers Nick Kavanagh and Mark Kitts have also previously resigned from the company.

Currently, the only director of foundations remaining is Andrew Buck. But that won’t be for long.

A report to next week’s council cabinet is recommending the closure of the council’s wholly owned housing company, Liverpool Foundation Homes Limited, with councillors set to agree that it is placed into voluntary liquidation.

If agreed by the cabinet next week, Foundations will market and dispose of its assets to all registered providers of social housing on their current tenure as rent to buy products.

Over the past 18 months, Foundations’ operations have been wound down with all employees leaving or returning to the City Council in April 2021. Following a review, Foundations will now look to dispose of the properties in its portfolio to a registered provider of social housing. Current tenants will be able to remain in the properties with their existing arrangements safeguarded.

Once assets have been transferred, Foundations will enter into voluntary liquidation. The cabinet report states: “Closing the company will reduce the burden it places on the city council in terms of costs and administration, allowing officers to dedicate their time towards delivering a housing strategy which enables housing development in the city.”

“Once this has been done, the company will need to be closed. This will need to be undertaken by way of liquidation which is the formal manner in which Foundations’ affairs are wound down and the company is ultimately dissolved.”

Once a liquidator is appointed, they will take over the management of the company with the aim of winding down the business and dissolving the company.

The report states that council officers have started a “detailed lessons learnt exercise” to assess whether the Foundations venture “represented value for money alongside other options the council could have pursed in respect of the building and managing of housing.”

As far as the council’s opposition leader is concerned, it was a waste of time and money. Cllr Richard Kemp said: “The news that the Labour Cabinet in Liverpool has finally drawn the line on Joe Anderson’s house building ambitions comes as no surprise. Labour’s dream of changing the housing market in the city by building 10,000 new homes has finally been laid to rest with the final tally being 18 new homes which are owned by its Foundations Company. Each of those houses cost us £45,000 in administrative costs alone.”

Councillor Sarah Doyle, Liverpool Council’s Cabinet Member for Development and Housing, said: “Liverpool City Council has been reviewing all of the companies it has established over the years to examine their role and function and to consider whether they are delivering best value for the taxpayer. Foundations was established to deliver thousands of new homes across the city, but it has become apparent that this is no longer a viable proposition.

“A small number of properties are currently under the management of Foundations and these tenancies and properties will now be transferred following a tender exercise.

“The city council has recently endorsed the Local Plan which sets out a new vision to attract investment for new housing and provide the guidelines to ensure developers build quality, sustainable homes.

“Various workstreams are underway to unlock priority housing sites and ensure delivery of decent, affordable homes in partnership with our local housing associations. As Cabinet member I regularly chair a meeting whereby council officers meet with Registered Providers to work through key issues such, homelessness, neighbourhood investment and priority sites.

“These meetings are proving to be really productive. Registered Providers are also supporting our community-led housing programme and have collectively set aside funding to support Breaking Ground, a community led housing hub.

“Officers and members are currently engaged in drafting a new housing strategy to help underpin that ambition. And we are assembling a housing team to implement our plans.”

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Former council leader suspended from Tory group

The former Conservative leader of Plymouth City Council has been suspended by his own group following “several serious and different complaints and allegations” it has been revealed tonight.

Local Tory turmoil – Owl

Carl Eve www.plymouthherald.co.uk

In reply, Cllr Nick Kelly has claimed that the local Tory party had “deemed that I am not fit to represent the party at the next local election in May 2023.”

Nick Kelly was ousted as leader of the council in March this year following a vote of no confidence which was instigated by Labour councillors, but backed by three Independents – all ex-Conservative councillors. He had initially become leader of the council after the Conservative group won the largest number of seats in the May 2021 elections.

However, following several suspensions and resignations, the Tories ended up on a knife-edge with the same number of councillors as the Labour group. Following his removal, Conservative councillors voted for Cllr Richard Bingley to take over the role as leader not just of the group, but of the entire council.

Cllr Kelly’s brief tenure had become mired in controversy over allegations he made inappropriate comments following the murder of Bobbi-Anne McLeod. As a result he was suspended from the group as an inquiry was held. However, following the resignation of one of his colleagues from the Conservative group to become an Independent – leading to the Conservative and Labour holding the same number of seats – his suspension was suddenly lifted, granting the Tories a majority again.

Cllr Kelly has since contested that his comments were “insensitive and arrogant” and has claimed his words were used out of context by parts of the media, leading him to later announce during his final speech as leader of the council that there was “legal action being taken on the Bobbi-Anne McLeod comments”.

His departure saw some Conservatives quit the group, with Plympton Erle councillor and former Lord Mayor Terri Beer, accuse the new leader’s regime of bullying. She went on to claim that Cllr Kelly was “mentally tortured” some some Tory group members.

This came as recordings Tory council leader Richard Bingley’s foul-mouthed attack on colleagues was leaked to the public. In the recordings – understood to have been made weeks before the no-confidence vote – he described his predecessor as a “weak, two-faced git” telling the caller “he won’t be leader in May [2022]”.

Tonight, a spokesperson for the Plymouth Conservative Group stated: “Following several serious and different complaints and allegations made formally to our Group Executive team, we can confirm that Councillor Nick Kelly (Compton Ward) has been suspended from Plymouth City Council Conservative Group, pending all necessary investigations.

“A further formal statement will be made by our Group Executive following the conclusion of these investigations.”

On his Facebook page tonight Cllr Nick Kelly wrote to the residents and businesses of Compton ward, stating: “I wish to inform you that following an Approvals Panel selection today, I am extremely disappointed that the local Conservative Party have deemed that I am not fit to represent the party at the next local election in May 2023.

“I shall continue to work diligently for your benefit , as I have, since being first elected as a City Councillor in 2015. Thank you for your past and continued support.

“I am devastated by this decision, as it has been a huge honour to represent my home city as a Councillor, Deputy Lord Mayor and Leader over the past seven years. I shall issue a further statement in due course.”

Tonight, Cllr Beer took to Twitter to claim: “I have never seen such bullying that Cllr Nick Kelly has endured. It’s been terrible.”

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Does Clyst St Mary need four storey Carbuncles?

From a Correspondent:

In 1984, our new King Charles III was the heir apparent, the Prince of Wales, when he openly attacked British architects and  denounced modern British architecture, in his Hampton Court speech, by trashing the proposed design of the extension to the National Gallery with the famous quote:- 

“ . . . . what is proposed is like a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend.” 

This prompted a great national debate and made many architects think again. 

“For far too long”, said the prince, “it seems to me, some planners and architects have consistently ignored the feelings and wishes of the mass of ordinary people in this country … To be concerned about the way people live, about the environment they inhabit and the kind of community that is created by that environment, should surely be one of the prime requirements of a really good architect.”  

He continued, “For a long time I have felt strongly about the wanton destruction which has taken place in this country in the name of progress; about the sheer unadulterated ugliness and mediocrity of public and commercial buildings, and of housing estates, not to mention the dreariness and heartlessness of so much urban planning.” 

He advised that 1984 was the time and place to sacrifice some profit, if need be, for generosity of vision, for elegance, for dignity; for buildings which would raise our spirits and our faith in commercial enterprise. He spoke of the need to produce buildings of beauty that “lift our spirits”. . . and commented “We should build legacies, not blots, on our landscape.”  

Fast forward four decades and his c-word (‘carbuncle’) continues to be as relevant to outraged local residents, where they have now been confronted with an East Devon District Council Planners’ recommendation to their Planning Committee for Clyst St Mary’s own 2022 carbuncle – namely 40 four-storey apartments in Winslade Park (Application 21/2217/MRES due for a decision on 25th October 2022 at 10.00 hrs via Zoom).  

C:\Users\Linda\Pictures\Proposals for 40 Four Storey Apartments in Three Blocks - Zone D.jpg

Only last month, the Guardian again made reference to the 1984 Prince of Wales’ carbuncle speech and concluded:- 

“In the face of a wilfully retrograde Tory cabinet, bent on burning fossil fuels, lining developers’ pockets and deregulating the planning system, the presence of a climate-conscious, conservation-minded, planning-literate king may turn out to be the unlikely voice of sanity we never knew we needed.” 

In 2022 will those past, noble intentions of today’s King Charles III be a match for the UK’s profit-driven system? 

Clyst St Mary still holds on to the hope that our Sovereign’s words and ideals will reverberate in this small corner of East Devon to encourage elected decision makers to recommend that these developers and architects lance this carbuncle and replace it with a more fitting design for an East Devon historic, rural village?  

“Long Live King Charles III!” 

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For deep cover “Agent Liz”, mission almost accomplished

[One for the conspiracy theorists].

The decoded tweets from “Control” over the past two weeks reveal Operation “Existential Disruption” and blow the cover of “Agent Liz”. [Nom de guerre: “la girouette de fer“]

Two weeks ago she is warned suspicions are rising:

Last Thursday contingency plans are brought forward to extricate her to a safe house, as and when:

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Clyst Valley Park masterplan up for national award

Plans to turn Clyst Valley Regional Park into a wildlife haven, have been nominated for a national accolade.

Adam Manning www.midweekherald.co.uk 

East Devon District Council (EDDC) is thrilled to announce the park’s 25-year masterplan has been shortlisted in finals for the ‘Excellence in Plan Making’, as part of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Awards 2022.

The award recognises the value of plan making coupled to community engagement. EDDC has carried out extensive community work through two £200,000 lottery projects – ‘Great trees in the Clyst Valley’ and ‘Routes for Roots’. One of successes of the latter has been the weekly wellbeing walks that EDDC has led to help reduce isolation and improve mental and physical health for 40 adults.

The plan has been hailed for the focus it has given to making the park more sustainable and promote wellbeing, for example, by working towards 30 per cent tree cover in the Clyst Valley by 2050.

As part of this EDDC has worked with 250 school children and adults from the Broadclyst and Cranbrook area to plant trees and shrubs to suck up carbon, including planting Britain’s rarest tree – the Black Poplar.

The park is also UK’s newest regional park – prompting interest from the National Trust and Bromsgrove District Council who want to learn from EDDC and see if they can create their own regional park. The creation of 10 regional parks in the urban fringe was one of the recommendations EDDC made to the trust’s national report about ‘future parks’. The parks would generate £600million per year in health benefits, contribute to eight per cent of the national tree planting target, and provide £2 of health and amenity benefits for every £1 invested over 30 years.

Councillor Geoff Jung, EDDC’s portfolio holder for coast, country, and environment, said: “I am really delighted for the team at EDDC that their hard work and dedication has been recognised for the Clyst Valley Regional Park masterplan being selected to be shortlisted for the final. It well deserved.

“A Nature Recovery Network forms part of the masterplan and ambitious targets have been set for nature, people, and climate. Our ‘Clyst Canopy’ project for many more trees, of the right type, in the right place dovetails into our ambitious targets for our East Devon’s climate change initiatives with an ambitious target of 30 per cent for the Clyst Valley from just 12 per cent “It is vital that this council at the same time as providing plans to provide to build 948 dwellings a year within the district, which is required by central Government it’s also imperative to improve, enhance, and protect our landscape and increase the biodiversity throughout the area.”