"Time for a change! What’s happening in local politics" > event at Honiton Beehive Centre > Saturday 26th May > East Devon Alliance > Flatpack Democracy > Devon United > Buckfastleigh Independents

There is new leadership at East Devon - elected from the majority party:
Futures Forum: The new leader of the District Council sets out his 'vision for transforming the council'

Meanwhile, the largest opposition grouping in the District will be holding a conference:
Futures Forum: Independents' Day > EDA 'Time for a change' conference > Saturday 26th May

We are talking about local democracy:
Futures Forum: East Devon and democracy: "if you stymie local decision-making, then people are just not going to bother getting involved"

Here's a note from County Councillor Claire Wright: 

Time for a change! What’s happening in local politics - event at Honiton Beehive Centre - Sat 26 May

Thursday, 17 May 2018 by Claire

The new phase of balance at EDDC is good news for East Devon, and a healthy situation for District Council Leader, Ian Thomas, as he takes over from Paul Diviani this week.

Independents are now the main Opposition Group at the District Council, thanks to the shockwave of votes in 2015 (next election due 2019). Independents now represent Exmouth Haldon; Feniton, Gittisham and Buckerell; Newton Poppleford and Harpford; Ottery St Mary, Town (2) and Rural; Raleigh; Sidmouth,Town (3), Rural (1) Sidford (2): and Woodbury and Lympstone (2) . And in 2016, the first East Devon Alliance of Independents (EDA) candidate , Martin Shaw, was elected to Devon County Council where he is a strong voice alongside Claire Wright. Martin represents Seaton,Beer, Branscombe, Colyford,Farway, Northleigh, Offwell, Southleigh and Wilmington, see https://seatonmatters.org

Come and find out more about why and how local politics is changing, and what it means for YOU, at a free event on Saturday 26th May , 10-1.30, at Honiton Beehive. Speakers at this ‘TIME FOR A CHANGE’ people’s conference, will include County Councillors Claire Wright and Martin Shaw; and Pam Barrett, Chair of the Independent Buckfastleigh Town Council and regional expert on transforming democracy from the bottom up (‘Flatpack Democracy’) .

Reserve your place (as spaces limited) via this link https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/east-devons-time-for-a-change-peoples-conference-tickets-45482525458 or on the eastdevonalliance.org.uk website.

Time for a change! What’s happening in local politics - event at Honiton Beehive Centre - Sat 26 May 

And more information from EDA Councillor Martin Shaw:
‘Time for a Change’ in East Devon – @EDevonAlliance holding conference to bring together everyone fighting on health, environment, planning and other issues « SEATON & COLYTON matters

The other speaker will be Pam Barrett of Buckfastleigh:
Buckfastleigh Independents Group - think BIG, act local - Home | Facebook 

In Buckfastleigh in Devon, the Buckfastleigh Independents group have followed a similar path. “This isn’t an affluent community,” says the town’s new deputy mayor, Pam Barrett. “It’s a working-class town that’s been suffering from a real loss of services.” Fired up by the possibilities of localism and their experience of fighting – successfully – to keep open a library and swimming pool, she and other residents resolved to stand for town council seats that had not been contested for “20 or more years”.

People Power Brum aims to put local power in the hands of citizens | Our Birmingham

And of the Flatpack Democracy movement:
Flatpack Democracy - Home | Facebook
How Flatpack Democracy beat the old parties in the People’s Republic of Frome | Politics | The Guardian

And of Devon United:
Devon United - Doing Democracy Differently - Home | Facebook

This is all very much part of a very much bigger thing:
Futures Forum: Networked cities as resilient platforms for post-capitalist transition > case studies Frome and Buckfastleigh
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Sidmouth Arboretum AGM > Tuesday 17th January > Legacy to Landscape > report

Last week, the Arboretum held its AGM:
Futures Forum: Sidmouth Arboretum AGM > Tuesday 17th January > Legacy to Landscape

With a rich and fascinating talk by Pete Youngman of the East Devon AONB:
East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - Legacy to Landscape; linking King Johns Oak to the future.

Here's the Herald's report on the evening:

Chance for cross-section of Sid Valley community to contribute to future of parish - News - Sidmouth Herald
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Green Belts: the Seaton-Colyford 'green wedge'... a fourth application is refused, preventing 'harmful encroachment of urban sprawl into the open countryside'

The attempts to build on the 'green belt' between Seaton and Colyford have been pretty persistent over the last three years:
Futures Forum: Green Belts: the Seaton-Colyford 'green wedge'
Futures Forum: Green Belts: the Seaton-Colyford 'green wedge'... "The shortfall in housing land supply is not so severe..."

As reported in the national press:
The greenbelt land at the centre of housing battle | West Country - ITV News

A forth planning application was submitted:
Seaton/Colyford green wedge under attack from developers for the fourth time | East Devon Watch

It has just been refused:
Outline planning application for a mixed use development providing for class B1(a) (offices up to 5050sqm), class B1(c) and B2 light/general industrial units (upto 3500sqm), open space and the erection of up to 150 no. dwellings (21 no.affordable) and associated roads and infrastructure including a main spine road

There are several knock-on issues involved, including:
Where did the affordable housing go? - View News

The Pulman's Weekly reports: 


Relief as Seaton and Colyford green wedge is saved from development
By Anders Larsson December 14, 2016




Seaton town councillor Martin Shaw and Seaton & Colyford Green Wedge Community Action Group leader Howard West at a public meeting in October

SEATON Town Council planning committee chairman Martin Shaw has praised East Devon District Council (EDDC) for saving the green wedge between Seaton and Colyford from development.

EDDC yesterday refused a controversial outline planning application for up to 150 houses.

The application also featured an employment area with up to 5,050 square metres for offices and 3,500 square metres for light industrial use backing onto the existing employment area off Harepath Road; a new football pitch and a training and recreation area; a new access road and associated landscaping and green infrastructure.

Opposition was rife when the plans were announced and Seaton & Colyford Green Wedge Community Action Group held public meetings to drum up objections.

The amended application was the latest one in a string of applications since 2012 by Seaton Park (Devon) Ltd, the previous one being turned down on appeal by a government inspector in January 2014.

Seaton Town Council planning committee chairman Councillor Martin Shaw said: “I’m pleased that EDDC has agreed with Seaton Town Council, Colyton Parish Council and the many local people who objected to this proposal.

“The decision emphasises that the scheme is unviable and would not be able to deliver either the employment or recreational elements needed on the part of the site scheduled for development in the Local Plan, while the proposed housing would produce sprawling development in the countryside.

“It’s noteworthy that the failure to assess the impact on the bats in Beer Cave is given as an additional reason. The district council has protected Seaton’s and Colyford’s natural environment and the green wedge and we should all be grateful for this.”

Part of EDDC’s decision notice said: “Taking into account the viability issues (based principally around land value), the Local Planning Authority considers that the scheme as submitted is unviable and so would not be able to deliver either the employment element or deliver value for money on the formal recreational element.”

The decision was taken by officers under delegated powers.

Relief as Seaton and Colyford green wedge is saved from development - View News

Here is an observation from the East Devon Watch blog:

GREEN WEDGES REINFORCED BY PLANNING DECISIONS IN EASTERN AND WESTERN SEATON

15 DEC 2016

EDDC’s refusal to allow ‘sprawling development in the countryside’, in refusing of the latest planning application for houses on the Seaton-Colyford Green Wedge, has been reinforced by an Inspector’s rejection of an appeal by a developer wanting to build on the western edge of Seaton.

In dismissing the appeal, over plans to build 3 houses in the garden of Pembroke House, Beer Road, the Inspector says:

‘The effect of the proposal would also be to consolidate built development along Beer Road and extend the sporadic line of dwellings into the countryside. The proposal would harmfully erode the positive contribution it currently makes to greening the settlement edge. Therefore … the development would result in harmful encroachment of urban sprawl from the settlement into the open countryside.’

The appeal decision is also good news for residents concerned to protect the field adjacent to the site from development. The inspector notes:

‘a large paddock between this property and the appeal site reveals views to the coast and surrounding landscape. This paddock represents a definite visual break, marking the point where the character of the lane changes from urban into open countryside.’

Green Wedges reinforced by planning decisions in eastern and western Seaton | East Devon Watch
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Neighbourhood planning advice from >>> NP Network >>> Civic Voice >>> Locality >>> My Community Rights >>> Planning Guidance Practice >>> Forum for NP >>>

The Town Council has started on the Neighbourhood Planning journey for Sidmouth:
Futures Forum: Vision Group report from Town Council committee on neighbourhood plan
Futures Forum: Neighbourhood planning @ Sidmouth Town Council >>> meeting Monday 6th July

There is a lot of guidance out there for putting together a NP:
Futures Forum: The Neighbourhood Planning Network in Bristol .... planning from the bottom up
Futures Forum: Civic Voice: and Neighbourhood Plans
Futures Forum: Neighbourhood Plans
Futures Forum: Neighbourhood plans: an extra £23m: "Giving local people a real say in shaping what gets built where."

The EDW blog gives a few more places to go:


A FEW TIPS FOR THE COLYTON AND COLYFORD NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN

23 Sept 2015

First of all, a useful link to what EXACTLY is the role of a town or parish council in the formation of a Neighbourhood Plan

What is the role of a parish or town council in neighbourhood planning?


In a designated neighbourhood area which contains all or part of the administrative area of a town or parish council, the town or parish council is responsible for neighbourhood planning.

Where a parish or town council chooses to produce a neighbourhood plan or Order it should work with other members of the community who are interested in, or affected by, the neighbourhood planning proposals to allow them to play an active role in preparing a neighbourhood plan or Order.

The relationship between any group and the formal functions of the town or parish council should be transparent to the wider public. For example it should be clear whether a steering group or other body is a formal sub-committee of the parish or town council. The terms of reference for a steering group or other body should be published and the minutes of meetings made available to the public.

Who leads neighbourhood planning in an area? | Planning Practice Guidance

And this website will be useful to those who are not entirely certain that the parish council has grasped what transparency means:

Neighbourhood Planning

From which we glean the following information:

Examination by a suitably qualified independent person:

The neighbourhood plan examination is one of the most important stages of the process. The plan must be examined by a suitably qualified independent person who does not have an interest in any land that may be affected by the neighbourhood plan. The examiners role is to test the plan against the basic conditions and ensure the legislative requirements have been met. Following the examination a report will be issued which will include a recommendation on whether the plan should proceed to referendum.
Here are some top tips on how to make the process of appointing an examiner as smooth as possible:
• Remember the Local Planning Authority (LPA) is responsible for appointing the examiner and paying for the cost of the examination. However, the qualifying body must agree with the appointment. It is the responsibility of the LPA to ensure the examiner:

a) is independent of the qualifying body and the authority,
b) does not have an interest in any land that may be affected by the draft order, and
c) has appropriate qualifications and experience.

Given the extensive interest in land that Colyton Council and Feoffees have, this appointment will be crucial.

A few tips for the Colyton and Colyford Neighbourhood Plan | East Devon Watch

Meanwhile, other East Devon towns have or are developing their NPs:
Futures Forum: Neighbourhood Plan @ Newton Poppleford: input needed: Monday 16th February
Futures Forum: Save Clyst St Mary: of neighbourhood plans and over-development: next public meeting: Thurs 19th February
Futures Forum: Honiton and Ottery St Mary >>> calling upon residents to 'shape the future' with Neighbourhood Plans
Futures Forum: "Speeding up the time it takes to designate a neighbourhood plan area"
Futures Forum: Neighbourhood Plans for towns in East Devon: Axminster and Ottery St Mary

And in Frome:
Futures Forum: Neighbourhood planning @ Frome Town Council >>>
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'The rent is too damn high' >>> tackling affordable housing

The lack of affordable housing is seen as a 'national crisis':
Futures Forum: The Affordable Housing Crisis @ Radio 4
Futures Forum: Affordable housing: the political parties' policies >>> an overview

The need for affordable housing is acute in East Devon - and has been for some time:
Campaign to end housing crisis as prices rise to more than 11 times region's average wage | Western Morning News
Futures Forum: Affordable housing in East Devon: lack of building... and lack of transparency...

Here's a sample of cases from across the District:

AXMINSTER:
More low cost homes for Axminster - News - Midweek Herald February 2015
Axminster's desperate need for more affordable homes - View from Sidmouth March 2011
AXE VALLEY: Housing crisis hits East Devon - View from Sidmouth March 2011

BEER:
Beer homes project wins award - View from Sidmouth September 2014

Survey says Beer need more affordable homes - View from Sidmouth October 2013

COLYTON:

Completion of affordable housing one of biggest achievements of the year - View from Sidmouth June 2015 

Affordable homes for rent in Colyton - News - Midweek Herald February 2015

EXMOUTH:

East Devon Council to buy empty buildings on Exmouth site in plan to address affordable housing shortage | Exeter Express and Echo April 2015

Exmouth developers ‘want to meet local need for new homes’ | Express & Echo February 2015

HONITON:
Land needed for affordable homes - View from Sidmouth March 2011

SEATON:
Another new development without affordable housing - View from Sidmouth August 2013

SIDMOUTH:
Holmdale flats to ‘support local economy’ - View from Sidmouth February 2014

UPLYME/LYME REGIS:
Councillors defend affordable housing need in Lyme Regis as local vent fury at development plans (From Bridport and Lyme Regis News) June 2015

There are several proposed 'solutions':
Futures Forum: Shared ownership: rally in Westminster Tues March 17th >>> calling on politicians “to commit to end the housing crisis within a generation”
Futures Forum: Garden Villages ... "Empowering localism to solve the housing crisis"
Futures Forum: Building on the green belt: the case for
Futures Forum: A solution to our housing problems: "empowerment and ownership" through design and community development

One would be to 'reduce regulation':
Futures Forum: Adam Smith and rationing housing supply
Futures Forum: A solution to our housing problems: free up the market for truly affordable housing

A couple of years ago, a book attempted to transcend the usual political divides:

The Rent Is Too Damn High: What To Do About It, And Why It Matters More Than You Think

Matthew Yglesias March 6, 2012

From prominent political thinker and widely followed Slate columnist, a polemic on high rents and housing costs—and how these costs are hollowing out communities, thwarting economic development, and rendering personal success and fulfillment increasingly difficult to achieve.

Rent is an issue that affects nearly everyone. High rent is a problem for all of us, extending beyond personal financial strain. High rent drags on our country’s overall rate of economic growth, damages the environment, and promotes long commutes, traffic jams, misery, and smog. Yet instead of a serious focus on the issue, America’s cities feature niche conversations about the availability of “affordable housing” for poor people. Yglesias’s book changes the conversation for the first time, presenting newfound context for the issue and real-time, practical solutions for the problem.

Amazon.com: The Rent Is Too Damn High: What To Do About It, And Why It Matters More Than You Think eBook: Matthew Yglesias: Kindle Store

A positive review from a conservative
By jsmitty on April 5, 2012
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Yglesias is one of the real bright lights of the progressive blogosphere. As a conservative who has been reading politics his whole life, I can attest that he is "Exhibit A" in my overall case that liberals have dramatically upped their policy advocacy game, while conservatives have stagnated, largely intellectually stuck in the assumptions and narratives of the Reagan era. Back then most liberals were for rent controls, opposed development because they hated developers or on spurious environmental grounds, and thought the solution to inner city problems like crime and declining quality of life were more HUD grants. Liberals were fish in a barrel for conservatives armed with facts and only a rudimentary knowledge of how markets worked. And the evidence of failed liberal policies in inner cities was obvious to anyone with two eyes. People with jobs and money fled to the suburbs while urban liberals kept telling the same shaggy dog stories.

But Yglesias is different. For one thing, he's a mostly free market liberal who argues based on facts and data rather than on liberal tales of vicitimization and woe. As an exponent of the urban renaissance that came about through better policing, longer prison sentences for street criminals, and the gradual demolition of public housing (aka govt. created slums), he has alot of interesting observations not only in the ways liberals have gone wrong when it comes to housing policy but how conservatives have as well. Although lacking in any formal economics training, he shows all the various ways in which markets could address and would address the affordable housing shortage in many of the best big cities, but can't because of regulations. Yes...environmental and historic preservation regs, but mostly because of zoning. This more than anything else suppresses the level of urban building creating artificial shortages in the most desirable areas to live. In short, people who would want to buy housing, developers who would want to design the buildings, and workers who would want the job building them--all are left empty because markets are not permitted to function. Consequently the pent up demand can only be satisfied with either 1) urban sprawl, in which people often have to spend more time and money every day commuting or 2) migration to cheaper often lower wage cities, implicitly trading cheaper housing for less income and productivity.

And as Yglesias points out, conservatives, despite their free market rhetoric, are as much a part of the problem as liberals---more in some cases. Conservatives often champion "free" roads, minimum parking requirements, lot sizes and building height restrictions--implicitly supporting both sprawl and neighborhoods that are out of financial reach for many average earners. Ironically, if more people could afford to live closer into the cities in housing that was more moderately priced, many of these same suburbanites would find life more pleasant and less congested in the suburbs as well. And liberals concerned about global warming have no excuse to not champion lots of tall apartment buildings right around public transportation hubs.

In short, Yglesias, whether he realizes it or not, maps out a future potential liberal/conservative pro-growth pro-development alliance, that, if ever realized, would make many of America's best cities even better.

As one conservative who wishes his party would begin to offer real solutions to actual solvable problems of 2012 (as opposed to 1982), it would be great if more of my ideological brethren would take to heart some of Yglesias' ideas here!

PS..rest assured many of the people who gave this little e-book a 1 surely didn't read it.

Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: The Rent Is Too Damn High: What To Do About It, And Why It Matters More Than You Think
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And the Nation’s Favourite Wild Flower is... the bluebell

Just announced on BBC's Springwatch
BBC Two - Springwatch

is 'the Nation's favourite wild flower
It's official! Bluebells are England's favourite wildflower - but they are under threat from a tougher Spanish variety | Daily Mail Online

as brought to you by Plantlife:
And the Nation's Favourite Wild Flowers are... | News and press | About us

The bluebell is always a sign of spring:
Futures Forum: Spring has sprung... notably the bluebell and the dandelion ... and spring has sprung early ...

Salcombe Hill woods above Sidmouth have some spectacular displays:



Photo - South West Coast Path

Blackberry Camp towards Colyton is famous:



Bluebells at Blackbury Camp

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Devon, the County Council are being thoughtful in caring for road-side verges, where many wild flowers find refuge:
Futures Forum: Devonshire hedgerows and verges - and national guidance on cutting
Futures Forum: Devonshire hedgerows in spring
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East Devon District Council elections: and 'misinformation' >>> Conservatives and East Devon Alliance

There is a disappointing disparity when it comes to a presence on-line, between the current dominant force at the District Council and its main challenger:
Futures Forum: East Devon District Council elections: what the websites say >>> Conservatives and East Devon Alliance on-line

There is now controversy brewing over the relative status of these groups - and their relationship to the parallel parliamentary election campaign.

This is part of a piece from yesterday's Western Morning News - with the main points in bold:

West 'free spirits' challenge old order in race for Westminster

By WMN_PGoodwin | Posted: May 01, 2015




Claire Wright at the Cranbrook hustings with Hugo Swire

Comments (1)

The House of Commons is no place for free spirits.... Records show that only 13 minor party and independent MPs have been elected to Parliament since 1950... Claire Wright, one of the surprises of this campaign and the bookies’ favourite “indie” in the UK, says the inner “urge” is too strong to resist...

But what of Hugo, a heavyweight candidate almost from Tory central casting who arrived at the Commons via Eton, Sandhurst and the Grenadier Guards. In 2010, he was elected with a 9,114 majority, a massive 48% of the vote. Overturning this is a tall order. But it wouldn’t be the first shock.

In 2011 as a town councillor, Claire ousted local Tory district council leader Sara Randall Johnson from her Ottery St Mary seat, a victory that secured her status among the local ruling elite as “public enemy number one”. Two years later she claimed the biggest majority in the South West - 74% - in the election to the county authority.

If the three-time veteran Hugo is rattled, as many say, then it is not apparent from his performance at the stump. During the 90-minute Q&A session, the former Sothebys auctioneer - now famous for overseeing Tory fundraisers - never misses a chance to remind the audience of his credentials...

The following day, on the campaign trail in Sidford, Hugo views the new challenge as part of an orchestrated anti-Tory movement in the area.

The newly formed East Devon Alliance (EDA) to which he refers, is is backing 37 candidates in the district election poll, 15 of them independents and has registered with the Electoral Commission this year.

Hugo claims that Claire Wright and the EDA are "one and the same", an assertion it vehemently denies. “She is very good at PR and spin and is always going on about her odds being 6/1 but you can manipulate these just by getting 20 people to put on a tenner," Hugo tels the WMN. “This is a serious election to see who will be the governing party in Westminster. I am more than happy to be judged on my record and what we have achieved over the past five years.”

EDA chairman Paul Arnott says this "eleventh hour swat" at the independent candidates reveals fear in the Tory ranks. He adds: "His facts are wrong. Neither I, our vice chairman, treasurer or communications director can even vote for Clare Wright, much as some of us may want to. We don't even live in her constituency. And our umbrella group for Independents is compelled by law to be registered as a party precisely because Mr Swire's Parliamentary colleagues have failed to pass the proposed reform for local campaigning groups not to have to do so."

Rebellion against the system has always been the more romantic route, even if experience shows it is the solid, reliable men and women who toe the line who tend to win seats. Hugo Swire, who during his time in the Commons has also been an opposition whip - the feared Westminster enforcers of part diktat - is happy to let the polls have the final say on the true level of support for the independents. The numbers will show whether it is the heart or the head that wins the day. “We shall see in a few days’ time,” he added.

Comments


Paul-F | May 02 2015, 9:32AM

Hugo Swire manages to mix a bit of truth with some outright lie when he says, "There is no doubt that Claire Wright and the EDA are one and the same – I don't know how they manage to say they are independent when it is a registered party." 

Firstly, the East Devon Alliance is NOT a party in the usual sense - they needed to register with the Electoral Commission in order to get a shared group name on the ballot paper. This has been stated on the home-page of their web site for several months, so Hugo has no excuse for lying about it (which by the way is against the rules set by the Electoral Commission who require candidates to be truthful). 

It is also a lie to associate Claire Wright with the East Devon Alliance - again their home page makes it clear that their registration with the Electoral Commission is only for local government and not central government elections. Indeed a quick search for Claire Wright on the EDA website shows only two mentions which are not in quotes from the press - where she endorses the EDA candidates standing to replace her as Councillor in Ottery Rural, and pictured with their candidate for Budleigh, Les Cotton. So, by failing to check his facts before opening his mouth, Hugo has has lied again. 

That said, there are obviously some connections between Claire Wright and the EDA. Both are standing as Independents. Both believe in open and transparent local government, both are fearless in exposing the secrecy and poor quality decisions made by the Conservative leadership at EDDC, a leadership which Hugh Swire has himself criticised for their plans to relocate from the Knowle, originally to Skypark, and now to Honiton and Exmouth. 

But the most obvious connection between Claire Wright and the EDA is that they are both looking very electable, and that the local Conservative party is both so scared of losing and so lacking in their own policies for East Devon that they are panicked into making wild accusations which are easily provable as lies. Shame on them!

West 'free spirits' challenge old order in race for Westminster - Western Morning News

Here is the full statement from the chair of the EDA:


EAST DEVON ALLIANCE RESPONDS TO HUGO SWIRE “MISINFORMATION”

2nd May 2015

Dear Hugo Swire

In a Western Morning News interview with Phil Goodwin, published online on 1st May 2015, you state, “There is no doubt that Claire Wright and the EDA are one and the same – I don’t know how they manage to say they are independent when it is a registered party”.

We would be grateful if you now desist in attempting to influence the District Council election with this misinformation. I am Chairman of the East Devon Alliance and whether you are or are not returned as the member for East Devon to Parliament is of no matter to me, my vice chairman, treasurer or communications director. None of us live in your former constituency.

If you visit our website and read our extensive literature – indeed, watch our videos – your name does not occur once. We have taken great pains to defend ourselves from the moment when someone such as you casually concocts the canard that Mrs Wright and we are co-campaigners with the intent of denigrating both her and us.

It would be worth your taking the time to properly research your subject. As Independents we have allied under an umbrella because many of your operatives in the local Conservative party in East Devon are unfit to wear the national rosette. Standing as an Independent in very many of the towns and villages is to be the subject of tactics unfit for our nation’s political life. In the self-evident lack of public faith in East Devon District Council – well-known matters which you have disdained to engage with – is the epitome of our failing democracy. Our alliance is precisely how it will be rebuilt, and it is at moments such as this that we can defend ourselves from untruths such as yours. What is the East Devon Alliance but a manifestation of the Localism your party professes to support?

Your sources should have told you – as could the Electoral Commission – that we specifically chose to register with them in the category of groups precluded from campaigning in national elections. I have not spoken for Mrs Wright or even seen her campaign literature; I live in Colyton, on the eastern edge of Neil Parish’s patch. I have not attended any of your joint hustings, being too busy with the district election.

I am aware, however, that she has consistently tried to address the well-recorded problems at EDDC with courage and determination. If you had bothered to attend any of the meetings at which she was shouted down by the sexist goons on the Conservative side I like to think you may have been alerted to the public disgust with them – and with your party in the District – rather sooner, and that you would have been man enough to intervene.

To conclude, we are not “one and the same”, and we are registered as a party because despite 5 years to do so your government has not found the time to move on with recommendations emerging from select committees that local campaigning groups such as us should not, of course, have to register centrally at the Electoral Commission. Please desist from making false statements about us and fight your own battles rather than those of your district underlings who, you must surely realise, have done so much to have created your current predicament.

Signed Paul Arnott
eastdevonalliance.org.uk

East Devon Alliance responds to Hugo Swire “misinformation” | East Devon Watch
Independents working for you | East Devon Alliance
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East Devon District Council elections: what the websites say >>> Conservatives and East Devon Alliance on-line

We have the full list of who is standing for the District Council elections in Sidmouth next week:
Futures Forum: The final list of candidates for East Devon District Council election announced
Futures Forum: East Devon District Council elections: latest reports

Going on-line to see what the candidates have to say is both interesting and disappointing.

THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY

Looking at the Conservatives, who currently make up all seven District Councillors in Sidmouth...

The East Devon Conservatives website focusses entirely on the parliamentary elections:
East Devon | Conservatives

The information about current Conservative District Councillors on the website are simply links to the District Council's own website:
District Councillors | East Devon

Using these links, the Conservative party candidates for Sidmouth are:

Sidmouth Sidford
Sidmouth Sidford - Cllr Stuart Hughes | East Devon
Ian McKenzie-Edwards (newly-standing)
Sidmouth Sidford - Cllr Graham Troman | East Devon

Sidmouth Town (three seats)
Sidmouth Town - Cllr Sheila Kerridge | East Devon
Sidmouth Town - Cllr Frances Newth | East Devon
Sidmouth Town - Cllr Peter Sullivan | East Devon

Sidmouth Rural
Sidmouth Sidford - Cllr Christine Drew | East Devon

The only Conservative party candidate for a Sidmouth ward with their own website is Stuart Hughes. This is from his homepage:

Towards & Beyond 2017

I shall continue to oppose the relocation of East Devon District Council's HQ from the Knowle and the subsequent loss of 400 local jobs which are vital to our local economy......Having been successful in moving an amendment that saw the proposal for the controversial Business/Retail Park site at Sidford being removed from the Draft Local Plan I shall now continue to champion the designation of a Green Wedge between Sidford and Sidbury which is within the AONB....and continue to campaign for a link to the Alexandria Industrial Estate from the B3176 Station Road which would unlock the provision of further employment opportunities in the Sid Valley, and maximising the full potential of World Heritage Site status (Jurassic Coast) by the re-development of Port Royal including the provision of an Interpretation Centre and lecture theatre. I also support the limited development of further affordable/shared equity housing .

I shall both support and promote measures that will improve the safety, environment and quality of life for residents. The Woolbrook 20mph zone has seen a reduction in vehicle speeds and the new Toucan Crossing on the A375 Sidford Road which I called for as part of the Long Park to the Byes 106 funded Cycleway will benefit ALL cyclists, pedestrians and those with mobility scooters in reaching the Woolbrook Centre and the Byes.

Climate change poses the greatest threat to Sidmouth and further erosion in the vicinity of Pennington Point/Alma Bridge will leave eastern town exposed to flooding from a severe south easterly storm. I shall continue to raise this issue and press for the earliest implementation of a much needed coastal protection scheme through the Beach Management Plan..............I have already given the go ahead for necessary approvals to be sought for the replacement Alma Bridge which is the lifeline for those who live on the east of the Sid and is our Gateway to the Jurassic Coast...... Pedestrianisation (full/partial) and Park and Change are two issues that I shall continue to champion the cause for and which feature in the Vision Groups 'Vision for Sidmouth' document. These two measures go hand in hand towards providing a quality shopping experience for local residence and visitors alike by removing vehicles from the town centre.

Having supported the Stirling work of the Comforts Fund through my locality budget in the provision of new facilities at the Sidmouth Cottage Hospital I am supporting the case for the retention of the Minor Injuries Unit.........I am also working towards Green Close rising from the ashes through the private sector as a Dementia Care Facility for the Sid Valley.

Sharing Your Caring.

www.devonconservative.org.uk

This is Stuart Hughes' blog:
www.devonconservative.org.uk - blog

And these are the pages in his role as a District Councillor:
www.devonconservative.org.uk - district

Otherwise, none of the other Conservative candidates for Sidmouth (both previously-sitting and newly-standing) have any substantial web presence.

The only information on-line about these candidates is from other media - for example:
Key roles confirmed at East Devon annual meeting | Exeter Express and Echo

Elsewhere in the District, one of the few Conservative candidates to have any internet presence of her own is Jill Elson, who is defending her ward in Exmouth:
Jill Elson | Jill Elson An East Devon Councillor

Ian Thomas of Trinity also has a website - but as he has been re-elected by default, there is not much activity at present:
Trinitymatters.co.uk website of Cllr Ian Thomas EDDC - Home

THE EAST DEVON ALLIANCE

Looking at the challengers to the Conservatives, there has been considerable interest in the media - perhaps because this challenge is on such an unprecedented scale:
Independent alliance target Sidmouth  COLYTON TODAY | NEWS | SIDMOUTH: | 2015
Sidmouth Herald: Independents Day for Valley? | East Devon Alliance
EDA in the Press - East Devon Alliance

The framework of the East Devon Alliance is not only providing support for independents - it is also proving quite a presence on-line:
Independents working for you | East Devon Alliance

There is a busy Facebook account:
East Devon Watch | Facebook

The EDA is also on YouTube:
East Devon Alliance - YouTube

This video has just been loaded onto both the EDA website and YouTube:



Published on Apr 26, 2015

Paul is an Independent East Devon Alliance candidate for the Coly Valley ward (with Sheila Smith) in the East Devon District Council elections on 7th May 2015. In this video, Paul speaks about public expectations for democratic transparency, the need for genuinely affordable housing, the effects of a decades-long single-party administration in East Devon, and the opportunity at these elections for voters to enable this change to happen.

Paul Arnott - YouTube
Paul Arnott | East Devon Alliance

Paul Arnott is the Chair of the EDA:
Press Release from Paul Arnott Chair of East Devon Alliance, 12 November 2014 | East Devon Watch

Looking at the independent candidates for Sidmouth:
Sidmouth Wards | East Devon Alliance

Sidmouth Town:
Cathy Gardner | East Devon Alliance
Matt Booth | East Devon Alliance
John Dyson (Independent but endorsed by EDA)

Sidmouth Sidford
Dawn Manley | East Devon Alliance
Deborah Tallis | East Devon Alliance
Marianne Rixson | East Devon Alliance

Sidmouth Rural
David Barratt | East Devon Alliance (Independent but endorsed by EDA)

This is the EDA's own analysis of the list of candidates across the District:

Candidates District Council elections 2015 – vast majority of seats to be contested, 37 Independent candidates | East Devon Watch

Meanwhile, there are other websites from independent candidates and councillors in the District.

Notably, Claire Wright, who is standing down as a District Councillor for Ottery Rural to stand as a parliamentary candidate, has provided a very active website over the past four years:

Claire Wright

Claire Wright - blog

Her independent colleague Susie Bond will be contesting the Feniton ward - and has had her own blog since she became a Councillor following the resignation of Cllr Graham Brown:
Susie Bond | Independent District Councillor for Feniton and Buckerell ward, EDDC

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Affordable housing: the political parties' policies >>>>>> the East Devon Alliance

Even though the East Devon Alliance is not a 'party' as such, as an umbrella organisation for independent candidates in the District, it has made its views clear:


Did you know we now live in ‘Greater Exeter’? (2015)

In a recent communication, Council Leader Paul Diviani states: ‘We are calling the initiative “Greater Exeter, greater Devon” as Exeter [is] in the middle of our group and is clearly the driving force and a recognised brand.’

Do you like living in Greater Exeter? Did you want to?
I don’t know about you, but I don’t remember seeing this idea discussed anywhere? What are the advantages, disadvantages and (most importantly) the risks? For example:

What are the benefits and risks of the touted “joined-up decision making on planning, housing, resources and infrastructure”?

Greater Exeter? | East Devon Alliance


Feniton (2015/14)

Feniton has made regional and national headlines in the past few years owing to its serious problems with flooding, and attempts by developers to increase massively the size of the village in the face of local opposition and opposition from East Devon District Council.

Feniton has been singled out by no fewer than three developers as the ideal place to build several hundred houses on new housing estates.

Under East Devon District Council’s draft Local Plan, the Council deemed that in the period up to 2026 it would be appropriate for Feniton to host another 35 houses.

Nonetheless developers Wainhomes applied for permission to build 50 houses on high quality arable land at the eastern edge of the village on a field which regularly flooded and which contributed to the village’s flooding problems. Despite local opposition and being turned down by East Devon District Council, the developers won their case on appeal at a Public Inquiry in 2012, and construction on this estate, which opens onto a narrow road wide enough for only one vehicle at a time, is almost complete.

Despite the threat to Feniton’s way of life being highlighted in both 2013 and 2014 by the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE)[e] as an example of the failure of England’s planning regulations, the 50 approved Wainhomes houses proved to be the tip of a very large iceberg.

Feniton | East Devon Alliance

Hundreds of East Devon residents protest against Government's planning rules | Exeter Express and Echo

‘We’re not NIMBYs’, say East Devon Alliance members (2015)

Around 100 people rallied to the East Devon Alliance’s (EDA) first members’ meeting at the district council’s Knowle HQ in Sidmouth. Last week, EDA announced it had registered with the Electoral Commission so it could support independent candidates in May’s local elections.

On Saturday, supporters loudly applauded when chairman Paul Arnott lambasted the council leadership as ‘a small cabinet of councillors who exclude opposition voices’. He also accused them of rejecting people’s opinions ‘out of hand’ and added that the group felt independent councillors had been ‘bullied’ at council meetings.

“We are not NIMBYs,” said Mr Arnott. “Many people in East Devon need affordable housing. But we must try to halt the lunacy of current planning rules which is allowing massive over-development on inappropriate sites.” ...

comments

Nick113

I am pleased to hear that EDA are not NIMBYs. To prove the point perhaps Mr Arnott will provide the Herald with a list of housing developments in East Devon which EDA supports.

Paul Arnott

Hi Nick113. 

As an alliance of Independents you'll appreciate there is no such thing as a little list of approved projects. However, maybe of I answer you directly from personal experience it might help to illustrate where I come from myself as an Independent. 

As a member of the public, I spoke at the DMC and supported the affordable housing provision at Tesco in Seaton. EDDC declined to protect this, and allowed Tesco to tell them that instead of the agreed 25% they would build 0%. Dozens of new affordable homes lost. 

I spoke at Colyton Parish Council as a serving councillor in 200910 to support a contentious affordable housing project on the edge of the town in an "exception site". I have written to all parties concerned to propose and encourage partial development for mixed use at our huge brownfield site in the former Ceramtec factory in Colyton - ignored so far by the town council and the district council. I led the project to build a sustainable pre-school, scout centre, youth club and meeting halls at the new Reece Strawbridge Centre in Colyton - which faciliates hundreds of users of all ages every week. 

As a parish councillor I supported small-scale rezoning of brownfield or unsustainable farm properties for housing use. Is a picture emerging, Nick? I hope so. But what I have always spoke against is massive, unsustainable punts with no regard for environment of need in greenfield sites outside built up area boundaries.

‘We’re not NIMBYs’, say East Devon Alliance members - News - Sidmouth Herald


What we are doing to provide more affordable housing for East Devon (2015)

Providing more affordable housing is among our top priorities and we're working to deliver a significant increase in the number of affordable homes throughout the district.

Our housing strategy team work closely with housing associations, developers and our planning department to maximise the amount of affordable housing being delivered in the district.

What we are doing to provide more affordable housing for East Devon - East Devon District Council

Affordable housing in East Devon - East Devon District Council


4. Emerging work on defining an objectively assessed housing number for East Devon (2014)

Minute 18

The Chairman agreed for the Planning Policy Manager’s report to be taken as an urgent item in order to update the Committee Members on ongoing work to establish appropriate housing numbers.

Under the National Planning Policy Framework (NNPF), local plans and policy for housing provision need to be informed and led by an objective housing need assessment. The Local Plan Inspector, in his letter to the Council in March 2014, had highlighted concerns about the plan policy not being informed by an objective assessment and advised that the Council should produce a new Strategic Housing Management Assessment (SHMA)...

The Committee’s attention was drawn to the table (4.3) within the report setting out a demographic breakdown of the projected 2033 population in East Devon using the Devon County Council modelling based on trend data. Noticeably this information showed a significant projected increase in the 65+ age group, against the 2014 level. The modelling also indicated that on a trend based figure only, there would be a need for 11,360 extra homes in East Devon up to 2033, however this was not an objectively assessed housing figure. Two of the key stages in arriving at an objectively assessed housing number for the District were measuring affordable housing need and calculating the future employment and economic growth assumptions/aspirations.

The Planning Policy Manager advised that it was not possible to provide a timetable for completion of the SHMA work. However all the authorities in the Exeter Housing Market Area were working together on supporting work to arrive at objectively assessed housing numbers for the SHMA.

The Committee was invited to comment on the report. During discussion, concern was raised about the slow progress, lack or urgency and absence of a timetable for completion of this critical piece of work and the impact this would have on the Council being able to adopt a sound local plan. In response to a request, the Planning Policy Manager advised that a SHMA update report would be presented to the October Committee meeting. He also commented that he and his colleagues at the other authorities concerned were all well aware of the urgency for the completion of this piece of work, particularly Mid Devon District Council who also required the figures for their local plan.

RESOLVED: that the ongoing work and proposed future work to inform future housing provision be noted and that a further update report be presented to the October Committee meeting.

Development Management Committee minutes for 26 August 2014 - Emerging work on defining an objectively assessed housing number for East Devon - East Devon District Council
Tempers fray over local plan fiasco at EDDC planning committee meeting - Claire Wright.
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Green Belts: the Seaton-Colyford 'green wedge'................ "The shortfall in housing land supply is not so severe..."

There has been concern for the future of the 'green wedge' which currently separates the town of Seaton and the village of Colyford:
Futures Forum: Green Belts: the Seaton-Colyford 'green wedge'

An inquiry has dismissed plans to develop this greenfield site:
Appeal dismissed on Seaton wedge | Susie Bond
Futures Forum: " We really need to go back to basics and understand what the NPPF understands by ‘sustainable’."

Green Wedge gives East Devon District Council the edge in planning battle

By Exeter Express and Echo  |  Posted: January 21, 2014

Map showing the Green Wedge area and the development site refused on appeal (with border in red dots)

There was good news for Seaton and Colyford residents this week as a Planning Inspector upheld East Devon District Council’s refusal of permission for 170 homes to be built on part of the “green wedge” between the two settlements.

EDDC’s Development Management Committee had turned down an application from Seaton Park (Devon) Ltd. for a mixed use development that would have included housing, a business development unit, offices, workshops, a play area and sports field with two football pitches and a multi-use games area (MUGA).

The developers appealed against the decision at a planning inquiry held over three days in December 2013. The Inspector, Mr Geoffrey Hill, announced his decision on Monday (20 January). He dismissed the appeal, primarily on the grounds that the green wedge shown in both the existing and new Local Plans should be preserved. 

Referring to the emerging East Devon Local Plan (eEDLP) that is shortly to be examined by a colleague in the Planning Inspectorate, Mr Hill said in his report: “I appreciate that eEDLP is at an early stage in its adoption and its policies and proposals are yet to be examined. It is possible that its polices could be revised or even deleted as a consequence of the examination, but the Green Wedge policy is not a new policy; it has simply been carried forward from the EDLP, and the decision to retain the Green Wedge has been made by democratically elected locally Members."

“The housing shortfall although significant is – arguably - relatively short-term, whereas the erosion of separation between Colyford and Seaton would be permanent, and should not be acceded to lightly... I consider that this indicates that the proposed scheme cannot be regarded as fully meeting all three of The Framework’s (NPPF’s) roles for sustainable development, and that the shortfall in housing land supply is not so severe as to justify overriding these concerns at this stage."

Commenting on EDDC’s successful defence of the refusal to allow this development, Councillor Mrs Helen Parr, Chairman of the Council’s Development Management Committee (DMC), said: “This latest success in a planning matter shows that our determination to protect the landscape of East Devon against the wrong kind of development is both real and stoutly defended. We will continue to weight each application on its merits and we will stand up to developers when we are confident that our case is strong”.

Green Wedge gives East Devon District Council the edge in planning battle | Exeter Express and Echo

Major housing appeal in East Devon dismissed

Claire | Monday, 20 January 2014

A major appeal by a developer to build around 170 houses, plus industrial units, near Seaton, has been dismissed.

The planning inspector ruled that EDDC’s lack of five year land supply and out of date local plan, although important issues, did not outweigh the damage to the character of the area that would be caused by allowing the appeal.

Of particular note was a sentence that observed that the housing supply issue had improved in East Devon and was temporary in any case and any construction that took place would be permanent.

The decision is great news because of the need for planning inspectors to be consistent with each other.

EDDC officers had previously recommended approval for the application earlier last year, but this was overturned by councillors on the planning committee. An appeal was quickly lodged by the developer, Seaton Park, which is the same developer who wants to build 32 houses at Acland Park, Feniton and is part of the Feniton triple inquiry.

Comments

1. At 04:51 pm on 21th Jan Sandra Semple wrote:

This decision came only after local residents raised thousands of pounds to employ a barrister to fight the appeal after EDDC’s officers recommended approval.

It is clear from the decision notice that officers had not understood or had misinterpreted their own local plans, old and new when making their recommendation.

Thank goodness for people power (and brownie points to the DMC which had the common sense to go against the recommendation).

Claire Wright - Your Independent East Devon District Councillor for Ottery Rural
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