A huge expansion of council housing, including using the green belt, will be needed to meet Boris Johnson’s “build, build, build” commitments, a government infrastructure adviser has said.
Sir John Armitt suggested that the government was stuck in the 1980s with “ideological” objections to social housing as he warned that tweaking the planning system was not enough to hit a target of 300,000 homes a year.He told The Times: “I’ve made this point to housing ministers over the last couple of years on a number of occasions. Clearly they don’t agree. But I am convinced that we will not get to what we need to get to if we rely simply on the private sector.”
Sir John, chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission, told Mr Johnson it was “man-on-the-moon time” for his goal of making Britain carbon neutral by 2050, saying the government needed an urgent focus on developing hydrogen boilers and to “get off the pot” by deciding on how many nuclear power stations to build.
Last week Mr Johnson promised radical reform of the planning system in a “new deal” designed to rebuild the country and stimulate the economy.
Sir John said the planning system was not the main obstacle to affordable homes and that there was no point hoping “somebody’s going to decide that they’re going to build lots of homes, even though there isn’t a market for the homes or they’re not going to make a profit”.
“The last time we built 300,000 homes plus was in the 1960s and 1970s, 50 per cent of those were private sector homes, 50 per cent delivered by local authorities,” he said. “To get to 300,000 personally, I don’t see how we get there in a meaningful way without some sort of government intervention with local authorities, or with the housing associations, to deliver more affordable homes on a large scale.”
Figures released last week suggested that just 4,000 homes for social rent would be built this year, the lowest level since the Second World War.
Sir John said: “If you want to increase that figure much higher, you can’t rely on the private sector, because the business case just isn’t in there within the private sector model.”
The ministry of housing said: “We’re taking steps to ensure more much-needed social housing is delivered by removing the borrowing cap for councils and we are spending more than £12 billion on affordable housing from 2021 — the biggest cash investment in a decade.”
Three months on, the data science team at ZOE and King’s College London behind the COVID Symptom Study app have taken the decision to update the way prevalence is calculated.
New tabulation for the four Seaside districts Owl is following posted below indicating 70 prevalent cases in East Devon. (Owl’s personal view is that this is most informative Covid-19 tracking data in UK. It just seems to Owl be following the classic scientific approach, unlike many of the others.)
We are committed to sharing all our data and findings with our users, so we wanted to take the time to explain how and why these changes have been made and what that means in terms of the data.
Why change the model now?
As with any scientific study, over time things change and develop, so it’s important to constantly be reviewing and updating how we are doing things to make sure we are giving our users the most accurate information.
For the last two months, we have been running the testing programme with the Department of Health and Social Care in England, which has seen more than 350,000 users being invited to take swab tests when they begin to feel unwell. Users then log results of the test into the app, helping us to build a better picture of what symptoms are related to a positive test. We have also been inviting users who previously tested positive to be retested so we could understand for how long they are COVID positive and exhibiting symptoms.
This new data, combined with all the other data our users have kindly shared with us (including 100million symptoms assessments) means we have a greater insight into COVID symptoms. As a result we have been able to improve our predictions on who is sick, and most importantly we know how long people are likely to still be infectious and therefore test positive to a swab test.
How do we calculate prevalence rates?
Now that we have a better picture of how long it takes to recover from COVID, we have built a recovery model that tells us how many people recover within a specific number of days from symptom onset. For example, we observe that only 52.2% of people recover within 13 days.
We have combined this recovery model with our daily new cases model to produce our prediction of the number of daily active cases.
In a nutshell, prevalence is:
Yesterday’s active cases + today’s new cases – today’s recoveries = Number of active cases
We have run this formula from the start of our first testing programme (12th June) as we have large numbers of swab tests from this date. As a result we have a much more reliable estimate of daily active cases than we did before.
With this information, we have also recalibrated the prediction model of symptomatic cases to better understand the current levels of COVID in your area and updated the interactive map in data page. We will be separately estimating the numbers of people with long duration symptoms and updating our website with these figures. We want to emphasise that there are lots of people who continue to have symptoms long after they are no longer infectious – this is an area of huge importance, and one that our researchers are very keen to understand better with your help.
The introduction of this new model means that our prediction of prevalence has fallen significantly, because in the last few weeks our previous prevalence estimates included those people who are long term sufferers. These individuals are no longer in the prevalence figures and instead we will be reporting on them separately. It is also important to recognise that we do not identify people who show no symptoms whatsoever (asymptomatic).
What do the latest figures show us?
Our new prevalence figures show that 23,459 people in the UK currently have symptomatic COVID and highlight the big regional differences across the UK. While nations like Northern Ireland have almost no active cases, the rates for other English regions, like the Midlands, have been decreasing less steeply.
This estimate is in line with the latest ONS Infection survey in which 25,000 people in England were estimated to be infected with COVID-19 during the two week period that goes from the 14th to the 27th of June.
We hope you found this blog informative and as always, we want to thank all our amazing users who make all this research and data possible!
Active case/million people 8 July
North Devon
79
East Devon
483
Torbay
386
South Hams
529
Prevalence cases under the revised calculations (estimated)
Note: the population of East Devon (2018) was 144,317 so actual estimated symptomatic cases from this table equate to 70.
Additional notes:
[*] This analysis requires swab testing, which was kindly provided by the Department of Health and Social Care for England. As Scotland and Wales are not yet offering tests to app users, we provided indirect estimates using countrywide averages and wide confidence limits. Testing is happening in Northern Ireland, but the number of participants is too few to generate an accurate estimate. These figures exclude care homes as there is not enough data from the app to estimate this population.
The report from the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 Committee finds the completeness of registers has not improved in the past seven years, which risks damaging the integrity of elections.
It calls on the Government to modernise registration by introducing ‘assisted registration’ to prompt eligible voters to register when accessing other public services and automatic registration for young people coming of age.
Lord Shutt of Greetland, the chair of the committee, said: ‘Millions of voters may still be missing from electoral registers. The Act has helped to make registers more accurate but they remain significantly incomplete. This is particularly the case with under-registered groups such as young people, frequent home movers, care home residents and people from BAME backgrounds. Incomplete registers can only be damaging to the integrity of elections. Urgent steps must be taken to address this.’
The report also argues local authorities should be compensated for the cost of registration activity during elections and ensure voter ID plans are implemented fairly.
Ailsa Irvine, director of electoral adminstration and guidance at the Electoral Commission, said: ‘Whilst positive reforms to the annual canvass in Great Britain are currently underway, further, more fundamental changes to the framework could make registration easier for everyone – particularly groups who are less likely to be registered, such as young people and private renters.’
“In response to an earlier post from a Correspondent commenting on the GESP and asking –
“Is the Watch readership so gobsmacked with this plan that there is a great silence (no comments posted so far) or are they happy that East Devon will take the lion’s share of the GESP growth?”
Your correspondent need not fear that the lack of birdsong from flocks of native species within the East Devon resident bird population in any way reflects any apathy or acceptance of such inappropriate development of our East Devon countryside that has been proposed in the recently published GESP Draft Policies and Site Options document.
Many of Owl’s feathered friends have chosen to settle in small, rural nesting places within East Devon and these bird populations remain territorial, watchful and perched in anticipation to defend their valued homes.
There has already been much tweeting, screeching, crowing, cawing, clucking and hooting in East Devon around the Clyst St Mary, Farringdon, Woodbury, Sowton, Clyst St George, Clyst Honiton and Aylesbeare areas concerning the indicative minimum number of homes (totalling around 17,000) plus substantially increased employment use on agricultural, green fields at Higher Greendale, Hill Barton, Oil Mill Lane and around the M5! This deafening, cacophonous sound of those defending their village environments and countryside must have reached the ears of those wise birds as far afield as Blackdown House, who are now sitting on strategic, high branches of control.
We are confident that the new breed of decision makers will protect our special rural environment from those predatory, vulture-like species, whose aim appears to be the total annihilation and destruction of our valued East Devon natural environment, primarily to feed their own self-sustenance. This raptorial flock (commonly known as “The Feather Their Own Nests Birds”) has already received suitable culling but their voracious, insatiable appetites have the potential to cause the ruination of many distinct, valued habitats throughout East Devon.
Hopefully those who hear this birdsong will listen and understand the significance of protecting our East Devon stunning countryside and idyllic villages because once our rural, green areas are subjected to build, build build – they are lost forever!
With a GESP public consultation due in September, we must ensure that birds of a feather will flock together to protect their special environment because their collective birdsong has the potential to be so momentous
Sky News Daily podcast: Careless words from the PM on social care in England?
Although the interview with Cathy Gardner starts around 3 min 40 sec, it is worth listening to the whole podcast obviously prompted by the latest Boris Johnson comments.
On this edition of the Sky News Daily podcast with Dermot Murnaghan, we examine the impact of Boris Johnson’s comments about care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are joined by Dr Cathy Gardner, whose elderly father died in a care home in Oxfordshire in April with suspected coronavirus.
We also speak to Age UK trustee Martin Jones about the challenges facing the sector, funding issues and creating a model for the future.
“Is the Watch readership so gobsmacked with this plan that there is a great silence (no comments posted so far) or are they happy that East Devon will take the lion’s share of the GESP growth?
As I have written before “Has not East Devon sacrificed enough Grade 1 agricultural land to build Cranbrook? Were we not told that this sacrifice would be EDDC’s contribution to housing need?” Now if this plan were to go through we would lose more such land.
The EDDC Local Plan and GESP are based on a jobs led scenario. In EDDC’s case this assumed the creation of 950 jobs a year. Since the start of the plan job creation has been around a quarter of that. Now, with the pandemic recession it will take years to get our jobs back to what they were at the start of the plan in 2013.
Our focus now should be on the economy and job creation opportunities. We do not need to plan any more houses until that has been achieved.
The only people to win if this goes ahead are the landowners.
I urge our Council to see sense and firmly reject the GESP”
Owl recalls that the referenced post mentioned the enthusiasm of Conservative Cllr Philip Skinner for a “network of linked villages being built in the North West Quadrant area of East Devon. (Poltimore, Huxham, Clyst St Mary, Clyst St George, Ebford, West Hill, Woodbury, Woodbury Salterton, Exton and Farringdon).
Last October EDDC’s Strategic Planning Committee unanimously recommended to the Cabinet that East Devon supports the Exeter and East Devon garden communities status (part of another Exeter driven development scheme).
Cllr. Philip Skinner was appointed by “Independent” Leader, now Conservative ex-leader, Cllr Ben Ingham to lead strategic planning with Independent Cllr Susie Bond.
A pub, a vape bar and an Indian restaurant in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, all closed their doors for deep cleaning.
It is believed the unnamed drinker visited The Lighthouse Inn before heading to Vape Escape. A driver from Saagar Indian had also been in the pub, and the restaurant closed as a precaution.
The vape shop was able to reopen after performing a deep clean and testing staff, but The Lighthouse Inn remains closed while it awaits test results.
Jess Green, the pub’s manager, said: “The pub will not reopen until our seven staff have tested negative, and we should get the test results back today.”
“We’ve decided to close the pub to keep our staff and customers safe. We completed a full clean of the pub on Monday, in line with Government guidance, and so we could actually reopen. But we have proactively taken the decision to close, and we have received lots of positive feedback from the local community.
“The man who tested positive has done the right thing in informing the businesses that he attended so we can inform customers and get everyone tested.”
A post announcing the news was shared over 2,000 times, and received a flurry of support from the pub’s regulars.
The Saagar Indian has also put a notice in the window stating that it has closed temporarily as a precaution. On social media, the takeaway said one of its staff may have come into contact with the infected man.
The post said: “It saddens me to tell you all that, due to unforeseen circumstances, we are closing Saagar Indian takeaway up until Friday.
“This is because one of the drivers has been in the same pub as the person who has tested positive to Covid-19. This decision was not made easily. However, during these tough times everybody’s health is the number one priority.
“During this period we will be deep cleaning the whole building to ensure when it is reopened we will be ready to go. We look forward to seeing you all again very soon.”
Vape Escape was also visited by the man, but has already being able to reopen thanks to negative test results and a thorough deep clean.
Owner Leanne Underhill said: “It wasn’t the reopening we had planned, and we were informed on Sunday that a customer who had visited us had tested positive.
“All of our staff have been tested and have come back negative. All customers have been informed, in line with Government guidance. We have been following all the safety guidelines and, because we took the names and numbers of customers as they entered, all of them have been able to be contacted.
“As soon as I got the message about the positive test result on Sunday, I immediately closed the bar, locked up and spoke with the NHS and police who informed us of the correct steps, all of which we have followed.
“We have undertaken a full, deep clean and steam cleaned the premises and also disinfected everything, including all customer areas such as the toilets.”
Johnson, wearing hi-viz because he thinks that makes Britain like him, told care homes that they had no excuse for being cavalier about the risks after he demonstrated the risks of being cavalier.
He said: “They should have worn the PPE they didn’t have, should have taken the tests that weren’t available, and should have refused to take the infected patients we sent them.
“Coronavirus is very dangerous. I myself was admitted to intensive care because I ignored all medical advice around it, much as I am doing now.
“There is absolutely no excuse for not doing the right thing, unless you wish to exploit the ‘exceptional circumstances’ clause to drive to Durham in which case no problem.
“Consequently there were a number of regrettable circumstances in care homes which could easily have been avoided if the senior citizens involved had merely travelled to Greece via Bulgaria to stay in their mountain villa.
“I look forward to repeating this at the upcoming public inquiry, chaired by one of my mates, the report from which will be delayed and buried. Thank you.”
So if we had asked for a single training and skills grant from government, we would have a list of 36 measures.
The entire funding package being sought from central government is £550 million, enough to build a mile and a half of HS2 track.
By asking for £550 million, we are effectively saying we will settle for half that amount, say £250 million. Looking at the package, this will be spread over at least five years, so we are only talking of around £50 million per annum over a five year period. Every year for five years, we can expect the government to give Devon the equivalent of 200 yards of HS2 track.
£250 million is also not enough to build an 8 mile dual carriageway by-pass around Monkton.
Team Devon claim that the package will create 30,000 jobs. Which is remarkable value for an investment of £550 million. Some predict that unemployment nationally will reach 3 million post-virus, which means that if Devon’s package were to be introduced across the country at an equivalent cost of £55 billion, all unemployment in the UK would be eliminated. Rishi Sunak would write that cheque out immediately. That is less than the government borrowed in April.
Bear in mind that the package, at the same time as creating 30,000 jobs is also going to retrain an incredible 80,000 Devon citizens. So within that £55 billion Sunak will also in theory be able to retrain an astonishing 8 million of the national workforce.
Why doesn’t the Chancellor simply ask Team Devon’s economic team to run the Treasury?
So, the Team Devon package is absolute peanuts compared to what will be given to other parts of the country. We are then going to settle for much less, celebrate a pyrrhic victory and congratulate ourselves on being insulted. Almost all the money is going to be spent on training tens of thousands of Devonians who have no desire to be retrained. The A303 will remain a country lane for the foreseeable future.
Today marked the official opening of Exeter’s new 116-bed NHS Nightingale Hospital which was built to care for Covid-19 patients, but is now being utilised for cancer patients.
Patients can now start being screened at the facility which has been transformed from a former Homebase store into hospital at Moor Lane, Sowton, in just six weeks.
On Friday (July 3) health bosses clarified that it will be using its CT scanner to help local GPs and hospitals provide people with safer and faster access to tests for a range of conditions, not just cancer.
It also added its hospital beds are specifically designed for people with Covid-19 needs, and throughout this time the facility will remain ready to quickly revert to its primary purpose and receive patients with coronavirus, if the number of cases in the region rises significantly.
To mark the opening of the hospital today (July 6), an internal ‘thank you’ event was held for staff and clinicians.
Health secretary Matt Hancock announced last Tuesday (June 30), that the Exeter Nightingale Hospital was to be the first to be converted into a cancer testing centre.
The previous week he confirmed it could be used to help other Devon hospitals tackle winter pressures later this year after health bosses stated it would remain on standby as a ‘flexible’ hospital.
The new hospital will now be used to cope with a huge backlog of potential cancer patients.
It will be open seven days a week, from 8am to 8pm, and will screen multiple patients a day, starting from today.
The hospital had been meant to open by the middle or end of June, instead of late May, as originally stated when it was proposed to build the hospital at Westpoint.
Health commissioners and providers have also not yet disclosed how much it is costing to build and then maintain the running of the hospital.
All that has been confirmed by NHS England is it is a “nationally funded” project and that some of the information is “commercially confidential”.
Assurances have been made that what isn’t in the public domain will be in “due course” but no time frame has been provided.
The swift rebuilding of the site has seen the former Homebase building double in size. It is a single-storey building and will support patients from Devon, Cornwall and neighbouring counties to support the existing hospital network.
A nightmare legacy for East Devon’s new administration – The Greater Exeter Strategic Plan (GESP). (Thought by some to have been postponed last year because of possible electoral consequences – but Owl thinks these consequences will linger for decades).
Owl understands that on 25th June 2020 EDDC councillors were finally given a whole council briefing and report by Ed Freeman – Service Lead – Planning Strategy and Development Management on GESP. But the whole process is shrouded in secrecy (“commercial sensitivity” – you bet it is – because local landowners have been “called” to submit parcels of land for consideration to develop with the well known windfall financial gain for those finally approved of up to 100%).
The GESP seeks to determine where residential and business development will take place in East Devon in the period 2020 – 2040. GESP concerns itself with housing sites of 500 houses or more. The government calculator states East Devon must build approximately 844 new houses per year (this figures can be averaged out across years), but due to complexities of the calculator EDDC should actually be building more than this to keep ‘on a trajectory’ (the old argument Owl has heard many times before).
In comparison Mid Devon only has to build 363 new houses per year in the GESP plan according to the government calculator. In total 57,200 homes are to be built in the GESP area by 2040.
Something like 700 sites were put forward and as there are no large scale brown field strategic sites in East Devon vast swathes of agricultural land will be under more concrete.
Mid Devon, Exeter, East Devon and Teignbridge Councils are all considering whether to begin the next round of consultation on their Greater Exeter Strategic Plan (GESP).
A series of meetings will ask Councillors to agree the ‘draft policies and site options’ document and a public consultation to begin in September. Exeter City Council will be first to decide at their Executive meeting on 7 July, followed by Teignbridge on 21 July, Mid Devon on 6 August and East Devon on 18 August.
The Councils have been asked to carry out the consultation (which was originally planned in for June) from September, following Government advice that planning authorities should continue despite Covid-19. The consultation will ask for the public to have their say on the draft policies and site options, which will influence the next stage.
As background Owl would draw attention to the CPRE Devon “Devon Housing Needs Evidence” September 2018. This study is the only strategic study of Devon’s housing needs and delivery. The only one to have assembled and reviewed all the extant (and one draft) Local Plans for authorities in Devon on a comparable basis. It concludes that 35% more houses are planned over the next 10 years than are required for anticipated population growth and inward migration. Most of these will be built on green field sites (agricultural land). New-build homes, on average, cost more than existing homes. The average priced new build is 18%, and a lower quartile new build is 27% more expensive than an existing home. There is now a significant proportion of second homes in the county. And, frankly, all the assumptions must now be re-considered in a post Covid-19 environment.
A ‘second Cranbrook’, relocating Exeter and Cullompton’s motorway service stations, and a regional sports hub are among the proposals for major development in the Greater Exeter Area.
Further development around the edge of Newton Abbot, Honiton, Feniton, Axminster, Tiverton, Cullompton, Crediton, and the area around Exeter are also proposed in the Greater Exeter Strategic Plan, for which a draft policies and site options document has been produced.
It will provide the overall spatial strategy and level of housing and employment land required across Exeter, East Devon, Mid Devon and Teignbridge in the period to 2040.
A minimum target of 2,663 homes per year, or 53,260 homes over the 20 year period of the plan, is required to be built, with the overall need for development sites equating to 63,912 homes.
Existing planning commitments – either unbuilt homes with planning permission or sites in local plans – amount to about 33,390 homes, with the GESP proposing that about 18,500 of the homes are provided on strategic scale GESP allocations, with 12,000 to be allocated on smaller sites via local plan reviews and also potentially in neighbourhood development plans.
The document takes forward a scenario of allocating the majority of the 18,500 new homes in the region near to public transport infrastructure corridors and hubs to maximise opportunities to encourage more sustainable forms of travel by giving the highest proportion of residents a choice of transport mode to the key service and job locations.
A total of 39 strategic site options are considered to have potential for allocation in the GESP, although following consultation to inform the final version of the GESP, not all sites will be taken forward for development.
GESP allocations for the Exeter area
Among the proposals in the GESP include relocating the J30 motorway services in Exeter and the J28 Cullompton services to a ‘super service station’ near Poltimore in order to unlock the land at both sites for development.
Other proposals could see a large area of 660 hectares of rolling farmland extending from the A30 to the A3052 across Clyst Honiton, Sowton, Farringdon, Aylesbeare be concreted over to see 10,000 homes built, with a further 1,300 homes allocated around Greendale, with a new link road to connect the A30 and the A3052 provided.
The Hill Barton site could also house a regional sports hub, with the Culm Garden Village expansion also having the same possibility.
GESP allocations for the area around Newton Abbot
Newton Abbot could see further expansion of the Houghton Barton site to the west of the town with an additional 1,750 homes, while a further 500 homes could be built on land to the south of the NA3 allocation.
More than 1,000 homes could be built to the East of Honiton, with 540 homes in Axminster, 2,800 homes around Feniton, and 2,500 homes around Whimple also sites to be consulted on.
GESP allocations for East Devon
To the north of Exeter, 750 homes in Crediton, 500 homes in Cowley and 1,200 homes in Newton St Cyres are proposed, while to the south, 1,100 homes around Shillingford and 1,500 homes at Peamore could be built.
Redevelopment of land around Marsh Barton, Exeter St Davids, Topsham, Sowton. Pinhoe, and within the city centre allocate around 12,000 new homes within the boundary of Exeter
New rail stations at Marsh Barton, Monkerton, Cullompton, and Cranbrook East are proposed, as would 15 minute bus frequency on the routes on the A3052 to M5 J30, Heavitree Road, the A379 South West Exeter and around. Exe Bridges / Alphington Road.
Park-and-ride sites will be allocated around Exeter, with one on the Pinhoe Road B3181, Heavitree Road, Clyst St Mary, A379 Matford, A377/A30 Alphington Road and A377 Cowley Bridge corridors planned.
Land will be safeguarded for improvements around the Strategic Highway areas of junctions J27 and J28 of the M5, enhancements of local routes to improved capacity and resilience between M5 J29 to M5 J31, and the relocation of M5 J30 and J28 motorway services to one new “on-line” site.
A30/A303 improvements between Honiton and Marsh are called for, while a new link road between the A30 at Clyst Honiton and the A3052 could be built to allow movement without the need to use the motorway junctions.
A comprehensive pedestrian and cycle network within Exeter is also proposed, with City Centre streets, including South Street, Fore Street, Paris Street, Queen Street, Heavitree Road and Cowick Street to have more priority given to active travel over the car.
GESP allocation for the North of Exeter
A comprehensive pedestrian and cycle network within identified towns, including in Newton Abbot, Cranbrook, Crediton, Cullompton, Dawlish, Exmouth, Honiton, Teignmouth, Tiverton and the GESP allocations, will come forward at a later date.
Each council will be holding meetings to ask councillors to agree to the ‘draft policies and site options’ document and that a public consultation should begin in September. Exeter City Council will be first to decide at its Executive meeting on 7 July. Teignbridge’s Executive will consider the proposals and decide on 21 July followed by East Devon on 23 July and Mid-Devon on 6 August.
Councillors will be asked to approve the document for consultation and will not at this stage be making any decisions over which sites are taking forward for development within the final GESP document.
THE 39 SITES and their pros and cons, as outlined in the GESP
ATTWELLS FARM
DESCRIPTION
The area consists of a bowl of mainly steep agricultural land on the north west fringe of Exeter, beyond the built-up area of Exwick. The area is bounded by Rowthorn Road and Redhills to the west. Exwick Lane crosses the site east to west. The 44 hectare site covers land both in Teignbridge and Exeter, in the Whitestone and Exwick parishes. 400 homes could be located on the site
PROS
A large proportion of the site has been put forward by landowners for development, with homes 3km from the centre of Exeter, within cycling distance and with potential for improvements, and local facilities nearby.
CONS
The local road network and road access is poor and there is limited scope for upgrading. A large proportion of the site is high grade agricultural land and the site is likely to be too small for a new primary school or GP services, so will rely on off-site provision. Improved road access, particularly to Redhills, would be required.
COWLEY
DESCRIPTION
The area consists of 27 hectares of predominantly agricultural land surrounding and to the west of the hamlet of Cowley. Up to 500 homes could be built in the parish than comes under East Devon District Council.
PROS
It is close to significant job opportunities in Exeter city centre and the University, it has the potential to accommodate a Park and Ride/Change, and it could potentially deliver part of the Boniface Trail cycle route
CONS
It may impact upon the Exe Estuary which is a Natura 2000 protected wildlife site sensitive to an increase in the number of visitors, while a small area of the site is affected by flooding St. Andrew’s Road and the existing junction with A377 would be an unsuitable access, Cowley Bridge and roundabout junction with Stoke Road/Wreford’s Drive are at capacity, and there are no schools within safe walking distance of the site.
CREDITON SOUTH
DESCRIPTION
This 90 hectare agricultural site adjoins the southern boundary of the historic market town of Crediton, and could accommodate up to 750 homes
PROS
There is a possible relationship with site at Newton St Cyres and Cowley to collectively deliver transport infrastructure, including rail, bus and cycle improvements, is within walking distance of the services and facilities within Crediton, and the nearby train station offers the potential for residents to travel by rail, with a 10 minute journey time, into Exeter (with also the potential to travel north. The potential Cowley site option also considers provision of a Park and Ride, which would be an alternative means of accessing Exeter
CONS
A large proportion of the site is identified as a monument of local importance – ‘Manor of Crediton Parks’ (an undesignated medieval deer park), and the site may contain bats, otters and other protected species. A large proportion of the site is high grade agricultural land and a package of improvements to upgrade highway access and level crossing upgrade would be needed.
EAST GATE
DESCRIPTION
Currently is a mixed use area on the eastern side of Exeter city centre. Includes homes, business, leisure and institutional uses, a bus station and public car parks. The 16.4 hectare site is identified for future redevelopment in Exeter City Council’s Liveable Exeter Programme and could accommodate 1,160 homes.
PROS
It provides an opportunity to make more efficient use of a brownfield site, HAS excellent access to public transport and is close to a wide range of job opportunities and facilities, giving the potential for car-free residential development. A proportion of the site is in public sector ownership, enabling additional influence over design and delivery and the opportunity to reinvest proceeds into city improvements and part of the site has been put forward landowners for development
CONS
The site currently includes homes, businesses, institutional uses, public car parks and transport infrastructure and is affected by air and noise pollution from nearby roads and city-centre uses and may be contaminated
EXETER ST DAVIDS
DESCRIPTION
The mixed-use site in Exeter includes surface car parks, storage and industrial uses, student accommodation and retail, with Exeter St Davids station to the west. The 5.3 hectare site could accommodate 660 homes
PROS
The site is identified for future redevelopment in Exeter City Council’s Liveable Exeter Programme and it provides an opportunity to make more efficient use of a brownfield site. It has excellent access to public transport and is close to a wide range of job opportunities and facilities, giving the potential for car-free residential development and gives an opportunity to create an attractive gateway to Exeter
CONS
It includes a number of existing student homes, businesses and public car parking which would need to be taken into account, is close to listed and locally listed buildings and within St David’s Conservation Area, and is affected by the operational requirements of Network Rail
EXMINSTER WEST
DESCRIPTION
The 16 hectare site is on western edge of Exminster with the M5 to north. The site is less than 1km from South West Exeter (SWE1) urban extension in the Teignbridge Local Plan and could accommodate 200 homes
PROS
A large proportion of the site has been put forward by landowners for development, is adjacent to Exminster which has a range of shops, services and facilities and an existing regular bus service into Exeter, and the site is marginally within cycling distance of Exeter
CONS
There is no potential to increase existing primary school capacity as the existing site is significantly undersized and the school has already been expanded and the development would not support viable new primary school provision. A large proportion of the site is high grade agricultural land and there may be noise from the M5 Motorway
HIGHER GREENDALE
DESCRIPTION
The 107 hectares of land is adjacent to the A3052. It adjoins Crealy Adventure Park to the west and Greendale Business Park to the south. A total of 1,300 homes plus employment use could be accommodated
PROS
It could deliver a significant amount of employment as an extension to Greendale Business Park and/or smaller scale employment uses to support housing development. There are approximately 30,000 jobs located within 5km of the site including at Skypark, Science FPark, Greendale and Hill Barton Business Parks, and it could utilise nearby Clyst Valley Regional Park and proposed Clyst Valley Trail and existing bus services that run along the A3052
CONS
Windmill Hill is the likely location of a major battle during the 16th century Prayerbook Rebellion and has far reaching views. It is a long distance from existing services and facilities and on its own may not be large enough to deliver a wide range of services and facilities, and development could increase traffic on the Clyst St Mary roundabout and Junction 30 of the M5 which is at or nearing capacity. Improvements to the bus network along the A3052 including park and ride and bus priority and a new primary school would be required.
HILL BARTON
DESCRIPTION
A large area of 660 hectares largely comprised of rolling farmland extending from the A30 to the A3052, before adjoining the Hill Barton industrial area to the south. It covers the parishes of Clyst Honiton, Sowton, Farringdon, Aylesbeare and could see 10,000 homes built, as well as employment land
PROS
A large proportion of the site has been put forward by landowners for development and it comprises predominantly level land with limited landscape or historic sensitivity. There are approximately 30,000 jobs located within 5km of the site including at Skypark, Science Park, Greendale and Hill Barton Business Parks, and it could deliver a new route connecting the A30 to the A3052. It has the capacity to deliver a self-sufficient, mixed-use garden community and it could deliver a regional hub for sports
CONS
It is not located in close proximity to an existing Railway route and development here could increase traffic on the Clyst St Mary Roundabout and Junctions 29 and 30 of the M5 which are at or nearing capacity. A large proportion of the site is high grade agricultural land and a small area of the site is affected by flooding along the Aylesbeare stream / Holbrook. Considerable improvements to the bus network including provision of new park and ride facilities along both the A30 and A3052 corridors and bus priority on the A30 would be needed.
HOWELL ROAD
DESCRIPTION
The site is 0.9 hectares and is currently a car park. It could deliver 106 new homes
PROS
It provides an opportunity to make more efficient use of a brownfield site and it has excellent access to public transport and is close to a wide range of job opportunities and facilities, giving the potential for car-free residential development.
CONS
It includes a public car park and is affected by air and noise pollution from nearby roads and the railway and may be contaminated, as well as by flood risk
MARKHAM LANE
DESCRIPTION
This site is a series of agricultural fields on a steep hill on the south-western fringe of Exeter, within the landscape setting of the city, but located within the Ide and Shillingford St George parishes in Teignbridge. The 62 hectare site could deliver 1,100 homes.
PROS
A large proportion of the site has been put forward by landowners for development. The site is close to Exeter and 1km from Alphington which has a good bus service, and is within cycling distance of Exeter. A proportion is in public sector ownership, providing potential influence over delivery and the opportunity to reinvest proceeds into infrastructure
CONS
It will impacts on existing villages of Ide and Shillingford Abbot and will have a landscape impact, particularly on the green setting of Exeter. There is potential for relatively high development costs and infrastructure costs, and creating a suitable access to the Ide A30 Junction may be unfeasible and requires further investigation
MARSH BARTON
DESCRIPTION
The site consists of a large area of older employment, retail, quasi retail and car showroom uses in the south of the city, largely bounded by the mainline railway, Alphington Road, residential areas and the Alphin Brook. A total of 5,544 homes could be delivered in the 85 hectare site
PROS
Various employment and commercial permissions across the trading estate area and planning consent has been granted for a new train station off Alphin Brook Road. It provides a substantial, flat brownfield redevelopment opportunity, is within cycling distance of the city centre and within walking distance of Exeter St Thomas and the proposed Marsh Barton railway stations, the Alphington Road bus route and St Thomas local shops and therefore has the potential to provide largely car-free residential development
CONS
The could loss of, or disturbance to, many local businesses providing about 4,000 – 5,000 jobs, and all of the site is affected by flooding
NEWTON ST CYRES
DESCRIPTION
The site is around 8km from Exeter and comprises predominantly gently undulating agricultural land. The hamlet of Sweetham is located in the centre of the site with the larger village of Newton St Cyres on the south-west boundary. The site includes farms and isolated dwellings, with a golf course near Higher Rewe. 1,200 homes and employment land could be accommodated in the 303 hectare site
PROS
The site is reasonably close to Exeter, with the potential to access high quality jobs in the city, and the train station offers the potential for residents to travel by rail, with less than 10 minute journey time, into Exeter (or beyond), and residents could cycle to Exeter or Crediton. The characteristics of the site provides the opportunity to deliver a new sensitively designed rural settlement based on garden village principles
CONS
A large area of the site is affected by flooding along the River Creedy and includes sections of Langford Road and Station Road. The highway network in the area is restricted and is likely to require significant investment to provide increased capacity and flood resilient access to the site, and the site is segregated by the Tarka Line railway, with access points to Sweetham over railway bridges on Langford Road and Station Road
NORTH GATE
DESCRIPTION
Mixed-use site within Exeter’s urban area, including part of the Guildhall and all of the Harlequins Shopping Centres (developed in the 1980/90s), alongside the Guildhall and Mary Arches public car parks, a large listed Bingo Hall, smaller scale commercial uses and homes. 310 new homes could be accommodated
PROS
The site is identified for future redevelopment in Exeter City Council’s Liveable Exeter Programme, provides an opportunity to make more efficient use of a brownfield site, and additional residents in this area could boost city centre viability
CONS
The site includes existing businesses, homes and public car parks, and may contain important archaeological remains
OIL MILL LANE
DESCRIPTION
A large area in East Devon largely comprising rolling farmland extending from the A3052 to Woodbury Road, and adjoins Crealy Adventure Park to the north-east. It stretches through 380 hectares across Sowton, Clyst St Mary, Clyst St George, Woodbury and could accommodate 4,000 homes and employment
PROS
There are approximately 30,000 jobs located within 5km of the site including at Skypark, Science Park, Greendale and Hill Barton Business Parks. It could deliver a link road connecting the A376 and A3052 which could relieve pressure from local traffic on the Clyst St Mary Roundabout and has the capacity to deliver a self-sufficient, mixed-use garden community
CONS
It is not located in close proximity to an existing railway line and development could increase traffic on the Clyst St Mary roundabout and Junction 30 of the M5 which is at or nearing capacity with a potential traffic impact on Topsham. It is located near to historic settlements of Clyst St George, Clyst St Mary and Woodbury Salterton, with possible difficulty in accessing the site over a floodplain and in the availability of land for development
PEAMORE
DESCRIPTION
The site is south west of Exeter, 4-5km from the centre. This area is agricultural in use and residential properties scatter the site, with a concentration at Little Silver. Towards the south of the site is an industrial estate, which has planning permission for an extension. 1500 homes could be provided on the 146 hectare site in Teignbridge
PROS
It is adjacent to existing Teignbridge Local Plan & Exeter Core Strategy allocations in South West Exeter. The site contains an existing substantial employment planning permission, which would enable jobs within walking distance for residents, and Devon County Council has agreed to pursue a park and ride site in this location to provide a link to Exeter, and a potential northbound sliproad onto the A38 could be created
CONS
Peamore House and other listed buildings and features which form part of the historic house estate would need to be considered, and there are wooded areas, including Little Silver Plantation and with Ancient Woodland next to the site. A large proportion of the site is high grade agricultural land with steeper slope areas within the site
PINHOE TRADING ESTATE
DESCRIPTION
The suburban trading estate comprises a range of unit sizes, together Pinbrook Recycling Centre, one home and a supermarket. It could be 278 new homes built
PROS
It provides an opportunity to make more efficient use of a brownfield site and it has good access to public transport, is on a strategic cycle route, and is close to a wide range of job opportunities and facilities, giving the potential for car-free residential development
CONS
The trading estate is protected for employment use by Policy CP4 of the Exeter Core Strategy and is also covered by the waste consultation zone for Pinbrook recycling centre. A phased release of land for employment use would be needed to allow for consideration of supply and demand, as would consideration of the recycling centre to enable continued operation
POLTIMORE EAST
DESCRIPTION
A series of agricultural fields on a shallow ridge which slopes gently down eastwards towards the River Clyst. The land could be used as a Motorway Services Area only
PROS
A large proportion of the site has been put forward by landowners for development and it provides an opportunity to reconsider the existing motorway service station provision at Exeter which could free up the existing site for alternative uses and relieve pressure on Junction 30 of the M5, with limited feasible locations for the proposed use between Junctions 28 and 30. It could provide a link to Poltimore House which is on the Historic England heritage at risk register, increasing the number of potential visitors which may aid in restoration efforts
CONS
The site is largely within the East Devon Local Plan designated Clyst Valley Regional Park, and the new service station could impact on views from Killerton Estate, Poltimore House and Broadclyst Village, which are important heritage assets in the area
SANDY GATE
DESCRIPTION
The split site lies to the west of Junction 30 of the M5 motorway and includes the motorway services, fuel station, retail, surface car parking/park & ride, industrial/ employment units, hotel, restaurants and cafés, and agricultural land. 1,050 homes on the 36 hectares could be delivered
PROS
It would support the relocation of the Motorway Service Area with potential to relieve congestion at Junction 30. It provides an opportunity to make more efficient use of a brownfield site and is within cycling distance of Exeter city centre and has excellent access to public transport (bus services and Digby & Sowton Railway Station) giving the potential for car-free residential development
CONS
There are existing homes, businesses, park and ride site and motorway service station on the sites, and there are concerns over the feasibility and potential high cost of altering the local highway and junctions. A new service station and either the retention of park and ride capacity on site or potential off-site relocation to A376 or A3052 would be required
SOUTH GATE
DESCRIPTION
Includes the Holloway Street/Western Way/South Street/Magdalen Street junction together with land around it, surface car parking and blocks of flats, plus the redevelopment of Magdalen Road Car Park. A potential for a mix of employment uses alongside 300 homes
PROS
The site is identified for future redevelopment in Exeter City Council’s Liveable Exeter Programme. It provides a substantial brownfield redevelopment opportunity and it is within walking distance of the city centre, railway and bus stations, giving the potential for car-free residential development
CONS
The scheduled Exeter City Walls run through the western end of the site and it contains other significant buried archaeological remains. Potential nuisance to new residents from night time economy while the development could result in a reduction in city centre parking
SOUTH STREET
DESCRIPTION
Mixed use area of post-war redevelopment within Exeter city centre next to the Corn Exchange OF South Street, Market Street and Fore Street, currently including shops, offices, homes and two small public car parks. Could accommodate 175 homes
PROS
It provides an opportunity to make more efficient use of a brownfield site and it has excellent access to public transport and is close to a wide range of job opportunities and facilities, giving the potential for car-free residential development
CONS
It includes a number of existing homes and businesses and is part of an Area of Archaeological Importance, with the potential to contain significant remains
SOWTON
DESCRIPTION
An area of land adjoining the A30 and close to Junction 29 of the M5. The 30 hectare site could be used as employment land as an extension to the Science Park
PROS
A large proportion of the site has been put forward by landowners for development and could form an extension to the Exeter Science Park and encourage the provision of high-tech, well paid jobs in a landscaped environment. It could link into existing bus and cycle routes into Exeter and Cranbrook at the Science Park
CONS
The site is within the East Devon Local Plan designated Clyst Valley Regional Park and areas of the site are visually prominent in the landscape. It is currently separated from Exeter by the M5 and the existing Science Park by the A30 and development could increase pressure on Junction 29 of the M5 which is at or nearing capacity
STOKE HILL
DESCRIPTION
Located to the north of Exeter’s built-up area, 768 homes could be accommodate on the 58 hectare site
PROS
Homes would be 3km from the City centre, with potential for improved walking and cycling routes and bus services and it could include new opportunities for publicly accessible green infrastructure
CONS
It is allocated as Valley Park and/or landscape setting in the Exeter Core Strategy and Exeter Local Plan First Review. It includes part of Savoy Hill Valley Park and is of high landscape value, with a number of steep slopes that are unsuited to residential development, while road access is constrained
TOPSHAM
DESCRIPTION
A stretch of land between the M5 and Topsham and approximately 5 km from Exeter city centre. Contains a range of existing uses including residential, sports facilities and agriculture, with 1,500 homes accommodated on the 95 hectares of land in East Devon and Exeter
PROS
There are already multiple applications for piecemeal residential development within the site are at various stages, from submitted to approval granted at appeal. It provides a sustainable location for development, being close to Topsham and Topsham Road which host a range of facilities and services including schools and public transport., and is well located in relation to existing employment areas including Sowton and Exeter city centre, and has excellent access to public transport, both bus services and proximity to Newcourt and Topsham Railway Stations
CONS
A large proportion of the site is high grade agricultural land and there are issues of cost and feasibility of improving the local highway and junctions, particularly Old Rydon Lane and the Clyst Road junction with the A379. A new primary school with early years to serve the site and contributions to additional secondary school provision and a new multi-purpose community facility and neighbourhood hub to host local events and work space for small businesses etc would be needed
WATER LANE
DESCRIPTION
A Predominantly industrial site between the Exe Canal and a mainline railway, 1,570 homes could be built on the 26 hectare site
PROS
It provides an opportunity to make more efficient use of a brownfield site and has excellent access to public transport and is close to a wide range of job opportunities and facilities, giving the potential for car-free residential development. 800 homes are already committed in the Exeter Core Strategy
CONS
Previous planning applications for piecemeal residential development within the site have been refused, because the infrastructure and environment needed to create sustainable development will only be delivered if the site is redeveloped comprehensively. Most of the site is affected by flooding
WEST GATE
DESCRIPTION
A Predominantly brownfield site around Exe Bridges, and 620 could be built on the nine hectare site
PROS
The site is identified for future redevelopment in Exeter City Council’s Liveable Exeter Programme, it is within walking distance of the city centre and has excellent access to public transport, jobs and services with potential for car-free residential development and could deliver sustainable transport improvements including improved pedestrian and cycle connectivity across the rive
CONS
Policy CP10 of the Exeter Core Strategy protects facilities that meet the city’s community, social, health, leisure and recreational needs and the site includes key river crossings and roads, which are key features of the city’s highway network and bus corridors. The northern half of the site is within Riverside Conservation Area and a large area of the site is affected by flooding
WESTCLYST AND MOSSHAYNE
DESCRIPTION
The site consists of 117 hectares of predominantly agricultural land and marshland surrounded by the M5 motorway, railway and the River Clyst. Sites immediately to the west of the site and the M5 and south of the site and the railway have been allocated by the East Devon Local Plan and Exeter Core Strategy and are now under construction and 1,600 homes could be built
PROS
The site is in close proximity to significant numbers of jobs proposed on allocated sites in East Devon’s West End. It is close to Pinhoe train station and it is well located to attract strategic employment development as part of a mix of uses. It could easily link in to the Monkerton/Tithebarn heat network
CONS
A large area of the site is affected by flooding and the southern-most part of the site contains potentially important archaeological assets. The M5 and railway could act as barriers to movement causing issues of severance and the noise from the M5 and railway could reduce capacity and need mitigation. Local primary schools in Pinhoe are at/approaching capacity and the potential for Clyst Vale Community College to expand would need consideration. Langaton Lane would currently be unsuitable and lacks resilience as sole point of access while there are highway constraints in Pinhoe Village
CULM GARDEN VILLAGE
DESCRIPTION
A large area of predominantly flat agricultural land east of the M5 at Cullompton. The site includes the emerging East Cullompton allocation within the Mid Devon Local Plan Review and includes the Culm Garden Village area. It includes dispersed farms and isolated dwellings. 5,000 homes, to reflects the scale of Garden Village proposal, are planned
PROS
The East of Cullompton has been designated as a Garden Village by the Government and a first phase of the site is an allocation in the Mid Devon Local Plan Review. It is close to the M5 and the Great Western Mainline providing good links to Exeter and beyond and its large scale would enable comprehensive masterplanning, significant infrastructure provision and high quality design. It offers the potential for a mixture of uses including residential, employment and community infrastructure, helping to reduce the need to travel , and it could deliver a regional hub for sports
CONS
There is potential for significant commuting to Exeter by car while a large area of the site is affected by flooding. There is the wish to maintain physical and visual separation from Kentisbeare
HARTNOLL FARM
DESCRIPTION
A site east of Tiverton and west of Halberton and is bounded to the south and east by the Grand Western Canal. The 101 hectare site could accommodate 950 homes
PROS
A large proportion of the site has been put forward by landowners for development and it would provide a logical extension to Tiverton linked to an existing allocation and planned facilities There is the potential to provide residential development linked to existing employment, reducing the need to travel, the site will have good strategic highway access from a new junction on the A361, and the site provides the potential to improve National Cycle Network Route 3 along the disused railway line
CONS
The Grand Western Canal (Conservation Area, Local Nature Reserve, and County Wildlife Site) which would need careful treatment and landscaping, while there is potential for car-borne out-commuting to Exeter
SAMPFORD PEVERALL SOUTH
DESCRIPTION
The site is predominantly relatively flat agricultural land to the south of Sampford Peverell. The site adjoins the Great Western Canal and Sampford Peverell to the west, with the Great Western Mainline and M5 motorway in close proximity to the eastern boundary. The 167 hectare site could accommodate 2,200 homes
PROS
A large proportion of the site has been put forward by landowners for development and the site is generally relatively level. The site is close to the M5 motorway and Great Western Mainline strategic transport corridor providing access to Exeter and other towns/cities along the corridor while the train station at Tiverton Parkway (adjacent to the site) offers the potential for residents to travel by rail, with an average 15 minute journey time to Exeter. There is potential for investment in strategic cycle routes and highway improvements to the A361 Tiverton Parkway junction and Junction 27 of the M5
CONS
Part of the eastern boundary is next to the Grand Western Canal county wildlife site and local nature reserve and landscape sensitivity is high around the setting of heritage assets – Great Western Canal and Sampford Peverell conservation areas and associated listed buildings. Large areas of the site are affected by flooding associated with the River Lyner along the eastern boundary and with streams/sluices running across the site that may constrain access through the site. There is also a sewage works in the centre of the site and the potential for traffic impacts on B3181 to Tiverton, A361 Tiverton Parkway junction, and congestion at Junction 27 of the M5
FORCHES CROSS
DESCRIPTION
23 hectares of gently undulating fields west of the A382, approximately2.5 km north of Newton Abbot and 1.5 km south of Drumbridges (A38). To be used for employment land
PROS
The adjacent A382 is planned to be improved, widened and a cycle path added. The site is close to the A38 Drumbridges junction and is adjacent to an existing Teignbridge Local Plan employment allocation at Forches Cross
CONS
It is largely within the Bovey Basin Minerals Safeguarding area for Ball Clayidentified in the Devon Minerals Plan and the site is currently separated from the built up area of Newton Abbot and development will alter the character of this location
HOUGHTON BARTON WEST
DESCRIPTION
A 120 hectare site currently in agricultural use, adjacent to Seale Hayne and Teignbridge NA1 allocation for 1,800 homes. The site lies approximately 3.5km from Newton Abbot town centre and could see a further 1,750 homes built.
PROS
It is next to the existing Teignbridge Local Plan Houghton Barton NA1 allocation and the site is within cycling distance of Newton Abbot. The site (combined with NA1) could support a regular bus service into Newton Abbot and an appropriate site layout, use of material, planting and supporting infrastructure could potentially support and enhance the role of Seale Hayne as a community facility
CONS
There is only westbound access from the A383 onto the A38. However, the new link road to Forches Cross has planning permission, while the impact of the elongation of the town will have an ability of residents to make active and sustainable travel choices. Measures to address the risk of flooding including contributions to increase the capacity of flood defence infrastructure at Holbeam dam would be needed
ILFORD PARK
DESCRIPTION
A 46 hectare site of flat land in use as forestry, with some commercial and residential (C2) uses. The site is adjacent to the A38 Drumbridges junction and Trago Mills
PROS
Permission has been granted for a mixed use development comprising of employment development, a restaurant/public house, and residential development. The topography is suitable for employment uses and has potential for a service station to serve the Devon Expressway dual carriageway
CONS
It includes large wooded areas which might host Greater Horseshoe bats, Great Crested Newts, Cirl Buntings and other protected species, while is close to Stover Country Park SSSI. The existing Gaverick Court provides accommodation and specialist care for up to 95 vulnerable elderly World War Two veterans and existing permissions have not been delivered due to significant investment needed in infrastructure including electricity sub-stations and highways
PRIORY ROAD
DESCRIPTION
The site is south of the NA3 allocation in the Teignbridge Local Plan and the area is primarily in agricultural use. 500 homes could be accommodated in the 59 hectare site in Kingskerswell and Abbotskerswell
PROS
A large proportion of the site has been put forward by landowners for development, while the site is adjacent to the existing NA3 allocation which offers some opportunities for shared infrastructure, in particular primary education. The site is within cycling distance of Newton Abbot
CONS
There will be a large cost of improving access into the site from Kingskerswell Road including widening of the road bridge over the railway and potential impact on the Grade 2 listed bridge. The site may contain Greater Horseshoe Bats, Cirl Buntings, Great Crested Newts, Dormouse, Otter and other protected species while a large proportion of the site is high grade agricultural land
AIRPORT BUSINESS PARK
DESCRIPTION
27 hectares of primarily agricultural land sandwiched between the airport and the A30 which could be used for employment land
PROS
A large proportion of the site has been put forward by landowners for development, it is close to homes, jobs and services on sites allocated in the East Devon Local Plan, and is well located to attract strategic employment development. It could make use of and further enhance planned improvements to Long Lane and wider airport access
CONS
Access along Long Lane needs significant improvement, although plans are in progress, and the airport junction on the A30 is nearing capacity. Airport related development could be required on this site and there is the potential for impact upon safe operation of the airport without appropriate safeguarding
AIRPORT NORTH
DESCRIPTION
22 hectares of land within active airfield uses and hosting supporting infrastructure on the north side of the runway at Exeter Airport, south of Skypark and Cranbrook’s proposed southern expansion area
PROS
A large amount of land within the site could be considered as brownfield land, it is close to homes, jobs and services on sites allocated in the East Devon Local Plan and it is well located to attract strategic employment development
CONS
It is dependent upon access through adjacent development sites and the site was previously allocated in the 1995-2011 East Devon Local Plan for airport terminal development
AXMINSTER SOUTH
DESCRIPTION
A rectangular shaped site adjacent to the southeast of the existing built-up area of Axminster. The site is bounded to the south by the A35, the west by the A358 and the north by Woodbury Lane. 540 homes could be built in the 54 hectare site
PROS
It would provide a logical extension to Axminster, has fairly level topography which would enable development, and is located close to the A35 which provides good strategic road access The site could provide land for a junction improvement on the A35 and is located within walking distance of Axminster station which provides sustainable travel options
CONS
A Scheduled Monument sits within the site at Woodbury Farm, together with the considerable likelihood of significant related, Roman archaeology beyond the Monument boundary. There is the potential for an increase in car-borne out-commuting to Exeter while a small area of the site is affected by flooding. A variety of amenity and community facilities including community building, outdoor play space, small local shop and potential contributions to healthcare improvements would be needed.
FENITON
DESCRIPTION
The sites consists of 352 hectares of predominantly agricultural land surrounding the village of Feniton, on both sides of the railway, and could accommodate 2,800 homes
PROS
It is close to Feniton train station and the A30 while Feniton includes a number of essential services already which could be enhanced
CONS
Parts of the site are affected by flooding while the topography could reduce capacity in some parts of the site. Access from the A30 and across the railway insufficient for strategic scale development while the frequency of train and bus services in Feniton is poor and is some distance from Exeter. Limited employment opportunities in close proximity and the local primary provision at/approaching capacity.
HONITON EAST
DESCRIPTION
72 hectares of agricultural land to the east of Honiton situated primarily on land rising towards and surrounded by the Blackdown Hills and East Devon Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Site is sandwiched between the A35, ExeterWaterloo railway line and the A30 and could see 1,100 homes built
PROS
A large proportion of the site has been put forward by landowners for development or was promoted during the previous East Devon Local Plan process, and it is close to Honiton train station and both the A30 and A35. Honiton Community College has some limited scope for expansion
CONS
The site is surrounded by the Blackdown Hills and East Devon Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and would be visible from both. The existing rail infrastructure limits the frequency of train services in Honiton, while there is potential for the achievement of safe site access from the A35 Kings Road to cause detrimental impacts on traffic flow along the strategic road network, and potential severance issues caused by difficulty gaining safe pedestrian and cycle access across the A35 Kings Road
WHIMPLE
DESCRIPTION
337 hectares of predominantly agricultural land to the north and east of the village of Whimple, located on both sides of the railway and could accommodate 2,500 homes
PROS
It is close to Whimple train station, and Whimple includes a number of essential services already which could be enhanced. The planned jobs growth at the West End is reasonably nearby
CONS
Access from the A30 and across the railway insufficient for strategic scale development while frequency of train and bus services in Whimple is poor. As some distance from Exeter it could increase pressure on the already at capacity Junction 29 of the M5, while local primary school provision at/approaching capacity. Clyst Vale Community College lies a significant distance away and the school has limited scope for expansion
Care leaders, unions and MPs have rounded on Boris Johnson after he accused care homes of failing to follow proper procedures amid the coronavirus crisis, saying the prime minister appeared to be shifting the blame for the high death toll.
With nearly 20,000 care home residents confirmed to have died with Covid-19, and estimates that the true toll is much greater, there has been widespread criticism about a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), testing and clear guidelines for the sector. On Monday, the total UK coronavirus death toll rose to 44,236, up 16 on the day before.
The Guardian has previously revealed how public health officials proposed a radical lockdown of care homes at the height of the pandemic, but they were overruled by the government. Agency staff were found to have spread the virus between homes, but a health department plan, published in April, mentioned nothing about restricting staff movements. Around 25,000 patients were discharged into care homes without being tested for coronavirus, an official report said.
Speaking during a visit to Goole in Yorkshire, Johnson said the pandemic had shown the need to “make sure we look after people better who are in social care”.
He went on: “We discovered too many care homes didn’t really follow the procedures in the way that they could have but we’re learning lessons the whole time. Most important is to fund them properly … but we will also be looking at ways to make sure the care sector long term is properly organised and supported.”
The comments followed fears that ministers – mindful of a likely future inquiry into how the UK came to have the highest coronavirus death toll in Europe, with the proportion of care home deaths 13 times higher than in Germany – could be seeking to lay some of the responsibility on outside bodies, including Public Health England (PHE).
A No 10 spokesman insisted Johnson was not blaming care homes, saying they “have done a brilliant job under very difficult circumstances”. He added: “The PM was pointing out that nobody knew what the correct procedures were because the extent of asymptomatic transmission was not known at the time.”
But Nadra Ahmed, chair of the National Care Association, which represents smaller and medium-sized care providers, said Johnson’s comments were “a huge slap in the face for a sector that looks after a million vulnerable people, employs 1.6 million care workers and puts £45bn into the economy every year”.
She added: “Despite the fact PPE was diverted, despite the fact we didn’t have testing in our services, despite the fact they’ve not put any money into our sector, it has worked its socks off, and it’s a huge disappointment to hear the leader of our country say what he’d said.”
A spokesman for the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services said Johnson was correct to say the sector needed reform and more funding. But he added: “Social care has been hit hard by Covid-19 and it feels unfair to blame care homes for the initial response to the pandemic as they did not feel prioritised from the outset.”
Caroline Abrahams, charity director of Age UK, said: “It would be unfair for anyone to suggest that care staff have been authors of their own misfortune: on the contrary, in a neglected and cash-strapped system they have been magnificent throughout the pandemic – arguably far better than we as a country deserved.”
Rehana Azam, national officer for public services at the GMB union, which has many members in the social care sector, said: “Johnson is complaining about the arrangements that he and his government have established and failed to change. There is no point the prime minister passing the buck on this one.”
The criticism was echoed by opposition politicians, with Liz Kendall, Labour’s shadow social care minister, saying: “Staff who have gone the extra mile to care for elderly people, and experienced things the rest of us can only imagine, will be appalled to hear the prime minister’s comments. Boris Johnson should be taking responsibility for his actions and fixing the crisis in social care, not blaming care homes for this government’s mistakes.”
Ed Davey, the Lib Dems’ interim leader, said Johnson was “trying to shift the blame to those who risked their lives caring for our loved ones”.
Nick Forbes, leader of Newcastle city council, said that at the start of the crisis the local authority had 147 requests for emergency PPE from care homes because they only had enough stock to last 24 hours. He said: “The prime minister is either woefully uninformed or wilfully misleading with those comments and it will anger people right across the sector.”
While the government said it had “thrown a protective ring around care homes”, studies and reports from the sector have painted a different picture.
During flu pandemic planning in 2018, a report from social care directors warned ministers that frontline care workers would need advice on “controlling cross-infection”. But the health department’s social care plan, published on 16 April, mentions nothing about restricting staff movements between homes.
The Guardian also learned that while public health officials proposed an 11-point plan to protect care homes in April, including a radical lockdown, with staff moving in for four weeks while temporary NHS Nightingale hospitals were deployed, it was rejected by the government.
The care sector has also complained about a lack of protective equipment for staff, with providers in some cases having to secure their own supplies. Earlier in the outbreak, care home operators accused the government of “a complete system failure” over testing for Covid-19.
Care home managers said lives have been put at risk and conditions for dementia sufferers have worsened because of the government’s failure so far to test hundreds of thousands of staff and residents.
The Big Four accounting firms — PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and EY — must separate their audit units from the rest of their businesses by 2024, the audit watchdog said this morning. [6 July]
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is asking the companies to agree to operational separation by June 2024 to ensure their audits “do not rely on persistent cross subsidy from the rest of the firm”.
Auditors have come under increased regulatory scrutiny in recent years, with corporate failures at Carillion retailer BHS led to three government-backed reviews that recommended a shake-up of audit.
However the government has not yet introduced legislation mandating change in the sector — partly due to Brexit and more recently, the coronavirus pandemic.
EY’s role in the collapse of Wirecard has also come under the microscope recently. The firm has been accused of failing to carry out standard audit procedure for three years at the disgraced German payments firm.
The FRC had already begun seeking voluntary changes to help speed up reform, and said on Monday it was asking the Big Four firms to agree to operational separation based on a set of principles it has already discussed with them.
Sir Jon Thompson, chief executive of the FRC, said that operational separation of audit was a “major step in the reform of the audit sector”.
“The FRC remains fully committed to the broad suite of reform measures on corporate reporting and audit reform and will introduce further aspects of the reform package over time,” he added.
Firms must submit an implementation plan to the FRC by 23 October this year, for implementation by June 30, 2024 at the latest, the regulator said.
Big Four back watchdog’s plans
All Big Four firms issued statements welcoming the watchdog’s announcement.
A PwC spokesperson said the firm “shares the FRC’s objectives of improved quality and confidence in audit” and “will continue to engage constructively” with the regulator.
Stephen Griggs, Deputy chief executive at Deloitte UK, said: “We welcome this clarity from the FRC on the principles of operational separation and will continue working with them to develop our plans over the coming months.”
EY and KPMG both said they supported the FRC’s plans, but also called for changes to corporate governance in the UK in addition to audit reform.
“As part of the audit profession’s evolution, a holistic package of reforms, including improved director accountability and changes to the scope of audit, is required to deliver effective and sustainable change,” said Hywel Ball, chairman of EY UK.
Jon Holt, head of audit at KPMG UK, called for “an ambitious package of wider reforms across the corporate landscape,” including “clarifying and enhancing the responsibilities of boards, directors and management”.
“Some of Devon and Cornwall’s most popular beauty spots will be made safer and cleaner this summer thanks to a half-million-pound fund set up by the Police and Crime Commissioner.”
“The funding can be spent on street marshals, CCTV, assisting volunteer schemes like Street Pastors and the provision of temporary toilets.”
Some of Devon and Cornwall’s most popular beauty spots will be made safer and cleaner this summer thanks to a half-million-pound fund set up by the Police and Crime Commissioner.
Alison Hernandez is making extra money available to tackle antisocial behaviour in 20 key summer locations across the two counties ahead of Saturday’s easing of coronavirus restrictions and a summer surge in visitors.
The funding can be spent on street marshals, CCTV, assisting volunteer schemes like Street Pastors and the provision of temporary toilets.
In recent weeks police and communities have had to deal with incidents of antisocial behaviour linked to excessive drinking as restrictions on people’s movement have eased.
The new measures will help complement a wider summer policing plan that has enabled Devon and Cornwall Police to place extra resources at hotspots like Orcombe Point in Exmouth.
The 20 locations to benefit from the additional funding have been identified by Devon and Cornwall Police to help prevent alcohol related antisocial behaviour over the busy Covid-19 summer period.
The 20 locations are: Exmouth seafront and Orcombe Point, Exeter Quay, Exeter Cathedral, Bideford Quay, Woolacombe Beach, Croyde Bay, Torquay seafronts, Paignton seafronts, Newton Abbot, Teignmouth waterfront, Brixham Waterfront and Harbour, Towan Beach and waterfront (Newquay), Fistral Beach (Newquay), St Ives Waterfront, Lemon Quay (Truro), Perran Sands (Perranporth), Penzance waterfront, Bude waterfront, Plymouth Hoe and Plymouth Barbican.
The commissioner will be working with local authorities and community safety partnerships over the next few days to agree bespoke solutions for each of the locations but has immediately made available £3,000 per location to support this coming weekend.
This new initiative comes directly from discussions between the Commissioner and councils in response to concerns about specific locations.
In Torbay Brixham, Paignton and Torquay will receive a total of up to £60,000 to spend on the measures.
Torbay Council Leader Cllr Steve Darling said: “Over recent weeks we have been working with our partners to tackle the emerging anti-social behaviour in public places since we have started to come out of lockdown, and we welcome this additional financial support from the Police and Crime Commissioner’s office to help address the issue.
“In common with many areas in recent weeks there has been some antisocial behaviour in Torbay and it’s important that we work together with all our partners to tackle the issue head on.
“We fully appreciate that people are keen to venture out and meet up with family and friends on a more social level as the lockdown restrictions are lifted, but we’d like to encourage people to please act responsibly. We will work with the Commissioner, local police, other partners and our communities to ensure that everyone can enjoy the beautiful surroundings Torquay, Paignton, Brixham and surrounding areas have to offer and help to keep people safe.”
Exeter City Council leader Councillor Phil Bialyk also welcomed the initiative.
Cllr Bialyk said: “I’m very pleased to be working with Alison and her office on issues we have seen at Exeter Quay and I’m grateful for her quick response.
“There is a lot to be said for people taking personal responsibility when it comes to sporadic outburst of antisocial behaviour. It has been a national problem and unfortunately Exeter hasn’t been immune.
“Together with the Commissioner I am confident we are doing everything within our control and resources to continue to retain Exeter Quay a stunning location for people to enjoy.”
The Police and Crime Commissioner said that the funding was in addition to the £1.7m invested annually by her in community safety partnerships. These work with local partners to build safer communities.
“We are entering what is traditionally Devon and Cornwall Police’s busiest period, with potentially even more visitors to the Westcountry than in previous years,” she said.
“I welcome the fact that the bars, restaurants and cafes which are an important part of our economy will be able to open this weekend, and we can once again give tourists a warm westcountry welcome.
“But I do want people to behave responsibly and consider the impact of their behaviour on others. This funding represents a significant investment in practical measures that, in partnership with councils and police, will help keep people safe and reduce the impact of the impending changes to coronavirus regulations.
“Our work with Exeter last week identified a wider opportunity to see us help more locations and I am delighted we can offer similar support to a wider group of areas to help prevent alcohol related antisocial behaviour this summer – in addition to the significant investments already being made through our summer policing plans.”
The recent positive testing case in Exmouth Community College was asymptomatic and only picked up by chance. This article explains how asymptomatic and “silent spreaders” pose particular problems in tackling Covid-19. Not something to outsource to Deloitte in Owl’s opinion – you need experience (Oh and a world class test, track, trace and isolate system).
As the crisis has unfolded, scientists have discovered more evidence about a strange and worrying feature of the coronavirus. While many people who become infected develop a cough, fever and loss of taste and smell, others have no symptoms at all and never realise they’re carrying Covid-19.
Researchers say it’s vital to understand how many are affected this way and whether “silent spreaders” are fuelling the pandemic.
When people gathered at a church in Singapore on 19 January, no-one could have realised that the event would have global implications for the spread of coronavirus. It was a Sunday and, as usual, one of the services was being conducted in Mandarin. Among the congregation at The Life Church and Missions, on the ground floor of an office building, was a couple, both aged 56, who’d arrived that morning from China.
As they took their seats, they seemed perfectly healthy so there was no reason to think they might be carrying the virus. At that time, a persistent cough was understood to be the most distinctive feature of Covid-19 and it was seen as the most likely way to transmit it. Having no symptoms of the disease should have meant having no chance of spreading it.
The couple left as soon as the service was over. But shortly afterwards, things took a turn for the worse, and in a wholly confusing way. The wife started to become ill on 22 January, followed by her husband two days later. Because they had flown in from Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, that was no big surprise.
But over the following week, three local people also came down with the disease for no obvious reason, leading to one of Singapore’s first and most baffling coronavirus cases. Working out what had happened would lead to a new and disturbing insight into how the virus was so successfully finding new victims.
Mobilising ‘disease detectives’
“We were extremely perplexed,” says Dr Vernon Lee, head of communicable diseases at Singapore’s Ministry of Health. “People who didn’t know one another somehow infected each other,” while showing no sign of illness. This new batch of cases simply did not make sense, according to what was known about Covid-19 back then.
So Dr Lee and his fellow scientists, along with police officers and specialist disease trackers, launched an investigation, generating detailed maps showing who was where and when. This involved the very best of the process known as contact tracing – a version of which is getting under way now in the UK. It’s seen as a vital system for tracking down everyone involved in an outbreak and helping to stamp it out, and Singapore is renowned for the skill and speed with which this is carried out.
Amazingly, within a few days, investigators had spoken to no fewer than 191 members of the church and had found out that 142 of them had been there that Sunday. They quickly established that two of the Singaporeans who became infected had been at the same service as the Chinese couple.
“They could have spoken to each other, greeted each other, during the usual activities of a church service,” says Dr Lee.
That was a useful start and would explain in theory how the infection could have been passed on, apart from one key factor. It did not answer the crucial question of how the virus could have been transmitted by the two Chinese people when at that stage they had shown no indication of having the disease.
And on top of that was an even greater puzzle. It was confirmed that the third Singaporean to become infected, a 52-year-old woman, had not been at the same service as the others. Instead she had attended another event in the same church later that day, so how could she have picked up the virus?
Evidence no-one expected
Investigators resorted to going through the CCTV recordings made at the church that Sunday to search for clues. And they stumbled across something completely unexpected – the woman who’d attended the later service, after the Chinese couple had left, had sat in the seats they had used several hours earlier.
Somehow, despite having no symptoms and not feeling ill, the Chinese husband and wife had managed to spread the virus. Maybe they’d had it on their hands and touched the seats, maybe their breath carried the infection and it landed on a surface, it’s not clear, but the implications were huge.
For Dr Lee, piecing everything together, there was only one possible explanation – that the virus was being passed by people who had it without even realising. This was a revelation that would be relevant the world over because the central message of all public health advice on coronavirus has always been to look out for symptoms in yourself and others.
But if the virus was also being spread by people without symptoms, silently and invisibly, how could the disease be stopped? He remembers the moment, while working in his office, when the reality dawned on him. “Every time you make a scientific discovery, it is like a ‘eureka’ moment when you realise that this is something important that you’ve uncovered, through the hard work of many individuals and teams.”
Spread before symptoms show
What was revealed was what’s known as “pre-symptomatic transmission” where someone is unaware of being infected because the cough, fever and other classic symptoms have yet to begin.
Along with many others, this study highlighted a critical period of 24-to-48 hours before the visible onset of the disease in which people can be highly infectious, perhaps even their most infectious.
Being aware of that is potentially invaluable, because as soon as you realise you’re ill then everyone you’ve been in close contact with can be warned to stay at home.
That would mean that they would be isolating during the key phase of infection before their own symptoms start. But exactly how the disease can be transmitted without a cough to project droplets containing the virus is still open to debate.
One option is that simply breathing or talking to someone can do the job. If the virus is reproducing in the upper respiratory tract at that time then it’s possible that some of it will emerge with each exhalation. Anyone close enough, especially indoors, could easily pick it up.
And another potential form of transmission is by touch – the virus gets onto someone’s hands and they touch another person or a door handle – or a seat in a church. Whatever the route, the virus is clearly exploiting the fact that people are bound to be less vigilant if they’re not aware that they might be infected.
Some people never show symptoms
This is an even more mysterious scenario, and one that scientists simply have no definitive answer to. It’s one thing to know that people can be infectious before their symptoms show, quite another when they become infected but never have any sign of it.
This is what’s known as being “asymptomatic” because you are a carrier of the disease but do not suffer in any way yourself. The most famous case is that of an Irish woman who was working as a cook in New York at the beginning of the last century.
Wherever Mary Mallon was employed, in house after house, people became ill with typhoid and at least three, maybe many more, died of it, but she was completely unaffected. Eventually a connection was established and it was confirmed that she was the unwitting spreader of the disease.
Reporters dubbed her “Typhoid Mary”, a label she always resented, but the authorities took no chances and kept her in confinement for 23 years until her death in 1938.
Assumptions undermined
Staff nurse Amelia Powell was shocked when she found out that she is asymptomatic. She was at work on her hospital ward at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge in April when a doctor rang to give her the result of a swab test.
She had been feeling normal and safe behind the personal protective equipment she had to wear while caring for patients with Covid-19. But suddenly all those assumptions were undermined because, to her horror, she had tested positive.
“It was a bit like hearing that someone in the family had passed, it was surreal. I thought, ‘This can’t be right, not me, I’m absolutely fine,'” says 23-year-old Amelia.
She had to leave her post straightaway to go into isolation at home.
“I was worried because I’ve seen the other side, with patients deteriorating very quickly with it, so I did wonder if this would happen to me.” But, to her surprise, at no point did she feel unwell. “I had nothing, literally – I was exercising indoors, eating normally, sleeping normally.”
At the moment it’s impossible to know how many cases of infection exist but remain hidden from view.
The discovery that Amelia was infected was only revealed because she was part of a study of all the staff at her hospital. It produced the surprising result that as many as 3% of more than 1,000 people were positive while showing no symptoms at the time of the test.
An even greater proportion of asymptomatic cases was found on the Diamond Princess cruise ship which had been sailing off the coast of Japan earlier this year. Later branded “a petri dish for infection”, it had around 700 cases.
And at a care home in Washington state more than half the residents were positive but had no sign of the illness.
‘No single reliable study’
Different studies suggest a huge range of possibilities for how many cases are asymptomatic stretching from 5% to 80% of cases. That was the conclusion of an analysis by Prof Carl Heneghan of the University of Oxford and colleagues who looked at 21 research projects.
The upshot, they said, was that “there is not a single reliable study to determine the number of asymptomatics”. And they said that if the screening for Covid-19 is only carried out on people with symptoms – which has been the main focus of UK testing policy – then cases will be missed, “perhaps a lot of cases”.
The risk of ‘silent spreaders’
The biggest concern of Amelia, the nurse, was that she might have unwittingly transmitted the virus either to those she works with or to the patients who depend on her help.
“I don’t think I passed it on because all the colleagues I work with tested negative but it was worrying to think how long I’d been positive for,” she says. “But we still don’t know if people who are asymptomatic are contagious or not – it’s very bizarre and the information about it at the moment is minimal.”
One study in China which found that the number of asymptomatic cases was actually greater than those with symptoms had a warning for the authorities. “As ‘silent spreaders’,” the scientists wrote, “asymptomatic carriers warrant attention as part of disease prevention and control.”
The team that studied that Diamond Princess reckoned that asymptomatic cases were likely to be less infectious than people with symptoms but even so they’re estimated to have caused a significant number of cases.
The ‘dark matter’ of asymptomatic infection
To try to get an answer, scientists in Norwich are pushing for the population of the entire city to be tested.
“Asymptomatic cases may be the ‘dark matter’ of the epidemic,” according to Prof Neil Hall, head of the Earlham Institute, a life science research centre, who’s leading the initiative. Dark matter is the invisible substance believed to make up most of the matter in the universe, and it’s yet to be identified.
Prof Hall worries that asymptomatic cases may actually be driving the pandemic, keeping it going despite public health measures. “If you have people who don’t know they’re ill while using public transport and health care facilities, inevitably that’s going to increase transmission,” he says.
“Any intervention that’s only based on people coming to primary health care when they have symptoms will only deal with half the problem.”
A team of scientists in California believes that not knowing who’s carrying the virus without symptoms is the “Achilles Heel” of the fight against the pandemic.
In their view, the only way to stop the disease from spreading is to find out who’s infected regardless of whether they think they are or not. That was also the recommendation of MPs on the Commons Science and Technology Committee in a letter to the Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
They wrote that the risk of asymptomatic transmission has “a profound consequence for the management of the pandemic”. And they said that anyone looking after vulnerable people – such as health workers or care workers – should be given regular testing.
A similar approach is being adopted on a far larger scale in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the pandemic is thought to have begun.
As many as 6.5 million people there were tested in as little as nine days in a mass screening programme designed to detect the disease – including in those showing no symptoms.
Easing of lockdown
As lockdown measures are eased and more people start to use public transport, return to work or go shopping, getting to grips with the invisible risk matters more than ever. At the moment, there is no way of telling who among the growing crowds may be carrying the virus without knowing.
That’s why governments the world over say it’s essential that everyone cooperates with efforts to trace the contacts of anyone infected and then quickly self-isolates. They also advise that the best defence remains social distancing – to keep apart wherever you can. But where that isn’t possible, the recommendation is to cover your face, even with a mask that’s homemade.
Image copyright Getty ImagesImage caption More and more governments are advising wearing face masks
When the US government announced this policy, it highlighted the discoveries made in the church in Singapore back in January. The logic is that this is not about protecting yourself, it’s about protecting others from you, in case you’re infected but don’t know it.
Many health professionals worry that masks might distract people from hand washing or social distancing, or increase the risk of contamination if they’re clumsily handled. But more and more governments, most recently that of the UK, have become convinced of the benefits.
Not that face coverings will halt the pandemic on their own. But because there’s still so little we know about asymptomatic transmission, almost anything is worth a try.
Thousands of tiny, substandard “rabbit-hutch” flats could be created in commercial buildings left empty by the coronavirus economic slowdown under planning reforms championed by Boris Johnson.
University College London professor Ben Clifford – who recently completed a government review of housing produced outside the conventional planning system – said allowing developers to turn a wider range of commercial properties into flats without planning checks could lead to a wave of substandard conversions.
“Unless there are proper safeguards, we could see even more poor-quality, tiny flats being crammed into commercial buildings lacking amenities and green space,” he said. “These could be what others have rightly called the slums of the future.”
Johnson last week pledged to bring forward the most radical reforms to the planning system since the end of the second world war, starting with an expansion of permitted development rights, which allow buildings to be repurposed without full planning permission.
Clifford was last year asked by the government to review the quality of homes delivered through existing permitted development rights, which cover offices, retail and light industrial units. He urged ministers to publish the report, which was submitted in January. “The evidence in the report would help inform a debate that has already started about these important issues, which could lead to huge changes in many towns and cities,” he said.
Clifford previously co-authored a report for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors that suggests 70% of flats produced by permitted development are below the government space standards, with some measuring just 15 square metres. Basements with little natural light and blocks on lorry-clogged industrial parks have been turned into flats by developers.
Since 2015 more than 60,000 flats have been created through permitted development in England, with almost 90% coming from office conversions. “It is popular with developers because they do not have to make a contribution to affordable housing and local infrastructure,” added Clifford. “It’s often far more profitable than going through the normal planning system.”
The latest changes will come into force in September. Details are expected later this month but it could cover banks, building societies, clinics, training centres and even gyms. “Under these proposals the government might allow a whole host of other commercial buildings to be converted to residential uses,” said Clifford. “It could lead to thousands of new conversions.”
Some areas have already seen a flurry of controversial office to residential conversions. In Harlow, Essex, half the new homes created in 2018/19 came from office conversions. The town’s Conservative MP Robert Halfon said he would be writing to the prime minister and the housing minister, Robert Jenrick, about the latest proposals. “I think it is a disaster in the offing,” he said. “If there are not proper controls on quality and developers are allowed to build ghettos for people on the lowest incomes then we will have a repeat of what we’ve had in the first wave of permitted development.”
Halfon called for Clifford’s report to be published. “I’m in favour of liberalising the planning system” he said. “But permitted development is about quantity rather than quality.”
Hugh Ellis, policy director for the Town and Country Planning Association, accused ministers of sitting on Clifford’s report because it did not align with their deregulatory drive. “The report will – I’m sure – show that permitted development has produced some dreadful outcomes,” he said. “Could it be that the government received a report raising very significant challenges about what they have been doing and they choose to ignore it?”
According to the Local Government Association, more than one million homes granted planning permission have not been built by developers in the past decade. “Planning is not a barrier to building new homes,” said David Renard, the LGA’s housing and planning spokesperson.
A housing ministry spokesperson said: “Like any other project, homes built under permitted development rights must meet rigorous building regulations. These new regulations will cut red tape and unnecessary bureaucracy while maintaining high standards, and make effective use of existing buildings in keeping with the character of their local area.”
• This article was amended on 5 July 2020. An earlier version referred to UK, rather than England, planning rules, and described some flats measuring 15 metres squared, when that should have said 15 square metres.
“Rip up planning red tape to spur house building,” says housing secretary Robert Jenrick, while Prime Minister Boris Johnson argues for a radical shake-up to the planning system to deliver on his “build build build” mantra. There’s a clear political message that England’s planning system is broken and needs change.
Such change should not be based on simply building more, but on an accurate diagnosis of the problems the planning system is experiencing and trying to solve. If it isn’t, there is a risk of a future prime minister saying again that the planning system is broken and in need of urgent reform.
After all, David Cameron in 2011 attacked the planning system as “the enemy of enterprise” and similarly embarked on a package of reforms to speed up housing delivery and economic growth and cut red tape. Yet consistently over 80% of planning applications are approved, challenging any simplistic presumptions that planning inhibits growth.
Political change has been a constant in England’s planning system. Since the landmark 1947 Town and Country Planning Act, some 360 pieces of planning legislation have been enacted. What’s more, since 1997 there have been 18 housing ministers, hindering policy consistency.
Managing change has been made more difficult with significant cuts to planning departments under austerity, compounded by incremental legislative changes that create the very complexity and delays that the government now complains about.
Today, calls for reform have been fuelled by a report by the right-wing thinktank Policy Exchange. With the country needing to build many more houses, the argument goes that replacing our plan-led system that assesses every application with a zoning system would reduce bureaucracy and help speed up decision-making.
“Build build build” is the wrong starting point. Planning is dominated by a target of building 300,000 homes each year, and the prime minister’s rhetoric reinforces that narrative. But one simple quantity metric on housing is dangerous and limiting when planning encompasses so much more.
The planning system should instead be designed to address the long-term challenges and opportunities our society faces. And that means a more integrated quality-based approach based on a shared vision of the kind of places we want to live in. Let’s identify these challenges in more detail:
There is a housing challenge. Plenty of luxury flats are built but not enough affordable family homes. The key national priorities do not match the types of housing now being built and wanted by developers.
There is a biodiversity challenge. The state of UK nature is declining year on year with many species on the brink of extinction. Biodiversity forms the backbone of viable ecosystems on which we depend on for basic necessities, security and health. This diversity makes us more resilient to change and uncertainty in much the same way as investing in a diverse range of stocks protects a financial portfolio from uncertainty.
There is a health challenge. Poor housing stock and noise and air pollution, along with a lack of access to key services, all affect physical and mental health.
There is a poverty and social justice challenge. The gap between the haves and have-nots is widening. Here child poverty is a major issue. The planning system was founded on the need for improved social justice, yet in recent years this has been conspicuously absent from policy.
There is a public engagement challenge. Ordinary people should be able to understand and engage with planning more effectively and help co-produce the kinds of sustainable places they want to live, work and play in. The current system is too complex and too adversarial. A key opportunity is for the public to be more involved in planning processes which should be based on modern interactive “e-planning” and not dense and static PDF files.
These challenges are all interlinked and collectively should form the key principles on which a better and more joined-up planning system should be built. However, what that planning system looks like is not for me or anyone to dictate in a top-down fashion. We urgently need better diagnoses of these challenges and integrated interventions, so that then we can then design better governance and delivery frameworks that are less complex and fragmented.
I fear that the government will continue on its present trajectory, based on the populist but fallacious presumption that planning is restricting housebuilding, and impose yet more change on a public sector ill-equipped to deal with it. In effect, the country lurches from one crisis to another. And that is definitely not good planning.
We have the Heart of the South West, the Official Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), supposedly driving our local economy through productivity improvements. Then there have been a couple of organisations Owl describes as Provisional LEPs such as the “Golden Triangle” and the “South West Group Charter” which didn’t seem to last very long but made a lot of noise. Lately, we have also had a new entrant the Real LEP (or the LEP’s LEP ) “The Great South West” pitching to Sajid Javid on behalf of the three peninsular LEPs just before he resigned as Chancellor.
Now we have “Team Devon” proposing their Heinz 57+1 point plan to re-build the county’s post Covid-19 economy.
Owl doesn’t quite know what to make of it all. Certainly Owl has been unimpressed by all economic “planning” to date and thinks it might be helpful, in the short term, to focus on a County approach.
But 58 aims of: seeking, securing, lobbying, pursuing, working, establishing, enhancing, engaging, supporting, developing, implementing, confirming, improving, championing and taking forward is all a bit confusing for an Owl. (Apparently it has great potential to create 30,000 new jobs, 80,000 new training places and secure investment of £550 million, generating £2.8 billion of additional economic output. Let’s start counting!)
A recovery plan to enable Devon to re-build the county’s economy to be stronger, more inclusive and sustainable has been unveiled.
The programmes and projects listed in the prospectus for its COVID-19 Economy and Business Recovery Plan have the potential to create 30,000 new jobs, 80,000 new training places and secure investment of £550 million, generating £2.8 billion of additional economic output.
Devon’s economy is predicted to shrink by around 8 per cent this year, roughly 1 per cent more than the rest of the UK, according to a new impact assessment commissioned by Team Devon, which suggests that the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic will continue in the medium term with recovery likely to be slow through to 2023.
But the prospectus outlines the vision of how the county can level up its economy in response to the crisis with immediate priorities to seek an initial investment package of £56m to support the hardest hit communities and sustain 6,500 local jobs, deliver 5,000 training opportunities and support 7,500 enterprises to assist businesses to re-open, adapt and grow, help young people and those at risk of redundancy find or keep a job, and invest in Devon’s hardest hit communities and sectors.
Team Devon, a public and private sector partnership drawing in expertise from business, education, skills and public sector organisations, has developed the plan with the backing of business representatives, Devon’s County, District and City Councils, the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership, Dartmoor National Park and Devon’s MP’s.
Cllr Rufus Gilbert, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills, said: “COVID 19 has had a disproportionate impact on Devon’s businesses and residents, and it’s likely that the next two years may be among the most challenging in living memory for our local economy.
“All of the partners in Team Devon are united in the belief that there is now an opportunity to restart, regrow and reset our economy to enable Devon to emerge a stronger, more dynamic place to live and work. With the right support at national and local level we can achieve our ambition for a more inclusive and sustainable economy that benefits us all.”
The impact of the economic downturn across Devon has varied depending on sector and location. In the tourism and hospitality sector, 92 per cent of Devon businesses were disrupted by the crisis between March and June, but only 5 per cent of business in the digital sector faced the same level of disruption.
The unemployment claimant count in Exeter doubled in the three months to June, while in the South Hams it increased by 400 per cent, while unemployment among those aged between 18-25 and over 50 tripled in the same period, almost twice as fast as the Devon average.
Recovery is also predicted to vary greatly, with forecast of a two-year dip and recovery period in Exeter, through to a 10 per cent reduction and five-year recovery for some other areas of the county such as Mid Devon and Torridge. For some sectors, such as tourism and hospitality, it may take a decade to return to levels of income and employment experienced in 2019.
The Team Devon COVID-19 Economy and Business Recovery Prospectus aims to achieve thriving and successful city, town and rural communities attracting residents, visitors, businesses and students to live, work, learn and visit safely and feel connected, to ensure economic performance and employment reaches pre-COVID-19 levels by 2022, and that every individual can access a worthwhile job, undertake relevant and meaningful training and progress in learning or secure employment providing the income they need to thrive.
WHAT THE AIMS OF THE PLAN ARE?
Pursue the allocation of a Great South West Tourism Zone to include Devon, providing support towards new visitor attractions and features, activity that can extend the tourism season and support for improving transport and the visitor experience.
Seek £10m of additional grant funding to support the tourism sector in Devon, providing up to £5,000 per business to support adaption and reopening costs, marketing and communications and other projects which benefit trade and the visitor experience.
Implement a regional certificated scheme on opening safely,seeking to utilise the well-received Better Business for All Toolkit approach and Buy with Confidence approved trader scheme.
Lobby for a sector specific extension to the furlough scheme and VAT payment deferral – support the sector with extensions to these two national support measures and other potential costs around reopening safely. Seek a relaxation of furlough regulations taking account of specific issues for seasonal and part time workers.
Working closely with DWP, take forward an accelerated approach to redeployment / rapid retraining of staff members made redundant within the tourism sector, including providing access to short retraining courses and tailored employability support into other sectors, such as Digital or Health and Care
Seek £500,000 to provide up to 500 additional training places for the Tourism sector, including additional support in leadership and management, customer service, business administration and sector specific skills (catering, hospitality)
Establish an enhanced business support offer for the Tourism sector, including hospitality and leisure leadership and management This would include a ‘Be the Business’ training programme to support business planning, rebuilding and embed learning around COVID-19 impacts.
Enhance the resilience of the sector through grant support for projects which look to extend the tourism season and reinforce local supply chains, including support for diversification of individual offers (around health, environmental and accessible tourism) and which encourage local buying / purchasing. This includes a ‘Made in Devon’ quality approval scheme linked to Buy with Confidence.
Pursue Town Funding for regeneration projects which contribute to the visitor economy in 8 coastal and rural locations, including town centre renewal in Ilfracombe and Dawlish.
Seek additional support for our Destination Management Organisations, to sustain their operations and take forward additional joint destination marketing activity over the next year
Seek an additional £10m of grant support towards assisting agriculture and food & drink sector to restart within Devon, providing £5,000 per business towards adaption, mitigation and diversification activity.
Engage additional staff resources to support producers to diversify and access new markets. To include support and grants for accessing new markets; product promotion, realising export opportunities, assistance with diversification, and bringing together suppliers and buyers in line with the South West Food Hub Model
Seek £150,000 to support 150 additional training places in the agricultural sector, including in farm management, engineering and livestock and animal health certifications
Seek support for additional technical and higher skill training opportunities in agriculture, food & drink including across engineering, science based and management competencies and Agri-tech
Become an active partner in the South West Good Food Network,seeking to drive forward new collaborations around logistics and digital solutions, with the aim of utilising more of the food we produce close to
Implement a ‘Made in Devon’ campaign aligned with Buy with Confidence, seeking to promote the region as a food destination /quality supplier, and promoting local consumption and buying.
Seek additional grant support for retail businesses facing the double whammy of lockdown and now modification costs to operate, building on existing Government led programmes to enable stores within our hardest hit high streets to manage costs and supporting essential COVID-19 modifications
Seek to support existing Business Improvement Districts to enhance their offer, working with local BID teams and District / Town Councils to enhance, re-purpose and future proof the high street experience and our retail hubs as destinations.
Working closely with DWP, take forward an accelerated approach to redeployment of staff members made redundant by the retail sector, including providing access to short retraining courses and tailored employability support.
Implement a regional quality assurance scheme which promotes consumer confidence in safety on the high streetby building on the Buy with Confidence, approved trader scheme
Develop and implement a specific digital skills and support programme to capitalise on the online trading and digital opportunities for the sector.
Develop a ‘Late Payment’ pilot to support small business with cashflow,seeking to use small grants and a better approach to online invoicing to improve payment terms
Provide support for 150 additional sector skills places through the Sector Skills Training approach, with a focus on site operations, civils, trades, modern methods of construction and wider new and high demand construction
Take forward an enhanced programme around supporting businesses to champion sustainable construction, including additional training around sustainable supply chains and community wealth, new building skills and future building methods and materials and supply chains choices.
Public Sector Stimulus – Consider how local government can support the sector to grow through simplifying and streamlining procurementand planning This would include the publication of the public sector’s 3 year construction programme across Devon, providing an opportunity for construction businesses and other interested parties to align their supply chain offer
Support smaller construction business and trades to access support, new markets and supply chains by bringing together suppliers and SMEs with tier 1 construction companies and consider how local government can support the sector to grow through simplifying and streamlining procurement and planning policies
Support local employment and training – Work with the sector to maximise the value of existing projects for Devon, through agreeing local labour agreements to support employment and skills goals, and local procurement approaches to best utilise the local supply chain.
Ensure early delivery of housing schemes funded from the Housing Infrastructure Fund (South West Exeter, Tiverton, Cullompton, Barnstaple and Ilfracombe, Dawlish) to support the construction sector and provide new homes
Secure at least £15m additional town and high street funding to restart our hardest hit communities, making a case for new capital and revenue funding to support a number of our rural, coastal and market town communities.
Confirm and accelerate Future High Street Fund indicative awards to our towns, and sign off business cases for Bideford, Barnstaple and Newton Abbot
Improve consumer confidence through a coordinated approach to promoting our high streets, towns and communities, facilities, services and businesses, building local confidence to shop and visit safely and develop our digital retail offer
Extend the Work Hub Programme, securing £1m to build on the successful work hubs network and enable rural communities and smaller towns to grow their own local service provision, including options to develop community assets and hubs
Digital infrastructure investment – improve mobile and digital connectivity in rural areas through working with communities to maximise the national Rural Gigabit Voucher Programme and local Mobile Boost Voucher scheme, in addition to piloting new solutions where poor coverage still remains.
Transport Connectivity and Housing – develop community, town and city transport initiatives and infrastructure, including for cycling, buses, rail and other forms of sustainable transport – between and within communities. We will support the housing sector by accelerating Housing Infrastructure Fund supported projects and increasing affordable homes.
Seek increased investment to facilitate city / town centre living, with partners seeking to secure £1.5m for investment in and development of vacant high street property in 3 pilot locations, including Exeter and utilise local apprenticeship programmes to improve construction skills
Develop and secure investment for a city / town set of renewal plans – including sharing best practice and ideas develop proposals for future funding opportunities including One Public Estate, Land Release Fund, Coastal Community Funding, Zero-carbon pilots and Garden Communities programme.
Natural Capital Programme – secure £15m to develop projects to support flood prevention, landscape management, carbon sequestration and develop a Woodland Enterprise Zone including an Enterprise Hub, apprenticeship and skills programme.
Energy Infrastructure – £20m investment to enable smart energy management and renewable energy generation through upgrading the national grid network.
Work with Government to accelerate funding for Dawlish sea wall / rail infrastructure and A303 upgrades.
Bring together a Devon Skills Recovery Partnership, responsible for the delivery of relevant actions within the County’s Implementation Plan and instituting a “no wrong door” approach across core services
Support the campaign for a September / Opportunity Guarantee for Young People, seeking to ensure that every young person between 16-25 has access to a training or vocational learning place next academic year if they wish to take it.
Implement an enhanced Careers, Information, Advice and Guidance Service across Devon for Autumn 2020, covering both Young People and Displaced Adults. The partnership will be supported by an additional £75,000 towards communications and marketing costs.
Work with DWP, District Councils, CABs and other local economic and community partners to take forward a joined-up approach to redeployment into opportunities sectors such as Health and Social Care, building on the Sector Based Work Academy model to support individuals, in particular young people to retrain / redeploy into new / relevant roles
Seek £1m of additional resources towards a Sector Skills Response Package, focused on working with those leaving Tourism, Retail and other hard-hit sectors to train and remobilise. Where return isn’t an option, seek opportunities to career jump into opportunity sectors such as health, digital or engineering
Seek £500,000 of funding to implement an enhanced Volunteering / Traineeship / Apprenticeship approach, supporting partners to fast track development of traineeship / pre-apprenticeship opportunities for young people and adults alike. Seek to maximise opportunities in growth sectors such as health or digital roles.
Work with Government to secure an initial £1.5m of additional support towards employability / adult basic skills provision for Autumn 2020, including additional support for digital literacy, outreach and ‘career jumping’ opportunities (supporting those being displaced from or requiring upskilling in the Tourism, Retail and Construction sectors)
Seek funding for and implement a new £8m Technical Skills Development Programme across Devon, providing new opportunities within growth and foundation sectors (including digital, advanced engineering and manufacturing, health, tourism, construction and retail).
Seek to secure up to £7.5m of additional resources to increase the sustainability of apprenticeships, traineeships and wider learning, including through bursaries / maintenance support, wage subsidies, assistance with rural and access to education transport costs, support for digital equipment and connectivity; and other measures.
Secure additional support for Devon’s Training Provider Network and network of Employment and Skills Boards, supporting their ability to act as a first point of contact and support with Devon’s business community and training providers, and empowering them to support implementation of new programmes.
Work with the ESFA and wider partners to support measures around provider sustainability and growth, including support with financial hardship amongst training providers, and costs around modification and diversification linked to COVID-19
Seek up to £90m of resources from the Further Education Capital Programme, including resources to enhance digital capacity within our College and Provider Network to provide virtual learning and further modernise and grow the local FE estate
Seek to secure £10m towards a Green Skills Development Package for Devon, incorporating capital and revenue programme to be spent over the next three years to Fast-track relevant sector and employment opportunities
Secure up to £20m of additional innovation and skills development opportunities working with the County’s Universities and Colleges, with a focus on high growth and clean growth innovation and high value employment in opportunity areas such as health, green economy and advanced manufacturing and engineering.
Roll out an ambitious Domestic Energy efficiency and Energy Generation Pilot – a council tax pilot with an ask of £77.5m to support 37,000 households over 3 years to invest in energy efficiency and energy generation measures, stimulating demand for environmental technologies and construction sectors
Carbon In-setting Pilot – Working alongside Government, develop an appropriate regulatory framework for a pilot carbon in-setting approach, seeking to reduce / offset carbon emissions back through supply
Establish a Centre for Clean Mobility at Exeter Science Park – £3.75m – create a high-specification collaboration laboratory to be used for research, development and innovation, with strong industrial engagement to test autonomy within marine, off-highway, HGV, rail, and defence sectors.
Champion a SMART Aviation Cluster and Freeport Proposal – working with Exeter Airport and other partners – support the development of new classes of electrical and autonomous air vehicles, such as drones, 3 to 5 person green aircraft and commercial green aircraft, and linking together with the new Future Skills Academy led by Exeter College and additional innovation capacity within the local area.
Seek Government support of £1.83m for a comprehensive and future proofed Electric Vehicle and Shared Mobility infrastructure network across 58 of Devon’s communities with a population of over 1,100
Cllr Judy Pearce, Leader of South Hams District Council and Chair of Devon Districts Forum, added: “We are only now beginning to realise what the economic impact of the pandemic will be for Devon. This prospectus is exactly what we need, it outlines a clear way forward for job creation and investment.
“As Chair of the Devon Districts Forum, I am pleased to be able to say that all of the District Authorities in Devon have committed to working together and delivering this plan. As the fourth worst impacted county in the country, this prospectus will be central to Devon’s recovery and future growth.”
Melanie Squires, Regional Director, South West NFU, said: “Despite often being unseen down farm lanes or behind hedges, like the rest of the economy the farming community has had a significant shock from Covid-19 and will continue to deal with the after effects for some time, with the double whammy of so many having also diversified into the tourism and hospitality sector.”
Anthony Mangnall, MP for Totnes, said: “We have faced an unforeseen challenge in the form of Covid-19 and we now face the monumental challenge of rebuilding our economy. This document represents the views and thoughts of local leaders from politicians to business owners to college principles.
“It is focused on the many strengths of Devon’s economy as well as developing and expanding clean green growth opportunities, improving our digital and transport networks all with the aim of encouraging new jobs and business investment to our special and unique part of the United Kingdom.”
Ben Bradshaw, MP for Exeter, said: “It’s vital that we work together to help our communities through this crisis, as well as taking the opportunity to build on the lessons we’ve learned. I’m pleased to support Team Devon’s plan for a sustainable recovery.”
A more detailed plan and investment strategy is being developed by Team Devon to support the delivery of its actions, and it will be working in partnership with Government, Heart of the South West LEP and other agencies to implement the plan.
“Build Back Better” is an overused phrase at the moment bur Owl spotted this report a few weeks ago and now seems the right moment to post it. Its Author, Bill Gimsey, is a convert from cloning town centres (he has been CEO of Iceland) to something more individual. More reading for the new EDDC administration perhaps?
In 2013 he published a report on the state of the high street retail sector, The Grimsey Review,which led the Labour party to appoint him as an advisor. This was updated in July 2018 with a second edition of the review. The review highlighted the problem of the UK having too much retail space and suggested that the centres of cities and towns should focus on becoming community spaces.
When our Prime Minister emerged from hospital after spending several days in intensive care being treated for Covid-19, he signaled a change in priorities. Quoting the Roman statesman, Cicero, he said, “the health of the nation should be the supreme law”.
As this paper will argue, this ought to be put to the test in restoring our nation’s high streets and town centres. They are arguably the most symbolic representation of community wellbeing, yet shuttered shops and urban decay blight far too many areas. Rather than lift communities and strengthen social capital, they hold them back and breed isolation. Instead of acting as a catalyst for good health and neighbourliness, they’ve become a frontline for ill health and crime.
Faced with the huge challenge of rebuilding our high streets, we are presented with a golden opportunity to repair their neglected social fabric, lead a values-led period of social renewal and deliver lasting change.
Given the state of our battered local economies, this is no small task, yet this Grimsey Review COVID-19 supplement is optimistic we can rise to the challenge.
Out of the ashes and pandemic rubble will eventually emerge signs of recovery in every town up and down the country. Brave entrepreneurs will create businesses that reflect a new value system as people are appreciating spending less money, breathing cleaner air, noticing more wildlife and sharing a stronger sense of community. What is needed is a call to action, which encourages that process, removes the barriers to progress and facilitates change quickly.
This will require a huge shift in power from central government to local communities, putting the people best able to lead that change in charge. It will also require an understanding that the challenges facing our towns and high streets are simply too big for Westminster. They cannot be solved by pulling big levers in Whitehall. Our politicians’ job is to provide policies that empower communities to come up with solutions that are unique to their needs.The pandemic has changed everything in the sense that people have had to adapt to a life threatening crisis, change their behaviours quickly and a new normal is emerging. This paper examines the harsh economic facts largely exacerbated by an obsession to build more shops against a background where more people were switching to online shopping. Incredibly, this obsession still continues and more investment is going to end up misplaced and irrelevant. A recent YouGov poll revealed that only 9% of Britons want life to return to ‘normal’ after the coronavirus outbreak is over. People have noticed significant changes during the lockdown and they know a better life is possible – and our high streets have to be part of this.
To achieve this better life, it will be incumbent on government to blow away some of the restrictions of the past and put in place devolved powers that enable local communities to act. Business rates on retail and hospitality premises, for example, which have been waived for a year, can easily be dumped and replaced with a simpler system during this time. Literally all parts of the economy will change; global supply chains will be challenged, local tourism will become even more important, the commercial property sector will need to wake up as home working or working closer to home becomes accepted practice. Manufacturing should return in a big way as we start to reject global sourcing, exploitation of cheap labour and environmental damage. We will also need to re-examine pay structures, understanding that a prosperous society needs to recognize and reward essential workers in a fairer way.
We can only hope the leaders of our towns have used the lockdown opportunity to pause and reflect – and that decisive action will follow. We need to see ambitious plans to give all communities a proper stake in their economy. Old consumption driven thinking must make way for healthier driven strategies that meet the desires of a younger generation, embracing seasonality, community and unique experiences.
This change has little to do with shops and everything to do with the community spirit and togetherness kindled by this pandemic. Unique places will emerge embracing the ‘new normal’, using technologies in very different ways. Climate change, which has not gone away, will climb back up the agenda and become the priority of the next generation who will also inherit the biggest public debt since World War Two.
If we are going to come out of this period in better shape, then it will be because we have recognised the old model is broken. An exciting new model is now ready to be developed and implemented by inspired local leaders…
This is a model that:
Sees a massive shift in power away from central government to local communities to give everyone a stake in their town centres
Puts sustainability and the environment at the heart of everything
Is based on quality of life, experiences and not blind mass consumerism
Recognises and rewards great local leadership accordingly
Devolves power locally, removes constraints and allows local communities to develop their places to compete for people to live, work, play and visit
Removes old taxation that has become inappropriate
Encourages sectors to jointly manage risk in order to prosper
Progress has been made since the Grimsey Reviews of 2013 and 2018 but it has not been as fast or as radical as it needs to be. Everyone has had a different experience during lockdown and many have recognised that the most important thing is our health. Collectively, we’ve had a real wake up and smell the coffee moment, except, ironically, it was a wake up and smell the ‘fresh air’ moment.
Turning this precious realization into a better future will require a lot of hard work and determined rebuilding. The following recommendations are a good place to start.
East Devon Watch 