Local Retail Levy: Exmouth Town Council support Transition Town Exmouth initiative

In October last year, the District Council rejected a motion to impose a levy on supermarkets:
Futures Forum: Local Retail Levy: District Council to debate
Futures Forum: District Council decides against the Local Retail Levy

The Sustainable Communities Act could, for example, empower a council to impose a levy on superstores and distribute, after consultation, the proceeds to help independent stores:

East Devon District Council 
(i) supports the bottom up process in the Sustainable Communities Act designed to allow local authorities and their communities to drive the action and assistance that central government gives in promoting thriving, sustainable communities; 
(ii) notes that the Act gives local authorities the power to make proposals to government for action and assistance from government to promote sustainable communities, and that those proposals can be for, but are not restricted to, new powers or a transfer of powers or public money and function from central to local control; 
(iii) notes that the Act defines sustainable communities broadly, that definition having the 4 aspects of the improvement of the local economy, protection of the environment, promotion of social inclusion, and participation in civic, political and democratic activity; 

www.eastdevon.gov.uk/combined_min_book_dec_2012.pdf

Nevertheless, Transition Town Exmouth have been promoting the same proposal: 
Transition Town Exmouth | Dealing With Climate Change and Peak Oil

Sustainable Communities Act 
Our initiative in promoting the use of the Sustainable Communities Act to support local business by surcharging supermarkets an 8% levy on their business rates has been approved by COLP, and is now being considered by the EDDC Panel. 
For more information on the Sustainable Communities Act, see the Local Works Website.

www.transitiontownexmouth.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/TTENewsletterDec13.pdf

And TTE have succeeded in persuading Exmouth Town Council to consider this proposal seriously:

Sustainable Communities Act 
Noel Harrower reported that the proposal TTE had put to EDDC for consideration had been rejected by the Residents Panel set up to consider proposals, despite widespread support for an identical proposal in other local authority areas. The identity and qualifications of the membership of the Panel were unknown and TTE were given no opportunity to put their case forward. 
NH will endeavour to find out more from Jamie Buckley at EDDC about the process. 
TW undertook to investigate the policy of using the Residents Panel through the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. 

www.exmouth.gov.uk/doc/notes-colp_2014-01-16_1390831719.pdf

Sustainable Communities Act 
– To consider support for the Transition Town Exmouth proposal regarding the Sustainable Communities Act, as discussed by COLP

www.exmouth.gov.uk/doc/agendatowncouncil_2014-04-14_1398436380.pdf
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