All good things must come to an end: thank you and goodbye from the Futures Forum blog

We seem to have reached a certain point where we are very much looking to new futures, new starts and a lot of anticipation.

We have a substantially new Town Council in place - which met last night and voted for continuity but with renewed vigour:
Sidmouth Town Council appoints chair and vice-chair | Latest Sidmouth and Ottery News - Sidmouth Herald
Futures Forum: Sidmouth Annual Town Meeting > Monday 20th May > challenges and opportunities

The District Council is now dominated by Independents:
Futures Forum: District Council elections: "Independents deliver blow to the Conservatives'" > further reports

And will be meeting tomorrow:
WEDNESDAY crunch day for Indies at EDDC … and us | East Devon Watch
Futures Forum: As Independents seek to create a working coalition, the District Council meets for the first time since local elections > Wednesday 22nd May

The EU parliamentary elections will be happening on Thursday - and will be having a profound effect on life in the West Country:
European Elections 2019: Why should you vote? | Latest Sidmouth and Ottery News - Sidmouth Herald
Futures Forum: Brexit: and the EU elections: the latest South West poll results
Futures Forum: Brexit: and the EU elections: Democratic Audit looks at what will happen in the South West

Back here in Sidmouth, not only do we have well-established festivals looking forward to the summer: 
The Sidmouth Folk Festival – 2nd – 9th August 2019
Paul Taylor-Mills returns to Sidmouth with Summer Play Festival 2019 | Latest Sidmouth and Ottery News - Sidmouth Herald

But we have thriving relatively new ones:
Sidmouth Sea Fest delivers diversity and creativity | Latest Sidmouth and Ottery News - Sidmouth Herald
Futures Forum: Sidmouth Sea Fest > staging 'Fish out of Water', a new play on the life of Stephen Reynolds

As far as this blog is concerned, it started six years ago with Port Royal:
Futures Forum: Port Royal future: ‘Let’s get the community on board’

And we seem to have sorted at least the Drill Hall for the moment:
Futures Forum: Plans for Port Royal: selling the Drill Hall, rather than producing a masterplan > East Devon's MP calls for a "masterplan for the Port Royal and Ham car park in Sidmouth"

A less successful end-game has been the struggle over Knowle, which began here:
Futures Forum: Save Our Sidmouth

And has ended here:
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: parkland transfer to Town Council > latest
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: an overspend on loans
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: or, how a new HQ costing £8.7m is valued at £3.5m

It seems the right moment, then, to allow fresh blood onto the Sidmouth scene and to make this the last - but the blog itself will remain online as a resource.

Meanwhile, here's a list of other news sources to dip into:
BBC Local News: Sidmouth
ITV Local News: Sidmouth
Sidmouth Nub News

Also:

News from Sidmouth Town Council
Latest News from Sid Valley Help

And of course:
Sidmouth Herald
Devon Live: Sidmouth

Local News - Radio Exe

Plus the excellent and provocative:

East Devon Watch

And there is a lively local social media page:
Sidmouth Community public group | Facebook

Finally, there are of course the Vision Group's very own daily news pages: 



Recent News - Vision Group for Sidmouth
.
.
.

Plans for Port Royal: BREAKING NEWS: All three offers for the Drill Hall propose refurbishment rather than demolition

The bids for what to do with the Drill Hall have been looked at:
Futures Forum: Plans for Port Royal: Drill Hall bids to be considered

And news has just broken that these will be presented at the next District Council Cabinet meeting - as covered in the Rescue Sidmouth Drill Hall site: 

EDDC Cabinet Agenda 6/3/2019 Dear Friends, Things are moving forward, the agenda link is now up on the EDDC Agenda page or if you find it difficult to open from there then try here. The item of interest appears as the last item in the document and is Agenda Item 21 on page 97. It is propably easier to just zip to the bottom of the document and work up! It details the suggestions for the Drill Hall and also the bids which were made and the criteria for judging. I think the EDDC deserves praise for the amount of detail they give here whilst protecting confidentiality. If this is a reflection of the change in Council leadership then we could be heading for easier and less confrontational times. The important fact is that all three bids proposed to retain the hall, have we finally got through to people that it is not economic to try to replace it? The preferred bid would use it as a restaurant, but there is little use in my regurgitating what is said in the agenda, go and read it yourself. Kind regards, Mary

EDDC Cabinet Agenda 6/3/2019
Rescue Sidmouth Drill Hall - Sidmouth Drill Hall Rescue

The 3-Rs group has also broken the news:

Revive Port Royal for all | a community initiative
Drill Hall | Save Our Sidmouth
Futures Forum: Plans for Port Royal: an alternative view: a new campaign: an online petition > The '3Rs' vision to "retain, refurbish and reuse" > website, blog, videos

The East Devon Watch blog does ask a couple of pertinent questions, though:
“Regional” chain restaurant chosen as preferred bidder for Sidmouth Drill Hall | East Devon Watch

And the Herald gives more information this evening: 

Restaurant bids proposed for Drill Hall site

PUBLISHED: 18:15 25 February 2019 | UPDATED: 18:57 25 February 2019

Clarissa Place

The front of the drill hall has been called untidy and a mess by resident Dave O'Connor.

Sidmouth’s Drill Hall looks set to become a restaurant, after the first details of the bids to take it on were revealed.

East Devon District Council (EDDC) received three commercial offers for the redundant building, with each submission proposing a restaurant or bar as part of the application.

Offer two, which has been put forward by an unnamed ‘established’ South West brand, has been recommended for selection by a core group and will be discussed at EDDC’s cabinet meeting next Wednesday (March 6).

Members will vote to allow senior officers to enter into negotiations with the approved bidder about the disposal of the Drill Hall site and the neighbouring toilet block – on the basis a replacement facility is provided.

The bidders behind offer two have restaurants in several Devon towns and in Exeter and propose to ‘sympathetically refurbish’ the Drill Hall with some alternations to include a balcony and terrace area.

The report said: “This offer would be expected to draw people into the town based on their name/reputation. They have been a catalyst elsewhere where their presence has turned around parts of town centres.”

The offer would be subject to planning and licensing approvals being secured, and would consider incorporating the toilet block into the site as the negotiation process went forward.

All three offers were considered by a group made up of town and district councillors and officers, who weighed up the price and quality of each of the bids.

The quality of the bid, which made up 60 per cent of the assessment, was assessed based on financing, delivery of the proposal, governance and outcomes.

Offer one was submitted as a two-phase development, starting with refurbishing the hall to be run as a family business, offering a bar or restaurant – employing four full time staff and up to 10 part time employees.

The second phase would look at the Port Royal area over the course of 10 years.

A land swap rather than cash was offered for the Drill Hall site.

The third offer proposed a community function room, with a pop-up restaurant in the basement, living space on the ground floor and office space on the existing first floor.

In an alternative offer, the applicant proposed the ground floor would be used as a restaurant or for community use, with planning permission to create a new first floor for chef or owner accommodation.

The council’s cabinet will discuss the recommendations next Wednesday (March 6) before final approval is given at April’s full council meeting.

Restaurant bids proposed for Drill Hall site | Latest Sidmouth and Ottery News - Sidmouth Herald
.
.
.

Knowle relocation project: challenging the official line that "staying in Sidmouth was not an option"

The Herald carries the headline of the cost of the District Council's new HQ in Honiton - and yet this was only half of the actual cost of relocation:
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project > a spanking new HQ for £5.6 million... or for £10.6 million?

Devon Live and the Express & Echo reiterate the District Council's line that 'there was no alternative' to moving from Knowle - and yet analysis proves otherwise:

FINANCIAL PROFLIGACY 

EDDC has chosen to divert funds it does not have to the building of new headquarters – as indeed have other councils, to their cost. As such, EDDC’s commitment to spending well over £10million can only be described “as a ‘milestone’ for debt – taken on by council tax payers in East Devon. No matter how you spin this project, it is not residents who will benefit. And few if any of the councillors making these decisions will be around in 20 years when the true costs and ‘savings’ are known.” 

There has been a huge lack of confidence in these figures throughout the project. The campaign group Save Our Sidmouth has opposed the move, believing “that EDDC has not done its sums correctly, has not properly assessed the cost of renovations to part of the existing Knowle buildings and that the risk in building a new office – borrowing up to £4.8 m and paying for the ‘savings’ over a 20 year period – is far too risky in the current economic climate”. 

Energy use: As for their initial promises of large energy savings, EDDC claim they will save £5.55m over 20 years by moving from Knowle; again, these figures have been proven to be wildly inaccurate and so extremely contentious. Moreover, EDDC has refused to provide detailed energy figures to verify their cost calculations; they will not countenance considering alternative costings, such as remaining at Knowle; and they have ignored their own scrutiny committee’s instruction to allow the commissioning of an independent survey on the state of Knowle. 

Over-development: It was rather different in the 1960s, when the District Council sought a more modest proposal in purchasing the Knowle hotel: “It is the intention that part of the building should be used for housing (the major part of the purchase price is for this purpose) and the remainder for improved council accommodation...” However, today, EDDC refuses to consider alternative options to relocation. 

In fact, it has been proven that its declared wish to reduce its office-space could easily be accommodated if it retrenched to the purpose-built 1970s offices, thereby leaving a saleable asset in the original Knowle (once again suitable for conversion back to flats) to cover their refurbishment costs.

Conflicts of interest: Perhaps the most serious charge, however, is that EDDC will profit directly from its granting of any planning applications at Knowle. Furthermore, EDDC has a clear incentive to flout its own Local Plan’s demands for affordable housing provision: analysis of ‘alternative schemes’ for Knowle shows that there would be a substantial difference in value of the site – of between £3.2 and £6.8 million – depending on the affordable housing requirement.

EAST-DEVON-DISTRICT-COUNCIL’S-“RELOCATION-PROJECT”-STATEMENT-OF-OBJECTION-16-July-2018.pdf

Knowle relocation project: a summary of the issues - Vision Group for Sidmouth

Here is the official guide to the relocation project:

First look around inside new East Devon District Council offices

Staying at their current headquarters in Knowle was 'not an option'

COMMENTS

Daniel Clark
Local Democracy Reporter
25 JAN 2019

.

CLICK TO PLAY
FIRST LOOK AROUND EAST DEVON DISTRICT COUNCIL'S NEW HQ

East Devon District Council’s new headquarters at Blackdown House in Honiton will be open for business of Monday, February 11 - and this is what it looks like.

The new HQ, which replaces the council’s existing HQ at The Knowle in Sidmouth, has cost the council £8.7m, while an additional £1.5m was spent on upgrading Exmouth town hall where one third of the council staff are to be based.

The controversial decision to relocate offices was taken back in March 2015 as it was decided the council needed to relocate into buildings that are affordable, cost efficient, and would significantly reduce the overheads of the council.

The new HQ is less than half the floor space used by the Knowle, office space is more efficient, and a new council chamber will have improved audio/visual equipment for councillors and the public.



The new East Devon District Council offices in Honiton

Savings of £1.4m over 20 years will be generated by the relocation, while from day 1, energy costs to the council will halve.

The council added that staying in Sidmouth was ‘not an option’, as the maintenance bill to bring the Knowle officers into good repair was £4.5m and they would still have been faced with much higher energy bills than the council needed to pay, even after replacing the boilers, rewiring, and a new roof.

A council spokesman added: “The Sidmouth offices, as well as being outdated and expensive to run, are too large. We need much less space and an old Victorian hotel with extensions was no longer fit for purpose nor affordable.



The new East Devon District Council offices in Honiton

“Our new HQ at Blackdown House will provide face-to-face services to our residents and both buildings (as well as Exmouth town hall) will have a bright and welcoming reception area to meet customers and clients. There are self-service computer facilities and interview spaces as well as that are vastly superior to what we are able to offer at Sidmouth.
“Honiton as a site for our new HQ is much more central to East Devon than Sidmouth, and while we are working to encourage people to use our online services more, if they want to visit our offices or attend council meetings, then Honiton is a central location and the facilities of the building are very accessible.”



The new East Devon District Council offices in Honiton

In a phased approach, staff will be leaving the existing offices at the Knowle over the next two weeks. The Sidmouth offices will close at 5pm on Friday, February 8, and Blackdown House will be open for business on Monday, February 11, at 8.30am.

Richard Cohen, deputy chief executive, said: “We have been waiting for years for this to happen and the staff are looking forward to it and it is the work of a 21 century council.”



The new East Devon District Council offices in Honiton

KEY FACTS

• 97,000 bricks were used on the project
• 600 people worked on site
• The building is roughly 17m tall and the total floor area is 2,760m2
• 216 shared desks including reception desks and booths are provided
• The council chamber has 69 public seats with a further 40 seats available in a public gallery overlooking the chamber, and with a hearing loop provided
• 130 car parking spaces, seven of which are disabled, and there are two electric vehicle charging points
• Renewable energy generation with 112 phot voltaic panels on the south facing roof slope, with an anticipated yield of 32,000 kWa pa.
• Constant lux levels will be provided in the offices by a smart and intelligent lightings system that reacts to levels of natural light in the offices and either dims or brightens the light

The new East Devon District Council offices in Honiton

The Knowle has been sold to Pegasus Life Ltd for £7.5m, and they have been granted planning permission to convert the building into a 113-apartment assisted-living community for older people.

First look around inside new East Devon District Council offices - Devon Live
.
.
.

And (not) making progress at East Devon

It's all about 'progress':
Futures Forum: 1939: Walter Benjamin on 'the storm we call progress'

And that ideology is very much with us at local government level too.

When it comes to the tricky area of FINANCE, there is always going to be 'progress' - despite the realities:
Futures Forum: District and County Council announce spending plans in a new year of austerity for local government

For example:

The progress of the service plan objectives is reported on quarterly through our performance reporting pages

Monthly performance reporting
Performance reports are provided once a month to our cabinet committee to monitor progress of selected measures and identify any service areas where improvement is necessary.
The first section of the report is a monthly performance snapshot which provides information on a selection of performance targets and some of our service achievements and activity for the month. The report moves on to show progress against our key performance indicators for the month, including sickness absence...

Monthly performance reporting - East Devon

Let's look at a couple of other areas - and the spin of the press release.

Ten years ago there were all sorts of promises made about the 'progress' of CRANBROOK becoming some sort of 'eco-town':

Exeter and East Devon Growth Point
Housing Minister John Healey today announced that East Devon District Council is to receive a share in a £10 million funding pot to help Cranbrook meet pioneering eco-town standards for sustainable growth. The £200,000 share will enable East Devon District Council to develop their Masterplan for Cranbrook test the potential for higher standards, helping them to lead the way as "Green Champions".
Talking about the addition of Cranbrook to the eco-town second wave shortlist, (together with a settlement in Fareham), Housing and Planning Minister John Healey said "I am pleased to announce two new areas in the eco-town second wave. Councils are making great progress and already highlighting where they can apply tough green standards in new developments. This signals real and radical momentum to change and re-think how we design our towns and homes for the future".

Latest News - Exeter and East Devon Growth Point 

Then there is HOUSING, with regular 'progress reports' coming out of the council, but at the time of the creation of the Local Plan, these were somewhat overshadowed by the promises made to undercover Telegraph reporters:
‘Perfect storm’ brewing as EDDC gives progress report on the new Local Plan | Save Our Sidmouth
One step forward and two steps back | Susie Bond
Futures Forum: Housing in East Devon: "I don’t see it as the floodgates opening, but I do see a stampede coming.”

Meanwhile in Sidmouth there has been the BEACH MANAGEMENT PLAN, with 'progress' promised last year - after many other such assurances, including from Cllr Graham Brown who had chaired the BMP group some ten years ago:
4 June 2018 - Outline business case for Sidmouth and East Beach Management Scheme makes steady progress - East Devon
Futures Forum: Beach Management Plan: District Council press release on meeting of 10th May > "Outline business case makes steady progress"

And in Exmouth we've had all sorts of promises for their seafront: 

Save Exmouth Seafront campaigners challenge ‘arrogant’ Queen’s Drive plans
21 November 2018 

EDDC said it was ‘making sure’ it was on track to deliver what residents want.
An EDDC spokeswoman said: “The council is not prepared to allow further delays on the delivery of a new road and car park, which will pave the way for the much awaited water sports centre and a vision for the wider Queen’s Drive site.”
She added: “We also appreciate that there are a number of long term detractors who have their concerns about how the new seafront is taking shape, so we want to provide reassurance that we are constantly keeping under review the programme of development and maintaining progress while keeping Exmouth people informed on what we are doing.”
She said the council was ‘fully committed’ to the ongoing consultation with the public about changes to the seafront.

Save Exmouth Seafront group challenges redirection of Queen's Drive | Latest Exmouth News - Exmouth Journal

Then of course there is KNOWLE - where there was considerable reluctance by the council to reveal 'progress reports':
Disclosure of Progress Reports for the Knowle - a Freedom of Information request to East Devon District Council - WhatDoTheyKnow
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: "Progress reports to date must be released"

The opposite of 'progress' is 'barbarism':

Save Our Sidmouth campaign hits Private Eye | Save Our Sidmouth
Futures Forum: Gavin Stamp: late architectural historian and critic >>> as Piloti in Private Eye, he gracefully thundered against architectural 'barbarism' - including plans to demolish Knowle, Sidmouth
.
.
.

Sidford business park > "The Local Plan is a deeply flawed document."

The planning application for an industrial estate has been rejected:
Futures Forum: Sidford business park > Fords planning application >>> 18/1094/MOUT >>> REFUSED: but only on grounds of 'highway safety'
Futures Forum: Sidford business park >> campaign group's latest update > District Council refuse planning application

The press continues to report:
Planners refuse controversial Sidford Business Park scheme over 'potentially lethal' highways issues - Devon Live
District council refuse Sidford Business Park proposal | Latest Sidmouth and Ottery News - Sidmouth Herald

Meanwhile, the East Devon Watch blog asks: 

If the Sidford Business Park was turned down because of:
“the potentially combination of narrow roads and increased heavy goods vehicle usage” …
why was it hurriedly and grubbily added to the Local Plan at the last minute?

Sidford Business Park: a begged question | East Devon Watch

And so we are back to the origins of how this appeared in the District Council's Local Plan:

SIDFORD BUSINESS PARK – A GRUBBY HISTORY

18 JUN 2018

Tim Ford, once a much-respected plumbing and electrical contactor in Sidmouth, is renewing his controversial application to build a business park in the AONB at Sidford. (18/1094/MOUT)

Incredulous locals wonder how it was possible for a council to allocate an ‘employment site’ in its local development plan that is on a flood plain, is a rich wildlife habitat, and whose main access would be a narrow street where two lorries can’t pass without mounting the pavement!

For the dominant Tory group on East Devon District Council it was easy!

First, they let landowners and developers decide where to build. In 2007 they asked East Devon Business Forum how much employment land the district would need over the next 25 years. EDBF was a lobby group which included the Carters of Greendale, the Stuarts of Hill Barton and Tim Ford of Sidmouth. Their answer was predictable: lots and lots!

Second, they put Chair of EDBF, Cllr Graham (‘I ain’t doin’ it for peanuts!’) Brown: 
The disgraced ex-EDDC Tory Councillor Graham Brown “If I can’t get planning, nobody will” scandal refuses to die | East Devon Watch
in charge of quietly asking landowners where they would like to build. Apparently, the proposal for a Sidford business park was first mooted at one of these confidential meetings in July 2010.

Third, in 2011 they elected Paul Diviani, founder member of EDBF, as leader. Under him the District Council became what many saw as a ‘Development Corporation’, the planning system became less about protecting the environment and more about encouraging building.

Fourth, they didn’t listen to the public or community groups whom they ignored or misrepresented. Sidmouth Chamber of commerce said the business park would be catastrophic for local businesses, Council minutes recorded the Chamber as supporting it!

Fifth, they whipped their large political majority to vote through the Sidford allocation. When hostile public reaction worried them just before the 2015 council elections they voted to ‘remove it’ from the Local Plan. Universal Rejoicing! But in 2016 the Inspector kept it in the Plan. Why? Because East Devon’s chief planning officer had not been instructed to give the Inspector reasons for the council’s change of mind!

Sidford Business Park – a grubby history | East Devon Watch

The SOS campaign has had several powerful points to make over the years:
Sidford Business Park still in Local Plan. Comments must be submitted by midday on 12 June. | Save Our Sidmouth
EDDC claims Sidford employment site will still be developed….Are their claims watertight? | Save Our Sidmouth
DCC Highways reconsider their response to Fords’ planning application for a Sidford Business Park | Save Our Sidmouth
Planned Sidford business park would be “a total disaster” for the Observatory, says NLO Director | Save Our Sidmouth
SVA further objects to Fords’ controversial planning application | Save Our Sidmouth
Increased flood risk: SVA calls for Environment Agency rethink on the Sidford planning application. | Save Our Sidmouth
Sidmouth Town Council votes unanimously against Fords’ planning application for Sidford business park | Save Our Sidmouth

Finally, on the SOS site, further reference to this 'grubby history':

Local Plan “a deeply flawed document”?

February 2, 2016 by sidmouthsid Leave a comment

Evidence was offered to the EDDC Extra Ordinary Meeting (28 Jan 2016), by SOS member, Jeremy Woodward, in the following speech:

‘Mr Chairman,

Would you not agree that the Local Plan which you and your colleagues are being asked to adopt is in fact a deeply flawed document?

As an illustration, if I might quote from the submission made by the Vision Group for Sidmouth to the Local Plan on 8th June 2012.

I begin:

“The influence of the East Devon Business Forum on proposals for employment land and housing in the draft Local Plan should be considered. In January 2007, a Sub-Committee was established by the Forum to consider ‘amending the Atkins report’:

To refer to the

“Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the East Devon Business Forum on 25 January 2007

“Atkins Report:

“Graham Brown reported that he had attended a meeting with the Corporate Director – Environment to discuss the preliminary findings of the Atkins Report. The findings included the conclusion that East Devon did not need as much employment land as [the] East Devon Business Forum had recommended. Forum members discussed how the findings of the Atkins Report would be amended as they were not in step with East Devon’s needs.

“A Sub Committee of the Business Forum would need to investigate employment land availability, where there was potential for growth and where the business community would like to see development take place.”

End of minutes.

It appears that a group of business people comprising this Forum reviewed the publicly-funded [independent] Atkins Report and then determined that the employment land provisions were insufficient; they subsequently proceeded to derive their own projections, which the District Council then adopted as “evidence” for the increased employment land figure which ensued:

To refer to the

“Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the East Devon Business Forum on 31 January 2008 [a year later]

“Update on Employment Land Issues:

“Members noted that the work the Business Forum had done on the Atkins Report had made an enormous difference to the final report prepared by the Employment Land Issues Task and Finish Forum. This had been accepted by the Executive Board. The report was now being used by the Development Control Committee as a base when considering planning applications for employment land.”

End of quote.

Again, Mr Chairman, would you not acknowledge that the Local Plan is a deeply flawed document?

Because, if we chose to take the Council’s own calculations of one new home to one new job, this deliberate inflation of employment land undermines fundamentally the housing figures proposed in the Local Plan.

Thank you.

Local Plan “a deeply flawed document”? | Save Our Sidmouth
.
.
.

Sidford business park >>> County Council's Highways objection to the plan focuses on the distribution element - and could ‘play straight into the developers hands’

The proposed new industrial estate on the edge of Sidford would generate a lot of new traffic - according to the applicants themselves:
Futures Forum: Sidford business park >>> "More than 250 parking spaces on a Sidford AONB floodplain? .. No thanks!"

The applicants have quite a history when it comes to developments and traffic:
Futures Forum: Ford's @ Sidmouth & Sidford >>> of supermarkets and traffic congestion

And this development would only increase the amount of traffic - in particular, the amount of workers 'commuting in' to the Sid Valley:
REPRESENTATION FROM SAVE OUR SIDMOUTH (SOS)
knowle_letter_to_planning_inspector_20140113.pdf

Which would in turn increase the amount of air pollution in the Valley:
Air pollution: move children and other vulnerable people out of Sidford? | East Devon Watch

The County Council has voiced its opposition to this development - as it did two years ago:
Futures Forum: BREAKING NEWS >>> Sidford business park > Fords planning application >>> 16/0669/MOUT >>> REFUSED

However, the question is still asked as to whether more could have been done at the Local Planning stage:
Could Councillor Stuart Hughes have done more for Sidford Fields? | East Devon Watch
Futures Forum: The Local Plan and Sidford

Interestingly, the objection from the County Council only refers to heavy vehicles - and not to the volume of vehicles:

‘Nothing has changed’ highways outlines objection to business park proposals

PUBLISHED: 20:00 20 June 2018

Clarissa Place

More than 150 people attended a planning meeting discussing proposals for a new business park at Sidford.

Highway bosses have submitted fresh opposition to a new proposed business park at Sidford as ‘nothing has changed since the last time’.

Councillor Stuart Hughes, head of highways for Devon County Council, spoke exclusively to the Herald saying the department specifically objected to the distribution element of the application.

A change of use is being sought for the agricultural site, in Two Bridges Road, to provide 8,445sqm of employment floorspace.

The plan has received 102 letters of objection ahead of the deadline today (June 15) for comments.

Councillor Hughes posted on Facebook that the council would be submitting its objections and said the news would be welcomed by residents in Sidford and Sidbury.

He said: “Nothing has changed from the last time. The distribution element was a concern last time because it would bring big lorries through narrow streets in Sidford and Sidbury. They are very narrow and just aren’t big enough for this sort of traffic. It is the wrong site for a business park, in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.”

Resident Jackie Green said highway’s focus on the distribution element could ‘play straight into the developers hands’.

She said: “Any down-playing of the impact of the rest of the plan, two thirds of the development, risks making it easier for the application to be approved. Worse, if the B8 [class for distribution] is deleted, it would leave a space for even more B1 buildings (office and light industrial), which require more dedicated parking spaces than B8.

“This emphasis in the Highways objection will not ‘be welcomed by all local Sidford and Sidbury residents’, as Stuart Hughes claims, nor by any other users of the Sidford-Sidbury road. The plan as a whole is wrong, not just bits of it.”

The plans state the applicants aim to create 250 jobs and have addressed concerns raised when a scheme for a larger business park were submitted in 2016.

District council ward member David Barrett said he must remain impartial as he is a member of EDDC’s development management committee, which may be involved in making a final decision about the application.

EDDC will make the final decision about the plans.

'Nothing has changed' Devon County Council submits opposition against Sidford Business Park | Latest Sidmouth and Ottery News - Sidmouth Herald
.
.
.

Sidford business park >>> and the East Devon Business Forum revisited

Two years ago, a planning application for an industrial estate was refused:
Futures Forum: BREAKING NEWS >>> Sidford business park > Fords planning application >>> 16/0669/MOUT >>> REFUSED

This is the comment from the Vision Group at the time:
Futures Forum: VGS comment on Fords planning application 16/0669/MOUT >>> 'inappropriate', 'unsustainable' and 'overdeveloped'

As for the latest planning application, most of the issues resolve around the impact of the proposed development on traffic - and there is quite a history:
Futures Forum: Ford's @ Sidmouth & Sidford >>> of supermarkets and traffic congestion

Another issue is that the proposed development is actually not needed.

And there is again quite a history...

The applicant was part of a committee set up by the now-disbanded East Devon Business Forum to push for a larger allocation of employment land in the draft Local Plan.

The influence of the East Devon Business Forum on proposals for employment land and housing in the draft Local Plan should be considered. In January 2007, a Sub-Committee was established by the Forum to consider ‘amending the Atkins report’; this included the Sidmouth business now seeking to develop the proposed 5-hectare site at Sidford.

EAST DEVON DISTRICT COUNCIL
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the East Devon Business Forum held at East Devon Business Centre, Honiton on Thursday 25 January 2007
3 Matters Arising
Atkins Report
Graham Brown reported that he had attended a meeting with the Corporate Director – Environment to discuss the preliminary findings of the Atkins Report.
The findings included the conclusion that East Devon did not need as much employment land as East Devon Business Forum had recommended.
Forum members discussed how the findings of the Atkins Report would be amended as they were not in step with East Devon’s needs.
The issue of the employment land availability and the Atkins Report would be considered at the meeting of the Business Forum on 19 April 2007.
A Sub Committee of the Business Forum would need to investigate employment land availability, where there was potential for growth and where the business community would like to see development take place.
There was also debate around whether the employment land identified in the Atkins Report was ‘fit for purpose’.
The first redrafted report would shortly be available for members to see.
RESOLVED that a Sub Committee consisting Graham Brown, Donovan Galling, Nigel Harrison, Tim Ford, Roy Stuart and Claire James or Louise Mayor be established to discuss the issue of availability of employment land in East Devon

It appears that a group of business people comprising this Forum reviewed the publicly-funded Atkins Report and then determined that the employment land provisions were insufficient; they subsequently proceeded to derive their own projections, which the District Council then adopted as "evidence" for the increased employment land figure which ensued:

EAST DEVON DISTRICT COUNCIL

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the East Devon Business Forum held at East Devon Business Centre, Honiton on Thursday 31 January 2008

3 Matters Arising

Update on Employment Land Issues (Min no 36 refers)

Members noted that the work the Business Forum had done on the Atkins Report had made an enormous difference to the final report prepared by the Employment Land Issues Task and Finish Forum.

This had been accepted by the Executive Board. The report was now being used by the Development Control Committee as a base when considering planning applications for employment land.

The report had highlighted key issues and themes that had been addressed and examined.

It was noted that the report would help set an agenda to inform future employment land provision in respect to future planning policy and development decisions (particularly in relation to land supply shortfalls).

Futures Forum: Sidford Business Park and the East Devon Business Forum

https://www.visionforsidmouth.org/media/65397/representation-to-local-plan-final-version-vgs-14jan13.pdf

A member of this group which lobbied successfully for more employment land will now benefit directly from the considerable inflation of employment land which was then accepted in the Local Plan – should this planning application 18/1094/MOUT be granted.

The original Atkins Report forms part of the 'evidence base' for the East Devon Local Plan - even though it was overridden:
Local Plan documents - Evidence base - East Devon

However, five years ago, when the Local Plan was still being put together, Cllr Claire Wright raised serious questions as to how these figures for employment land had in fact been overridden:
East Devon Business Forum’s influence over the Local Plan - Claire Wright 

These observations have been key to questioning the validity of the employment land allocation at Sidford:
Local Plan “a deeply flawed document”? | Save Our Sidmouth
Disingenuous? | Sidmouth Independent News
.
.
.