There is quite a new tranche of Town Councillors at Sidmouth:
Futures Forum: BREAKING NEWS: Sidmouth shake-up
Tomorrow, Monday 20th May, they will be joining colleagues for the Annual Town Meeting - at which chair and committees will be voted in:
Agenda_STCAnnual-200519.pdf
The Town Council is responsible for quite a lot:
Including a substantial budget of over £0.5m:
Sidmouth Town Council agrees 4 per cent precept increase, a part of council tax, that will help pay for projects including swimming platform | Latest Sidmouth and Ottery News - Sidmouth Herald
Grants galore for good causes thanks to Sidmouth Town Council | Latest Sidmouth and Ottery News - Sidmouth Herald
It supports important services:
Hop on! Sidmouth Hopper Bus reveals new routes and extra days for 2019 | Latest Sidmouth and Ottery News - Sidmouth Herald
It has a key role in determining planning decisions, for example:
Town council support demolition of Sidmouth's St John Ambulance Hall for smart apartments | Latest Sidmouth and Ottery News - Sidmouth Herald
And is part of the Beach Management Plan's steering group:
The plan to protect Sidmouth’s crumbling cliffs is set to be finalised - Devon Live
It has taken the initiative over key issues:
Vision to make Sidmouth first mental health friendly town | Latest Sidmouth and Ottery News - Sidmouth Herald
And it's taking on more responsibilities:
Knowle parkland in Sidmouth could transfer to council by autumn | Latest Sidmouth and Ottery News - Sidmouth Herald
There are new challenges and opportunities - as highlighted on the VGS news pages:
Money available for Historic High Streets - Vision Group for Sidmouth
And there will indeed be money issues:
LocalGov.co.uk - Your authority on UK local government - Council governance systems ‘inadequate’ for austerity era
More freedom urged over councils’ finances | Public Finance
Financial control needs to be devolved from Westminster | Public Finance
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... A FORUM TO STIMULATE DEBATE ... ... JUST ADD A COMMENT AT ANY ENTRY BELOW... ... FOR THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWN AND VALLEY ...
Showing posts with label devon live. Show all posts
Showing posts with label devon live. Show all posts
Sunday, 19 May 2019
Friday, 17 May 2019
As Independents seek to create a working coalition, the District Council meets for the first time since local elections > Wednesday 22nd May
Next Wednesday sees the first sitting of the new District Council when a new Chair and a new Leader will be elected:
Agenda for Annual Council on Wednesday, 22nd May, 2019, 6.00 pm - East Devon
It follows on from dramatic results in the local elections:
Futures Forum: BREAKING NEWS: "Bad day" for the Tories as Independents in East Devon gain an overall majority of two
Futures Forum: District Council elections: "Independents deliver blow to the Conservatives'" > further reports
And since then, there have been attempts to create a working coalition:
Futures Forum: District Council coalition talks to 'support the formation of an independent-led administration'
It will not be easy - as the Financial Times reports:
Britain’s Independent councillors face challenges of success
Local election victors seek to push through change without party discipline or structure
Chris Tighe and Andy Bounds MAY 14, 2019
Liberal Democrats in East Devon will not be going into coalition with any other political group in the district, they have confirmed.
Following May’s elections, the Independents ended up as the largest party on the council, ending 45 years of Conservative rule since the council was formed. Twenty Independent councillors were elected, while the East Devon Alliance won a further 11 seats. The Conservatives suffered 15 losses to end on 19, while the Liberal Democrats hold eight seats and the Green Party two.
Between the East Devon Alliance and the Independents, they hold 31 seats, which would be enough to control the council and have a majority, but discussions are still ongoing as to if a coalition between them can be formed an how many Independents would sit with the Independent Group. But the Liberal Democrat Group, currently led by Cllr Steve Gazzard, have said that they respect the verdict of the voters and will not sign up to a formal alliance or agreement with any other groupings or parties.
...
READ MORE
New Progressive Group formed to 'challenge Exeter's one party state'
READ MORE
Conservatives pounded at Devon polls as they lose control of six of eight councils
Of the 20 Independents elected to East Devon District Council, ten were newly elected councillors. The other ten include Cllr Ian Thomas, who is still the current leader of the council, but who quit the Conservative Party prior to the election, and Cllr Geoff Pook, who was a cabinet member.
Cllr Ingham said: “We are still talking and trying to work it out and to make everything fit, but at the end of the day, including the East Devon Alliance, there are 31 Independents. We are still in the discussions stage as to how many of the independents will sit in the group, but I remain optimistic they will come as one, and that is my target anyway. Over the next week we will continue have the discussions and trying and pull everything together, although it is not easy as we are all Independents and there is no party whip. I do hope that we can all work together and as many as possible will sit with the group.”
Cllr Cathy Gardner, the leader of the East Devon Alliance group, had previously said that she felt it was unlikely all 20 Independents would chose to sit in the group, but the results showed that the people of East Devon want real change.
Cllr Paul Arnott, chairman of the EDA, and who won a seat in Coly Valley, had added: “We would like to thank the voters of East Devon for electing all 11 of our candidates. We will seek to forge alliances with other councillors willing to work with us to continue to our fight for reform of local governance.”
The new leader of the council will be elected at the annual meeting on Wednesday, May 22.
Agenda for Annual Council on Wednesday, 22nd May, 2019, 6.00 pm - East Devon
It follows on from dramatic results in the local elections:
Futures Forum: BREAKING NEWS: "Bad day" for the Tories as Independents in East Devon gain an overall majority of two
Futures Forum: District Council elections: "Independents deliver blow to the Conservatives'" > further reports
And since then, there have been attempts to create a working coalition:
Futures Forum: District Council coalition talks to 'support the formation of an independent-led administration'
It will not be easy - as the Financial Times reports:
Britain’s Independent councillors face challenges of success
Local election victors seek to push through change without party discipline or structure
Chris Tighe and Andy Bounds MAY 14, 2019
Independents now control six councils across England, from Middlesbrough to Nottinghamshire, Essex, Surrey and East Devon, and hold the balance of power in several more.
Often Independents coalesce around a common grievance. This month the East Devon Alliance, set up to oppose plans to build thousands of new homes in the area, ended Conservative rule in its region after 45 years.
Often Independents coalesce around a common grievance. This month the East Devon Alliance, set up to oppose plans to build thousands of new homes in the area, ended Conservative rule in its region after 45 years.
It seems that there will not be a coalition involving East Devon Liberal Democrats, however:
East Devon's Lib Dems say 'Independents should run the council' as they confirm they won't join a coalition
The Liberal Democrat Group, currently led by Cllr Steve Gazzard, have said that they respect the verdict of the voters and will not sign up to a formal alliance or agreement with any other groupings or parties.
Daniel Clark Local Democracy Reporter
12:53, 13 MAY 2019
The Liberal Democrat Group, currently led by Cllr Steve Gazzard, have said that they respect the verdict of the voters and will not sign up to a formal alliance or agreement with any other groupings or parties.
Daniel Clark Local Democracy Reporter
12:53, 13 MAY 2019
Following May’s elections, the Independents ended up as the largest party on the council, ending 45 years of Conservative rule since the council was formed. Twenty Independent councillors were elected, while the East Devon Alliance won a further 11 seats. The Conservatives suffered 15 losses to end on 19, while the Liberal Democrats hold eight seats and the Green Party two.
A statement by the Group said: “The Lib Dem group respects the verdict of the voters in the recent elections that the Independents should be in control of East Devon District Council, after 45 years of Tory rule
READ MORE
New Progressive Group formed to 'challenge Exeter's one party state'
Cllr Ben Ingham, the leader of the Independent Group, and who retained his Woodbury and Lympstone seat, said that he was delighted with the results that showed it was very clear the voters do not want the Conservatives to run the council. He said that discussions had begun as to how many of the 20 Independent councillors elected would be sitting in the Independent Group, and he remained hopeful that they all would.
READ MORE
Conservatives pounded at Devon polls as they lose control of six of eight councils
Of the 20 Independents elected to East Devon District Council, ten were newly elected councillors. The other ten include Cllr Ian Thomas, who is still the current leader of the council, but who quit the Conservative Party prior to the election, and Cllr Geoff Pook, who was a cabinet member.
Cllr Ingham said: “We are still talking and trying to work it out and to make everything fit, but at the end of the day, including the East Devon Alliance, there are 31 Independents. We are still in the discussions stage as to how many of the independents will sit in the group, but I remain optimistic they will come as one, and that is my target anyway. Over the next week we will continue have the discussions and trying and pull everything together, although it is not easy as we are all Independents and there is no party whip. I do hope that we can all work together and as many as possible will sit with the group.”
The new leader of the council will be elected at the annual meeting on Wednesday, May 22.
With further comment:
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Working for Amazon in Devon, or anywhere else
Is Amazon coming to Devon?
The secret Devon Amazon warehouse they don't want you to know exists - Devon Live
Amazon tight-lipped over new Exeter distribution centre - Devon Live
Would it be a good thing?
Not if you're a high street retailer:
Futures Forum: Save our high streets > give up Amazon – and embrace shopping on the high street again
Futures Forum: "There are no magic wands to save the high street in its current form, but allowing Amazon to continue making billions to enrich its founder and its shareholders at the expense of our public purse should not be an option."
Although it's perhaps too easy to bash the big boys - rather than being more entrepreneurial:
Futures Forum: The 'Amazon tax' won't save the High Street > 'The nature of the offer on the high street is going to change over time. There's going to be less retail, more leisure, bars, community facilities.'
The question perhaps is whether these big boys themselves are actually that 'entrepreneurial'...
These are massive corporations with massive bureaucracies:
Futures Forum: The People's Republic of Walmart: "The dichotomy between corporate capitalism and socialism-as-planning is false"
And are actually pretty authoritarian:
Futures Forum: Silicon Valley Values @ Radio 4's Analysis
Futures Forum: The promises of information technology >>> or, spinning fables of info-liberation
Futures Forum: The promises of technological innovation >>> "The rise of the techno-libertarians: the five most socially-destructive aspects of Silicon Valley"
If we consider Amazon as just a big warehouse or distribution centre, then we could probably compare it to others in the field - whether Lidl's or Ikea:
Futures Forum: An 'inter-modal freight depot' by any other name >>> also known as: a giant Lidl's warehouse on the M5
Futures Forum: The promises from the Skypark 'business park' >>> "A multinational comes along and plonks itself just out of town. Hooray, they tell us... Jobs for all!"
Which isn't actually very good for the local economy:
Futures Forum: The modern distribution centre: "Imagine the space that is used to store and display a product in a traditional shop, and then imagine great dollops of it sucked from almost every high street and supermarket in the land to a centralised facility."
Or for job security for that matter:
Futures Forum: Automation and the future of work > How secure are East Devon's new warehousing jobs?
This is from a piece in The Week looking at the issues:
Amazon the sweatshop
Matthew Walther
May 1, 2019
Remember the bad old days when if you wanted to buy a book or a box of crackers you had to go to B. Dalton or the supermarket? Then came Amazon. If your order total reached a certain minimum or you paid for an annual subscription, certain items could arrive at your house in only two days. Now in many major metropolitan areas the shipping time has been reduced to mere hours.
What made this logistical miracle possible? According to a recent report in The Verge, the same sort of thing that is usually responsible for these supposed triumphs of the spirit of entrepreneurial know-how: a great deal of human suffering, in this case under conditions that most of us would more readily associate with workers in the factories of the Third World than with employees of one of the world's wealthiest corporations in some of America's largest cities.
It has been apparent for years now that Amazon does not value the privacy or the dignity of its warehouse employees. The system it uses to "optimize" the performance of those responsible for bringing items from shelves to doorsteps is tyrannical. It is also, quite literally, dehumanizing. Employees are reportedly directly supervised not by other men and women but by automated computer systems. These programs allegedly track everything from how fast warehouse employees carry out various work-related tasks, such as packing items and sorting them for shipment, to how long it takes them to use the bathroom. The acronym for the latter — there is always an acronym with these people — is TOT, or "time off task."
But the situation appears to be much worse than all this. In addition to relentlessly policing their individual behavior at work, Amazon warehouse employees are reportedly collectively subject to an oppressive system of automated performance review. Whenever 75 percent of employees are meeting certain pre-assigned goals, the numbers reportedly can be increased. The majority of employees are then reportedly required to meet these new higher targets — the rest are placed in "training" programs or fired. Documents obtained by The Verge suggest that some warehouse locations lose as much as 10 percent of their staff annually because they failed to meet these arbitrary standards.
The bogus gospel of so-called "scientific management" has been with us for a century now. But unlike in the past there is seemingly no threshold employees of Amazon can possibly meet at which their performance will be deemed good enough. If efficiency goes up by x percent in a calendar year, the old standard plus x becomes the minimum that is acceptable. Employees could then be fired for working just as hard as they did a year ago when their quotas were lower. This is Sisyphean cruelty.
It is not just inhumane to treat people this way — it is anti-human, a blanket denial of the innate metaphysical dignity of rational creatures made in God's image. It is also a reminder of the fact that, so far from having made significant economic progress in this country in the last half century, we have regressed to the point that employees of our largest corporations are being denied rights that the labor movement fought for 80 years ago. How much worse will things be a decade from now?
Amazon has designed a system that creates a pathway into one of the world’s most valuable companies.
Thursday, May 16, 2019
Image Credit: Flickr-Scott Lewis | CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
John Tamny
“Firing people was easily the worst part of the job.” Those are the words of a great friend of mine who for decades ran a very successful financial corporation. The sleepless nights that preceded gently telling people they weren’t measuring up were agony for him.
The popular notion of indifferent-to-employee CEOs is so very divorced from reality. I’ve never met one who enjoyed being the bearer of bad news to workers who, in many instances, had dependents.
My friend ultimately devised a fix so that he could avoid what was so disagreeable. He designed a production-based compensation structure so that the employees could succeed or fail on their own. So quantitative was it that some of the highest paid employees worked the fewest hours, and vice versa. No sucking up to the boss, no necessary “face time” in the office, just production tied to compensation. And if they didn’t produce they would know this without being told. It would show up in pay. Basically, they would “fire themselves.”
A "Sweatshop" That Fosters "Suffering"?
Hall of Fame football coach Bill Parcells once said, “You are what your record says you are,” and this CEO essentially applied Parcells’s maxim to the workplace. He was able to sleep easier as employees self-selected out of his company as opposed to him having to tell them to leave. His employees were happy and so was he.
All this came to mind while reading Matthew Walther’s recent piece from The Week in which he accused Amazon of being a “sweatshop.” Walther laments the “human suffering” that allegedly takes place at Amazon since its warehouse workers are “collectively subject to an oppressive system of automated performance review.” It’s no insult of Walther to suggest he’s likely never run a business, and that he’s unfamiliar with the acute agony associated with letting people go.
Had he run one, and were he familiar with how awful it is to tell individuals it’s not working out, he would understand that quantitative parameters very much redound to the employee as much or more than they do the CEO. For one, they make it possible for marginal candidates to get hired in the first place. Forget connections or anything else that leads to employment; quantitative measuring exists as a path for individuals to prove their worth.
Indeed, how often have readers said something along the lines of “If I could just get my foot in the door I would show them”? Amazon has, if Walther’s analysis is to be believed, designed a system that creates a pathway into one of the world’s most valuable companies. And a path to increased pay, if its more open door leads to the arrival of productive employees.
The secret Devon Amazon warehouse they don't want you to know exists - Devon Live
Amazon tight-lipped over new Exeter distribution centre - Devon Live
Would it be a good thing?
Not if you're a high street retailer:
Futures Forum: Save our high streets > give up Amazon – and embrace shopping on the high street again
Futures Forum: "There are no magic wands to save the high street in its current form, but allowing Amazon to continue making billions to enrich its founder and its shareholders at the expense of our public purse should not be an option."
Although it's perhaps too easy to bash the big boys - rather than being more entrepreneurial:
Futures Forum: The 'Amazon tax' won't save the High Street > 'The nature of the offer on the high street is going to change over time. There's going to be less retail, more leisure, bars, community facilities.'
The question perhaps is whether these big boys themselves are actually that 'entrepreneurial'...
These are massive corporations with massive bureaucracies:
Futures Forum: The People's Republic of Walmart: "The dichotomy between corporate capitalism and socialism-as-planning is false"
And are actually pretty authoritarian:
Futures Forum: Silicon Valley Values @ Radio 4's Analysis
Futures Forum: The promises of information technology >>> or, spinning fables of info-liberation
Futures Forum: The promises of technological innovation >>> "The rise of the techno-libertarians: the five most socially-destructive aspects of Silicon Valley"
If we consider Amazon as just a big warehouse or distribution centre, then we could probably compare it to others in the field - whether Lidl's or Ikea:
Futures Forum: An 'inter-modal freight depot' by any other name >>> also known as: a giant Lidl's warehouse on the M5
Futures Forum: The promises from the Skypark 'business park' >>> "A multinational comes along and plonks itself just out of town. Hooray, they tell us... Jobs for all!"
Which isn't actually very good for the local economy:
Futures Forum: The modern distribution centre: "Imagine the space that is used to store and display a product in a traditional shop, and then imagine great dollops of it sucked from almost every high street and supermarket in the land to a centralised facility."
Or for job security for that matter:
Futures Forum: Automation and the future of work > How secure are East Devon's new warehousing jobs?
This is from a piece in The Week looking at the issues:
Amazon the sweatshop
Matthew Walther
May 1, 2019
Remember the bad old days when if you wanted to buy a book or a box of crackers you had to go to B. Dalton or the supermarket? Then came Amazon. If your order total reached a certain minimum or you paid for an annual subscription, certain items could arrive at your house in only two days. Now in many major metropolitan areas the shipping time has been reduced to mere hours.
What made this logistical miracle possible? According to a recent report in The Verge, the same sort of thing that is usually responsible for these supposed triumphs of the spirit of entrepreneurial know-how: a great deal of human suffering, in this case under conditions that most of us would more readily associate with workers in the factories of the Third World than with employees of one of the world's wealthiest corporations in some of America's largest cities.
It has been apparent for years now that Amazon does not value the privacy or the dignity of its warehouse employees. The system it uses to "optimize" the performance of those responsible for bringing items from shelves to doorsteps is tyrannical. It is also, quite literally, dehumanizing. Employees are reportedly directly supervised not by other men and women but by automated computer systems. These programs allegedly track everything from how fast warehouse employees carry out various work-related tasks, such as packing items and sorting them for shipment, to how long it takes them to use the bathroom. The acronym for the latter — there is always an acronym with these people — is TOT, or "time off task."
But the situation appears to be much worse than all this. In addition to relentlessly policing their individual behavior at work, Amazon warehouse employees are reportedly collectively subject to an oppressive system of automated performance review. Whenever 75 percent of employees are meeting certain pre-assigned goals, the numbers reportedly can be increased. The majority of employees are then reportedly required to meet these new higher targets — the rest are placed in "training" programs or fired. Documents obtained by The Verge suggest that some warehouse locations lose as much as 10 percent of their staff annually because they failed to meet these arbitrary standards.
The bogus gospel of so-called "scientific management" has been with us for a century now. But unlike in the past there is seemingly no threshold employees of Amazon can possibly meet at which their performance will be deemed good enough. If efficiency goes up by x percent in a calendar year, the old standard plus x becomes the minimum that is acceptable. Employees could then be fired for working just as hard as they did a year ago when their quotas were lower. This is Sisyphean cruelty.
It is not just inhumane to treat people this way — it is anti-human, a blanket denial of the innate metaphysical dignity of rational creatures made in God's image. It is also a reminder of the fact that, so far from having made significant economic progress in this country in the last half century, we have regressed to the point that employees of our largest corporations are being denied rights that the labor movement fought for 80 years ago. How much worse will things be a decade from now?
...
Amazon the sweatshop - The Week
And this is a response:
If Amazon Is a "Sweatshop," Why Do so Many People Want to Work There?
Amazon the sweatshop - The Week
And this is a response:
If Amazon Is a "Sweatshop," Why Do so Many People Want to Work There?
Amazon has designed a system that creates a pathway into one of the world’s most valuable companies.
Thursday, May 16, 2019
Image Credit: Flickr-Scott Lewis | CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
John Tamny
“Firing people was easily the worst part of the job.” Those are the words of a great friend of mine who for decades ran a very successful financial corporation. The sleepless nights that preceded gently telling people they weren’t measuring up were agony for him.
The popular notion of indifferent-to-employee CEOs is so very divorced from reality. I’ve never met one who enjoyed being the bearer of bad news to workers who, in many instances, had dependents.
My friend ultimately devised a fix so that he could avoid what was so disagreeable. He designed a production-based compensation structure so that the employees could succeed or fail on their own. So quantitative was it that some of the highest paid employees worked the fewest hours, and vice versa. No sucking up to the boss, no necessary “face time” in the office, just production tied to compensation. And if they didn’t produce they would know this without being told. It would show up in pay. Basically, they would “fire themselves.”
A "Sweatshop" That Fosters "Suffering"?
Hall of Fame football coach Bill Parcells once said, “You are what your record says you are,” and this CEO essentially applied Parcells’s maxim to the workplace. He was able to sleep easier as employees self-selected out of his company as opposed to him having to tell them to leave. His employees were happy and so was he.
All this came to mind while reading Matthew Walther’s recent piece from The Week in which he accused Amazon of being a “sweatshop.” Walther laments the “human suffering” that allegedly takes place at Amazon since its warehouse workers are “collectively subject to an oppressive system of automated performance review.” It’s no insult of Walther to suggest he’s likely never run a business, and that he’s unfamiliar with the acute agony associated with letting people go.
Had he run one, and were he familiar with how awful it is to tell individuals it’s not working out, he would understand that quantitative parameters very much redound to the employee as much or more than they do the CEO. For one, they make it possible for marginal candidates to get hired in the first place. Forget connections or anything else that leads to employment; quantitative measuring exists as a path for individuals to prove their worth.
Indeed, how often have readers said something along the lines of “If I could just get my foot in the door I would show them”? Amazon has, if Walther’s analysis is to be believed, designed a system that creates a pathway into one of the world’s most valuable companies. And a path to increased pay, if its more open door leads to the arrival of productive employees.
Friday, 10 May 2019
Ash dieback in Devon
Trees are seen as increasingly important in the fight against climate change:
Futures Forum: Climate change and deforestation
Futures Forum: Planting billions of trees to address the climate and natural environment crises together
The Forestry Commission celebrates a hundred years:
Futures Forum: Forestry Commission: centenary event "Evolving the Forest": Wednesday 19th - Friday 21st June at Dartington Hall
And the Sidmouth Arboretum will be bringing a week of events:
Futures Forum: Tree Week > 20th - 25th May
We need to look after our trees:
Ash dieback | Devon Wildlife Trust
Ash dieback | Environment - devon.gov.uk
East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - Ash trees need your help
As reported by Devon Live - with good news:
Tree planting scheme to replace trees lost through Ash dieback - Devon Live
And not so good news:
Tree disease will cost Devon £30million a year as county worst hit
"The consequences of tree diseases for people really haven't been fully appreciated before now."
Neil Shaw
Futures Forum: Climate change and deforestation
Futures Forum: Planting billions of trees to address the climate and natural environment crises together
The Forestry Commission celebrates a hundred years:
Futures Forum: Forestry Commission: centenary event "Evolving the Forest": Wednesday 19th - Friday 21st June at Dartington Hall
And the Sidmouth Arboretum will be bringing a week of events:
Futures Forum: Tree Week > 20th - 25th May
We need to look after our trees:
Ash dieback | Devon Wildlife Trust
Ash dieback | Environment - devon.gov.uk
East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - Ash trees need your help
As reported by Devon Live - with good news:
Tree planting scheme to replace trees lost through Ash dieback - Devon Live
And not so good news:
Tree disease will cost Devon £30million a year as county worst hit
"The consequences of tree diseases for people really haven't been fully appreciated before now."
Neil Shaw
Head Of Digital, Live And Trending For PlymouthLive, DevonLive And CornwallLive
06:42, 7 MAY 2019
An invasive fungal disease killing ash trees will cost the British economy nearly £15 billion in total, a study has warned, and Devon will be the worst hit county in the country. Ash dieback which is lethal to European ash trees, originated in Asia and is thought to have been brought to the UK on imported ash trees some years before it was first identified in Britain in 2012.
Now experts have calculated a multi-billion pound bill for the disease, with the costs expected will be more than £7 billion in the next 10 years alone. The biggest cost will be from the loss of benefits that woods and trees provide, such as clean air and water and storing carbon dioxide, the study published in the journal Current Biology found. Clean-up costs, such as felling dangerous trees on roadsides, railway lines and in towns and cities, will cost some £4.8 billion, researchers from the University of Oxford, Fera Science, Sylva Foundation and the Woodland Trust said.
Much of that burden will fall on local authorities, with an estimate the worst hit, Devon County Council, could face total annual costs from roadside ash trees of more than £30 million, vastly higher than the average council tree budget. There will also be costs of replanting, research and loss of profits to the forestry sector. The total bill is estimated to come in at £14.8 billion over 100 years, with half of those costs, £7.6 billion, falling within a decade.
The researchers also issued a stark warning that there are 47 other tree pests and diseases that risk costing £1 billion or more if they become established in Britain.
They have called for a nationwide replanting scheme could reduce the overall cost of ash dieback by £2.5 billion by ensuring that lost benefits are replaced.
A greater focus on and investment in biosecurity and sourcing of safe plant material is needed to keep new diseases out, they warn. And far tighter controls on imports of all live plants for planting should be introduced, as this is the largest pathway through which tree diseases come into the country, they urged.
The cost of dealing with ash dieback, which is expected to kill 95% to 99% of native ash trees, dwarfs the annual value of the import and export trade in live plants to and from Britain which totalled around £300 million in 2017.
Dr Louise Hill, from the University of Oxford and lead author of the study, said the number of invasive tree pests and diseases were increasingly rapidly, mostly through human activities such as plant trade and climate change.
"Nobody has estimated the total cost of a tree disease before, and we were quite shocked at the magnitude of the cost to society. We estimate the total may be £15 billion - that's a third more than the reported cost of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in 2001. The consequences of tree diseases for people really haven't been fully appreciated before now."
Dr Nick Atkinson, senior conservation advisor for the Woodland Trust and co-author of the paper, said: "When ash dieback first entered the country, no one could have fully predicted the devastating impact it would have on our native habitats. To see how this has also affected our economy speaks volumes for how important tree health is, and that it needs to be taken very seriously."
To avoid further economic and environmental impacts, more needed to be invested in plant biosecurity measures, including better detection, interception and prevention of pests and diseases entering the UK, he urged. He added: "We need to learn from past mistakes and make sure our countryside avoids yet another blow."
A spokeswoman for the Environment Department said: "Since ash dieback was identified in 2012, we have invested more than £6 million in ash dieback research and £4.5 million to strengthen border security. We currently have some of the strongest import controls in Europe."
She said the Government was funding research to make ash trees resistant to the disease, supporting replanting with other tree species, and helping local authorities manage the disease. "We will continue to do everything we can to protect our trees from pests and diseases, as set out in the Tree Health Resilience Strategy published last year."
Tree disease will cost Devon £30million a year as county worst hit - Devon Live
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.
.
06:42, 7 MAY 2019
An invasive fungal disease killing ash trees will cost the British economy nearly £15 billion in total, a study has warned, and Devon will be the worst hit county in the country. Ash dieback which is lethal to European ash trees, originated in Asia and is thought to have been brought to the UK on imported ash trees some years before it was first identified in Britain in 2012.
Now experts have calculated a multi-billion pound bill for the disease, with the costs expected will be more than £7 billion in the next 10 years alone. The biggest cost will be from the loss of benefits that woods and trees provide, such as clean air and water and storing carbon dioxide, the study published in the journal Current Biology found. Clean-up costs, such as felling dangerous trees on roadsides, railway lines and in towns and cities, will cost some £4.8 billion, researchers from the University of Oxford, Fera Science, Sylva Foundation and the Woodland Trust said.
Much of that burden will fall on local authorities, with an estimate the worst hit, Devon County Council, could face total annual costs from roadside ash trees of more than £30 million, vastly higher than the average council tree budget. There will also be costs of replanting, research and loss of profits to the forestry sector. The total bill is estimated to come in at £14.8 billion over 100 years, with half of those costs, £7.6 billion, falling within a decade.
The researchers also issued a stark warning that there are 47 other tree pests and diseases that risk costing £1 billion or more if they become established in Britain.
They have called for a nationwide replanting scheme could reduce the overall cost of ash dieback by £2.5 billion by ensuring that lost benefits are replaced.
A greater focus on and investment in biosecurity and sourcing of safe plant material is needed to keep new diseases out, they warn. And far tighter controls on imports of all live plants for planting should be introduced, as this is the largest pathway through which tree diseases come into the country, they urged.
The cost of dealing with ash dieback, which is expected to kill 95% to 99% of native ash trees, dwarfs the annual value of the import and export trade in live plants to and from Britain which totalled around £300 million in 2017.
Dr Louise Hill, from the University of Oxford and lead author of the study, said the number of invasive tree pests and diseases were increasingly rapidly, mostly through human activities such as plant trade and climate change.
"Nobody has estimated the total cost of a tree disease before, and we were quite shocked at the magnitude of the cost to society. We estimate the total may be £15 billion - that's a third more than the reported cost of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in 2001. The consequences of tree diseases for people really haven't been fully appreciated before now."
Dr Nick Atkinson, senior conservation advisor for the Woodland Trust and co-author of the paper, said: "When ash dieback first entered the country, no one could have fully predicted the devastating impact it would have on our native habitats. To see how this has also affected our economy speaks volumes for how important tree health is, and that it needs to be taken very seriously."
To avoid further economic and environmental impacts, more needed to be invested in plant biosecurity measures, including better detection, interception and prevention of pests and diseases entering the UK, he urged. He added: "We need to learn from past mistakes and make sure our countryside avoids yet another blow."
A spokeswoman for the Environment Department said: "Since ash dieback was identified in 2012, we have invested more than £6 million in ash dieback research and £4.5 million to strengthen border security. We currently have some of the strongest import controls in Europe."
She said the Government was funding research to make ash trees resistant to the disease, supporting replanting with other tree species, and helping local authorities manage the disease. "We will continue to do everything we can to protect our trees from pests and diseases, as set out in the Tree Health Resilience Strategy published last year."
Tree disease will cost Devon £30million a year as county worst hit - Devon Live
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Monday, 6 May 2019
Pressures to expand the Greendale Business Park > yet another retrospective planning application approved
We need lots of industrial estates in the District:
Futures Forum: Pressures to expand business parks in East Devon >>> Greendale part two
And to help this along, one simply builds something first and then asks for planning permission after:
Futures Forum: Pressures to expand the Greendale and Hill Barton Business Parks > two retrospective planning applications approved
Because, once it's up, it's very difficult to say 'No' - as the District Council's planning committee warily decided last week:
Greendale Business Park extension approved
Saturday, May 4th, 2019 8:20am
By Daniel Clark
It's been given retrospective planning permission.
A storage compound that supports 38 jobs on land just outside Greendale Business Park has been granted retrospective planning permission.
Councillors narrowly voted in favour of allowing land at Compound East 6, at Hogsbrook Farm, to be used to storage and distribution, despite it being outside the authorised boundary of Greendale Business Park.
East Devon District Council’s development management committee agreed by six votes to five to allow the retrospective use of the land after agreeing that despite their concerns, an inspector would almost certainly allow any appeal against refusal.
But they also said they were fed up of yet another retrospective planning application for the site coming before them, with Cllr Susie Bond saying it was ‘disrespectful’ and Cllr Brian Bailey saying they had a track record that was ‘not to be admired’.
Tim Smith, speaking on behalf of applicants F W S Carter & Son, said that he fully endorsed the view by the council’s economic officer that the plans should be approved and pointed to the lack of objections. He added: “We have a high level of demand for our site that cannot be provided elsewhere in the district.”
Chris Rose, the council’s development manager, said that the area of land which is part of Hogsbrook Farm, adjacent to the Greendale Business Park. The land is currently used for B8 purposes, although without planning permission, and is bounded by a fence, with a hedge adjacent to the fence on the western boundary of the sites.
He added: “The application site lies within the open countryside, where development would not normally be permitted. Therefore, the proposals represent departures from the Local Plan and do not benefit from any local plan policy support. But there are however considered to be a number of other material considerations that weigh heavily in favour of the proposals and that justify the grant of planning permissions despite the lack of planning policy support.”
Mr Rose said that one of the sites benefits from consent for its hardstanding and fencing, there are economic benefits from retaining the businesses and jobs on the sites, the sites are the most logical area for the extension of Greendale given that it is almost at capacity and the limited visual impact from the proposals.
He added: “Given the lack of any technical objections to the applications, and subject to conditions to control the height of any storage on the site, noise, lighting and deliveries, it is considered that, on balance, both proposals are acceptable.”
But Simon Andrews, speaking on behalf of the Woodbury Salterton residents association said that permission should be refused as it is against the Villages Plan and Local Plan policy.
Anthony Arnold added that if this was approved, it would going back to the dark days of the uncontrolled expansion into the countryside. He said: “The area outside the boundary should remain open countryside. What is the point of having a Villages Plan and a Local Plan if you just ignore them? Allow this and you open the floodgates.”
Cllr Geoff Jung, who represents the Raleigh ward, said that he could not support this planning application as it is outside the current approved employment area. He added: “Authorising this will drive a bus through the Local Plan. It allows anyone to get a compound, put a tenant in, and then call for the same permission to be granted.” He said that the council were successful on defending an appeal on the eastern area of the site and that this should be refused as it doesn’t comply with the Local Plan nor the Villages Plan and is not compatible with the setting.
Cllr Ben Ingham added that it may be providing jobs, but as it is in the wrong area, it is not sustainable and allow the sites to be ‘joined up’ is against policy.
Cllr Mike Allen said that this was a difficult decision for the committee. He said it is already a brownfield site it has hard standing and is fenced, and asked people to think about what an inspector may say. He added: “I think if we refused this, it would probably be approved on appeal, but I cannot think of a reason why this should be approved.” He also said that he was continuing to explain to the Greendale Business Park on why they need to get planning permission for their developments before they start building them and that he hoped they had finally got the message.
But Cllr Helen Parr said that she felt the committee had to be realistic, adding: “Regardless of whether we want this and what is in the policy, it is developed land and all the considerations to me say that on appeal, it is allowable.”
Cllr Bailey added that Greendale’s track record with planning applications was ‘not to be admired’, but added: “I fail to see any advantages in demolishing a low level piece of hard standing with a bit of fencing.”
A proposal to reject the scheme was lost by six votes to five. Councillors then voted by six votes to five to approve the retrospective plans.
Greendale Business Park extension approved - Radio Exe
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Futures Forum: Pressures to expand business parks in East Devon >>> Greendale part two
And to help this along, one simply builds something first and then asks for planning permission after:
Futures Forum: Pressures to expand the Greendale and Hill Barton Business Parks > two retrospective planning applications approved
Because, once it's up, it's very difficult to say 'No' - as the District Council's planning committee warily decided last week:
Greendale Business Park extension approved
Saturday, May 4th, 2019 8:20am
By Daniel Clark
It's been given retrospective planning permission.
A storage compound that supports 38 jobs on land just outside Greendale Business Park has been granted retrospective planning permission.
Councillors narrowly voted in favour of allowing land at Compound East 6, at Hogsbrook Farm, to be used to storage and distribution, despite it being outside the authorised boundary of Greendale Business Park.
East Devon District Council’s development management committee agreed by six votes to five to allow the retrospective use of the land after agreeing that despite their concerns, an inspector would almost certainly allow any appeal against refusal.
But they also said they were fed up of yet another retrospective planning application for the site coming before them, with Cllr Susie Bond saying it was ‘disrespectful’ and Cllr Brian Bailey saying they had a track record that was ‘not to be admired’.
Tim Smith, speaking on behalf of applicants F W S Carter & Son, said that he fully endorsed the view by the council’s economic officer that the plans should be approved and pointed to the lack of objections. He added: “We have a high level of demand for our site that cannot be provided elsewhere in the district.”
Chris Rose, the council’s development manager, said that the area of land which is part of Hogsbrook Farm, adjacent to the Greendale Business Park. The land is currently used for B8 purposes, although without planning permission, and is bounded by a fence, with a hedge adjacent to the fence on the western boundary of the sites.
He added: “The application site lies within the open countryside, where development would not normally be permitted. Therefore, the proposals represent departures from the Local Plan and do not benefit from any local plan policy support. But there are however considered to be a number of other material considerations that weigh heavily in favour of the proposals and that justify the grant of planning permissions despite the lack of planning policy support.”
Mr Rose said that one of the sites benefits from consent for its hardstanding and fencing, there are economic benefits from retaining the businesses and jobs on the sites, the sites are the most logical area for the extension of Greendale given that it is almost at capacity and the limited visual impact from the proposals.
He added: “Given the lack of any technical objections to the applications, and subject to conditions to control the height of any storage on the site, noise, lighting and deliveries, it is considered that, on balance, both proposals are acceptable.”
But Simon Andrews, speaking on behalf of the Woodbury Salterton residents association said that permission should be refused as it is against the Villages Plan and Local Plan policy.
Anthony Arnold added that if this was approved, it would going back to the dark days of the uncontrolled expansion into the countryside. He said: “The area outside the boundary should remain open countryside. What is the point of having a Villages Plan and a Local Plan if you just ignore them? Allow this and you open the floodgates.”
Cllr Geoff Jung, who represents the Raleigh ward, said that he could not support this planning application as it is outside the current approved employment area. He added: “Authorising this will drive a bus through the Local Plan. It allows anyone to get a compound, put a tenant in, and then call for the same permission to be granted.” He said that the council were successful on defending an appeal on the eastern area of the site and that this should be refused as it doesn’t comply with the Local Plan nor the Villages Plan and is not compatible with the setting.
Cllr Ben Ingham added that it may be providing jobs, but as it is in the wrong area, it is not sustainable and allow the sites to be ‘joined up’ is against policy.
Cllr Mike Allen said that this was a difficult decision for the committee. He said it is already a brownfield site it has hard standing and is fenced, and asked people to think about what an inspector may say. He added: “I think if we refused this, it would probably be approved on appeal, but I cannot think of a reason why this should be approved.” He also said that he was continuing to explain to the Greendale Business Park on why they need to get planning permission for their developments before they start building them and that he hoped they had finally got the message.
But Cllr Helen Parr said that she felt the committee had to be realistic, adding: “Regardless of whether we want this and what is in the policy, it is developed land and all the considerations to me say that on appeal, it is allowable.”
Cllr Bailey added that Greendale’s track record with planning applications was ‘not to be admired’, but added: “I fail to see any advantages in demolishing a low level piece of hard standing with a bit of fencing.”
A proposal to reject the scheme was lost by six votes to five. Councillors then voted by six votes to five to approve the retrospective plans.
Greendale Business Park extension approved - Radio Exe
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Saturday, 4 May 2019
District Council elections: Lib Dems and Independents "make significant gains across Devon"
There has been an extraordinary set of results in East Devon:
Futures Forum: BREAKING NEWS: "Bad day" for the Tories as Independents in East Devon gain an overall majority of two
Futures Forum: District Council elections: "Independents deliver blow to the Conservatives'" > further reports
As reported by Devon Live:
Full results as Conservatives lose control of East Devon District Council - Devon Live
And this has been duplicated across the County.
For example:
Exeter’s new Independent councilor Jemima Moore on Clifton Hill, climate change, and what she will do differently - Devon Live
Local Election 2019: Shocks aplenty in Exeter as Labour lose city centre control - Devon Live
Full results as Torbay Council ends up with no overall control after success for Lib-Dems - Devon Live
Full results as Conservatives lose control of Torridge with the Independents the largest party - Devon Live
North Devon Lib Dem leader hails tremendous night as they take control of council - Devon Live
Full results as Liberal Democrats gain control of North Devon Council - Devon Live
Here's the county coverage from the BBC:
Election Results: Lib Dems make gains across Devon - BBC News
And from Devon Live:
Conservatives pounded at Devon polls as they lose control of six of eight councils
Liberal Democrats and Independents made significant gains across Devon
Daniel Clark
The leaders of Teignbridge and West Devon councils both lost their seats in the elections.
Conservative councillors who held their seats blasted the national situation and Theresa May’s leadership of the country for their collapse in votes, with Mid Devon District Council’s leader Clive Eginton, who won his seat in Taw Vale saying: “Without any shadow of a doubt it was blatantly obvious to anybody who was knocking on doors, the first question you had was ‘what on earth is going on in the country.’
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CLICK TO PLAY
Futures Forum: BREAKING NEWS: "Bad day" for the Tories as Independents in East Devon gain an overall majority of two
Futures Forum: District Council elections: "Independents deliver blow to the Conservatives'" > further reports
As reported by Devon Live:
Full results as Conservatives lose control of East Devon District Council - Devon Live
And this has been duplicated across the County.
For example:
Exeter’s new Independent councilor Jemima Moore on Clifton Hill, climate change, and what she will do differently - Devon Live
Local Election 2019: Shocks aplenty in Exeter as Labour lose city centre control - Devon Live
Full results as Torbay Council ends up with no overall control after success for Lib-Dems - Devon Live
Full results as Conservatives lose control of Torridge with the Independents the largest party - Devon Live
North Devon Lib Dem leader hails tremendous night as they take control of council - Devon Live
Full results as Liberal Democrats gain control of North Devon Council - Devon Live
Here's the county coverage from the BBC:
Election Results: Lib Dems make gains across Devon - BBC News
And from Devon Live:
Conservatives pounded at Devon polls as they lose control of six of eight councils
Liberal Democrats and Independents made significant gains across Devon
Daniel Clark
Local Democracy Reporter
20:18, 3 MAY 2019
20:18, 3 MAY 2019
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CLICK TO PLAY
ELECTION RESULTS FOR THE FRIDAY COUNTS
The Conservatives were given a pounding at the polls as they lost control of six of the eight councils in Devon they were in control of.
Residents instead cast their votes towards the Liberal Democrats, who gained control in Teignbridge and North Devon, and Independent candidates, who became the largest parties in Torridge and East Devon.
Only South Hams and West Devon remain under Conservative control, but they suffered heavy losses in both regions and retain control by one seat in both.
The Conservatives were given a pounding at the polls as they lost control of six of the eight councils in Devon they were in control of.
Residents instead cast their votes towards the Liberal Democrats, who gained control in Teignbridge and North Devon, and Independent candidates, who became the largest parties in Torridge and East Devon.
Only South Hams and West Devon remain under Conservative control, but they suffered heavy losses in both regions and retain control by one seat in both.
The leaders of Teignbridge and West Devon councils both lost their seats in the elections.
Conservative councillors who held their seats blasted the national situation and Theresa May’s leadership of the country for their collapse in votes, with Mid Devon District Council’s leader Clive Eginton, who won his seat in Taw Vale saying: “Without any shadow of a doubt it was blatantly obvious to anybody who was knocking on doors, the first question you had was ‘what on earth is going on in the country.’
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CLIVE EGINTON REACTS TO TORY PERFORMANCE IN MID DEVON
“The Brexit situation was prevalent throughout every discussion; it was only when you got into discussing the local situation and Mid Devon District Council, did you have a chance of getting people to turn out to vote.
“I would say to the Government and the Party in Westminster ‘what you have done, is destroy a number of hard-working councils across the entire country. Theresa May I do not believe is fit to govern, and in my opinion, she should be gone by the end of May.”
The Conservatives have lost more than 1,300 councillors nationally, with Labour losing almost 80 seats in the English local elections, in which it had been expected to make gains. The Lib Dems gained more than 670 seats and the Greens more than 180.
Teignbridge was held by the Conservatives, but the council flipped to the Liberal Democrats who gained control. Outgoing leader of Teignbridge Jeremy Christophers lost his seat, as did several members of the executive, while pressure group Newton Says No picked up three seats.
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GORDON HOOK REACTS TO THE TEIGNBRIDGE DISTRICT COUNCIL RESULTS
Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr Gordon Hook said: “I am absolutely awesomely enthusiastic and delighted and grateful for the people for giving us this opportunity to help people in a very real way in some the real problems that exists, including the lack of the genuinely affordable low cost housing for people to rent or to buy. We want to get people on the housing ladder, that is a huge ambitious of ours and we want to improve the environment and do our bit for climate change and to look very carefully at the existing Local Plan to mitigate the huge negative impacts that are accrued for the plan – all of which are high priorities for the first week.
“We identified with the genuine problems that the residents felt, particularly in Newton Abbot with the lack of infrastructure that is coming with all the building. The lack of houses that people want in the places they want them, and that is something we have to look at carefully. The environment has been neglected as there is so much rubbish and graffiti, and we are looking forward to doing our bit to tackle climate change.”
Mid Devon and Torbay saw the Conservatives remain as the largest party, but they lost overall control of the council.
In Torridge, the Independents fell just one seat short of taking control of the council from the Conservatives, but are the largest party.
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JEMIMA MOORE AND DIANA MOORE REACT TO THEIR STANDOUT ELECTION WINS IN EXETER
North Devon had been run by the Conservatives, in coalition with the South Molton Independents, but the Liberal Democrats gained temporary control of the council. They won 21 of the 41 contested seats – the 42 was countermanded following the death of a candidate – so hold control of the council until the by-election takes place in June.
The Liberal Democrats must win that seat to retain overall control, but would remain the largest party in North Devon regardless.
The Conservatives did manage to hang on to control of both South Hams and West Devon councils – but only by one seat – and in West Devon, the leader of the council Philip Sanders lost his seat.
Overnight saw Labour retain control of both Plymouth City and Exeter City councils – in both instances gaining one seat, although Exeter’s Labour party did suffer city centre losses in St David’s and Newton and St Leonard’s to the Green party and Independent Jemima Moore respectively.
Conservatives pounded at Devon polls as they lose control of six of eight councils - Devon Live
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“The Brexit situation was prevalent throughout every discussion; it was only when you got into discussing the local situation and Mid Devon District Council, did you have a chance of getting people to turn out to vote.
“I would say to the Government and the Party in Westminster ‘what you have done, is destroy a number of hard-working councils across the entire country. Theresa May I do not believe is fit to govern, and in my opinion, she should be gone by the end of May.”
The Conservatives have lost more than 1,300 councillors nationally, with Labour losing almost 80 seats in the English local elections, in which it had been expected to make gains. The Lib Dems gained more than 670 seats and the Greens more than 180.
Teignbridge was held by the Conservatives, but the council flipped to the Liberal Democrats who gained control. Outgoing leader of Teignbridge Jeremy Christophers lost his seat, as did several members of the executive, while pressure group Newton Says No picked up three seats.
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CLICK TO PLAY
GORDON HOOK REACTS TO THE TEIGNBRIDGE DISTRICT COUNCIL RESULTS
Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr Gordon Hook said: “I am absolutely awesomely enthusiastic and delighted and grateful for the people for giving us this opportunity to help people in a very real way in some the real problems that exists, including the lack of the genuinely affordable low cost housing for people to rent or to buy. We want to get people on the housing ladder, that is a huge ambitious of ours and we want to improve the environment and do our bit for climate change and to look very carefully at the existing Local Plan to mitigate the huge negative impacts that are accrued for the plan – all of which are high priorities for the first week.
“We identified with the genuine problems that the residents felt, particularly in Newton Abbot with the lack of infrastructure that is coming with all the building. The lack of houses that people want in the places they want them, and that is something we have to look at carefully. The environment has been neglected as there is so much rubbish and graffiti, and we are looking forward to doing our bit to tackle climate change.”
Mid Devon and Torbay saw the Conservatives remain as the largest party, but they lost overall control of the council.
In Torridge, the Independents fell just one seat short of taking control of the council from the Conservatives, but are the largest party.
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CLICK TO PLAY
JEMIMA MOORE AND DIANA MOORE REACT TO THEIR STANDOUT ELECTION WINS IN EXETER
North Devon had been run by the Conservatives, in coalition with the South Molton Independents, but the Liberal Democrats gained temporary control of the council. They won 21 of the 41 contested seats – the 42 was countermanded following the death of a candidate – so hold control of the council until the by-election takes place in June.
The Liberal Democrats must win that seat to retain overall control, but would remain the largest party in North Devon regardless.
The Conservatives did manage to hang on to control of both South Hams and West Devon councils – but only by one seat – and in West Devon, the leader of the council Philip Sanders lost his seat.
Overnight saw Labour retain control of both Plymouth City and Exeter City councils – in both instances gaining one seat, although Exeter’s Labour party did suffer city centre losses in St David’s and Newton and St Leonard’s to the Green party and Independent Jemima Moore respectively.
Conservatives pounded at Devon polls as they lose control of six of eight councils - Devon Live
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Friday, 3 May 2019
District Council elections: "Independents deliver blow to the Conservatives'" > further reports
The District Council has just released the full results of the election:
3 May 2019 - East Devon District Council election results 2019 - East Devon
With latest reports from the Herald:
How did Sidmouth and Ottery vote in East Devon elections 2019? | Election | Sidmouth Herald
Conservatives ousted from Ottery EDDC seats | Latest Sidmouth and Ottery News - Sidmouth Herald
This is from their summary:
'East Devon District Council elections: Independents deliver blow to the Conservatives'
PUBLISHED: 19:06 03 May 2019 | UPDATED: 22:07 03 May 2019
Chris Carson
Tory defector and council leader Ian Thomas amongst the winners
It was Independents day as the East Devon District Council election results were announced today (Friday, May 3).
Candidates not affiliated to any of the main stream Parties recorded some significant victories, topping the poll in several wards. Both pure independents and members of the Independent East Devon Alliance did well.
Jenny Brown was one of the Conservative Party casualties – losing her bid to win a Honiton St Paul's ward seat, after switching from the St Michael's ward which she presented for four years. She ended just one vote behind fellow Tory and sitting member Dean Barrow – the voting was 385-384. Independent Tony McCollum topped the poll with 632.
EDDC leader Ian Thomas retained his Trinity Ward seat – despite his shock resignation from the Conservative Party shortly before the elections. He defeated his Labour Party rival Sarah Birnie by 635 votes to 249. Although still listed on the ballot paper as a Tory, Cllr Thomas said he had personally written to more than 2,000 electors in the ward to make it clear he would be serving as a independent councillor if elected. “I have done my best not to mislead anyone,” he stressed. Councillor Thomas will remain leader of the council until the annual meeting on May 22.
Cllr Iain Chubb, from Axminster, retained his seat on the Newbridges Ward for the Conservatives, defeating the Labour Party candidate George Neate by 617 votes to 216. There was a 42.6 per cent turnout. Cllr Chubb said: “I am pleased to be re-elected after serving for 12 years and working positively for the people in East Devon as a whole, helping to provide a good service efficiently.”
Independent Geoff Pook won the Beer and Branscombe seat, beating Labour Party candidate John Gregory by 601 votes to 106. He said: “I would like to thank everyone who voted and to John Gregory for making it a competition. I look forward to representing everyone in this extended ward now including West Seaton and hope that the people of West Seaton don't hesitate to contact me if they have any issues.”
Conservative Phil Twiss topped the poll in the Honiton St Michael's ward with 790 votes. Fellow Tory Mike Allen was second with 763 and Liberal Democrat Luke Jeffery took the third seat with 700 votes.
Cllr Allen said: “I am delighted Phil Twiss and I have been re-elected so we can continue to serve well as we have done for the past eight years or more. But clearly there has been a very strong protest vote nationally with the number of Conservative votes down. We will make sure the district council remains strongly orientated towards economic growth and good housing whilst protecting the environment.”
At Ottery St Mary Independents took all three seats. Vicky Johns topped the poll with 1,501 votes, with Geoff Pratt in second place with 1,044, followed by Peter Faithfull with 878. The turnout was 37.8 per cent Vicky Johns put her victory down to asking people what they wanted and listening to their answers. She also praised her campaign manager Roger Giles.
At Axminster Sarah Jackson, standing for the first time as an Independent East Devon Alliance candidate, topped the poll with 1,001 votes. Both sitting Conservatives, district council chairman Andrew Moulding and Ian Hall, with 818 and 740 votes respectively, were returned, but veteran Liberal Democrat Douglass Hull lost his long-held seat.
Speaking after her win Sarah Jackson, standing as the only independent candidate in the Axminster election, said: “I am absolutely elated and looking forward to it. I believe your local elected representatives should answer to the public, not their party. Axminster has so much to offer and potentially a great future…we can unlock Axminster's potential without destroying its unique charm.”
Another Independent East Devon Alliance candidate – Axminster town councillor and former mayor Paul Hayward - won the Yarty ward with 492 votes, ahead of Tory Alasdair Bruce on 296.
And at Seaton East Devon Independent Alliance candidates Dan Ledger and former mayor Jack Rowland were elected with 1,561 votes and 1,392 votes respectively The third seat was retained by Conservative Marcus Hartnell. Former mayor and sitting member Liberal Democrat Peter Burrows lost his seat.
...
Independents do well in EDDC poll | Honiton, Axminster and Seaton news - Midweek Herald
This is Devon Live's take on things - including a handy video:
Full results as Conservatives lose control of East Devon District Council
Independent councillors as well as the East Devon Alliance made sweeping gains across the whole of the district, with leader of the EDA, Cllr Cathy Gardner saying it showed that the people want real change.
Daniel Clark
3 May 2019 - East Devon District Council election results 2019 - East Devon
With latest reports from the Herald:
How did Sidmouth and Ottery vote in East Devon elections 2019? | Election | Sidmouth Herald
Conservatives ousted from Ottery EDDC seats | Latest Sidmouth and Ottery News - Sidmouth Herald
This is from their summary:
'East Devon District Council elections: Independents deliver blow to the Conservatives'
PUBLISHED: 19:06 03 May 2019 | UPDATED: 22:07 03 May 2019
Chris Carson
Tory defector and council leader Ian Thomas amongst the winners
It was Independents day as the East Devon District Council election results were announced today (Friday, May 3).
Candidates not affiliated to any of the main stream Parties recorded some significant victories, topping the poll in several wards. Both pure independents and members of the Independent East Devon Alliance did well.
Jenny Brown was one of the Conservative Party casualties – losing her bid to win a Honiton St Paul's ward seat, after switching from the St Michael's ward which she presented for four years. She ended just one vote behind fellow Tory and sitting member Dean Barrow – the voting was 385-384. Independent Tony McCollum topped the poll with 632.
EDDC leader Ian Thomas retained his Trinity Ward seat – despite his shock resignation from the Conservative Party shortly before the elections. He defeated his Labour Party rival Sarah Birnie by 635 votes to 249. Although still listed on the ballot paper as a Tory, Cllr Thomas said he had personally written to more than 2,000 electors in the ward to make it clear he would be serving as a independent councillor if elected. “I have done my best not to mislead anyone,” he stressed. Councillor Thomas will remain leader of the council until the annual meeting on May 22.
Cllr Iain Chubb, from Axminster, retained his seat on the Newbridges Ward for the Conservatives, defeating the Labour Party candidate George Neate by 617 votes to 216. There was a 42.6 per cent turnout. Cllr Chubb said: “I am pleased to be re-elected after serving for 12 years and working positively for the people in East Devon as a whole, helping to provide a good service efficiently.”
Independent Geoff Pook won the Beer and Branscombe seat, beating Labour Party candidate John Gregory by 601 votes to 106. He said: “I would like to thank everyone who voted and to John Gregory for making it a competition. I look forward to representing everyone in this extended ward now including West Seaton and hope that the people of West Seaton don't hesitate to contact me if they have any issues.”
Conservative Phil Twiss topped the poll in the Honiton St Michael's ward with 790 votes. Fellow Tory Mike Allen was second with 763 and Liberal Democrat Luke Jeffery took the third seat with 700 votes.
Cllr Allen said: “I am delighted Phil Twiss and I have been re-elected so we can continue to serve well as we have done for the past eight years or more. But clearly there has been a very strong protest vote nationally with the number of Conservative votes down. We will make sure the district council remains strongly orientated towards economic growth and good housing whilst protecting the environment.”
At Ottery St Mary Independents took all three seats. Vicky Johns topped the poll with 1,501 votes, with Geoff Pratt in second place with 1,044, followed by Peter Faithfull with 878. The turnout was 37.8 per cent Vicky Johns put her victory down to asking people what they wanted and listening to their answers. She also praised her campaign manager Roger Giles.
At Axminster Sarah Jackson, standing for the first time as an Independent East Devon Alliance candidate, topped the poll with 1,001 votes. Both sitting Conservatives, district council chairman Andrew Moulding and Ian Hall, with 818 and 740 votes respectively, were returned, but veteran Liberal Democrat Douglass Hull lost his long-held seat.
Speaking after her win Sarah Jackson, standing as the only independent candidate in the Axminster election, said: “I am absolutely elated and looking forward to it. I believe your local elected representatives should answer to the public, not their party. Axminster has so much to offer and potentially a great future…we can unlock Axminster's potential without destroying its unique charm.”
Another Independent East Devon Alliance candidate – Axminster town councillor and former mayor Paul Hayward - won the Yarty ward with 492 votes, ahead of Tory Alasdair Bruce on 296.
And at Seaton East Devon Independent Alliance candidates Dan Ledger and former mayor Jack Rowland were elected with 1,561 votes and 1,392 votes respectively The third seat was retained by Conservative Marcus Hartnell. Former mayor and sitting member Liberal Democrat Peter Burrows lost his seat.
...
Independents do well in EDDC poll | Honiton, Axminster and Seaton news - Midweek Herald
This is Devon Live's take on things - including a handy video:
Full results as Conservatives lose control of East Devon District Council
Independent councillors as well as the East Devon Alliance made sweeping gains across the whole of the district, with leader of the EDA, Cllr Cathy Gardner saying it showed that the people want real change.
Daniel Clark
Local Democracy Reporter
19:34, 3 MAY 2019
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ELECTION RESULTS FOR THE FRIDAY COUNTS
For the first time since the council was created in 1974, the Conservatives have lost control of East Devon District Council.
Independent councillors as well as the East Devon Alliance made sweeping gains across the whole of the district, with leader of the EDA, Cllr Cathy Gardner saying it showed that the people want real change.
Heading into the election, the Conservatives had control of the council, with 34 seats. The Independent Group were the official opposition, with 14 councillors, while the Liberal Democrats hold seven seats with three further Independents, and one seat vacant, making up the 59 councillors.
Two Conservative councillors though, including the leader of the council, Ian Thomas, had since quit the party, with Cllr Thomas is standing and successfully being re-elected as an independent.
READ MORE
Council leader calls for "end of May" after disastrous day for Mid Devon Tories
Final results leave the Independents as the largest party on the council with 20 seats. The Conservatives suffered 15 losses to end on 19, while the East Devon Alliance gained seven seats to end on 11.
The Liberal Democrats hold eight seats, up one from where they started, while the Green Party gained two seats in Exmouth.
East Devon results
Between the East Devon Alliance and the Independents, they hold 31 seats, which would be enough to control the council and have a majority. But it not yet clear whether a coalition between them would be formed, and as the Independent councillors include the former leader of the council Ian Thomas, not all Independents would sit in the main group.
READ MORE
Full results as Conservatives lose overall control in Mid Devon
Cllr Ben Ingham, the leader of the Independent Group, and who retained his Woodbury and Lympstone seat, said that he was delighted with the results that showed it was very clear the voters do not want the Conservatives to run the council.
He said that discussions would begin as to how many of the 20 Independent councillors elected would be sitting in the Independent Group and what form of alliance of coalition with the various parties that the electorate voted for could be formed. He added: "The hard work that we put over the last four years has paid off though and I am delighted that the electorate backed our message."
East Devon Alliance leader Cllr Cathy Gardner, who was re-elected in the Sidmouth town ward, said that the results showed a real desire for change in East Devon.
She said: “I am delighted with how things have gone. I think the results are the result of four years of hard work by us – and even more – starting with what Claire Wright did prior to 2015. The people have seen what we are doing and that we have done a good job, and we placed in first place in a large number of wards. The people of East Devon want real change and we can give it to them. This is a historic day for the East Devon Alliance and Independents right across the district and for the losses the Conservatives have felt.”
She added that discussions as to who would lead the council had not yet taken place, although she said that she imagined not all of those Independent councillors elected would sit as part of the Independent Group, who themselves would have to have a vote on who their leader would be, with it currently being Ben Ingham.
Cllr Paul Arnott, chairman of the EDA, and who won a seat in Coly Valley, added: "We would like to thank the voters of East Devon for electing all 11 of our candidates. We will now spend the next week seeking to forge alliances with other councillors willing to work with us to continue to our fight for reform of local governance. We believe that in East Devon this result was not about Brexit but an expression of a hope for positive change to how things are done in our villages, towns and district. Our mission now will be to deliver that change with complete determination in the interests of all local people."
Gains made by Independents included the former owner of the Fun Park on Exmouth seafront Chris Wright, and Save Exmouth Seafront campaigner Nick Hookway taking seats in the Exmouth Littleham ward, while the East Devon Alliance topped the polls in all wards in the Axe Valley.
Losses for the Conservatives included the former leader of the council Paul Diviani finishing last in the Broadclyst ward he stood in.
READ MORE
Full results as Liberal Democrats take control in Teignbridge
The composition of the council currently is the Independents on 20, the Conservatives on 19, the East Devon Alliance on 11, the Liberal Democrats on eight and the Green Party on two.
It is unclear yet who would run the council which is currently under no overall control, although it is likely that the East Devon Alliance and a majority of the Independents could work together as the largest group to run a minority council.
Full results as Conservatives lose control of East Devon District Council - Devon Live
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For the first time since the council was created in 1974, the Conservatives have lost control of East Devon District Council.
Independent councillors as well as the East Devon Alliance made sweeping gains across the whole of the district, with leader of the EDA, Cllr Cathy Gardner saying it showed that the people want real change.
Heading into the election, the Conservatives had control of the council, with 34 seats. The Independent Group were the official opposition, with 14 councillors, while the Liberal Democrats hold seven seats with three further Independents, and one seat vacant, making up the 59 councillors.
Two Conservative councillors though, including the leader of the council, Ian Thomas, had since quit the party, with Cllr Thomas is standing and successfully being re-elected as an independent.
READ MORE
Council leader calls for "end of May" after disastrous day for Mid Devon Tories
Final results leave the Independents as the largest party on the council with 20 seats. The Conservatives suffered 15 losses to end on 19, while the East Devon Alliance gained seven seats to end on 11.
The Liberal Democrats hold eight seats, up one from where they started, while the Green Party gained two seats in Exmouth.
East Devon results
Between the East Devon Alliance and the Independents, they hold 31 seats, which would be enough to control the council and have a majority. But it not yet clear whether a coalition between them would be formed, and as the Independent councillors include the former leader of the council Ian Thomas, not all Independents would sit in the main group.
READ MORE
Full results as Conservatives lose overall control in Mid Devon
Cllr Ben Ingham, the leader of the Independent Group, and who retained his Woodbury and Lympstone seat, said that he was delighted with the results that showed it was very clear the voters do not want the Conservatives to run the council.
He said that discussions would begin as to how many of the 20 Independent councillors elected would be sitting in the Independent Group and what form of alliance of coalition with the various parties that the electorate voted for could be formed. He added: "The hard work that we put over the last four years has paid off though and I am delighted that the electorate backed our message."
East Devon Alliance leader Cllr Cathy Gardner, who was re-elected in the Sidmouth town ward, said that the results showed a real desire for change in East Devon.
She said: “I am delighted with how things have gone. I think the results are the result of four years of hard work by us – and even more – starting with what Claire Wright did prior to 2015. The people have seen what we are doing and that we have done a good job, and we placed in first place in a large number of wards. The people of East Devon want real change and we can give it to them. This is a historic day for the East Devon Alliance and Independents right across the district and for the losses the Conservatives have felt.”
She added that discussions as to who would lead the council had not yet taken place, although she said that she imagined not all of those Independent councillors elected would sit as part of the Independent Group, who themselves would have to have a vote on who their leader would be, with it currently being Ben Ingham.
Cllr Paul Arnott, chairman of the EDA, and who won a seat in Coly Valley, added: "We would like to thank the voters of East Devon for electing all 11 of our candidates. We will now spend the next week seeking to forge alliances with other councillors willing to work with us to continue to our fight for reform of local governance. We believe that in East Devon this result was not about Brexit but an expression of a hope for positive change to how things are done in our villages, towns and district. Our mission now will be to deliver that change with complete determination in the interests of all local people."
Gains made by Independents included the former owner of the Fun Park on Exmouth seafront Chris Wright, and Save Exmouth Seafront campaigner Nick Hookway taking seats in the Exmouth Littleham ward, while the East Devon Alliance topped the polls in all wards in the Axe Valley.
Losses for the Conservatives included the former leader of the council Paul Diviani finishing last in the Broadclyst ward he stood in.
READ MORE
Full results as Liberal Democrats take control in Teignbridge
The composition of the council currently is the Independents on 20, the Conservatives on 19, the East Devon Alliance on 11, the Liberal Democrats on eight and the Green Party on two.
It is unclear yet who would run the council which is currently under no overall control, although it is likely that the East Devon Alliance and a majority of the Independents could work together as the largest group to run a minority council.
Full results as Conservatives lose control of East Devon District Council - Devon Live
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BREAKING NEWS: "Bad day" for the Tories as Independents in East Devon gain an overall majority of two
An extraordinary day in Devon:
England local elections 2019: Devon - BBC News
And particularly in East Devon:
East Devon Elections results 2019 - Live - eastdevon.gov
Live updates as East Devon District Council elections take place - Devon Live
With the final results from the Herald's website - and a handy graphic:
East Devon Elections 2019: Results LIVE
For Sidmouth in particular:
Little change to Sidmouth's political landscape following district council elections
The count for the Town Council will happen tomorrow
https://twitter.com/hashtag/eastdevonvotes?src=hash
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England local elections 2019: Devon - BBC News
And particularly in East Devon:
East Devon Elections results 2019 - Live - eastdevon.gov
Live updates as East Devon District Council elections take place - Devon Live
With the final results from the Herald's website - and a handy graphic:
East Devon Elections 2019: Results LIVE
For Sidmouth in particular:
Little change to Sidmouth's political landscape following district council elections
The count for the Town Council will happen tomorrow
https://twitter.com/hashtag/eastdevonvotes?src=hash
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Saturday, 27 April 2019
Beach Management Plan: "Something drastic for Sidmouth needs to change soon so that we can have a scheme that we can afford, as at the moment there is no sign of it."
The District Council considered a motion to push for South West Water to contribute to the Beach Management Plan for Sidmouth:
Futures Forum: Beach Management Plan: pressure on utility companies to contribute to costs
The context is that the cliffs are not being protected - and so are collapsing:
Futures Forum: Beach Management Plan: urgency for action after further cliff falls - but what action?
The trouble is that the solution being pushed by the District Council is not universally accepted as the best:
The Chairman welcomed those present and invited members of the public to address the Council.
The next speaker was Richard Eley who wanted to discuss the Sidmouth Beach Management Plan, which was also related to climate change. He outlined the situation facing Sidmouth in terms of rapid erosion and the likely risk of flooding, with a severe storm potentially bringing about inundation of the town centre. He stated that there needed to be a serious discussion about how to progress this in the face of unlikely assistance from the government. He had resigned from the Group two years ago but stated that there was now more data available and greater understanding of possible solutions available in order to generate effective change. He wanted to thank John Golding and Dave Turner for their hard work.
In response, the Portfolio Holder for the Environment, Cllr Tom Wright, stated that he had been chairing the Sidmouth Beach Management Plan Group for the last year. A fully designed and costed Plan is currently being prepared which will be brought to a meeting next month, which it is hoped will satisfy the Environment Agency and assist the Group in getting funds to prevent flooding. The nature of the meetings has much improved and Cllr Wright stated that he was confident a Plan will be produced which will safeguard Sidmouth from the risk of flooding in future.
Motion - Government support requested for financial contributions from utility companies to flood and coastal protection schemes
Cllr Gardner had been involved with the Sidmouth Beach Management Plan Group, but had also resigned due to lack of progress and no sight of a scheme which was affordable, or which was likely to achieve government support or which utilities companies would contribute to. She would support the Motion because it would affect her ward, without conviction that it would change matters.
Cllr Ingham commented that if EDDC tried to prescribe how SWW raised the funds to contribute to schemes they would not agree. It was inevitable that they would pass on costs to the customer.
Cllr Wright stated that he supported the Motion but clarified that the funding gap was now £2m rather than £3m. He was confident that a full Business case would soon be available to be put to Council which would help in obtaining the necessary funding.
The Chairman asked Cllr Hughes to give his right to reply.
Cllr Hughes stated that in North Norfolk, Anglian Water had acted positively by endorsing the fact that they should be contributing to coast and flood defence schemes.
The Chief Executive read out the amended motion with a slight re-wording as follows;
‘That the Government ensures that where their assets and infrastructure will be protected by a flood and coastal protection scheme all utility companies are required to make a proportionate and appropriate mandatory level of financial contribution towards that scheme, and subject to the costs of any contribution not being borne by the utilities customers‘.
Having agreed the re-wording the Chairman put the motion to the vote.
RESOLVED
that following a vote, the motion proposed by Councillor Stuart Hughes and seconded by Councillor David Barratt was carried with 2 against.
Agenda for Council on Wednesday, 24th April, 2019, 6.00 pm - East Devon
Printed minutes 24th-Apr-2019 18.00 Council.pdf
Devon Live carries a report:
Futures Forum: Beach Management Plan: pressure on utility companies to contribute to costs
The context is that the cliffs are not being protected - and so are collapsing:
Futures Forum: Beach Management Plan: urgency for action after further cliff falls - but what action?
The trouble is that the solution being pushed by the District Council is not universally accepted as the best:
Futures Forum: Beach Management Plan: businesses oppose seawall and stakeholders demand clarity
The District Council's 'preferred option' of groynes is not the preferred option of the local stakeholders on the BMP steering group:
Futures Forum: Beach Management Plan: breakwaters rather than groins/groynes
Futures Forum: Beach Management Plan: "There is widespread scepticism of the process and little regard shown to the local understanding of what the real issues might be."
Returning to the ploy to get SWW to contribute, the District Council is desperate to cover the costs of its plan that almost no one in Sidmouth wants:
The District Council's 'preferred option' of groynes is not the preferred option of the local stakeholders on the BMP steering group:
Futures Forum: Beach Management Plan: breakwaters rather than groins/groynes
Futures Forum: Beach Management Plan: "There is widespread scepticism of the process and little regard shown to the local understanding of what the real issues might be."
Returning to the ploy to get SWW to contribute, the District Council is desperate to cover the costs of its plan that almost no one in Sidmouth wants:
Futures Forum: Beach Management Plan: still a funding gap of £3.3million
And so at the last District Council meeting last week when the idea of approaching SWW was debated, there was also debate about the desirability and viability of the 'preferred option' - which does not have the necessary funding and probably never will:
Council
Wednesday, 24th April, 2019 6.00 pm
And so at the last District Council meeting last week when the idea of approaching SWW was debated, there was also debate about the desirability and viability of the 'preferred option' - which does not have the necessary funding and probably never will:
Council
Wednesday, 24th April, 2019 6.00 pm
The Chairman welcomed those present and invited members of the public to address the Council.
The next speaker was Richard Eley who wanted to discuss the Sidmouth Beach Management Plan, which was also related to climate change. He outlined the situation facing Sidmouth in terms of rapid erosion and the likely risk of flooding, with a severe storm potentially bringing about inundation of the town centre. He stated that there needed to be a serious discussion about how to progress this in the face of unlikely assistance from the government. He had resigned from the Group two years ago but stated that there was now more data available and greater understanding of possible solutions available in order to generate effective change. He wanted to thank John Golding and Dave Turner for their hard work.
In response, the Portfolio Holder for the Environment, Cllr Tom Wright, stated that he had been chairing the Sidmouth Beach Management Plan Group for the last year. A fully designed and costed Plan is currently being prepared which will be brought to a meeting next month, which it is hoped will satisfy the Environment Agency and assist the Group in getting funds to prevent flooding. The nature of the meetings has much improved and Cllr Wright stated that he was confident a Plan will be produced which will safeguard Sidmouth from the risk of flooding in future.
Motion - Government support requested for financial contributions from utility companies to flood and coastal protection schemes
Cllr Gardner had been involved with the Sidmouth Beach Management Plan Group, but had also resigned due to lack of progress and no sight of a scheme which was affordable, or which was likely to achieve government support or which utilities companies would contribute to. She would support the Motion because it would affect her ward, without conviction that it would change matters.
Cllr Ingham commented that if EDDC tried to prescribe how SWW raised the funds to contribute to schemes they would not agree. It was inevitable that they would pass on costs to the customer.
Cllr Wright stated that he supported the Motion but clarified that the funding gap was now £2m rather than £3m. He was confident that a full Business case would soon be available to be put to Council which would help in obtaining the necessary funding.
The Chairman asked Cllr Hughes to give his right to reply.
Cllr Hughes stated that in North Norfolk, Anglian Water had acted positively by endorsing the fact that they should be contributing to coast and flood defence schemes.
The Chief Executive read out the amended motion with a slight re-wording as follows;
‘That the Government ensures that where their assets and infrastructure will be protected by a flood and coastal protection scheme all utility companies are required to make a proportionate and appropriate mandatory level of financial contribution towards that scheme, and subject to the costs of any contribution not being borne by the utilities customers‘.
Having agreed the re-wording the Chairman put the motion to the vote.
RESOLVED
that following a vote, the motion proposed by Councillor Stuart Hughes and seconded by Councillor David Barratt was carried with 2 against.
Agenda for Council on Wednesday, 24th April, 2019, 6.00 pm - East Devon
Printed minutes 24th-Apr-2019 18.00 Council.pdf
Devon Live carries a report:
The plan to protect Sidmouth’s crumbling cliffs is set to be finalised
Councillors also agreed to call on utility companies to be forced to contribute towards coastal defence schemes
Daniel Clark Local Democracy Reporter
26 APR 2019
The full business case for a plan to stop Sidmouth’s crumbling cliffs from crashing into the sea and the town being flooded is set to come forward in the next couple of months.
The proposed scheme for the East Devon town will see a new groyne built to help keep shingle from being moved eastwards away from the vulnerable cliffs and a higher splash wall will capture water coming over the sea wall to prevent flooding. The scheme will cost £8.9m, but currently has a funding shortfall of around £2m.
East Devon District Council on Wednesday night agreed to support a motion calling on the Government to request electric, gas, telephone and water companies to be mandated, where their assets and infrastructure will be protected and benefit from them, to make a proportionate and appropriate mandatory level of financial contribution towards that scheme, and subject to the costs of any contribution not being borne by customers.
Councillors also agreed to call on utility companies to be forced to contribute towards coastal defence schemes
Daniel Clark Local Democracy Reporter
26 APR 2019
The full business case for a plan to stop Sidmouth’s crumbling cliffs from crashing into the sea and the town being flooded is set to come forward in the next couple of months.
The proposed scheme for the East Devon town will see a new groyne built to help keep shingle from being moved eastwards away from the vulnerable cliffs and a higher splash wall will capture water coming over the sea wall to prevent flooding. The scheme will cost £8.9m, but currently has a funding shortfall of around £2m.
East Devon District Council on Wednesday night agreed to support a motion calling on the Government to request electric, gas, telephone and water companies to be mandated, where their assets and infrastructure will be protected and benefit from them, to make a proportionate and appropriate mandatory level of financial contribution towards that scheme, and subject to the costs of any contribution not being borne by customers.
Option 1 - The preferred option that the beach management plan for Sidmouth has identified is to construct one or two new rock groynes along East Beach over a distance of up to 200m east of the River Sid and to modify the length of the seaward end of the River Sid training wall and East Pier rock groyne to improve sediment transport between Sidmouth Town Beach and East Beach. This would be supported by importing new shingle and moving shingle along the beach as required.
It was put forward by Cllr Stuart Hughes as in Sidmouth, South West Water infrastructure will be protected if the scheme is built, but they have not contributed financially to the near £9m scheme.
Wednesday night’s full council meeting also heard from Cllr Tom Wright, the portfolio holder for the environment, that a full business case for the Sidmouth beach management plan would come forward soon to the council.
Cllr Wright said: “In the next month or so, the full business case will come to the council. Then we will know how much we are looking for, and I am certain that once we have the business case evaluated and costed, it will help us to find our funding.” He added that he totally supported the motion and said that the delay in the business case coming forward was to ensure that the design would actually work.
Proposing the motion, Cllr Hughes said: “Utilities services will be protected by such works. However at present they don’t have to contribute and I don’t recall seeing any scheme that’s gone ahead receiving funding from either the electric, gas, or telephone companies. Water companies don’t always contribute and as far as Sidmouth is concerned, they haven’t come to the party with any promise of financial contribution
“This necessary work will protect not just homes and businesses but also important infrastructure and utilities. In Sidmouth, for example, the South West Water infrastructure and other utilities will be protected from the incursion of the sea and erosion when the scheme is delivered. It seems fair and reasonable that all utility companies contribute towards the cost of coastal and flood protection works.”
He added that North Norfolk District Council and Great Yarmouth Borough Council had already signed a letter to government ministers saying it is “inequitable” that water, electricity and gas companies do not have to contribute to projects managing coastal erosion, so East Devon would not be acting alone, and that Anglian Water had said that they endorse the principle of utilities contributing towards the costs of coastal protection where they have assets in vulnerable areas.
Cllr David Barratt, who seconded the motion, added: “It is quite clear that South West Water should be giving a contribution to a scheme that will safeguard their units on the seafront at Sidmouth, but as well as this, we must continue our local attempts to try and persuade them to contribute and generally redouble our efforts to seek our partnership funding. It is desperately urgent that we move the beach management plan forward before we see Sidmouth falling into the sea.”
Cllr Cathy Gardner said that will she supported the motion, she was not enthusiastic that it would work. She added: “The beach management plan process has been grinding on for years. We are now waiting for funding but I have no confidence it will be found. Something drastic for Sidmouth needs to change soon so that we can have a scheme that we can afford, as at the moment there is no sign of it.”
She also added that she thought that if the utility companies were forced to contribute, she expected that the costs would be passed onto customers anyway.
The motion was discussed in the same week where rubble crashed to the ground down at Jacob’s Ladder beach on Easter Sunday, in full view of hundreds of sun seekers and that at the other end of the seafront, on the precarious East Beach, there was a massive landslide that saw rubble crash down and block off a cave that was opened up following a previous cliff fall.
East Devon District Council subsequently reissued a warning to members of the public that the cliffs pose a very real danger and caution must be exercised when visiting them and the beach, and not to ignore warning signs, and not to sit directly beneath them.
The proposed beach management scheme aims to reduce the risk of flooding to Sidmouth by maintaining the standard of defences along Sidmouth Beach, and to reduce the rate of erosion to the cliffs.
The scheme will cost £8.9m, with around £3m of funding needed to be provided locally. £500,000 of this will be provided by East Devon District Council, with £500,000 set to be committed by Devon County Council and £100,000 from Sidmouth town council. Around £1m of local funding has been found, Cllr Wright announced, meaning roughly £2m more needs to be found.
The plan to protect Sidmouth’s crumbling cliffs is set to be finalised - Devon Live
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It was put forward by Cllr Stuart Hughes as in Sidmouth, South West Water infrastructure will be protected if the scheme is built, but they have not contributed financially to the near £9m scheme.
Wednesday night’s full council meeting also heard from Cllr Tom Wright, the portfolio holder for the environment, that a full business case for the Sidmouth beach management plan would come forward soon to the council.
Cllr Wright said: “In the next month or so, the full business case will come to the council. Then we will know how much we are looking for, and I am certain that once we have the business case evaluated and costed, it will help us to find our funding.” He added that he totally supported the motion and said that the delay in the business case coming forward was to ensure that the design would actually work.
Proposing the motion, Cllr Hughes said: “Utilities services will be protected by such works. However at present they don’t have to contribute and I don’t recall seeing any scheme that’s gone ahead receiving funding from either the electric, gas, or telephone companies. Water companies don’t always contribute and as far as Sidmouth is concerned, they haven’t come to the party with any promise of financial contribution
“This necessary work will protect not just homes and businesses but also important infrastructure and utilities. In Sidmouth, for example, the South West Water infrastructure and other utilities will be protected from the incursion of the sea and erosion when the scheme is delivered. It seems fair and reasonable that all utility companies contribute towards the cost of coastal and flood protection works.”
He added that North Norfolk District Council and Great Yarmouth Borough Council had already signed a letter to government ministers saying it is “inequitable” that water, electricity and gas companies do not have to contribute to projects managing coastal erosion, so East Devon would not be acting alone, and that Anglian Water had said that they endorse the principle of utilities contributing towards the costs of coastal protection where they have assets in vulnerable areas.
Cllr David Barratt, who seconded the motion, added: “It is quite clear that South West Water should be giving a contribution to a scheme that will safeguard their units on the seafront at Sidmouth, but as well as this, we must continue our local attempts to try and persuade them to contribute and generally redouble our efforts to seek our partnership funding. It is desperately urgent that we move the beach management plan forward before we see Sidmouth falling into the sea.”
Cllr Cathy Gardner said that will she supported the motion, she was not enthusiastic that it would work. She added: “The beach management plan process has been grinding on for years. We are now waiting for funding but I have no confidence it will be found. Something drastic for Sidmouth needs to change soon so that we can have a scheme that we can afford, as at the moment there is no sign of it.”
She also added that she thought that if the utility companies were forced to contribute, she expected that the costs would be passed onto customers anyway.
The motion was discussed in the same week where rubble crashed to the ground down at Jacob’s Ladder beach on Easter Sunday, in full view of hundreds of sun seekers and that at the other end of the seafront, on the precarious East Beach, there was a massive landslide that saw rubble crash down and block off a cave that was opened up following a previous cliff fall.
East Devon District Council subsequently reissued a warning to members of the public that the cliffs pose a very real danger and caution must be exercised when visiting them and the beach, and not to ignore warning signs, and not to sit directly beneath them.
The proposed beach management scheme aims to reduce the risk of flooding to Sidmouth by maintaining the standard of defences along Sidmouth Beach, and to reduce the rate of erosion to the cliffs.
The scheme will cost £8.9m, with around £3m of funding needed to be provided locally. £500,000 of this will be provided by East Devon District Council, with £500,000 set to be committed by Devon County Council and £100,000 from Sidmouth town council. Around £1m of local funding has been found, Cllr Wright announced, meaning roughly £2m more needs to be found.
The plan to protect Sidmouth’s crumbling cliffs is set to be finalised - Devon Live
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