The government‘s coronavirus vaccine tsar will leave her post this month weeks after reports a public relations firm was paid £670,000 to advise her.  

www.independent.co.uk 

Confirmation of her departure came as her deputy was announced as her replacement, on an interim basis.  

Kate Bingham was appointed as chairman of the government’s vaccine task force in May.  

Since then she has won praise from ministers for securing millions of doses of the three vaccines, so far, which scientists have found to be effective against Covid-19.  

But she faced criticism when it was reported that Ms Bingham, a former venture capitalist and the wife of Jesse Norman, a Tory minister, had used the services of eight consultants to advise her on media strategy.

Last month reports suggested that Ms Bingham’s contract was due to run out at the end of the year and that she had always intended to leave at that point. 

As her replacement was announced, Boris Johnson said he was “hugely grateful for the hard work and dedication of the vaccine task force, under Kate Bingham’s leadership … the country owes them a debt of gratitude.”  

In response Ms Bingham thanked the prime minister, saying the clear mandate he had given the taskforce had allowed them to strike deals for promising vaccines.  

Clive Dix, currently the deputy chair of the taskforce, will step into her role.  

He warned that although the UK now had vaccines against the virus there was “more for us to do.  

“We must continue to develop our research and response capabilities in the UK and finish the task of building an infrastructure to enable us to manufacture vaccines at scale.”  

Environment agency officials were under pressure on Monday to explain exactly what consent they gave to carry out extensive work on the banks of a protected river in England.

Sandra Laville www.theguardian.com 

Officials from the EA, Natural England and the Forestry Commission moved in last week to stop the work along the River Lugg outside Kingsland, near Leominster in Herefordshire.

The officials – along with the police – issued a stop notice to the landowner, John Price, to halt the works, which the local wildlife trust said had devastated the river and would have dire consequences for wildlife and water quality.

The EA said a legal notice requiring the works to stop immediately was served on the landowner by Natural England earlier last week, the Forestry Commission issued a stop letter requiring an end to any further felling work and the Environment Agency requested no further works to be carried out on the river.

But the landowner Price, a potato and cattle farmer, has insisted that he was asked to do the work by the EA to try to tackle flooding in the area.

On Monday the local parish council told the Guardian it had been in discussion with the EA since July about tackling the flooding in the area. EA officials had attended parish council meetings and walked the site in September.

The EA wrote a short report seen by the Guardian. It said: “We have identified that some tree works are required on the left hand bank directly upstream of the bridge (see picture 0141) which we will again look to secure funding for and if successful make the land owner aware of our intentions.

“In addition the left hand bank directly upstream of the bridge could do some reprofiling due to bank slumping probably as a result of cattle poaching (see picture 0132) to ease conveyance as it is currently partially obstructing the 3rd arch of the bridge and will look to the land owner to carry out these works.”

The EA said on Monday it was continuing to investigate the damage to a river which is protected as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI), and a special area of conservation (SAC). As such no work should be carried out without permission from the EA.

Minutes of parish council meetings confirm that the EA was in discussions with the council about flooding and what work was required to alleviate it.

Minutes of Kingsland parish council meetings from July, September and October of this year contain items about the “maintenance of the Lugg”.

In minutes of a meeting in July concerns were expressed about the risk of river flooding and reference made to discussions with the EA on maintenance of the Lugg.

The minutes detail verbal discussions with the EA. “The levels reached during the floods earlier this year were the highest since 1976. Due to the Covid-19 situation, the riverbank has not been walked since the floods, however this is due to be done soon.

“Dredging can be done where there is a need, but need to keep in mind the dynamic nature of the river which moves the bed levels anyway (diverse nature of river flow).”

In October reference was made to the site visit in September with an EA official. “Cllr Rowsell reported on “a very useful” walkabout with the Environment Agency. Mr W Best, Environment Agency informed the meeting that riparian owners are responsible for maintenance but accepted that this may be beyond their capability at times and provided a helpline number.”

A spokesperson for the parish council said on Monday they were not aware whether the EA had given the landowner official permission to carry out the works.

He said: “We would not be told whether a permit had been issued for the works. The parish council supports work to improve the Lugg to help with flood alleviation measures. Environment Agency officials have been present in parish council meetings to discuss flood alleviation measures.”

Price, of Hay Farm, told the Daily Telegraph, he had acted with permission.

“I have watched this river all my life, and no one knows this river better than myself,” he said.

“I have always looked after the river. I was asked to stop the erosion because I’m the landowner so I’m responsible for the river.”

He said he had not uprooted any trees, but had only cleared those that had come down in floods.

He said flooding in the area had been getting worse over the last 10 years, and that he had the support of the village and parish council in doing the work.

The Environment Agency was asked for a comment. It had not been provided at the time of publication.

Tony Dale, author of this article drew Owl’s attention to its online publication on Dec 4.

Babcock’s involvement in running education services in Devon has also previously been featured in East Devon Watch posts in 2016:

https://eastdevonwatch.org/2016/05/18/why-is-babcock-the-arms-manufacturer-involved-in-monitoring-school-attendance-in-devon/

https://eastdevonwatch.org/2016/09/12/renewed-interest-in-petition-to-cease-schools-monitoring-service-by-babcock/

diem25.org

In the rural county of Devon in the UK lies the historic port of Plymouth, home to Britain’s Trident nuclear weapon system. Managing that facility is Babcock International Group PLC, an arms manufacturer listed on the FTSE 250 with a turnover in 2020 of £4.9bn.

What is much less known, however, is that Babcock also runs the education services in Devon, and in many other areas across the UK. After the global financial crisis of 2008-9, with governments around the world adopting austerity policies, cuts to local authorities ran to more than 40% and local education services were tendered out to the private sector. In Devon, it was Babcock who won the bid to run them.

The arms company, which powers conflict and violence across the world, is now one of just twelve accredited education service providers in the UK.

A statement on its website describes its activities as: “…a unique joint venture between Babcock International Group plc and Devon County Council, combining best commercial practice with the values and principles of the public sector service.”

Such a relationship introduces moral hazard where none existed before. “Best commercial practice” — in other words, competition — is not a public service value, and its application in education has severe consequences for the most vulnerable, as will be shown. Private companies in public service also present challenges for accountability and in this case, the presence of the arms trade raises other moral questions around consent.

Yet Babcock is not the only weapons manufacturer providing education to children. Other UK arms companies, like the giant BAE systems that designed Britain’s Trident nuclear submarines, have also found their way into schools recently, giving them teaching materials and, according to The Guardian, “providing a missile simulator for children to play with”. Commenting on the affair, Andrew Smith, spokesman for the Campaign Against Arms Trade said that: “When these companies are promoting themselves to children they are not talking about the deadly impact their weapons are having. [..] Schools [..] should never be used as commercial vehicles for arms companies.”

It is time, as that same spokesman said, for arms companies to be kicked out of the classroom.

An authoritarian approach; an arrangement that resists public scrutiny

There is a real and worrying question of how the culture of the arms trade, of Babcock, influences the education resources they provide. 

Consider the following case. Babcock’s ‘responsibilities’ in Devon include attendance monitoring and pupil assessment — tasks to which they apply a hardline authoritarian approach. When a child is absent from school, Babcock threatens their parents with £2,500 fines and up to three months imprisonment, as shown in the letter below:

The letter and others like it created a furore among parents of Devon pupils, and in 2016 a petition was started, calling on Devon County Council to cancel Babcock’s contract when it was due for renewal in 2019. The petition gained few signatures (just over a thousand) and the 2019 renewal went ahead. It is now due to end in 2022.

In 2017, a concerned parent filed a Freedom of Information request to Devon County Council for details of their contract with Babcock. It was refused on the grounds of commercial sensitivity. The parent appealed the decision, blaming the Council for “obfuscatory gatekeeping, time delaying, avoidance tactics”, and although the information was finally disclosed the Council was found in breach of the Freedom of Information Act for the delay. A child’s education is of the highest moral importance and those involved should welcome scrutiny. This is clearly not the case with Babcock’s arrangement in Devon.

Off-rolling: pushing out the weakest to stay competitive

The culture of business, especially the business of building and selling weapons, is entirely misplaced in education. Competition is not how you achieve results, and scoring on the schools league table is not a measure of success.

Yet these are the principles being applied. In 2019, Tes, an online education resource provider, reported on a worrying trend. Increasing numbers of parents of pupils who struggled with school were being “coerced, nudged and persuaded” into homeschooling their children — i.e. removing them from the school roll, where their performance could no longer affect the school’s league table ranking — in a practice that has become known as ‘off-rolling’.

The motivation for this practice is simple: it is “triggered by league table position”, according to a 2019 YouGov report. One secondary school Deputy Head Teacher says in the report: “There could be a temptation to off-roll [a pupil] so they don’t bring the school’s results down… Morally I don’t agree with it.” Off-rolling is unethical; it puts intense strain on parents and is, quite simply, unlawful.

Unsurprisingly, Babcock in Devon provides an illustration of this awful practice in action. The tables below are from official documents from Babcock and Devon County Council.

The statistics speak for themselves; the percentage of schoolchildren in Devon registered for home-schooling (EHE) rose from 1.1% in 2015/16 to 1.9% in 2019/20. This points to an additional 889 children having been ‘off-rolled’ out of Devon’s schools by Babcock.

A vital choice that parents are denied

The last issue has to do with belief and choice. The right to religious freedom is compromised when, for example, you are forced to take part in religious services not of your own religion. The UK is a secular society and such rights are strongly defended, but do they extend further? Everyone pays for defence through taxation in a kind of ‘received consent’, but it is unjust that those who profit from it should be able to come back to take a second slice of the public finance cake. There is no similar ‘received consent’ over the arms trade providing education.

With the tendering out of local education services to the private sector, the arms trade is where the education money is going, beyond the defence budget. And if your child needs an education, you find yourself unwittingly complicit in building a respectable public profile and increasing profits for people who sell guns. There is a saying in market culture ‘there are two sides to every trade’. The arms trade exists for its customers and its shareholders; it is morally unacceptable for parents of schoolchildren to be included as part of its commercial operations.

What happens to the contract between Devon County Council and Babcock in 2022 could be down to public pressure. It is an important test case for whether we, as citizens, as progressives, can get the arms trade out of our schools. Shall we give it a try?

DiEM25 members are currently discussing possible actions to address the issue discussed in this article. If you’d like to be involved, or if you have knowledge, skills or ideas to contribute on this, join the dedicated thread in our forum and introduce yourself, or get in touch with the author of this piece directly.

Photo Sources: CDC from Pexels and Wikimedia Commons.

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Builders are running short of everything from power tools and screws to timber and roof tiles as the gridlock at UK ports holds up crucial deliveries and sets off alarm bells in the run-up to Brexit.

Zoe Wood www.theguardian.com 

The UK’s ports have been grappling with a surge in freight volumes at a time when their ability to process it all is hindered by coronavirus restrictions.

Since September, the country’s biggest container port, Felixstowe, has been handling about 30% more goods than usual, with businesses rushing to replenish stock after the end of lockdowns and building stockpiles before the end of the Brexit transition period.

High street chains have already reported shortages of essential goods such as washing machines and fridges, and also toys, as they struggle to get shipments through the Suffolk port.

The fallout from the congestion, which has spread to other major ports including Southampton and London Gateway, is being felt in a number of industries.

John Newcomb, the chief executive of the Builders Merchants Federation, said the ports were becoming a “major issue” for its members. They have enjoyed bumper sales as locked-down Britons renovated their homes but were experiencing availability problems because they “can’t get materials in quicker”. The squeeze was also pushing up the price of goods.

“There appears to be an increasing issue getting products through ports,” Newcomb said. “Rather than taking a maximum of one week to unload, it is taking up to four.”

Timber is of particular concern (the price is up between 20% and 40% because of supply problems in Scandinavia) but there is also a diminishing supply of roof tiles, screws, fixings, tools and white goods such as washing machines and fridges, he said.

In recent weeks the congestion at Felixstowe as well as other ports has encouraged vessels to “cut and run” – either partially unloading or skipping UK calls altogether and dumping cargo at Rotterdam, Antwerp and Zeebrugge instead, said Mirko Woitzik, an analyst at the supply chain risk advisory firm Resilience360. Some carriers are discussing not calling at Felixstowe until February because of fears it will remain clogged, he said.

The shortage of building materials had so far been felt by the retail chains that supply jobbing builders but Newcomb said that, with the situation unlikely to be resolved for several months, it would also become a problem for big contractors. The BMF has raised the issue with the government as the high level of demand has prevented the building trade from stockpiling in the run-up to Brexit.

The coronavirus pandemic has destroyed the equilibrium that usually exists in the maritime supply chain. Robert Keen, the director general of the British International Freight Association, said that over a 10-week period logistics firms went from having no work to a situation where almost no ships were idle. These extremes had led to a “breakdown of the conveyor belt of ships and containers, and the return flow of empty containers”, which was a major cause of congestion, he said.

The resurgent demand has resulted in a fight for space on the container ships that ply the shipping routes from low-cost manufacturing hubs, such as China, to big consumer markets including the US and Europe. UK businesses are reporting stratospheric increases in shipping costs, which are likely to add to the pressure on prices in the new year.

Simon Midwood, the managing director of the family-run building materials supplier Timco, said its shipping costs had increased by more than 300%. That extra cost was pushing up cost prices by between 3% and 17%.

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With port delays already causing shortages of popular toy sets such as Barbie, the retailer The Entertainer said it was facing soaring import costs from China, up from $1,000 six weeks ago to more than $6,000.

Gary Grant, the chain’s co-founder, said that could mean higher prices for shoppers in 2021 as retailers struggled to absorb rising costs. The situation was compounded by uncertainty surrounding the import taxes that will apply after Brexit, he added.

Last month the Guardian revealed that 11,000 containers of government-procured PPE were part of the problem at Felixstowe. That backlog has been reduced to about 4,000 and should be cleared by Christmas. The port said it expected the increase in container volumes to last into January but was “working hard to minimise the impact on daily operations and to maintain vital supply chains”.

US private equity firm Lone Star on Monday increased its offer to buy McCarthy & Stone, in a move that values the retirement housebuilding group at £647 million.

Joanna Bourke www.standard.co.uk 

The 120p per share offer for the company, which specialises in land buying, developing, selling and managing retirement communities, is higher than the 115p per share bid tabled in October.

The latest offer represents a 44.6% premium to the closing price per McCarthy & Stone share of 83p pence on October 22, the last business day before the commencement of the offer period.

It is also a 64.1% premium to the average share price for the three months to October 22.

The proposal is still below the pre-pandemic price, 158p in February, and the Sunday Times in October reported that one investor said the bid is “opportunistic”.

But McCarthy & Stone directors “consider the terms of the final offer to be fair and reasonable”, the takeover target said today.

Directors at the retirement housebuilder have recommended shareholders vote in favour of the deal. The meeting starts at 4.15 pm today.

When the planned swoop was first announced in October, Donald Quintin, president of Lone Star Europe, said McCarthy is in a “market underpinned by clear fundamentals: a rapidly ageing population and a structural undersupply of suitable housing options for older people”.

Rothschild, Deutsche and Peel Hunt are working with McCarthy and Moelis & Company and Goldman Sachs are advising the suitor.

The newest Navy aircraft carrier is set to be stranded until mid-2021 after a second flood, according to reports.

“It will take months to repair the damage. Costs will run to millions.”

[It’s only your money and mine! – Owl]

Georgia Diebelius www.mirror.co.uk 

HMS Prince of Wales was reportedly banned from leaving Portsmouth on safety grounds this week after a burst fire main damaged electrics.

The £3.1billion vessel was scheduled to set sail to the US to train with F-35 jets, 12 months after she last travelled.

According to The Sun, thousands of gallons of sea water poured into the vessel’s engine room during the flood.

The incident is said to have seen electrical cabinets submerged under the water for more than 24 hours.

A source said: “It’s embarrassing. The America trip took years of planning and we’ve had to say we can’t come.

“It will take months to repair the damage. Costs will run to millions.”

Miles of cables are now reportedly being assessed for damage in the second incident on board the ship.

In May, water was filmed pouring through a ceiling in the vessel’s living quarters. An incident that the Navy described as ‘minor’.

The Navy insists that the HMS Prince of Wales will still be operational by 2023 as it was scheduled to be, The Sun reports.

Earlier this year, the aircraft carrier caused a row in its home port, as its noisy engines kept locals awake at night.

The ship often runs on its diesel generators instead of power from the base and homeowners over the water said the racket was making life a misery.

One, Neil Sutton, said many were sticking “our heads under our pillows at night” in a bid to get some sleep.

He added: “In this lockdown, why can we not open our windows and enjoy peace and tranquillity?”.

The 919ft, 65,000-ton ship, which can carry 36 planes and four helicopters, remains at Portsmouth Naval Base, Hants.

Police and environment agency staff have moved in to stop further damage being done to a protected river, after what one witness described as one of the most egregious acts of ecological vandalism in 25 years.

Sandra Laville www.theguardian.com

A mile-long stretch of the River Lugg outside Kingsland, near Leominster in Herefordshire, has been flattened by a bulldozer. Trees have been felled, the river straightened and the river bed damaged.

Guy Linley-Adams, a lawyer for the charity Salmon and Trout Conservation, who lives nearby, witnessed the destruction to the river, which is protected as an SSSI, site of special scientific interest.

He called for prosecution of those responsible. “This is one of the most egregious acts of ecological vandalism that I have seen in 25 years of working on rivers in the UK,” he said. “I have been on site and I am shaking with anger at what has been done to my local river.

“There can be no excuse if the perpetrator is not now prosecuted to the fullest extent possible. His financial assets should also be taken to pay to restore the river, a restoration that will take decades.”

Damage at the River Lugg. Photograph: Herefordshire Wildlife Trust/PA

Environment Agency staff, West Mercia police, officials from Natural England and the Forestry Commission moved in to stop further damage on Friday.

Dave Throup, the area environment manager for the Environment Agency (EA), said: “We are treating this very seriously along with Natural England and the Forestry Commission, who have taken immediate action in an attempt to prevent any further works at the site. We are mounting a wide-ranging investigation with Natural England, the Forestry Commission and other partners. We are unable to comment further at this stage.”

Throup tweeted: “Fourteen specialist officers from the Environment Agency, Natural England, Forestry Commission, West Mercia police and Herefordshire council now on site gathering information and evidence.”

Critics said more should have been done to halt the destruction last week, on 26 November when the EA was first alerted to activity taking place on the river bank. It is understood the event was designated a category 1 incident; an event which has a serious, extensive or persistent impact on the environment.

But it was not until significant damage had been done that the EA and other officials used their powers of entry to stop the destruction, which environmentalists said would take decades to repair.

The river is protected as it is an important habitat for salmon, otters, lamprey, dragonfly and crayfish. The protection also covers the way the river meanders through the countryside. But after several days of activity, the river banks have been flattened, gravel has been scraped from the riverbed, and the gentle curve of the river has been straightened.

Helen Stace, the chief executive of the Herefordshire Wildlife Trust, said: “A large stretch of one of the UK’s most important rivers, the Lugg, has been devastated with dire consequences for wildlife and water quality downstream. This is a tragedy.

“This is a crime against the environment. Swift action needs to be taken and we want to see the authorities investigate the matter swiftly. We expect this case to be dealt with in a serious and robust manner and any resulting prosecution should act as a deterrent to prevent anyone committing this type of crime ever again. We will also be calling for restoration of the river to its natural channel.”

TV gardener Monty Don, who lives in near Leominster, told local newspaper the Hereford Times: “It breaks my heart but is all too typical of the ignorance, arrogance and sheer wanton destruction of those privileged to care for our countryside.”

A close friend of the prime minister and his fiancee was given an official position at the Home Office without the role being publicly advertised, a freedom of information request has revealed.

Molly Blackall www.theguardian.com

Nimco Ali, who is reportedly godmother to the son of Carrie Symonds and Boris Johnson, was appointed adviser on tackling violence against women and girls in October.

Information released under the Freedom of Information Act to The Critic magazine revealed that she was hired via a “direct appointment process”, without open competition or advertisement for the job.

It appears the role may have been created for Ali, with no mention of it before her appointment. She is paid £350 a day and works two days a month.

Ali is a prominent campaigner against female genital mutilation (FGM), which she was subjected to at the age of seven.

She arrived in Britain as a four-year-old refugee from Somalia and went on to co-found the non-profit Daughters of Eve, and later the Five Foundation – a global campaign to end FGM. She was made an OBE in 2019 in recognition of her work.

Following her appointment to the advisory position, she said more needed to be done to combat violence against women.

Although she stood as a candidate for the Women’s Equality party in 2017, Ali has campaigned for the Conservatives in recent years, becoming a close friend of Carrie Symonds and a vocal supporter of Boris Johnson.

The government said Ali had been appointed to help create a strategy to tackle violence against women and girls that is due to be released in 2021.

The strategy is designed to ensure that victims of gender-based violence receive better support and perpetrators are more effectively targeted. It is also intended to improve the government’s handling of “new and emerging forms of violence”, including upskirting and revenge porn.

A Home Office spokesperson confirmed that she had been hired “via a direct appointment” to lead a short-term project, and said the Cabinet Office Public Appointments Policy team had agreed her appointment.

“Nimco Ali has a strong track record of campaigning on violence against women and girls’ issues, raising awareness and educating people about female genital mutilation,” the spokesperson said. “She brings a huge amount of experience and passion to this role, providing independent advice to help inform government policy and challenge the status quo.

“Direct appointments with no competition are standard for short-term advisory roles and follow an established process.”

Ali declined to comment further.

Devon is known for its uniquely pretty towns and villages – but behind the fabulous facades, not all is as it seems, according to the people who live in them.

Colleen Smith www.devonlive.com

The brutally honest and sometimes downright nasty reviews have appeared on iLiveHere.co.uk, a website which accepts reader submissions about what they think of the places where they live.

The funniest are tongue in cheek references which contain a few home truth bells among us true locals.

Although none of the top ten 10 worst places to live in the UK are in Devon, these surprising nine Devon towns have been brutally savaged by locals who are not afraid take aim and expose the worst flaws for all to see.

Let’s have a look at the harshest (and very unfair) comments thrown at some of our favourite Devon towns…

NORTH DEVON: Watch out for all the Karens on tour

A sunny day in Ilfracombe, sent in by Jules Florence (Image: North Devon Journal)

A certain sort of holidaymaker is making life unbearable for anybody without pots of money according to the brutal reviews about life in North Devon. The Karens are popping up everywhere it seems:

• “There are Karens walking with no masks on and complaining about the peasants staying next door to them.”
• “The Karens’ pets have pooped all over the beach.”
• “And Karens have even been blamed to deaths on the coast path: “Do not think about the South West Coast path!! Karens have to burn off the Italian food and booze, so they need to jog and they don’t care if you’re in the way… and you thought people just fell off the cliffs. Lol”

Anybody earning under £30k should avoid moving to the area the harsh review adds: “Karen’s will constantly belittle you for being renters.”

And the new review concludes: “How about a campsite? Maybe, but the elite will leave no room for your pitiful 4-man tent, as they park a caravan the size of Cargo plane right next to you.

“To think I looked down on Skegvegas and Mablethorpe in my youth. I would much prefer to be there now.”

APPLEDORE: Not nearly as magical as its Harry Potter name

Appledore Quay (Image: Stephen McKay/Geograph)

Harry Potter fans who are drawn to Appledore by the mystical sounding name should remember that Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is a fictional character.

This review is written by a couple who have lived in the town for four years and said they were “were attracted to Appledore by its magical name.”

They added: “After living in this remote outpost for near on four years however, I can safely confirm that this North Devon realm is about as mystical as a pitbull’s ****.

“Just don’t go, that’s all. If you want a Harry Potter world, either go to Harry Potter World or stalk Daniel Radcliffe or that girl who plays Hermoine.”

LANDKEY: It might as well be 500 years ago

Landkey views towards the Tarka Trail

This local reviewer said: “I came to Devon to enjoy life and have fun and must be off my head to have gone with Landkey.”

Although the town is only a few miles out of Barnstaple “it might as well be 500 years ago in feudal times, because the reality of one of the small minded locals coming at you with a pitch fork is very real.

“You can’t fart without someone having an opinion on it. Don’t whatever you do think it’s acceptable to have fun and let fireworks off or anything, because they will all take to their whingeing and moaning.

“This place is in the dark ages with all its gossiping and small minded rubbish. Every public building in Landkey where locals are allowed to gather should be avoided. They steal your soul. It’s a depressing festering place. Run now.”

COMBE MARTIN: The Camberwickerman Green Village

Watermouth Cove between Ilfracombe and Combe Martin (Image: Andrew Bone)

A cross between children’s TV’s Camberwick Green and the 1970s British cult folk horror film The Wicker Man is how Combe Martin is described: “For those that didn’t know, Combe Martin locals walk just like the Camberwick Green puppets.

“‘Combe Martians’, as they call the locals, are straight out of The Wicker Man film with a bit of Camberwick Green. There’s Mrs Dingle, and Roger Varley; loads of Mrs Honeymans plus loads of Windy Millers. It’s not funny, Combe Martin’s terrifying; every year hordes of drunken pagans come down from the hills and go marching up and down the street, banging drums all night.

“Other times, crowds of weirdos regularly gather to chant on the nearby beacons at sunset, and frighten the seagulls.”

DAWLISH WARREN: Also known as Watership Downer

Storm clouds over Dawlish Warren (Image: Tracey Bosworth)

“Dawlish Warren is marketed by the tourist board as a traditional seaside resort for family, fun holidays. They haven’t visited in the past 20 years evidently, and failed to notice it is really Royston Vasey in disguise. I swear the League of Gentlemen was inspired by this place.

“Dawlish Warren represents everything that is wrong with UK seaside resorts, all rolled into one.”

“In the summer it is full of the cast of Shameless, all squashed 16 deep into self catering caravans screeching at their offspring and eating as many calories as they can cram into their fat faces on the way to the beach.”

This Dawlish Warren review is so vindictive that the Editor of ILiveHere.Co.uk has removed personal comments about local pubs and shop staff saying: “Lots of things about the person’s alleged resemblance to a TV character we can’t repeat.”

OKEHAMPTON: Avoid becoming an Okehamptonite at all costs

Okehampton town centre (Image: Google)

“Passing through Okehampton during the day, in a car, you could be forgiven for thinking that this was a normal market town on the edge of Dartmoor. You would be very, very wrong. Okehampton is a town truly rotten to the core.

“Often over looked by the outside world due to it’s location and lack of any thing good there. This is the curse of Okehampton. Too small to be noticed, too big to be destroyed without anyone noticing.”

The reviewer gives ‘things to do’ advice for anybody who fails to flee and becomes an Okehamptonite.

The nightclub Nero’s is Okehamptons premier (only) after 11 drinking hole: “Mix all this booze and squadies from Okehampton’s army camp in side a 30-foot square box and you have a nightmare comparable only to an Alfred Hitchcock film.”

Simmons Park: The reviewer says that this ‘oasis of green’ is sadly no escape: “Any attempts by the council to make the park or indeed any place in Okehampton better are met with the same trademark response from the town DESTROY, DESTROY, DESTROY.”

PAIGNTON: Brush up your Strictly dance moves

The decline of Crossways in Paignton

This review urges anybody who is about to walk through Paignton that “a stint on Strictly would help”.

“When strolling through the town, I find a quickstep will ease you past the usual ne’er-do-wells.”

The paso doble will assist in avoiding dog dirt on the pavements and the samba is recommended “when queuing in shops to stop pickpockets helping themselves”.

If you don’t believe the reviewer he says to look no further than the notorious, totally empty Crossways shopping centre. Which is fair.

SOUTH MOLTON: The town square is a traffic island

The Square in South Molton

Allegedly it has “the smallest Sainsburys” and the “cruddiest” market in the SW.

“Once or twice a year a few locals dress up as Victorian peasants rather than 21st century peasants and hang around the ‘square’ which is a traffic island with a bench and a map board.

“There isn’t even a greengrocer but there’s two butchers and a cheese shop. One road is lined with hippy health clinics where you can have your back and your chakras realigned to the sound of whalesong and the aroma of incense.

“On a plus there’s easy access to the North Devon Link Road which will get you back to civilisation within a couple of hours. There are some beaches within half an hour drive, tourist traffic and tractors permitting.

“Crime is low, but there is nothing much to steal unless you need a sheep or a cow.

“There’s no beggars or drunks in doorways. All in all the town has an air of 1950s decay and neglect and no indication of anything 21st century. Even the WiFi is painfully slow. Best avoided.”

AXMINSTER: There are no secrets here

Axminster

At first glance, Axminster appears to be a quiet and pleasant town, with a small shopping area, a pretty railway station, and a large Tesco – but according to this reviewer the truth is revealed “when you dig a little deeper”.

The claim is that it’s the real “local locals” you have to watch out for. They are like Susan out of The Archers: “These people are really something else. You can’t even talk to someone without being approached by strangers at a later date, who know exactly what was said down to the most minute detail.”

The reviewer attended the local school and says it was an “often incredibly violent place, which at the time (1990’s) was put into special measures thanks to it’s crumbling structures and unpleasant atmosphere”.

But don’t try to escape by bus: “The main bus stop in town is actually a traffic island with a bird bath on it, well, i say bird bath, but over the years it’s spent more time being used as a toilet or a sick bucket than it ever did bathing birds.”

DARTMOUTH: All is not as it seems

Dartmouth in Devon has been voted the second best seaside town in the UK

Dartmouth may have been voted the second best seaside town in the UK, but outside the pretty riverside town, it’s not all as it seems.

“Most incomers as the locals call you arrive into Dartmouth via one of the River ferries, where you will be met with the best kept town centre awash with art galleries and quaint unique shops. All this with Sir Aston Webbs Naval College sitting grandly overlooking the beautifully set postcard image. Dare you creep up the “Hill” into Townstal, then the rot starts.”

Apparently once out of the upmarket harbour area it’s all Spar pasties and Panda pops: “They shun Sainsbury’s as they don’t sell gas and electric tokens and favour the Spar shop which is burgled by the same person every month.”

And the reviewer claims that decent folk “are interspersed with social services cases generally shipped in from Plymouth or Totnes”. and adds “You will never fit in with these people unless you can decorate your garden with ornamental nappies to the annoyance of your decent hard working neighbours.”

Devon man Joel Teague launches Co Charger to connect neighbours and communities via electric vehicle charger sharing app.

[Also in the print edition of today’s Sunday Times]

Co Charger pressroom.journolink.com 

Lympstone resident Joel Teague has launched Co Charger, a new platform enabling those who do have electric car chargers, whether motorists, businesses or community buildings to share them with neighbours who don’t.

‘Five years ago a neighbour in Lympstone convinced me, a card-carrying petrolhead to get an electric car,’ explains Joel. ‘The car arrived but my charger was delayed and I found myself giving that same neighbour a few quid to use their charger once a week until mine arrived. It led to a lightbulb moment where I thought of all the people blocked from getting an electric vehicle because they live in a flat or terraced house and don’t have anywhere to charge. It prompted me to launch Co Charger, a ‘matchmaking’ app connecting hosts with a charger with neighbours who want somewhere to charge, helping to create cleaner, greener neighbourhoods and fight climate change. Most importantly, it also means that those who would love to have an electric car will finally be able to buy one – confident in the knowledge that they can charge reliably and economically with a local host.’

The app handles communications, bookings, reminders, calculations and payments. Hosts can set the price they’d like to charge for the service and have the option to make extra income.

Joel, who has lived in Devon for 12 years and used to be a project manager for the Met Office says, ‘Devon – and Exeter in particular was always the perfect place for Co Charger to be created. It has one of the highest levels of EV ownership in the UK plus a wonderful community culture and hunger for innovation. Co Charger was launched under lock down in April, but we have a great team based in the South West working and communicating online to develop and launch the business.’

The Co Charger app is free to download and there are no subscriptions. Hosts can be private individuals or any organisation with an electric charger, such as a community centre, church hall or doctors’ surgery. For more information check out Co Charger.

About Co Charger

Co Charger is developing a community that will help accelerate electric vehicle adoption. Through our app and collaborations we enable people who cannot charge a vehicle at home to do so within a short walking distance.

Co Charger is an environmentally and socially responsible company and aiming to become a B corporation certified organisation.

Co Charger is affiliated with the Co Cars family which also includes Co Bikes and Co Delivery. Together we are accelerating towards a shared, zero-emissions future.

Almost half of the bridges on England’s motorways and A-roads are in a poor or very poor condition, it is claimed.

By Tom Payne For The Daily Mail Mark Duell for MailOnline www.dailymail.co.uk 

Evidence of damage or defects have been found in 4,000 out of around 9,000 bridges and large culverts, according to Highways England data released under freedom of information laws.

Some 858 had at least one crucial section in a ‘very poor condition’ that could put them at risk of failure, The Times reported. The revelations follow the closure of Hammersmith Bridge after years of neglect. 

The West London crossing – which is not owned or maintained by Highways England – is not expected to re-open to traffic until 2027, four years later than planned.

The fiasco has attracted international ridicule and fuelled concern over the state of Britain’s crumbling road infrastructure.

Two people look at Hammersmith Bridge last month after it was shut because of concerns it was structurally dangerous

Highways England released details of bridge defects after an 18-month battle with the UK’s data protection watchdog. They had tried to prevent details being revealed on the grounds it could help terrorists commit an attack. 

Today, the organisation insisted that a rating of ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ does not mean that a structure is unsafe – rather that it is to record a visual inspection, such as the paint condition, to help plan for future maintenance.

By numbers: Highways England and its bridges 

Highways England is responsible for maintaining:

• 8,857 bridges and large culverts (8,249 excluding non-road bridges)
• 2,276 small span structures (1,143 having span >=1.5m)
• 9,392 road bridges in total

‘Principle’ inspections in the past financial year:

• 1,223 on bridges and large culverts (1,136 excluding non-road bridges)
• 168 on small span structures (all having span >=1.5m)

‘General’ inspections in the past financial year:

• 2,742 on bridges and large culverts (2,551 excluding non-road bridgess)
• 688 on small span structures (347 having span >=1.5m)

Sub-standard and/or weight restricted bridges:

• 95 structures have interim measures such as weight or width restrictions to help them remain fit for service

They said the overall condition of structures has improved over the last five years and that £1.5billion has been earmarked for maintenance up to 2025 – £200million more than in 2015-2020.

However, critics said the findings are cause for concern. 

Matt Rodda, the shadow roads minister, told The Times: ‘It is a major safety concern and real failing of this government that so much of the nation’s vital infrastructure is in such poor condition.

‘Bridges are a critical part of the functioning of any country and it is alarming that so many have fallen into disrepair in the UK.’

Highways England’s chief engineer Mike Wilson said: ‘Our roads connect the country and every day millions of people rely on our structures to get safely to their destination. All our structures are safe and regularly inspected.

‘A rating of ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ does not mean that a structure is unsafe; it is simply a way of recording a visual inspection, such as the condition of the paint, to allow us to consider the future maintenance requirements.

‘We carry out more than 10,000 inspections a year looking at a range of measures from the condition of the paint through to the integrity of the materials.

‘Considering all these assessments together helps us assess the overall maintenance needs and reduces the likelihood of emergency repairs, meaning the majority of our maintenance can be planned to minimise disruption.’ 

Officials insist inspections are in line with guidance in the official ‘Design Manual for Roads and Bridges’, which considers design, age and the maintenance needs.

Inspections carried out of structures look at defects in reinforced concrete, steelwork and other construction materials. Further investigations can then establish the extent and severity of any defects.  

Hammersmith Bridge, which is not owned or maintained by Highways England, is not expected to re-open to traffic until 2027

Factors affecting the condition of a structure and its grading can include weathering, climate change, high rainfall, type of structure, materials, overloading, bridge strikes and accidents.

Full data on banding of all structures maintained by Highways England 

Critical banding – based on the lowest condition score for the highest importance structural elements and components:

• very good – 5,112
• good – 5,483
• fair – 3,012
• poor – 4,331
• very poor – 1,123

Average banding – based on the average condition of all the structural elements:

• very good – 9,951
• good – 6,983
• fair – 1,970
• poor – 207
• very poor – 13

This data covers structures including bridges, culverts, retaining walls, masts and large signs.

Highways England said the overall condition of stock of structures shows that the overall condition has improved over the last five years. 

They are spending £1.5billion on structures maintenance over the next five years, which is said to be £200million more than in the previous five years.

Officials said they completed a plan in March 2019 to clear all overdue inspections on highway structures – and some 82 per cent of structures are said to be in a ‘good’ or ‘very good’ condition.  

In Hammersmith, the famous Victorian bridge could be re-opened in a year under council plans to build a double-decker crossing over the existing structure.

The cost of fixing Hammersmith Bridge has spiralled to £141million and it is now unlikely to reopen until 2027 – four years later than planned.

The closure of the landmark, which normally carries 16,000 people a day and 22,000 vehicles, has provoked international ridicule and caused misery for local residents.

Ministers are desperate for a solution to re-open the vital crossing amid fear its closure could hurt the Tories in next year’s London mayoral elections.

Hopes were raised last week after the bridge’s owners, the Labour-run Hammersmith and Fulham Council, submitted proposals for a temporary crossing.

The double-decked structure would see the creation of two raised decks built above the road: an upper level for cars and a lower level for pedestrians and cyclists.

Council officials have told Transport Secretary Grant Shapps that they could have the temporary crossing up and running within a year of a contractor being approved.

They say the raised deck would not put pressure on the existing structure and would allow for pedestals, anchors and chains to removed and repaired elsewhere.

Although local residents have welcomed the potential solution, it has provoked scepticism among engineers who fear the Grade II bridge could collapse at any moment. 

One of the most well-known bridges managed by Highways Engand is the M48 Severn Bridge. Its structure rating is unknown

The Orwell Bridge, which was opened to road traffic in 1982 near Ipswich in Suffolk, is also managed by Highways England

The structure is so unstable that river traffic has been banned from passing underneath. The last time the Thames was closed was when the river iced up during the Great Freeze of 1814.

The bridge has been closed to traffic since April last year, when inspectors discovered dangerous ‘micro-fractures’ in the brittle cast iron pedestals.

In August, the bridge was closed off to pedestrians and cyclists after the heatwave triggered a rapid increase in the size of the fractures – putting the bridge at risk of sudden collapse.

The council’s proposal of a double deck crossing was drawn up by property tycoon Sir John Ritblat, the former boss of British Land, along with Foster + Partners and specialist bridge engineers COWI.

It is one of a number of solutions being considered by a Department for Transport taskforce. Another proposal, revealed in the Mail, involves the construction of a temporary road crossing running alongside the bridge.

• Replacement larger porch to front of property. 14 Warneford Gardens Exmouth EX8 4ENRef. No: 20/2660/FUL | Validated: Fri 27 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1 Oak: Reduce by 2.5m to reshape Reason: Without periodic pruning, the tree will become completely dominant in the garden and inappropriate to its location. This will repeat pruning works last undertaken with consent in 2013. 55 Evergreen Close Exmouth EX8 4RRRef. No: 20/2661/TRE | Validated: Fri 27 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of two storey rear and side extensions 45 Ash Grove Seaton EX12 2TTRef. No: 20/2658/FUL | Validated: Fri 27 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of single storey rear extension 26 Cypress Close Honiton EX14 2YWRef. No: 20/2657/FUL | Validated: Fri 27 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Removal of condition 3 of planning permission 20/1395/FUL (alterations to front conservatory extension including increase in height (retrospective application)) to remove the requirement to obscure the glazing in the conservatory roof Flat 1 Fernbrook Convent Road Sidmouth EX10 8RBRef. No: 20/2646/VAR | Validated: Thu 26 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of 2 no. dormer windows, extension to porch, insertion of rooflight and side window at the first floor level, side roof extensions and external alterations including provision of cladding and brick Bramleys Poltimore Exeter EX4 0ARRef. No: 20/2643/FUL | Validated: Thu 26 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erection of field kitchen and creation of seating area and associated car parking area Coldharbour Farm East Hill Ottery St Mary EX11 1QLRef. No: 20/2644/FUL | Validated: Fri 27 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed greenhouse 10 Lansdowne Road Budleigh Salterton EX9 6AHRef. No: 20/2636/FUL | Validated: Wed 25 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Extension to bungalow 18 Woolbrook Park Sidmouth EX10 9DURef. No: 20/2640/FUL | Validated: Wed 25 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of two storey side and rear extension 18 Louis Way Dunkeswell Honiton EX14 4XWRef. No: 20/2639/FUL | Validated: Wed 25 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Part conversion of existing garage to form study with new window 25 Moor Park Honiton EX14 2FPRef. No: 20/2631/CPL | Validated: Wed 25 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of two storey side extension and front porch Rookery View Lyme Road Uplyme Lyme Regis DT7 3THRef. No: 20/2633/FUL | Validated: Wed 25 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of two storey extension 14 Cliff Road Sidmouth EX10 8JNRef. No: 20/2618/FUL | Validated: Fri 27 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erection of permanent agricultural workers dwelling and associated independent vehicular access Dunkeswell Grange Farm Awliscombe Honiton EX14 3PRRef. No: 20/2620/FUL | Validated: Thu 26 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of porch and w.c.; replacement with single storey extension to include entrance, w.c. and utility room Mount Stephen Farm Luppitt Honiton EX14 4SURef. No: 20/2610/FUL | Validated: Fri 27 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of single storey rear extension and porch. 24 Lea Road Otterton Budleigh Salterton EX9 7JHRef. No: 20/2621/FUL | Validated: Tue 24 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Roofing over open livestock gathering area Higher Wadhayes Farm Combe Raleigh Honiton EX14 4SGRef. No: 20/2614/FUL | Validated: Wed 25 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Certificate of lawfulness for the conversion of existing garage building into home office, hobby room and WC Knighthayes Woodhouse Lane Uplyme Lyme Regis DT7 3SXRef. No: 20/2625/CPL | Validated: Tue 24 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of single storey link to garage including new roof and cladding to garage Lydcote Whitford Road Kilmington Axminster EX13 7RFRef. No: 20/2612/FUL | Validated: Thu 26 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of porch and w.c.; replacement with single storey extension to include entrance, w.c. and utility room; creation of doorway and replacement wall Mount Stephen Farm Luppitt Honiton EX14 4SURef. No: 20/2609/LBC | Validated: Fri 27 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Construction of single storey side/rear extension and front porch Laneside High Street Newton Poppleford Sidmouth EX10 0DWRef. No: 20/2619/FUL | Validated: Thu 26 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Oak framed car port extension Sandy Hills Rydon Lane Woodbury Exeter EX5 1JZRef. No: 20/2626/FUL | Validated: Tue 24 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of single storey rear extension Rowan House Yettington Budleigh Salterton EX9 7BNRef. No: 20/2627/FUL | Validated: Tue 24 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of single storey side extension. 8 Meadow Road Budleigh Salterton EX9 6JLRef. No: 20/2596/FUL | Validated: Fri 27 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Internal and external alterations to convert coach house into a 2 bedroom dwelling with garden and parking. Construction of boundary wall along west and north garden boundaries, to be rendered and provided with a clay tile coping – work to the new boundary wall part completed Myrtle Coach House Clyst St Mary Exeter EX5 1BBRef. No: 20/2601/LBC | Validated: Thu 26 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Agricultural storage building Harrison Farm Dalwood Axminster EX13 7HWRef. No: 20/2595/AGR | Validated: Mon 23 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Conversion of coach house to 2 bedroom dwelling with garden and parking; construction of boundary wall along west and north garden boundaries, to be rendered and provided with a clay tile coping – work to the new boundary wall part completed Myrtle Coach House Clyst St Mary Exeter EX5 1BBRef. No: 20/2600/FUL | Validated: Thu 26 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed single storey rear extension and alterations to front retaining wall to parking area to alter entrance steps to property and provide a cycle store 6 Seaton Down Road Seaton EX12 2RZRef. No: 20/2602/FUL | Validated: Mon 23 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of side garage and rear extension to facilitate loft conversion and raised terrace to rear (revised scheme to 20/0204/FUL) 17 Hill Drive Exmouth EX8 4QQRef. No: 20/2586/FUL | Validated: Tue 24 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of extension and raising of garage roof 74 Foxholes Hill Exmouth EX8 2DHRef. No: 20/2592/FUL | Validated: Mon 23 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Raising of roof and roof extensions to provide additional accommodation at first floor level 17 Grange Avenue Exmouth EX8 3HURef. No: 20/2574/FUL | Validated: Mon 23 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• 3 x Signs made from aluminium covered in a matte laminated graphic. Hartgrove Hill Farm Trinity Hill Road Musbury Axminster EX13 8TBRef. No: 20/2567/ADV | Validated: Wed 25 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use of land from agricultural to domestic garden Homemead Longdogs Lane Ottery St Mary EX11 1HXRef. No: 20/2554/COU | Validated: Tue 24 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Conversion of garage to use as a holiday let or as ancillary accommodation (Revision of 20/0217/FUL) Stomorage Cottage Colestocks Honiton EX14 3JRRef. No: 20/2550/FUL | Validated: Fri 27 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of replacement summerhouse and shed. 12 Oak Tree Close Upottery Honiton EX14 9QGRef. No: 20/2547/FUL | Validated: Mon 23 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erection of a new office building. Paddocks Sidmouth Road Aylesbeare Exeter EX5 2JWRef. No: 20/2534/FUL | Validated: Mon 23 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of single storey side extension. Chimney Cottage Brampford Speke Exeter EX5 5HGRef. No: 20/2508/FUL | Validated: Thu 26 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Re-instate 1no. blue plaque on main Otter Mill Factory south elevation with revised wording, and install one new blue plaque at second entrance to the main Otter Mill Factory east elevation with identical revised wording. Re-instate 1no. blue plaque on the Corn Mill south elevation, wording unchanged. Otter Mill Tumbling Weir Way Ottery St Mary DevonRef. No: 20/2505/LBC | Validated: Thu 26 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of sand school with hedgerow and fencing and infilling of existing menage. Hares Farm Yarcombe Honiton EX14 9AZRef. No: 20/2458/FUL | Validated: Mon 23 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use of ancillary accommodation/home office to holiday let Lindens Mill Lane Uplyme Lyme Regis DT7 3TZRef. No: 20/2423/COU | Validated: Tue 24 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Prior approval for proposed change of use of existing poultry building to 3 no. larger dwellinghouses and 2 no. smaller dwellinghouses (use class C3) and associated operational development under Class Q(a) and (b) Bond Lane Farm Bonds Lane Woodbury Salterton Exeter EX5 1QFRef. No: 20/2424/PDQ | Validated: Thu 26 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of two storey rear extension 7 Rising Sun Dalwood Axminster EX13 7EFRef. No: 20/2406/FUL | Validated: Wed 25 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• 1 no internally illuminated fascia sign (A); 2 no non-illuminated direction signs (C1 & C2); 1 no non-illuminated vehicle entry sign (B); 2 no internally illuminated fascia signs (4); 2 no non-illuminated fascia signs (5); 1 non-illuminated hanging sign (6); 4 no wall mounted signs (Hangtime café) Sideshore Queens Drive ExmouthRef. No: 20/2409/ADV | Validated: Thu 26 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erection of lean-to hay barn. Burrow Way Burrow Knapp Way Dalwood Axminster EX13 7ESRef. No: 20/2336/FUL | Validated: Wed 25 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Refurbishment of existing workshop and garage and conversion to 3no. terraced houses. Burlands Mead Feniton Honiton EX14 3BSRef. No: 20/2247/FUL | Validated: Tue 24 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Retention of raised terrace and outbuilding 74 Foxhill Axminster EX13 5LQRef. No: 20/2224/FUL | Validated: Tue 24 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Various works to existing (south) elevation extension to include: to remove the render from the internal original wall, examine the timber frame & brick infill and carry out required remedial work; removal of the polycarbonate sheeting and roof structure and replaced with a standing seam zinc roof including a breathable membrane and insulation; the roof to include 3 Nº fixed rectangular roof lights, 3 Nº triangular fixed roof lights and 2 Nº opening roof lights; to replace 12 Nº glazed casement units; to replace 2 Nº existing french windows and one existing single door including frames; construct a new single door and frame as shown on the drawings; to remove and replace the existing guttering, including the addition of another down pipe and associated soak away; to re-render the existing internal timber framed wall (slake lime slurry scat coat, 2 slake lime haired dubbing coats, 3 slake lime haired flattening coats and 4 double pass of ultra fine regency lime plaster); to plaster the inner face of the conservatory dwarf wall and render the external face to match the render on the existing property; to redecorate using the same palette of colour as used on the existing property. Manor Lodge Clyst Hydon Cullompton EX15 2NFRef. No: 20/2137/LBC | Validated: Tue 24 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erection of storage/tool shed on agricultural land Land East Of Longbrook Lane Longmeadow Road LympstoneRef. No: 20/1987/FUL | Validated: Mon 23 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Outline planning application for the construction of up to 63 dwellings incorporating open market and affordable dwellings, together with associated infrastructure (all matters reserved except for access) Land East Of Sidmouth Road Ottery St MaryRef. No: 20/1974/MOUT | Validated: Tue 24 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Oak (T1-T3) – overall crown reduction of two meters of all three oaks. Concerns of proximity to building of T2 and T3. All three oaks were planted closed together, an overall crown reduction of all three trees will benefit their long term health. Bracken Heath Crewkerne Road Axminster EX13 5SXRef. No: 20/1972/TRE | Validated: Fri 27 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision

Installation of 5 no. 6 m high poles supporting CCTV & security lights and extension to car parking areas. Goonvean Fibres Ltd Bramble Hill Industrial Estate Honiton EX14 1BW Ref. No: 20/1649/FUL | Validated: Wed 25 Nov 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision

Boris Johnson’s failure to authorise an inquiry into the controversial approval of a £1bn homes project by his housing secretary, Robert Jenrick, also played a role in the recent resignation of the prime minister’s ethics adviser.

Mark Townsend www.theguardian.com

Alex Allan quit his position last month after the prime minister overruled his advice and cleared the home secretary, Priti Patel, of bullying allegations.

Legal and Whitehall sources have revealed, however, that Allan was already concerned that the prime minister had not requested an inquiry to examine the controversy around Jenrick’s backing for a housing development by billionaire Richard Desmond that would help the Tory party donor avoid tax of £45m.

After sitting beside Desmond at a fundraising dinner, Jenrick overruled the local authority Tower Hamlets in east London and the government planning inspectorate to give permission for the development. Desmond donated £12,000 to the party a fortnight after permission was granted.

Johnson had sole authority to request an inquiry into Jenrick’s conduct when the revelations emerged over the summer, a process that would have been overseen by Allan. Jenrick has denied any wrongdoing or bias but admitted his decision had been “unlawful by reason of apparent bias”.

John Biggs, the Labour mayor of Tower Hamlets, said Allan’s apparent disquiet on several issues reflected what he called a “comprehensive ethical vacuum” at the heart of government.

He added: “This doesn’t remotely surprise me. The failure to act shows a more comprehensive ethical vacuum.”

Meanwhile, new polling shows the extent to which Johnson’s decision to overrule Allan’s advice and stand by Patel, despite a report that concluded her behaviour had breached the ministerial code, has harmed the government.

Nearly half (43%) of the British public say their confidence in the government decreased because of its handling of the bullying claims, according to the survey by Opinium with Compassion in Politics.

A fifth of Conservative supporters said that confidence in their own party had been reduced by the issue.

Alex Thomas, programme director at the Institute for Government, said the Jenrick and Desmond saga exposed the situation whereby the prime minister has the absolute authority to launch misconduct investigations and also has the final say in their outcomes.

Thomas, who was a senior civil servant for 17 years, and was civil service head Jeremy Heywood’s private secretary from 2016 to 2018, added: “It’s important that allegations are investigated and it’s also important that there is an independent oversight. For the health of the system, [the issue] would benefit from a proper investigation without prejudice to the outcome.”

Controversial restrictions came into place in England this week, as a month-long lockdown ended. Areas have been placed in one of three tiers.

[Exeter in the top 20 areas where there is the greatest difference in cases between older and younger people]

By Rob England www.bbc.co.uk

But how was it decided which tier was right for which area? One of the key factors is the rate of coronavirus cases among people over the age of 60.

The BBC has analysed the latest figures for areas with both the highest infection rates among the over-60s, and places where the virus is more common in older people than those younger.

Where are the hotspots?

In the week to 29 November Boston, in Lincolnshire, had the highest number of coronavirus cases among the over-60s, at about 564 per 100,000 people.

This was higher than the rate among people under 60, which was about 515 per 100,000 over the same period.

Among all cases, the area had the third highest infection rate in England. Lincolnshire moved into Tier 3 when the England-wide lockdown ended on Wednesday.

The county seeing the most areas with the highest infection rates in over-60s was Kent.

Swale, Gravesham, Thanet and Medway all had more than 300 cases per 100,000 among the over-60s, with Maidstone recording a rate of 247.

Most of the areas seeing the highest infection rates in older people have even higher rates in those under 60.

However, there have been some places where the opposite was true.

East Northamptonshire had the largest gap between its infection rates among older and younger people.

The rate in older people in the week to 28 November was about 207 cases per 100,000 people, nearly double the rate in under-60s of about 106.

How does the virus spread across age groups?

It is hard to say what causes the virus to spread from one age group to another, as causes can be unique to different parts of the country.

Officials said outbreaks in care homes could account for some spikes in older populations but community transmission has also played a large role.

The virus has been said to move from younger people to older more often. This could be partly explained by the high number of people over 60 receiving care from those in younger age groups.

However, public health teams said the current figures broadly reflected infections acquired as England entered the second national lockdown and could have been a result of last-minute excursions before venues such as pubs and non-essential shops closed.

Why is the government concerned about cases in older people?

The NHS has said although coronavirus can make anyone seriously ill, the risk would increase as patients were older.

Older people tend to have more underlying health conditions, or have received treatment that could make them vulnerable.

Officials have also voiced concerns about the potential impact on hospital capacity if cases rose among the over-60s.

Since the pandemic began many hospitals have had fewer beds available for patients, because of extra safety precautious taken to limit the spread of the virus. In many facilities treatment has been divided into Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 zones.

Higher numbers of cases among older people in particular would usually mean increased critical care admissions.

The knock-on effect of this would be to further reduce hospital capacity to treat non-Covid-19 patients, as hospitals adjusted to cope with the additional strain.

The government’s recent coronavirus impact assessment said if the NHS in a part of the country were to be overwhelmed – if an area had more patients that needed critical care than it had capacity for – this could result in deaths that may have been prevented, had there been fewer patients.

How has this affected the tiers system?

The government has said it looked at several criteria when deciding on what tiers to put each part of England in following the second national lockdown:

• Total number of Covid-19 cases in an area
• The number of cases among over-60s
• The rate at which cases were rising or falling
• The proportion of test results coming back positive
• Pressure on the NHS

In its assessment of each area it outlined places where it was concerned about the number of infections among older people.

Of the 46 county and wider areas used to assign tiers, 23 were highlighted as having “high” or “very high” case rates in the over-60s.

It based its research on figures covering the two weeks up to 19 November.

Can I see older friends or relatives at Christmas?

Coronavirus restrictions are set to be eased around Christmas, allowing people in all tiers to mix with slightly wider circles of family and friends.

“Christmas bubbles”, limited to three households, are due to last from 23-27 December in England.

Academics have said seeing friends and family at Christmas may be a real benefit to the mental health of older people during an already difficult time.

But the UK government’s chief medical adviser, Prof Chris Whitty, has warned people “have to have sense” this year and avoid hugging and kissing older relatives “if you want them to survive to be hugged again”.

“It’s not against the law, and that’s the whole point. You can do it within the rules that are there,” he said. “But it does not make sense because you could be carrying the virus.”

A petition calling upon East Devon District Council to undertake a community governance review of Honiton Town Council will officially be handed in next Tuesday (Dec 8).

Hannah Corfield honiton.nub.news

It is hoped that the community governance review will dissolve the current council following numerous unsuccessful requests by Honiton residents for the remaining incumbents to resign.

It will then be possible for all candidates wishing to join, or re-join, the council to present their manifestos to the residents of Honiton, who can vote for the candidates they feel have the town’s best interests at heart.

There has been no contested election for the council since 2015 and some councillors have never stood for election.

With a newly elected town council, it will be possible to embrace new ways of working, engage with a larger cross section of our community and encourage new projects that will help create an environmentally sustainable future.

Honiton Forward, who are presenting the petition to EDDC authorities, are a group formed by members of the community who want to see Honiton thrive.

They wish to see properly laid to rest, the negativity that has thwarted the town council, which has been notorious for adversarial behaviour, secrecy, disrupted meetings and allegations of bullying for most of the last decade.

A significant proportion of the town, as demonstrated in over 1,400 signatures on the petition, are unhappy with how Honiton Town Council has and continues to conduct itself and want to see real change and a fresh start for the Honiton community.

Honiton Forward have stressed that their campaign is not specifically political. They believe that current councillors have let the community down and are seeking to bring about an election so that the people of the town can decide who they want representing them.

More on how the government is tackling the logistical problems.

Sarah Neville, Anna Gross and Helen Warrell in London December 2 2020 www.ft.com

Care homes and the over-80s will be in the vanguard of the UK’s coronavirus vaccination programme, after Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approved the first vaccine against Covid-19, firing the starting gun on one of the biggest and most consequential public health drives since the second world war.

The vaccine developed by BioNTech, a German biotechnology company, in partnership with US pharma giant Pfizer, can now be rolled out in the UK under an emergency use authorisation, but the need to keep it at ultra-low temperatures underlines the huge logistical challenge involved in reaching enough Britons to quell the spread of the virus.

Two other vaccines, one developed by Oxford university and AstraZeneca, and another from the US biotech Moderna, have also proved effective in late stage trials. Both are expected to win approval from regulators in the coming weeks. 

“It’s the biggest vaccine programme in history and the logistics are enormous,” said Dr Nigel Watson, chief executive of the Wessex Local Medical Committees.

David Salisbury, until 2013 the senior official in charge of immunisation for the UK government, said the whole world was attempting something without precedent: to persuade large numbers of healthy adults to be vaccinated in order to halt transmission — and the “big unknown” was how the under-65s would respond.

Under current plans, vaccines will be distributed via three main routes. The largest is likely to be GP clinics around the UK, which will offer doses to the roughly 17m “high risk” people who usually receive an annual flu vaccination from their local practice.

Second, several hundred hospital trusts will be responsible for vaccinating healthcare staff and some inpatients. Finally, mass vaccination centres will be used to vaccinate the wider community at a range of venues including the London Excel centre, Epsom racecourse, Manchester tennis club, Ashton Gate stadium in Bristol and the Centre for Life science venue in Newcastle.

The armed forces have stepped in to provide support, sending 56 military personnel to help set up seven sites. Two military planners have also been dispatched to each NHS trust in the country to advise on vaccination logistics.

The NHS plans to take on thousands of extra staff to help with the programme. One person briefed on the process said the full-time equivalent of about 10,000 extra people were being recruited via a health service portal. The insider said successful candidates were likely to only need “first aid skills” rather than full-blown clinical expertise. 

As well as paid staff, volunteers will be crucial to rolling out the vaccine. Lynn Thomas, medical director for St John Ambulance, a charity, said the organisation had been asked to supply 30,500 people to support up to 100 mass vaccination centres. About 10,000 of that group would be trained under NHS supervision to deliver the vaccine directly, with the remainder providing first aid and other support. 

Under the government plans, vaccinations will first be made available to care home residents and staff, those aged over 80 and to frontline health workers. The first phase will then be extended to younger age groups eventually including all those over 50, and those aged between 16 and 64 with underlying health conditions.

But while age is the principal criterion for when and whether people will receive the vaccine, Wei Shen Lim, who chairs the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation or JCVI, added on Wednesday that decisions about how to allocate the vaccine in local areas should pay attention to “mitigating health inequalities”. Societal factors such as occupation, household size, deprivation and access to healthcare have all been shown to increase susceptibility to Covid-19, with members of some minority groups at greater risk of developing serious symptoms.

Some public health professionals have raised concerns that the logistics of distributing the Pfizer vaccine — which has to be stored at -70C, transported on dry ice, and used within 5 days of being removed from the ultra-cold freezer — may be too onerous for GPs and care homes.

Martin Marshall, chair of the royal college of GPs, said there was still considerable uncertainty around which vaccines doctors would be allowed to administer, and when. “At the moment we’re hearing it’s too complicated and there are too many risks,” he said, pointing to concerns that the vaccine might diminish in effectiveness after being taken out of ultra cold storage. “You risk wasting a lot and we can’t afford to waste any.

“The general feeling is, why would you take those risks when all you have to do is wait a bit longer and get a vaccine without the same requirements,” Prof Marshall added, alluding to the Oxford university and AstraZeneca vaccine, which is stored at between 2C and 8C and has a six-month shelf life.

Prof Lim at the JCVI acknowledged that the storage requirements for the vaccine could affect the ability to use it in care homes. The JCVI has said that every effort must be made to supply the shot to care home residents but “whether that is actually do-able is dependent on deployment and implementation”, he added.

Speaking alongside Prof Lim, Munir Pirmohamed, who chairs the Commission on Human Medicine Expert Working Group, said the fact that the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine was stable for five days when refrigerated at between 2C and 8C would allow doses to be “transported to the relevant implementation sites”.

A further challenge for the UK government is that some people may press for the most protective vaccinations. Prof Salisbury, the former immunisation official, pointed to the 62 per cent efficacy shown in all-age trials of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, compared with about 95 per cent for the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna versions. It was “unfortunate” that the vaccine the UK had bought in the largest quantities “appears to be from the lower efficacy product”, he said.

“If you protect 95 per cent of those vaccinated, that’s great. If you only protect less than two-thirds of those you vaccinate that’s not so good. You are protecting a third fewer people and therefore the challenge to interrupt transmission with a lower efficacy vaccine is even higher,” Prof Salisbury added. 

After the government stumped up £2 million, more than 15,000 children across Devon will receive food vouchers this Christmas from the county council.

Radio Exe News www.radioexe.co.uk

Children who currently get free school meals and their families can redeem the vouchers  in major supermarkets over the school holidays. Arrangements are being made for families who cannot get to a supermarket. Eligible children in pre-school and young people in sixth form colleges will also receive the vouchers.

One million pounds is being spent on the scheme at Christmas, and a further million in the February half-term and at Easter. The government caved into providing cash to councils for food vouchers after a campaign by footballer Marcus Rashford.

Devon’s Cabinet member for communities, Roger Croad, said: “We are enlisting the help of our schools in publicising this to families and alerting us to anyone they feel might miss out and I am very grateful to them for their help and support.

“In addition to issuing the vouchers to families directly, we’ll also be providing them to our Early Help teams, children’s centres, food networks and district councils who will be able to help vulnerable families who may not be eligible for free school meals.”

Mr Croad said the county council was working with local council partners in Team Devon to ensure vulnerable families do not slip through the net.

In addition, the council is working with the Devon Community Foundation to set up food networks across the county with at least one in every district. Food networks will include community kitchens, charities, cafes and pubs who will be asked to provide food for those in need.

Mr Croad said: “We have seen an overwhelming response from communities and voluntary and community organisations already this year.

“An investment in these emerging networks and the great organisations within them will provide timely and much-needed funding and co-ordination.”

Mr Croad said Devon had received just over £2 million from the Government to fund the operation. He said 80 per cent of that was being spent on food with funding also available to support household costs such as heating, cooking and lighting for the most vulnerable families.

The county had already committed £1.7 million towards combating hardship, particularly for those families who had been worst affected by the pandemic, and this fund was being administered by Devon’s district councils.

He praised officers who had worked swiftly with partners to bring the programme together and he said he was hoping most vouchers would be issued by the second week of December. Parents and carers of children currently receiving free school meals will be sent letters and emails from 7 December) with information about how to access their vouchers. 

Many families in Devon have seen their financial circumstances change due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. People who didn’t previously qualify for free school meals but whose income has recently reduced or stopped, can apply online through the Devon County Council website which can also be used to check eligibility. The council’s education helpline is on 0345 155 1019.

Durham police have confirmed for the first time they are assessing a dossier from a former senior prosecutor that says Dominic Cummings should face charges over his account of his movements during lockdown.

Matthew Weaver www.theguardian.com

For months Durham constabulary has refused to investigate the prime minister’s former chief aide beyond the three-day inquiry it conducted in May. But on Friday it said officers were examining new evidence submitted in a 225-page dossier more than a month ago.

The documents, compiled by lawyers for the former north-west chief prosecutor Nazir Afzal, allege that Cummings perverted the course of justice in relation to his Downing Street rose garden statement about his journeys to the north-east of England in March and April.

The Met police, which also received the dossier and was urged to investigate, told Afzal’s lawyers that the issues raised were matters for Durham constabulary – “notably the allegation of perverting the course of justice”.

Durham police has not ruled out charging Cummings for perverting the course of justice. A spokesman for Durham constabulary said: “A report was submitted to Durham constabulary at the end of October and we are continuing to consider its contents.” It is understood that a senior investigating officer has been appointed.

This marks a change in approach from the force, which had said nothing publicly about Cummings since a 391-word press release issued on 28 May following a three-day investigation in to Cummings’s movements.

That statement said Cummings may have breached lockdown rules by travelling to Barnard Castle on 12 April, but the force decided to take no further action and it made no finding on his decision to leave London for Durham.

At the time the force also said there was “insufficient evidence” that Cummings travelled to Durham a second time on 19 April, as initially one witness told the Guardian and the Mirror. In his rose garden statement Cummings claimed he had evidence that proved he was in London that day. Boris Johnson told MPs that he had seen that evidence, but No 10 has refused repeated requests to release it.

In August the Guardian and the Mirror revealed that four people had claimed seeing someone they believed to be Cummings in woods near Durham on the morning of 19 April. They included Dave and Clare Edwards, who gave statements to the police about the sighting at the same time Cummings was giving his rose garden statement.

The submissions from Afzal’s lawyers said Cummings’ account appeared to have influenced Durham constabulary’s initial investigation. It included statements from witnesses, including the Edwardses, which questioned the conclusions of Durham police about Cummings’ movements. It also included statements from at least three people in Barnard Castle, which raised doubts about Cummings’ claim that he was only there for 15 minutes and strayed no more than 15 metres from his car.

The dossier also accuses Cummings and his wife, Mary Wakefield, of multiple offences under the coronavirus regulations for leaving their primary home in London and their second home in Durham without, it says, a reasonable excuse.

Afzal said: “It appears that, to their credit, Durham police have taken seriously the evidence and allegations contained within our report, including the very serious allegation that he perverted the course of justice. We remain concerned that nobody should be above the law and police and prosecutors should follow wherever the evidence takes them.”

Last month Cummings resigned as Boris Johnson’s chief aide, following an internal Downing Street feud about his influence.

Dominic Cummings has been contacted for comment.

GP surgeries have been told to be ready to start staffing Covid-19 vaccination centres by 14 December.

PA Media www.theguardian.com

In a letter sent out across England’s primary care networks, NHS England and NHS Improvement warned the “scale and complexity” of the immunisation programme would make it “one of the greatest challenges the NHS has ever faced”.

The letter was signed by Dr Nikita Kanani, medical director for primary care at NHS England and NHS Improvement, and Ed Waller, director of primary care. “It is crucial we start to activate local vaccination services to allow priority patient cohorts to start accessing the vaccine,” it said.

The vaccination sites must be ready to administer 975 doses of the vaccine to priority patients within three and a half days of delivery on 14 December.

Speed is of the essence with the vaccine, as it is usually stored at -70C and will only remain stable at fridge temperatures of between 2C-8C for a limited period. There are 975 doses in each of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine packs, which has posed a logistical problem of how they can be broken up and distributed to other key sites, such as care homes.

The first people to receive the vaccine in the centres will be those aged 80 and over, as long as their other risk factors, “clinical or otherwise”, have been taken into account.

NHS England and NHS Improvement said the number of vaccination sites in each clinical commissioning group (CCG) area will vary according to the number of residents it has who are over 80. CCGs have been asked to consider inequalities and deprivation – some of the biggest Covid-19 risk factors – when choosing the sites.

Each centre will also be supplied with “IT equipment necessary to deliver the programme and a fridge”, the letter said.

It added: “We will be writing to sites identified as part of wave 1 on Monday, setting out full details of vaccine supply dates, delivery of other consumables and equipment to the site, and the process for assuring readiness before delivery of vaccines.”

It said staff at the vaccination sites would be provided with training, and be “given full support to mobilise within the timescale”.

The staff at the first sites to open are due to get login details for the IT system set up to deliver the vaccination programme “as soon as possible”.

CCGs were told they must “offer all possible assistance” to the vaccine sites as the programme gets under way, including helping them with logistics and setting up clinical waste arrangements.

They were also warned that while urgent care must be provided by GPs even when the vaccine is being delivered, the vaccination programme must be their top priority.

The Government now seems to think the virus can draw a distinction between the “elite” and the common plebs. 

Simon Murphy www.theguardian.com

Senior company executives are among travellers set to be exempt from Covid-19 quarantine restrictions for international arrivals in England, meaning they will not have to self-isolate for up to a fortnight.

Recently signed elite sportspeople, performing arts professionals, TV production staff and journalists will also not have to abide by quarantine restrictions if arriving from a country outside of England’s travel corridor from 4am on Saturday.

Announcing the move on Twitter, the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, said “high-value business travellers” would be exempt from quarantine rules in an effort to boost the economy, “subject to specific criteria being met”.

It is understood that the exemption will apply to senior company executives, such as directors or their equivalents, either returning or travelling to England who can deliver “significant” economic benefit. They will only qualify for the exemption if their work requires them to be there in person.

Currently, travellers coming from non-exempt nations have to quarantine for two weeks, but as of 15 December people will be able to pay for a private coronavirus test to reduce their isolation time to as little as five days, as long as they return a negative result. The new “test to release” regime comes after months of lobbying by the struggling airline industry.

Senior executives classed as bringing “significant” economic benefit are understood to include those whose work creates or preserves 50 or more jobs for either an existing UK-based business or a new UK business within one year of their arrival.

Shapps tweeted: “New Business Traveller exemption: From 4am on Sat 5th Dec high-value business travellers … will no longer need to self-isolate when returning to ENGLAND from a country NOT in a travel corridor, allowing more travel to support the economy and jobs. Conditions apply.”

He added: “From 4am on Sat 5th Dec certain performing arts professionals … TV production staff … journalists and recently signed elite sportspersons will also be exempt, subject to specific criteria being met.”

Giving additional detail, the Department for Transport published information on the government’s website stating that from 4am on Saturday “individuals undertaking specific business activity which would deliver a significant benefit to the UK economy – including activity that creates or preserves 50+ UK jobs – will no longer need to self-isolate when travelling or returning from non-exempt countries. Individuals will only be exempt when undertaking the specific business activity and will only be able to meet with others as required by that specific activity.”

It added: “Exemptions will also come into force at the same time for domestic and international performing arts professionals, TV production staff, journalists and recently signed elite sportspersons, ensuring that industries which require specific, high-talent individuals who rely on international connections can continue to complete their work.”

The DfT said Public Health England “do not anticipate these changes will raise the risk of domestic transmission, due to the protocols being put in place around these exemptions, however all exemptions will remain under review.”

All travellers would still be required to show and complete a passenger locator form when arriving, the DfT added.