Storm Eunice: ‘extremely strong winds’ to peak on Friday and continue over weekend

www.devon.gov.uk

Devon County Council is advising people to only travel if absolutely necessary with ‘extremely strong winds’ expected over the next few days and reaching a peak on Friday morning.

The Met Office has escalated its Yellow Wind Warning for the region , issued on Tuesday, to Amber. And now a Red warning has been issued for northern Devon and it’s coastline. The warning will revert back to ‘yellow’ for the duration of Saturday afternoon.

The south west is expected to be battered by gale force winds caused by Storm Eunice – they will be at their strongest in coastal areas between 7am to 12pm on Friday morning, with gusts of 90-100mph possible.

There is an increasing likelihood of widespread inland wind gusts of 60-70 mph and up to 80 mph in a few places. Strong winds are also expected to continue over the weekend.

The Met Office says that Eunice may cause ‘significant disruption’ on the county’s roads, and that there is a good chance that flying debris could result in ‘a danger to life.’

The high winds will also affect some other services and all of Devon’s recycling centres will be closed tomorrow (Friday, February 18).

Schools will also be affected – Devon County Council is supporting any school that decides it needs to close. A list of school closures can be found on Schools Information webpage.

Meanwhile, the County Council’s school transport service will be operating if it is safe to do so.  Parents and carers are asked to visit the school transport route closure website, to check if their child’s routes have been closed due to safety concerns.

If students use public transport to get to school we also recommend that they check with the operator to determine if services will be disrupted.

Additionally mobile libraries and the Public Health mobile coronavirus testing and vaccination vans will not be running on Friday.

Damage to buildings and homes is likely, with roofs blown off and power lines brought down. Roads, bridges and railway lines are likely to close, with delays and cancellations to bus, train, ferry services and flights.

The high winds are likely to result in the temporary closure of Taw Bridge, Barnstaple. Other bridges may also be affected. Wind speeds are being constantly monitored, so please check before you travel. If you must travel during a bridge closure please plan your journey, find a safer alternative route, and leave extra time.

And on the coast, flooding and large waves are likely. During these times people are advised to stay away from coastal paths and coastal areas as beach debris is likely to be thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties.

In preparation extra staff are being drafted into Devon County Council’s Network Operations Control Centre and extra highways teams will be ready to respond. Teams of tree-surgeons will also be on stand-by to clear any fallen trees on the county’s roads.

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Highway Management, said:

“The Met Office has increased its alert level and Storm Eunice will make travelling conditions quite perilous for much of Friday morning and we are advising if you can avoid travelling, please do so.

“The forecast of such strong winds may well lead to fallen trees or branches, and other debris. If you must travel, please take extra care, particularly when its dark when its more difficult to see debris on the road.

“To prepare for this, extra people are being drafted to staff our Network Operations Control Centre and highways teams and tree surgeons will be on standby.

“If possible, postpone your journey until conditions improve and if you do have to travel, slow down, allow extra time for your journey and drive according to the conditions. Keep an eye on travel updates and weather forecasts and please plan your journey.”

Devon County Council is reminding people of the following advice:

• Avoid overnight travel unless absolutely essential as roads will always be more hazardous at night with poorer visibility;

• Be alert to fallen trees and branches, particularly on minor roads where they may not have been reported;

• Consider if your journey is essential and be alert to weather warnings;

• Never drive through floodwater or swollen flowing water, you don’t know how deep it is. Find an alternative route;

• Allow additional time for your journey;

• Reduce your speed and leave more space between you and the vehicle in front and leave plenty of room if you’re overtaking;

• Drive with care and according to the conditions.

For more information and winter travel advice visit the County Council’s winter travel webpages or for updates on Twitter follow @DevonAlert

A Mid Devon council meeting has been compared to Joseph Stalin’s dictatorship of the Soviet Union.

Chairperson “followed Politburo’s playbook”

Ollie Heptinstall, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk 

Autocrat Bob Deed (left) is accused of following Joseph Stalin’s playbook

The surprising claim was made after a group of councillors complained about the running of the district council’s cabinet meeting on Tuesday 1 February, which contained a packed agenda of over 20 items, including the new budget.

The group submitted a motion to the authority’s scrutiny committee held this week, claiming the agenda was too long and that several items “could and should have been placed on the agenda of another meeting.”

“This gave very little time for discussion and questioning of important items of business, especially by non-cabinet members,” wrote Councillors Graeme Barnell, Simon Clist, Elizabeth Lloyd and Ashley Wilce.

The motion claimed some questions were not answered and that the meeting was chaired by council leader Bob Deed (New Independent, Cadbury) in a way “that was perceived to be extremely disrespectful towards non-cabinet members, bordering on hostile and autocratic.”

“With one notable exception, non-cabinet members felt as though they were routinely and aggressively interrupted by the chair and prevented from making valid points or from entering into any discussion about key items,” it added.

During the debate on the motion, Cllr Barnell (Lib Dem, Newbrooke) said the management of the meeting “seemed to follow the Joseph Stalin playbook of Politburo management,” a reference to the former Soviet dictator and his all-powerful executive committee.

This was evidenced in how the agenda was “unmanageably long,” Cllr Barnell said, as well as by allowing “cabinet members to expand at length about the wisdom of their proposals, thereby limiting the time available for anybody else to suggest alternatives.”

He also suggested it was chaired in a way that tried to prevent questions being asked and non-cabinet members who had managed to “ask a question or, god forbid, express a point of view” were interrupted.

“This is a clear mismanagement of decision-making and is fundamentally wrong. It is completely out of step with the Nolan principles and with the council’s own principles of good decision-making,” Cllr Barnell claimed.

He added that it “brings the council into disrepute and corrodes trust and confidence in the executive.”

He asked the cabinet to review the management of the meeting and requested better collaboration with non-cabinet members.

Another of the motion’s signatories, Cllr Wilce (Ungrouped, Cullompton North) said: “I have to say from listening to that meeting, I was appalled by the way that it was conducted and I can only think that any member of the public that listened to it would feel the same way.”

He and Cllr Clist (Lib Dem, Upper Culm) both claimed their pre-submitted questions were not answered during the meeting. Cllr Wilce called it “totally wrong” not to discuss his, and “an abuse” of the chairman’s discretion.

In response, Cllr Deed defended his handling of events.

“As has been acknowledged, there was a very long agenda,” he said.  “I did take the view that in order that the meeting only took as long as it needed to take, I didn’t think it would be appropriate to allow any members to speak in a way that perhaps took us slightly away from the agenda.”

As a result, Cllr Deed said he decided to “only allow members to ask questions,” adding he was “perfectly entitled to do that” due to being in charge of the meeting and that, by definition, a chair is autocratic.

“Yes, there were three members where I did try to stop them talking and it took a while. There were two members who wanted to argue with me.

“Well, that was sad because there seems to be a lack of understanding that a chair is a chair, and one therefore needs to abide by the time-honoured rules.”

He added: “I wasn’t trying to be offensive to anybody. I wasn’t trying to cut down any subsequent discussion, but I though it appropriate to ask that only questions be asked. If it has offended people because they didn’t understand the process or the role of the chair, I’m sorry.”

Cllr Deed concluded: “Everybody knows that I did not take that stance in any previous meeting while I’ve been on this council. It was because of the very heavy workload on that particular meeting that I took the attitude that I did.”

The deputy leader, Councillor Bob Evans (Conservative, Lower Culm), said it was “a little bit unbecoming” and “an insult” to be associated with Joseph Stalin – “a dictator who was responsible for the deaths of millions of citizens.”

“We can all have an opinion, and we call all think what’s right and what’s wrong, and what could have been done a little bit better … however to come out with a pre-conceived, pre-written, pre-notified comment such as that I think is slightly wrong.”

He suggested the remark be withdrawn and reminded councillors that they operate under an agreed constitution and cabinet system, but Cllr Barnell said he made the Stalin reference in relation to his style of meetings, not “to compare character or dictatorial tendencies.”

Councillor Barry Warren (Lower Culm), chairman of the scrutiny committee said Cllr Deed was “faced with a very, very heavy agenda” and suggested future such meetings could be split into two.

The committee agreed to note the motion and for other groups of the council to review the issues raised.

If the “gatherings” that Boris Johnson “dropped in on” were just “part of his normal working life” and business, for him, continued as usual afterwards; are we meant to assume that this was also common, and acceptable, behaviour amongst senior staff  during lockdown restriction in, for example, our NHS hospitals? Are knees ups, boozy leaving dos and quizzes in between a spot of intensive care, a necessary part of the working day?

It was the government, led by none other than Boris Johnson, who devised and imposed the restrictions on the rest of us. Are they now taking us for fools? – Owl

Elsewhere it has been reported that the number of people contacted by the police is now nearer 90 than 50.

www.independent.co.uk 

Boris Johnson insists he can’t “say anything” about his defence in the Partygate scandal while the police investigate him – but, behind the scenes, his aides are singing like canaries.

As the clock ticks down to what looks like an inevitable fixed penalty notice – and enormous pressure for the prime minister to resign – we are being given a fascinating insight into the fightback to come.

Friendly newspapers are being briefed about what are either, depending on your point of view, the clever arguments his lawyers will employ – or their increasingly desperate excuses.

The motive is clear: this is a softening up exercise to try to shift public opinion about what was acceptable behaviour for Mr Johnson, during the lockdowns he imposed, with a none-too-subtle threat to the police tossed in.

So, it has been briefed that Mr Johnson will acknowledge he attended up to 6 rule-busting gatherings the Met is investigating, but will argue they were “part of his working life”.

“For each event, the prime minister will use details in his diary and call logs to highlight that he was present only briefly and that he continued with other work-related events afterwards,” The Times was told.

This defence will apparently cover not just staff leaving parties, but even the ‘ABBA party’ his fiancée Carrie and her mates reportedly held in his own flat, to celebrate Dominic Cummings’ demise.

The sound of ‘The Winner Takes It All’ is said to have boomed through the building, but Mr Johnson – who has, publicly, refused to say if he was in his flat – will tell the police he was there but “working”, we learn.

Most extraordinary is a briefing that his lawyer will argue that – even if he attended illegal parties – he broke no rules if he went back to work immediately afterwards and did not drink excessively.

If Mr Johnson can “prove that he didn’t get drunk and incapacitated” and “has proof” that he then resumed his tasks, there “is a chance” he can mount an effective defence, ITV’s Robert Peston was told.

Meanwhile, slavishly loyal Tory MPs are sent out to argue a fine for breaking Covid rules is no more serious than a speeding ticket, or parking on a red line.

To understand what a seismic shift this is, we need to remember both what Mr Johnson originally told parliament and what broke the rules he brought in.

As a former Tory attorney-general has reminded us, MPs were told there were no parties and that no rules were reached – so, not only the goalposts, but the entire pitch is being uprooted by No 10.

And, as lawyers have repeatedly pointed out, no such thing as a “work event” existed in the lockdown laws. What matters is whether gatherings were “reasonably necessary for work”.

It is clearly hard to argue an event was necessary for work when those attending have been told to “bring your own booze” or ABBA songs are blasting out – so that effort needs to start now.

It is called “rolling the pitch” – preparing people for a message that will otherwise fall on stony ground – and there are still several weeks ahead for more of it.

Tories ‘gobsmacked’ as Lib Dems and Labour join forces in city budget meeting

www.portsmouth.co.uk 

The deal, which was only finalised hours before the start of Tuesday’s meeting, will see a new family support worker employed, grants for voluntary groups – including Portsmouth Pride – and funding for two benefits advisors kept.

Council leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson said the agreement showed ‘a willingness to work together’ with other political groups in a council in no overall control.

‘We offered every group on this council a chance to work with us to put together a budget that works for the people of this city,’ he said. ‘Unfortunately the Conservatives didn’t take up that offer but what we have reached is a good budget.’

Labour had hoped to secure £1.6m to roll-out the living wage to all council-contracted carers in the city.

Group deputy leader Cal Corkery said they had played a ‘fundamental’ role in the pandemic and deserved the pay increase, accusing the Lib Dems of not prioritising the issue.

‘The Living Wage would represent an increase of over £1,200-a-year for the lowest paid social care workers in Portsmouth, at a time when we are enduring a cost of living crisis.’

But Cllr Vernon-Jackson said this would have put the future of plans for a new fire station and health centre in Cosham at risk. He said he ‘hoped’ to secure funding for it next year.

A budget amendment was also put forward by the Conservatives in a bid to keep funding for two school crossing patrol positions, to fund two new community safety wardens, grants for voluntary organisations.

It also would have scrapped controversial plans to charge a 10 per cent commission on the sale of mobile homes at Henderson Road and Cliffdale Gardens.

The tax was first introduced by the council in 2007 before being scrapped two years later in the face of widespread public pressure and 116 affected people repaid.

Former Conservative group leader Matt Atkins described the charge as ‘absolutely egregious’.

‘They want to charge the owners of homes there – the people who have fought the hardest for their little slice of England – 10 per cent of the value of their home,’ he said. ‘That is absolutely disgraceful.

‘You are taking money from the least well-off in the city to use it for your vanity schemes.’

The joint Labour-Lib Dem budget amendment was proposed half way through the meeting, a move which prompted consternation from the Conservatives.

‘I’m gobsmacked that they have done this,’ Conservative leader Simon Bosher said. ‘They have created absolute anarchy by playing fast and loose with the standing orders.’

However, the council’s solicitor said amendments did not need to be proposed at the start of the debate.

The joint amendment was passed with the support of all Lib Dem, Labour, Progressive Portsmouth People and independent councillors.

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Vernon-Jackson said the agreed budget was ‘ambitious’, ‘strategic’ and followed a ‘financially-prudent model’.

‘Most of the budget was agreed cross-party,’ he said. ‘The debate was about the details of the last two per cent, which are still important but showed we are willing to work together for the benefit of the residents of this city.’

Devon misses out in 2022

The Tour of Britain will not return to Devon this year, but the county council hopes it will host stages again in the future.

Ollie Heptinstall, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk

Last week the locations for this year’s tour were announced, with Devon missing out on hosting in 2022, despite the success of last September’s event.

Set to a backdrop of glorious sunshine beamed to TV viewers across the world, over a hundred riders raced from Sherford near Plymouth to a packed Queen Street in Exeter, via a circuitous route including Dartmouth and Dartmoor.

The 115-mile course looped around the South Hams and Dartmoor, passing communities including Totnes, Dartmouth, Kingsbridge, Ivybridge, Yelverton, Tavistock, Princetown and Moretonhampstead on the way.

Organisers said it attracted the biggest crowd of the 2021 race and brought in an estimated £4.2 million for the local economy. More than £41 million is estimated to have been earned in Devon by the Tour of Britain’s 13 visits since 2007.

However, Dorset has instead been selected as a south west host for the first time.

A Devon County Council spokesperson said: “Historically the race has rarely been routed through the same part of the country on consecutive years and we wait to see which parts of the country the tour has in mind for future races.

“Devon has hosted or co-hosted the tour 13 times and it has always proved an extremely popular event. We would welcome the opportunity to be able to host either the men or women’s tour again in the future.”

Responding on Twitter to the news, Councillor Stuart Hughes (Conservative, Sidmouth), the county council’s highways and cycling chief, said it won’t be in Devon this year because the Tour is “getting so popular everyone wants a stage,” adding he hoped it would return in 2023.

The bus recovery grant, introduced last year to help operators cope with the drop-off in passenger numbers through the pandemic, is due to end in April. The govermnent is yet to announce whether more money will be forthcoming.

Ollie Heptinstall, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk 

Last month the boss of Stagecoach South West said passenger numbers were still down by around 30 per cent on pre-pandemic levels. Some services have  been reduced therefore, and there are concerns more cuts will be needed without additional cash.

In a written question to a meeting of Devon County Council’s cabinet last week, councillor Rob Hannaford (Labour, Exwick & St Thomas), warned bus operators were facing a “funding cliff edge amid more cuts to vital routes.”

He asked transport cabinet member Andrea Davis (Conservative, Combe Martin Rural) what work is being done to assess the impact of bus service changes.

Her written response stated: “Officers from our transport coordination service are working with our local bus companies on the possible impacts of the emergency covid funding coming to an end and what this may mean for commercial and Devon County Council supported local bus services.

“With the recovery in passenger numbers having stalled due to the Omicron variant, without this funding, in the short-term services will be further reduced. This is likely to have a greater impact on areas with less frequent services.

“Taking this into account, I have written to the minister responsible for buses asking for urgent clarity on the funding.”

Cllr Davis also confirmed the council had yet to hear about a £34 million bid to the government for its ‘bus improvement plan,’ submitted at the end of October.

The county’s proposals, being developed in partnership with Devon’s bus companies, aim to make buses cheaper to use, greener, more frequent and more reliable.

Also included are plans for regional zone tickets to simplify fares, by working with neighbouring councils, and bringing in ‘young person’ tickets for 16 to 18 -year-olds – one of the age groups that rely on buses heavily.

Cllr Davis added: “To meet the ambitions of this plan we need a stable, attractive and affordable public transport network across the county to build on.”

It comes as transport bodies and the Local Government Association (LGA) called on central government to “urgently extend” the bus recovery grant from April, warning of a potential 30 per cent reduction in current bus services when support ends.

David Renard, transport spokesperson for the LGA, said: “Councils across the country are working with local operators to continue to deliver lifeline bus services despite the pressures of the pandemic. Greater usage of public transport helps to alleviate congestion and reduce harmful emissions in our communities.

“Government funding has helped keep buses on the road, allowing operators to close the gap between the costs of providing local public transport and the reduced revenues from much lower numbers of passengers than normal.

“Passenger numbers have not returned to those seen before the pandemic and without continued support, it is clear that some routes will no longer be viable and will have to be reduced.

“This will have a devastating impact on people who rely on these services to get to work, visit family and access vital services, including doctors and affordable food shopping.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “The government has provided an unprecedented £1.7 billion in support to over 160 operators to keep services running during the pandemic, and we’re working closely with the sector to understand the potential challenges and mitigations once it ends in April.”

Brixham woman, 97, in agonising pain forced to wait eight hours for ambulance

Colleen Smith www.devonlive.com

A 97-year-old Brixham woman was left on the floor “in agony” waiting for an ambulance for more than eight hours because of shortages in the NHS.

Neither an ambulance nor her GP were able to reach her for eight hours and 15 minutes. Her family said they were told that because the ambulance service was busy and under pressure there was nothing that could be done “unless patient nears death”.

Her son-in-law said that his wife went to her mother’s in Brixham house and remained with her but the family’s patience ran out and he emailed DevonLive at 2.45pm: “Ambulance has now been called three times. GP contacted twice – nothing anyone can do. GP home call unavailable. Ambulance busy therefore unless patient nears death nothing can be done for the time being.

“Meanwhile my mother-in-law remains on the floor in agony.”

He sent photographs (blurred to protect the patient’s anonymity) showing the frail elderly woman on the floor wrapped in blankets while her daughter waited with her.

A spokesman for South Western Ambulance Service confirmed that an ambulance arrived at 3pm: “We’re sorry that, due to the health and social care system being under severe pressure, some patients are having to wait longer for an ambulance. One of the reasons for this is due to the length of time it’s taking us to hand over patients into busy hospitals.

“We are working closely with NHS partners to address these delays, so our crews can get back out on the road for other patients. However, even with the additional resources we are making available, the number of ambulances currently waiting for prolonged periods of time at Emergency Departments inevitably impacts on our ability to respond to patients.”

The ambulance finally arrived at 3pm

The elderly woman fell at her home in Brixham at 6.45am on Tuesday February 15. She had a pendant alarm around her neck which she set off to call for help and an ambulance was summoned at 6.50am.

She says her values no longer align with the party

Paige Oldfield www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk 

A Bury councillor has announced she is quitting the Conservative Party after 22 years.

Cllr Yvonne Wright revealed she will stand as an independent candidate in the local elections in May.

She says she made the “difficult decision” because her values no longer align with the party.

The ward councillor for Tottington, Walshaw and Affetside has been a Conservative councillor since 2000.

In a social media post, she said: “Today I took the difficult decision to leave Bury Conservatives and aim to stand as an INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE in the local elections in May.

“Why?

“My values are no longer aligned to Bury Conservatives… please let me leave it there!

“Note I will not be briefing against anyone and I certainly will not be joining any other party.

“I hope I can rely on your support as you can rely on me to continue to work hard for you as I have for the past 22 years.

“I love my role as a Tottington Councillor and am as keen now to be a good representative as I was back in 2000.

“There is still life yet …in this old gal!”

David Cameron tried to lobby government ministers to prop up his failing legacy project despite its failure to hit key targets, The Independent can reveal.

www.independent.co.uk

His intervention on behalf of the National Citizen Service (NCS), which he set up in 2011 to run summer residential programmes for 16- and 17-year-olds, came in August 2020 as the government prepared to engage in a root-and-branch review to completely reassess its youth services budget.

The former prime minister’s youth scheme had raked in £1.3bn of taxpayers’ money since 2011 – 90 per cent of the youth budget – while the rest of the youth sector suffered cuts of 70 per cent.

But earlier this month the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), which conducted the review, announced that NCS would have its funding cut to £171m over three years, or £57m a year, a fall from 90 to 30 per cent of the DCMS youth budget. The new culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, is said to be “no fan” of Mr Cameron, having mocked him earlier this year as looking like a “ticket tout”. He withdrew the whip from her in 2012 after she appeared on I’m A Celebrity and failed to disclose her absence to film the show.

In summer 2020, Mr Cameron tried to persuade then-culture secretary Oliver Dowden to back NCS, emails uncovered by a Freedom of Information request show.

In an email dated 17 August 2020, Mr Cameron wrote to Mr Dowden: “Dear Oliver, it was good to catch up the other day and encouraging to hear your continued support for NCS. I also appreciate your honesty around the tough decisions that the Treasury will need to make as part of the upcoming CSR [comprehensive spending review]. I promised to share some facts and figures illustrating how NCS is a force for good in society, as well as outline some of the plans for the future direction of travel under the stewardship of Mark Gifford as CEO.”

Cameron wrote a long and selective spin detailing how NCS is a force for good, admitting that it “needs to reform” but appealing to Mr Dowden “not to forget its strengths” and claiming it would “deliver against the government’s levelling-up agenda”. He ended with a plea: “I firmly believe that NCS has never been more needed” and “will only become more so as the country begins to rebuild post-pandemic.” He signed off, “Yours, DC.”

The ex-prime minister received no reply. A week later, on 24 August, his office sent a follow-up email asking if Mr Cameron’s email had been “safely received”. DCMS responded two hours later: “To confirm that Oliver received and read this email with interest and was very grateful for it. I think he was planning to get back in touch with Mr Cameron directly.”

Shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell MP said she took a dim view of Mr Cameron’s attempts to secure favourable treatment for his pet scheme. “Rather than continued lobbying for his side projects, David Cameron should lay low given his disastrous interventions, including on Greensill, which has cost the public dear,” she said.

Last year The Independent revealed how Mr Cameron turned a blind eye to the “shocking waste” and failure to meet government targets of his flagship scheme while he was prime minister, ignoring Whitehall and ministerial concerns to instead, as one Whitehall mandarin put it, “stuff NCS’s mouth full of gold”.

But in response to questions from The Independent as to whether Mr Cameron’s lobbying had continued after he left office, NCS chief executive Mark Gifford had sought to distance the NCS “under his tenure” from Mr Cameron, who is still chair of patrons.

In response to questions about whether the NCS board had – during Mr Gifford’s tenure – ever turned to Mr Cameron to lobby No 10, the Treasury or DCMS, Mr Gifford wrote: “NCS Trust can confirm that the board have not turned to David Cameron to intervene with the government on the trust’s behalf.” He also said that while Mr Cameron was “a great source of advice”, the ex-prime minister “would never interfere” in their conversations with the government around funding.

The new email trail raises questions about whether Mr Gifford had been kept in the dark about Mr Cameron’s lobbying efforts on his behalf. Asked to explain why he had said the former prime minister did not lobby DCMS when it was clear he had, Mr Gifford said: “Without seeing the correspondence you say you have, I can only repeat what I have said before. I led the work on securing funding. Mr Cameron did not attend any meetings with me with ministers or civil servants. I always found him respectful of the process.” Mr Cameron’s office did not respond to requests to comment.

Good Law Project goodlawproject.org 

In a landmark verdict, the High Court has today [Tuesday] found that the process leading to the appointments of both Dido Harding and Mike Coupe were unlawful. It held that Matt Hancock broke the law in appointing Dido Harding as Chair of the National Institute for Health Protection (NIHP) and in appointing Mike Coupe as Director of Testing at Test and Trace (NHSTT). The High Court was also clear that the Prime Minister broke the law in appointing Dido Harding as Chair of Test and Trace. 

The Court declared: “The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care did not comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 in relation to the decisions on how to appoint (i) Baroness Harding as Interim Chair of the National Institute of Health Protection in August 2020 and (ii) Mike Coupe as Director of Testing for NHS Test and Trace in September 2020.”

While the formal declaration reflects only the appointments made by Matt Hancock, the High Court is clear that the process adopted by the Prime Minister was also unlawful (paragraph 116). All three appointments breached the public sector equality duty.

In reaching this conclusion, the Court accepted the argument made by race equality think tank the Runnymede Trust and Good Law Project that the recruitment process adopted by the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State ignored the need to eliminate discrimination against the country’s disabled and ethnic minority communities, and to ensure they have equality of opportunity.

In appointing the wife of Boris Johnson’s Anti-Corruption Tsar John Penrose MP to Chair the National Institute for Health Protection, the Government failed to consider the effects on those who, the data shows, are too often shut out of public life. The Government also ignored its own internal guidance, which requires Ministers to consider how discrimination law will be complied with. 

The Runnymede Trust and Good Law Project brought the case to highlight what it means to disadvantaged groups for the Government to push its associates and donors into key jobs. The Court’s declaration will have a real impact on how public appointments are made in the future. 

The Government must now take seriously its legal and moral obligations to narrow the disadvantages faced by people with disabilities and those of colour. Public appointments must not be made without taking steps to eliminate discrimination and to advance equality of opportunity, even when normal processes don’t apply, for instance during a public health emergency. The Government will now have to be much more careful to make sure its recruitment processes are fair, equitable and open to all. 

Read the High Court’s judgment here.

The Runnymede Trust is the UK’s leading independent race equality think tank. We generate intelligence for multi-ethnic Britain through research, network building, leading debate, and policy engagement. Since 1968, the Runnymede Trust has strived to build a Britain in which all citizens and communities feel valued, enjoy equal opportunities, lead fulfilling lives, and share a common sense of belonging.

Good Law Project only exists thanks to donations from people across the UK. If you’re in a position to support our work, you can do so here.

The London Playbook from POLITICO

PARTYGATE LATEST: The Telegraph’s Ben Riley-Smith has seen a copy of the questionnaire sent by the Metropolitan Police to Boris Johnson and No. 10 staff involved in the Partygate scandal. One line in particular makes for interesting reading: “The MPS [Metropolitan Police Service] approach during the pandemic has been to confirm the number of FPNs [fixed penalty notices] issued at particular events and to explain what those FPNs were issued for.” This raises the prospect that, even though the Met has said it won’t name those it fines, it will reveal the number who were fined at each event and explain how they broke the law. Johnson will not publish his answers to the questionnaire, No. 10 said yesterday, but the PM vowed he would have “a lot more to say” on the allegations against him once the police probe concludes.

THE plot thickens in the mystery of the missing £600m or so paid to the interior design company, Unispace Global Ltd, that bagged a handful of major PPE contracts via the government’s VIP lane between April and June 2020.

Profits of Doom ,www.private-eye.co.uk

The last Eye reported how the accounts for the company that had contracted with the Department of Health and Social Care for gloves, overalls and masks showed no sign of the money in its 2020 accounts, while less than helpful government spending data did not give the legal entity to which vast amounts of taxpayers’ money had been handed over. It seemed the money must simply have been paid to another, presumably related, company. So which was it?

Questionable accounts

The health department has since responded to the Eye’s freedom of information request for the details to say that in fact all the payments on the contracts were made to Unispace Global Ltd. At which point it gets serious. Since the contracts were concluded and fulfilled entirely within 2020, and the payments also made within the year, the nine-figure amounts should have been included in the company’s turnover for the year. The accounts, however, give the turnover as £64m, with the only source of income mentioned that of interior design (which in previous years generated more than this).

Last March the Unispace group, set up in Australia by brothers Gareth and Charles Hales, was sold to Hong Kong investment company Pacific Alliance Group, founded and chaired by the man called “China’s private equity champion” by Fortune magazine, Weijian Shan. It was under this new ownership that the questionable Unispace Global Ltd accounts were filed.

No comment

The Eye has repeatedly asked Unispace to explain the missing hundreds of millions of pounds and has not been given any response. One chartered accountant consulted by the Eye described the omission as “inexplicable”; another said he could see “no legitimate reason”.

In a normal country the failure to account for £600m of public money, for whatever reason, would attract searching official questions. But in one dripping with financial foul play but little interest in tackling it, there are no guarantees the money will ever be found.

Ministers are looking at turning used and out-of-date Covid face masks into NHS hospital curtains and bed sheets after ordering billions more than were needed during the pandemic.

Luke Andrews (Extract) www.dailymail.co.uk 

More than 36.4billion items of personal protective equipment (PPE) have been ordered by the UK Government since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. 

But ministers were condemned after it emerged earlier this month that £2.2billion worth of masks, visors and aprons are set to expire before they can be used.

Junior health minister Edward Argar revealed today that officials are ‘exploring’ recycling the gear to avoid huge amounts of waste.

New leaked emails seen by Good Law Project suggest that senior officials at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Cabinet Office knew that many more PPE suppliers were given the VIP treatment than the 47 names they reported to the National Audit Office (NAO).

goodlawproject.org 

In November 2020, the NAO published its investigation into Government procurement during the pandemic. A week after the NAO report was released, the Government’s Chief Commercial Officer Gareth Rhys Williams emailed the senior civil servants responsible for PPE procurement asking them to provide data on these VIPs, with a plea at the end of the message that the data “should total to the NAO PPE Spend numbers…..pls”.

The following morning, on 3 December 2020, the Director of PPE Procurement forwarded Rhys Williams’ email onto civil servants, asking: “Can you pls assist with the below request and calculate the spend with the VIP suppliers (see excel in attached email), in comparison to that with the non-VIP suppliers. And ensure the total adds to the numbers reported in the NAO reports?”

The demand that the VIP data match the data referred to in the NAO report caused dismay among civil servants. They seem to have been told to manipulate their data after the fact so that it matched what was given to the NAO. We’ve seen emails that suggest civil servants believed the figures supplied to the NAO may have been made up. We want to know the full story and understand what really happened.

We also want to know how the Government arrived at the figures they supplied to the NAO. The leaked VIP spreadsheet shows that the names of 21 VIP companies were not given to the NAO, 18 of which were only revealed by us last week.

Those 18 VIPs were collectively awarded £984 million in PPE contracts after receiving VIP treatment. 

In total, the 68 VIPs uncovered so far have been awarded £4.9 billion in PPE contracts, all without competition. This goes far beyond the figure the Government gave the NAO. 

On Friday night, following our latest investigation, the DHSC quietly snuck out an update on its website  to include one more VIP: a company called Technicare Ltd, trading as Blyth Group, were handed a PPE contract after a referral from the office of Gavin Williamson MP. 

Good Law Project approached the DHSC and Cabinet Office for comment, but both said they won’t comment on leaked information.

A copy of the emails can be seen here.

Defence minister James Heappey said earlier on Monday that the prime minister would argue that he is “not culpable” of the potential Covid offences being probed by the police.

“I certainly don’t think the prime minister should volunteer his culpability,” the minister told Sky News. “His argument is that he is not culpable. We should wait and see what the police come back with.”

“Don’t blame me, I’m the Prime Minister. One rule for them, another rule for us. – Owl

www.independent.co.uk 

Boris Johnson’s responses to his Metropolitan Police questionnaire into social gatherings at No 10 will not be made public, Downing Street has said.

The prime minister insisted he will have “a lot more” to say on the partygate scandal once the Scotland Yard probe is concluded.

The Met has sent the questionnaire to Mr Johnson and approximately 50 staff members as it investigates a dozen gatherings at No 10 while strict Covid rules were still in place.

On an official visit to Scotland, Mr Johnson was asked whether he and his lawyers had responded to the police questionnaire yet.

He told reporters: “All that process has got to be completed before I can say anything more, but I look forward to telling you a lot more in due course.”

The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “As we said on Friday, we will respond as required. As you know, I think the Met made clear that that was in seven days, so we will comply with that requirement.”

Asked if the responses would be made public, the No 10 spokesman said: “No.”

Mr Johnson’s allies have told the press that Mr Johnson plans to argue he was working in his flat on the night of the alleged “Abba party” in November 2020, shortly after senior aide Dominic Cummings left No 10.

The prime minister, who has appointed his own lawyer, is also set to claim the three leaving parties he attended were part of his job. “Saying goodbye to staff is part of working life,” a source told The Times.

The PM has already claimed that he believed “implicitly” that the “bring your own booze” garden party at No 10 in May 2020 was a work event.

Defence minister James Heappey said earlier on Monday that the prime minister would argue that he is “not culpable” of the potential Covid offences being probed by the police.

“I certainly don’t think the prime minister should volunteer his culpability,” the minister told Sky News. “His argument is that he is not culpable. We should wait and see what the police come back with.”

Allies say he will not resign even if he is fined, in a move that would be likely to trigger Tory MPs to force a vote of confidence in his leadership.

Fifteen Tory MPs have publicly called for Mr Johnson to quit, while more are thought to have privately written to the 1922 Committee of backbench Tories calling for a no-confidence vote.

More are poised to do so if the PM is found to have broken his own coronavirus laws, or further damaging details emerge from the Sue Gray inquiry.

He will face a vote of no confidence if 54 Conservative MPs write to 1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady and would be ousted if more than half of his MPs subsequently voted against him.

Police are investigating a total of 12 gatherings in Downing Street on eight dates in an inquiry called Operation Hillman, which is examining whether Covid restrictions were broken.

Mr Johnson is believed to have attended at least six of the events.

Adam Wagner QC, a leading legal expert on Covid rules, has suggested it could take “months” for Scotland Yard to conclude its investigation if Mr Johnson is “lawyered up”.

Letter published in the Sidmouth Herald

Herald Letters Published: February 14, 2022 www.sidmouthherald.co.uk

There have been fourteen Prime Ministers in my lifetime, Boris Johnson is the fifteenth, but without doubt he is the worst. 

I have never disrespected any previous Prime Minister or thought they were unfit for office – until now.

During World War II, I remember as a young child sitting with my parents listening on the radio to a man they called ‘Winston’. 

It was several years before I understood why my parents respected Winston Churchill, the leader who saw them through those dark days, reassuring them when possible but always inspiring them to face the huge challenges ahead.

Boris Johnson’s honesty and decency are in doubt but he is determined to fight every inch of the way and preserve his own skin before he will resign. 

Several Prime Ministers over the years have taken the decision to leave office with dignity – Anthony Eden after Suez and recently David Cameron after losing the Referendum are two examples.

It is disgraceful that Boris is focused on preserving his own  self interest at the expense of our system of Government. He even resorts to hurling reprehensible untrue slurs at Keir Starmer about Jimmy Saville. 

This is a very dangerous path to tread which should remind us of the excesses of Donald Trump. 

His response to how far he has fallen in the estimation of the British public is table a flurry of ‘levelling up’ plans (with no new money) and all kinds of projects to come to fruition in eight years’ time – surely we can not stand another eight years of Boris?

One can’t help noticing his flying visit to Ukraine, where he was given VIP treatment and a guard of honour at the airport, was a great escape from his position at home.

Whatever your politics, I urge you to consider the Prime Minister’s record and the implications for our tradition of high standards in public office when you decide whether to continue to support him.

GILLIAN NATUSCH

Sidmouth

• Erect garden shed Heronsmead Dalwood Axminster Devon EX13 7EHRef. No: 22/0248/FUL | Validated: Fri 04 Feb 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed agricultural building Hunthay Farm Axminster EX13 5RJRef. No: 22/0232/AGR | Validated: Fri 04 Feb 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Single storey rear extension 13 Monkton Road Honiton EX14 1PZRef. No: 22/0234/FUL | Validated: Fri 04 Feb 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Certificate of Lawful Development for a Proposed Single storey rear extension with 4 rooflights.Sunnyhayes Broadclyst Station Exeter EX5 3AXRef. No: 22/0221/CPL | Validated: Thu 03 Feb 2022 | Status: Approved
• T1, Monterey Pine : Reduce first primary limb growing south arising at approximately 5m above ground level (AGL) by 1.5m. Maximum diameter of Cut (MDC) 50mm ; reduce first primary limb growing west arising at approximately 7m AGL by 2m. MDC 70mm. Reason for works: The tree recently lost a large limb growing south west which has left the remaining limbs exposed to wind stresses. Reduction of the two limbs as above to reduce chance of further limb loss. 13 Hayes End West Hill Ottery St Mary Devon EX11 1GGRef. No: 22/0224/TRE | Validated: Thu 03 Feb 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1 & T2 Oaks crown lift pendulous foliage over garden side of No 51 Evergreen close (T1) and over road side (T2) to give 5.5m clearance from ground level , maximum size cuts 50mm diameter. Due to foliage hanging very low in neighbouring gardens when in leaf 47 Evergreen Close Exmouth EX8 4RRRef. No: 22/0214/TRE | Validated: Thu 03 Feb 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Single storey rear extension including demolition of existing extension (certificate of lawfulness for proposed use)5 Littleham Road Exmouth EX8 2QQRef. No: 22/0211/CPL | Validated: Wed 02 Feb 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Single storey rear infill extension including 2x roof light with alteration to fenestration 35 Winslade Road Sidmouth EX10 9EXRef. No: 22/0210/FUL | Validated: Wed 02 Feb 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Single storey side extensions, single storey front extension, demolition of existing side extension and conservatory and addition of first floor with alterations to fenestration. Coles Hulham Road Exmouth EX8 5DZRef. No: 22/0209/FUL | Validated: Fri 04 Feb 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Landscaping to create new level access footpaths and ramps with level decking area. Village Hall Lympstone School Hill Lympstone EX8 5JYRef. No: 22/0207/FUL | Validated: Thu 03 Feb 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Replacement windows & replacement porch on south elevation, facade repairs on north & south elevation, new internal floor finish 2 Drillers Cottages Gittisham Honiton EX14 3AQRef. No: 22/0202/LBC | Validated: Mon 31 Jan 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Replacement windows & replacement porch on south elevation, facade repairs on north & south elevation, new internal floor finish 2 Drillers Cottages Gittisham Honiton EX14 3AQRef. No: 22/0201/FUL | Validated: Mon 31 Jan 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Replacement of existing prefabricated log sports hut with new sports pavilion. Village Hall Branscombe Branscombe Seaton EX12 3DBRef. No: 22/0203/FUL | Validated: Thu 03 Feb 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Single storey rear extension and internal remodelling 92A Granary Lane Budleigh Salterton EX9 6ERRef. No: 22/0192/FUL | Validated: Wed 02 Feb 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1 Judas tree: Fell T2 Prunus: Reduce in height by one meter T3 Birch: Remove first North facing limb T4 Birch: Fell T5 Prunus: Reduce overall to approx three metres form ground level The Bull Pen Kilmington Axminster EX13 7RJRef. No: 22/0199/TCA | Validated: Mon 31 Jan 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Replacement of conservatory roof from glass to slate with 2 x rooflights. Harcombe House Harcombe Sidmouth EX10 0PRRef. No: 22/0198/FUL | Validated: Wed 02 Feb 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• We seek planning permisson as the barn was damaged in a storm and has subsquently fallen down and needs rebuilding Old Pheasant Pluckers Cottage Tottiskay Farm Southleigh Colyton EX24 6JBRef. No: 22/0196/FUL | Validated: Wed 02 Feb 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Singles storey glazed side extension, internal remodelling and demolition of garage and alterations to existing car port. The Grove South Street Colyton EX24 6ERRef. No: 22/0194/FUL | Validated: Wed 02 Feb 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of existing agricultural buildings and construction of 5 no. dwellinghouses (alternative to residential change of use of agricultural buildings to 5 no. dwellinghouses under Class Q approval reference 21/1887/PDQ) Crosshill Farm Weston Honiton EX14 3PFRef. No: 22/0178/FUL | Validated: Tue 01 Feb 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed single storey front extension and two storey rear extension with associated remodelling works. Glebe Farm Upottery Honiton EX14 9RHRef. No: 22/0181/FUL | Validated: Tue 01 Feb 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Removal of existing wall and rebuilding of wall to form new entrance and driveway, existing pedestrian gateway to be closed off, Removal of greenhouse and erection of a garage with first floor habitable space with 2 roof lights and site to be relevelled. 2 Maunders Hill Otterton Budleigh Salterton EX9 7JDRef. No: 22/0177/FUL | Validated: Tue 01 Feb 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of two storey rear extension with alteration to fenestration. 38 Greenpark Road Exmouth EX8 4JTRef. No: 22/0179/FUL | Validated: Mon 31 Jan 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of two storey side extension with alteration to fenestration and to include integrated double garage. Rosario Ebford Exeter EX3 0QNRef. No: 22/0183/FUL | Validated: Mon 31 Jan 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of two dwellings and associated access Land East Of East Budleigh Road Budleigh SaltertonRef. No: 22/0172/FUL | Validated: Wed 02 Feb 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Certificate of Lawful development for proposed construction of greenhouse.Yew Tree House Musbury Axminster EX13 8ARRef. No: 22/0180/CPL | Validated: Wed 02 Feb 2022 | Status: Refused
• Conversion of garage into annexe, removal of existing shed and erection of a new shed with extended parking. Orchard Cottage Harcombe Sidmouth EX10 0PRRef. No: 22/0169/FUL | Validated: Mon 31 Jan 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Removal of garage/workshop north west of the main dwelling Owls Castle Stockland Honiton EX14 9LLRef. No: 22/0143/LBC | Validated: Mon 31 Jan 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Replace windows and door: 1no. window on ground floor and 1no. window and door at first floor west elevation; 2no. windows on ground floor south elevation and 1no. window on first floor east elevation. Corn Barn Dulcis Farm Kilmington Axminster EX13 7HDRef. No: 22/0145/LBC | Validated: Tue 01 Feb 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Side and rear first floor extension above existing garage to provide accommodation. Hayes Salcombe Hill Road Sidmouth EX10 8JRRef. No: 22/0146/FUL | Validated: Mon 31 Jan 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed permanent agricultural workers dwelling Hoppins Field Southerton Ottery St Mary EX11 1SBRef. No: 22/0125/FUL | Validated: Tue 01 Feb 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Replacement of gravel covered front garden and brick steps with gravel driveway and brick / stone steps to front door. 46 Granary Lane Budleigh Salterton EX9 6ESRef. No: 22/0122/FUL | Validated: Fri 04 Feb 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Amendments to application 21/0678/FUL to include minor internal alterations, addition of rooflight over stairwell and alterations to fenestration. 29 Eyewell Green Seaton EX12 2BNRef. No: 22/0072/FUL | Validated: Tue 01 Feb 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Holm Oak (T1) Fell because tree is causing damage to a wall directly beside the tree. Cedar Shade Residential Home All Saints Road Sidmouth EX10 8EURef. No: 22/0062/TRE | Validated: Mon 31 Jan 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Installation of LPG gas tank to front elevation of the property. 6 Glebe Close Otterton Budleigh Salterton EX9 7JWRef. No: 21/3291/FUL | Validated: Thu 03 Feb 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use of part of the building and yard to a bus depot, using part of the existing workshop for bus maintenance and part of the yard for bus and staff parking and as a wash bay for buses 101 Harbour Road Seaton EX12 2NQRef. No: 21/2991/FUL | Validated: Thu 03 Feb 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use and alterations to detached double Garage to create ancillary accommodation for use by family 61 Jenwood Road Dunkeswell Honiton EX14 4UYRef. No: 21/2343/FUL | Validated: Mon 31 Jan 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use from field to beer garden and retention of existing pergola in front courtyard and provision of double tipi in beer garden The Agricultural Inn Brampford Speke Exeter EX5 5DPRef. No: 21/2114/FUL | Validated: Fri 04 Feb 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision

WHILE official indifference to money laundering and economic crime persists, the opportunities provided by the UK government to the bad guys come thick and fast.

www.private-eye.co.uk

The latest offering from the British launderette is the innocuous-sounding “electronic money institution” (EMI), a type of company that processes payments without being a proper bank and with correspondingly less regulation and internal control.

A study by Transparency International found that 37 of the 260 EMIs set up in the UK had owners or directors from the former Soviet Union. Some of these connections indicate that EMIs are the latest manifestation of the money-laundering networks that grew in the Baltic states in the 1990s as the route into western financial markets and property (with the help of British lawyers, accountants and company service providers, as set out in the Eye’s 2018 special report, Looting with Putin). The researchers found 45 EMIs had senior figures who had already been linked to money laundering.

Suspicious transactions

A Plus Payment Solutions, for example, is run from a trading estate in Bletchley by Latvian Dmitrijs Krasko, who began his career at Latvian bank ABLV, which was shut down after the US Treasury banned it for “institutionalised money laundering”. Krasko went on to run a company formation agency and sign many of the dodgy company filings for UK “limited liability partnerships” of the sort the Eye identified as the money-laundering vehicle of choice back in 2013. An impressive 112 companies from the Krasko stable cropped up in the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists’ FinCEN Files leak of suspicious transactions.

Krasko’s payment company was authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority at the end of 2020, long after it would have been simple to spot the obviously suspicious hallmarks of money laundering.

So lax is the regulation of EMIs that these “institutions” are freely bought and sold. Active in this business is another veteran of the Latvian banking game, Julia Raubishke. Once of Baltikums Bank (fined by Latvian regulators and forced to close 90 percent of non-Latvian accounts, but with no suggestion of Raubishke being involved in wrongdoing), and also a veteran of the company formation game, Raubishke now heads an operation called Round Finance. It can be found advertising “A[authorized]EMI license (FCA UK)” companies for sale. Regulators are supposed to look at any new buyer, but Britain’s financial Clouseaus are not the fleetest of foot.

Financial services growth

Away from the Baltic, a string of other small banks also became important cogs in the laundering machine, none more so than Cyprus’s FBME, which closed in 2015 after the US called it a “foreign financial institution of primary money laundering concern”. The man in charge of its card services division from 2006 to 2012 (a hotbed of laundering using fake transactions), Guy El Khoury, now runs another EMI, AF Payments Ltd, authorised by the FCA in 2018.

It’s a good time for questionable payment companies. Chancellor Rishi Sunak has recently instructed the FCA to target growth of financial services as well as regulate them, while the payments companies shrewdly style themselves “fintech” and thus at that cutting edge Sunak is so keen on. With less than 1 percent of financial service companies coming under FCA examination in any year, and half-hearted attempts at reining in the UK’s shell company industry already failing, the money launderer’s British toolbox remains full of all the best gadgets.

If this becomes the norm it spells the beginning of the end for Seaton/Colyton Seaton/Beer and other areas. – Owl  

Joe Ives www.devonlive.com 

Controversial plans for 80 new homes on a ‘green wedge’ separating Bickington and Fremington have been approved by North Devon Council (NDC).

The development, which will provide affordable homes, is seen as a necessary evil by some members of the council’s planning committee but too much of an incursion into the land separating Bickington and Fremington by others.

In the end, the planning committee was split down the middle with its chair, Councillor Eric Ley (Independent, Bishops Nympton), breaking the deadlock and voting in favour.

The development will be built to the west of Bickington and will be accessible through another area of new housing being built off Mead Park.

The land, currently agricultural, is seen as an important ‘green wedge’ separating Bickington and Fremington. It was not in the council’s plans to be built on.

However, North Devon Council, whose housing plans are made in combination with neighbouring Torridge, does not have a five-year housing land supply. This means the two councils need to be more accepting about housing developments they might otherwise turn down.

As the councils are behind on housing targets, by law any development which is deemed sustainable, even if outside the local plan, is weighted towards approval. This is unless it can be clearly demonstrated that the adverse impacts outweigh benefits. Councillors voting in favour of the 80 home Bickington development argued that, regrettably, this could not be done.

New 80 home development. Credit: LHC Designs

Councillor Jasmine Chesters (North Devon Independent, Braunton West and Georgeham) summed up the mood, saying: “None of us want this application but none of us can find substantial reasons to turn it down.”

Councillor Jayne Mackie (Independent, Fremington) understood the concerns but said, in policy terms, there were no ‘clear’ reasons for refusal, adding: “We’ve got to look at some really hard decisions.”

Addressing the planning committee, Cllr David Knight (Liberal Democrats, Roundswell), like several others against the plans, said the new homes would create too much additional traffic on already congested roads.

He continued: “The volume of traffic is just too much and adding further developments in this area – there are no measures that can actually mitigate against this – we will just have stationary traffic.”

There were also concerns about air pollution caused by vehicles driving to and from the new homes.

Councillor Robbie Mack (Green Group, Barnstaple Central Ward) was particularly worried about the loss of part of the ‘green wedge’ field separating Bickington and Fremington. He told the meeting: “If you tighten the wedge any further there isn’t a wedge at all. It is just one park in the middle of southern Barnstaple.”

Cllr Frank Biederman (Independent, Fremington) urged councillors to reject the plans, asking members: “Are we here to support our residents or are we here to support the government’s ‘build, build, build at all costs’ policy?”

Councillors were more positive about the affordable homes stipulated as part of the approval. Twenty-four will be built; ten two-bed, seven one-bed, five three-bed and two four-bed homes. Around 18 of these are to be socially rented.

It means the plans reach the council’s targets for 30 per cent affordable homes – a situation that has become increasingly rare. Developers across Devon have a track record of providing viability assessments to demonstrate they can’t afford to build the number of affordable homes councils want.

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Despite the promises, some councillors remained unconvinced that Cavanna Homes, the Torquay-based developer behind the proposals, will ultimately build the 24 affordable properties.

Councillor Joe Tucker (Liberal Democrats, Marwood) said: “This viability thing is basically a nonsense. A complete and utter nonsense. We’ve seen that already with one or two applications in this area.” He wanted firm guarantees that the affordable properties would be delivered.

Andrew Rowe, speaking on behalf of Cavanna, said the plans would ease the council’s housing supply problem and help deliver “chronically needed” affordable housing for local residents.

If the developers backtrack on their commitment to affordable homes, the plans will go back to councillors to consider again.

On top of the affordable homes, as part of planning permission currently granted, Cavanna will also have to pay just over £635,000 for education provision in the area and more than £45,000 towards expanding Fremington Medical Practice.

A further £68,000 will go on improving the A3125/B3233 junction and the A3125/Old Torrington Road junction.

Based on independent environmental data, Exeter is the cleanest city in England according to a new report by environmental data organisation Ends Report.

www.radioexe.co.uk

It ranked the country’s 55 largest urban centres to come up with an index based on more than 30 environmental factors grouped into five categories – air quality, climate, water quality, public realm and green behaviour.

The result: Exeter is tops!

Devon’s capital finished ahead of Worthing and Brighton in a top five, which is dominated by cities on England’s south coast.

Exeter ranked highly on several measures, including air quality, climate and water quality. It recorded fewer days of poor air quality than any other urban centre in the index, and boasted below average concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter.

Exeter City Council is claiming the credit. It says it “has been focussing over recent years on the challenges of climate change, air quality, water quality, congestion, local amenity and quality of life long.”

London finished at the bottom of the ranking. While the capital performed strongly on climate and green behaviour – it has the lowest proportion of residents commuting by private vehicle, and a high level of electric vehicle charging device provision – the capital has overall poor air quality.

Jamie Carpenter, editor of Ends Report, said: “The Clean Cities Index is intended to start a debate about the state of the environment in our biggest towns and cities, and shine a spotlight on some of the wide environmental disparities that exist between them.”