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Thursday 30 June 2016

Beach Management Plan: fill in the feedback form by Tuesday 5th July to chose the best option to protect Sidmouth's Eastern Beach

There have been consultations and meetings on the latest proposals for managing the Eastern Beach:
Futures Forum: Beach Management Plan: public consultation 15th June and Steering Group meeting 16th June

With various options on offer:
Futures Forum: Beach Management Plan: compiling a short list of options

The public are being asked to give some feedback - and chose their best option: 
If you would like provide feedback on the proposed options, please complete our feedback form by 5th July and return it to us:
Public Consultation - East Devon

The fresh option 4B has been added (click to open):



http://eastdevon.gov.uk/media/1784952/a1-panel-7a-draft.pdf
Public Consultation - East Devon

... and as this latest thread on Streetlife shows, it seems to be popular:


Beach Management Plan


Mary W-T  in Sidmouth

I've just seen the pictures on the Herald but none of them show the full stretch of the beach so they are difficult to compare.
I couldn't get to the meeting last night and so would really like to see full images, does anyone know if they are available online?
Thanks


    Stuart H
    Yes there will also be a further reef option and they should be on East Devon website early next week.
    Suggest everyone that attended the public consultation takes the time and looks at the other option to the reef scheme
    Matthew B
    Hi Mary
    To echo what Stuart has said, do watch out for an additional option that was not part of the public consultation this week.
    If you want to drop me an email I can let you know when it is on the EDDC BMP site.
    Matt
    Mary W-T
    Thanks Matt and Stuart, looking forward to these being available online.


    Streetlife | Beach Management Plan

    Here is the page on the District Council website:


    Public Consultation

    Content

    On Wednesday 15th June 2016, we held a public consultation to inform the public of the Sidmouth Beach Management Plan shortlisted options and to hear your feedback and comments.
    The information from the consultation is now available:
    If you would like provide feedback on the proposed options, please complete our feedback form by 5th July and return it to us:
    • By email: sidmoutheastbmp@eastdevon.gov.uk
    • By post: Engineering Department, East Devon District Council, Knowle, Sidmouth, EX10 8HL 
    • By returning the form to the reception at East Devon District Council's Knowle Offices in Sidmouth (address above).
    Feedback forms are also available from the East Devon District Council Offices' reception (address above).


    Public Consultation - East Devon
    Sidmouth and East Beach Management Plan - East Devon
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    Brexit: and devolution: "The moment for building a genuine movement for constitutional change might just be arriving."

    When it comes to local politics, one of the very first concerns following the Brexit vote has been devolution:
    Futures Forum: Brexit: and devolution in the South West

    And the debate is really firing up:
    Devolution could ‘come to a standstill’ following Brexit, says Centre for Cities
    Brexit could provide opportunity for new models of devolution – CCN

    ... in London:
    Sadiq Khan calls for more powers for London after Brexit vote | London Evening Standard

    ... and in the provinces:

    Devolution concerns amid Brexit turmoil

    29 June 2016 | By Sophie Barnes

    Senior local authority leaders have warned devolution deals must not be overshadowed following the vote to leave the EU last week.

    Kate Kennally, chief executive of Cornwall Council, said she was concerned areas currently trying to secure devolution deals are doing so for the wrong reasons. She said: “Now I’m watching how different devolution deals are coming and going I am nervous that places are trying to create something just to land a deal without a sense of place or purpose, and that is essentially problematic.”


    East Anglia recently agreed a devolution deal with the government but weeks later the deal fell apart and the four councils involved have now created two separate deals. 


    Post-Brexit devolution: an end to the “gift from Whitehall” model? | East Devon Watch

    The debate reflects the "Town vs Country" divisions from the referendum:

    What Brexit means for English devolution

    Jo Casebourne 28 June 2016

    Unlike the rest of England, the majority of the core cities in England voted Remain in the EU referendum. The result leaves three critical questions for English devolution: what will happen to the devolution deals process under a new Conservative Prime Minister and Chancellor; will cities be given a voice in the negotiation; and will government replace the funding for cities and disadvantaged rural areas that currently comes from the EU? 

    Devolution concerns amid Brexit turmoil | News | Inside Housing

    Devolution will no longer be a 'gift from Whitehall':

    Brexit: a turning point for devolution

    Simon Parker 27 Jun 16

    The UK-wide vote to leave the European Union could usher in a moment of genuine constitutional change

    Last week’s referendum was a turning point for the devolution agenda. Just as Scotland’s near miss on independence sparked the current round of devolution deals, so the decision to Brexit could spark a new wave of demands for change: and this time, the calls for more local and regional autonomy are likely to be sharper and angrier.

    Commentators are rushing to point out that an out-of-touch London elite has not listened to the cries of pain from suffering regional towns and cities. Any plan to address the underlying reasons for the Brexit vote must start by recognising that the British model of economic development is not working for most people. While the capital and wider south east have boomed, regional centres like Birmingham have fallen catastrophically behind. The idea that our economic model can be fixed by the national elite that broke it in the first place seems fanciful. Politically, it will be hard to ignore the need for economic reform.

    The need to fix regional economies will be compounded by the deep social divisions that the referendum has painfully exposed. Look at the map of the Brexit vote and London sticks out like a sore thumb; an island of Remainers in a sea of Brexit. Some will say that the capital’s sense of anger and grievance is due payback for decades of ignoring the rest of the country. This attitude will hardly reduce the emotional shock that many Londoners currently feel, an experience that will be replicated in cities like Bristol, Cambridge, Liverpool and parts of Manchester. At the same time, the shires are clearly on manoeuvres to ensure that they translate their political power within the Conservative Party into a more generous approach to devolution to counties, ideally without the troublesome requirement for a mayor.

    There are two ways to make devolution happen. For the past few years we have been following what might be termed the Whitehall gift model. Local leaders negotiate with George Osborne and, if he likes what he hears, he passes them down a package of new powers. It is a model that is unlikely to work very effectively in a post-referendum world. Mr Osborne is arguably already a lame duck chancellor. Parliament and the civil service face years of Brexit-related legislative congestion. Why would devolution deals be high on their agenda?

    If we stick with the gift model, then devolution will stall. Greater Manchester might have enough momentum to carry on, but places like Merseyside and the West Midlands may find themselves struggling to win more powers. The counties may find it even harder to make progress, especially if they remain mired in complex debates about local government reorganisation.

    But Scotland did not win its devolved settlement by waiting for Westminster’s beneficence. Its political class mobilised the voters and civil society to forge a consensus for change, before steadily campaigning to make it happen. The SNP went even further, demanding the right to declare independence unilaterally though their referendum last year. The decision to leave has unleashed a sense of grievance across the country that will be hard to put back in the bottle. Local leaders have an opportunity to channel that feeling in the direction of greater local autonomy. The difficult truth is that leaving the EU will not in itself do much to address grievances rooted in two generations of de-industrialisation, especially if the process of leaving brings a recession with it. Parliament may be preoccupied with Brexit, but the country as a whole will be worried about jobs.

    The time for gifts may be over, but the moment for building a genuine movement for constitutional change might just be arriving.

    Brexit: a turning point for devolution | Public Finance
    Post-Brexit devolution: an end to the “gift from Whitehall” model? | East Devon Watch
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    Wednesday 29 June 2016

    Plans for Port Royal and the Eastern Town >>> >>> architecture competition to re-imagine Port Royal >>> public invited to chose from a shortlist of five >>> >>> deadline Tuesday 12th July

    The architecture competition for Port Royal has just closed:
    Futures Forum: Plans for Port Royal and the Eastern Town >>> architecture competition to re-imagine Port Royal comes to a close

    Five entries have been shortlisted - and one of them is from a local author:
    Futures Forum: Port Royal: Envisioning the Ham Sidmouth >>> new book and local entry to architecture competition

    All five entries are now on show at Kennaway House until Tuesday 12th July 
    - and here are some photos from the exhibition just received:



























































    Home - Kennaway House

    The current thread on Streetlife has put the competition in the context of the emerging neighbourhood plan:

    Architectural competition for eastern town and Port Royal--Time to choose!

    Jackie G  in Sidmouth
     
    Posters around town say, 'You are invited to vote to select the winner of the competition.  A judging panel of experts and local people have whittled down the entries to a shortlist of 5, but the final choice is yours.' 
    The five finalists are all very different, and some with a definite the Wow factor! They're on display in Kennaway House, in the first room on the right at the top of the stairs to main entrance). .It's open Mon-Fri 10h00-4.30pm and sometimes at weekends too). Simply pick your favourite (they're numbered 1 to 5) , and cast your vote in the box provided, BY TUESDAY JULY 12th 2016.
                  
      Jackie G
      Remains to be seen, RS. Opens up the possiblities. Developers watch these things, so who knows? Strongly recommend people to pop in to Kennaway House and have a look. As EDDC and the Town Council said, it could be "part of the mix" , so do cast a vote while you're there.
      Gordonius Maximus
      Ummm..................if I don't get the result I voted for can I ask for a second Vote to be taken?....................or subsequent Re-votes until I get the result I want.

      Flippancy aside I will look and I will vote (and accept the result)
      Real Sidmouthian
      Seeing as the development boundary for this competition covers a vast area outside that in public ownership, you had better tell all those people living to the east of the river and much of Ham lane their homes might be demolished then! I'll certainly be voting for a bit of fun.
      Matthew B
      in the meantime do not forget to take the Sidmouth Neighbourhood Plan questionnaire which can be completed online at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/NL6WTGR

      it would be good to see the NP questionnaire being promoted alongside the competition by all those involved. The Neighbourhood Plan will have genuine statutory powers that the community will be able to use to decide on future developments in the town. 
      Peter S
      Matthew B

      Can a neighbourhood plan stop development from happening in the area?

      No – a neighbourhood plan can guide development to be more appropriate to local context and help decide where it goes within the area. A neighbourhood plan cannot stop development and government has made it clear that it is not a tool for residents to oppose proposals for new developments close to them. A neighbourhood plan can only include proposals for an equal (or greater) amount of growth than is set out in the Council’s development plan, regional and national guidance.
      Mary W-T
      So, Peter and Matt, does the neighbourhood plan give statutory powers in relation to planning decisions or not?
      Matthew B
      Hi Mary

      Yes and no. A Neighbourhood Plan can not override a Local Plan in terms of what might be set out in an adopted Local Plan - e.g. 50 houses at Knowle - but it can predetermine development within a town if it does not directly conflict with the Local Plan.

      The statutory element comes in once the NP is approved and adopted. If the local community and council accept and adopt a Neighbourhood Plan then developments in the area will need to conform to it and be judged by it.

      So, if in this instance an architectural competition has been set up for Eastern Town then if the objectives of that plan align with the approved objectives of the Neighbourhood Plan then (putting the issue of land ownership within the footprint of the competition to one side for the moment) they have a much greater chance of attracting the right developers. Which potentially can only be a good thing for the town. But the development can not override what is in the Local Plan and must conform to that as a priority.

      Hope that makes sense.
      v best
      Matt
      Peter S
      Matt has got it spot on, some people I have talked to thought that this would overide the Local Plan, but what it can do is enhance it.
      Mary W-T
      Glad to see you are both in agreement. Thanks for the clarification Matt.


      Streetlife | Architectural competition for eastern town and Port Royal--Time to choose!

      Our local MP has some interesting ideas too:
      Futures Forum: Plans for Port Royal and the Eastern Town >>> "a wrap-around car park, weaved between starter flats"
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