... A FORUM TO STIMULATE DEBATE ... ... JUST ADD A COMMENT AT ANY ENTRY BELOW... ... FOR THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWN AND VALLEY ...

Sunday 27 August 2017

Knowle relocation project 2008: “We’ll be seriously looking at the future of us staying in this building for numerous reasons.” OR: "Given current market values and the likely cost of relocation, it would be a close run thing as to whether a move was viable.”

"OUR HOUSING AND EMPLOYMENT BUILDING ESTIMATES MAY HAVE BEEN TOO HIGH"

It was the former Leader who back in the sunny days of 2010 stated that the District was "forging ahead with growth" - and yet also stated that earlier estimates of housing numbers "may have been too high":

STILL THINK WE ARE TO BLAME FOR FAILURE OF THE LOCAL PLAN EDDC?

20 APR 2014

There has been a concerted effort recently at EDDC meetings to blame us, the public, for failure of the draft Local plan because we are all NIMBYs and forced EDDC (we know not how) to reduce housing numbers against their collective will.

Let us then revisit this statement, made in December 2010, by EDDC’s then Leader, Sara Randall Johnson:

29 December 2010

Ms Randall Johnson said with support from partners including the Exeter Civic Centre and Devon County Council, EDDC is “bucking the national trend” and forging ahead with a reputation for delivering growth.

“I do understand the concerns of some that expansion must not jeopardise our delightful East Devon environment,” she continued. “And I couldn’t agree more. We now believe some of our housing and employment building estimates may have been too high and I have ordered a complete review of this strategy with a report due in the summer.”

Read more: http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Council-leader-pledges-review-housing-plans/story-11685408-detail/story.html#ixzz2zud6rmwM


Still think WE are to blame for failure of the Local Plan EDDC? | East Devon Watch

In which case, one wonders how the numbers for housing at Knowle, Port Royal and Manstone were arrived at:
Our Campaign | Save Our Sidmouth
Futures Forum: Public Examination of the New East Devon Local Plan ..... Sidmouth session - Tues 25th February

The final figures are, besides, all over the place:
Futures Forum: Housing numbers projected for East Devon >>> "The total number of homes built during the 18 year Local Plan period could be as high as 23,000" - rather than the "17,000 minimum figure of housing need outlined by the new Local Plan."


"WE ARE DESPERATE FOR SOMEONE TO BUY THIS SITE AND TO GIVE US GOOD MONEY FOR IT."

Famously, a year earlier, the same Leader had stated during a District Council meeting that the authority really needed to sell a bit of employment land for housing:
Futures Forum: Plans for Port Royal 2009: "We are desperate for someone to buy this site and to give us good money for it."
Redevelopment blow for Simouth's Port Royal - Latest Sidmouth and Ottery News - Sidmouth Herald
Clarification needed over Port Royal 'sale' - Latest Sidmouth and Ottery News - Sidmouth Herald


“WE’LL BE SERIOUSLY LOOKING AT THE FUTURE OF US STAYING IN THIS BUILDING FOR NUMEROUS REASONS.”

And finally, in 2008, the Leader had announced that the District Council had to start looking elsewhere for a home:

Five years on, and Knowle relocation options remain undecided, leaving the financial risk unclear.

November 8, 2013 by sidmouthsid


How we got to where we are

The possibility of leaving Knowle for a new location has been on the cards for a number of years, due to a combination of rising costs and falling revenues. These factors not only still apply today, but are even more relevant.

The move was first seriously mooted in 2008, when then Council Leader Sara Randall Johnson asked one of the directors to start looking at the options for moving to a fresh site and to consider the impact that selling Knowle would have on these ideas.

Work continued in the background for a couple of years but the idea did not start to gain real momentum until cuts in government funding really started to bite.

In July 2011 EDDC’s Cabinet called for a Project Team to investigate a self-financing move from Knowle to purpose-built offices elsewhere – possibly in Honiton. Early in 2012, EDDC appointed a Project Manager dedicated to the venture.


Five years on, and Knowle relocation options remain undecided, leaving the financial risk unclear. | Save Our Sidmouth 

Although her CEO seems to have been more cautious:


East Devon staff move to Exmouth?

PUBLISHED: 12:34 23 March 2011


THE chairman of an influential community group says that some East Devon staff should be permanently relocated to Exmouth - if the council’s Sidmouth HQ is sold.

Chairman of the Exmouth Community Association, Roy Pryke, said at the Annual Town Meeting this week that if the cash-strapped district council sell off their Knowle HQ, a former hotel, staff charged with the western end of the district should be based in the town hall. This could include planners, benefits officers and members of Street Scene charged with Exmouth, Budleigh and the surrounding villages.

Mr Pryke said: “Something like a third of the money in East Devon comes from Exmouth and we need East Devon District Council to recognise that – and that will be part of the community plan.”

At a full council meeting, district council leader, Sarah Randall Johnson, said: “We’ll be seriously looking at the future of us staying in this building for numerous reasons.”

She said a move to a more open space office would break down the council’s “silo mentality” and save tax-payers cash. Councillor Randall Johnson labelled Knowle as “an antiquated building that costs a fortune to heat and run.”

Members held behind closed door talks over the possibility of moving away from the prestigious Sidmouth base, in a bid to make “substantial savings.” Executive board members looked at several scenarios and figures relating to the use of the council offices.

EDDC chief executive Mark Williams said at the time: “The council, like any responsible private or public sector organisation – routinely checks the value of its assets and assesses whether its premises best suit operational needs.

He added: “Such a move is entirely dependent on finding alternative premises that could either be built or adapted at a cost that would make it economically sensible to vacate the building. Given current market values and the likely cost of relocation, it would be a close run thing as to whether a move was viable.”



East Devon staff move to Exmouth? - Latest Exmouth News - Exmouth Journal
.
.
.

No comments: