Knowle relocation project: The proposed "retirement community" breaches the District Council's own plans for "more age-balanced communities".

The delays around the District Council's draft Local Plan mean that strategic decisions are difficult to make and contrary things happen:
Futures Forum: East Devon: "urban sprawl”, taking neighbourhood plans into account ... and the continuing delay in the District Council securing a Local Plan

Meanwhile, senior District Councillors are showing increasing concern about the inconsistencies around plans to relocate:
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: "the whole situation is Kafkaesque" >>> "misleading figures, loaded and biased consultations and the heavy handed (and expensive) use of lawyers to force a decision through..."

Indeed, there seem to be several 'contrary things' and 'inconsistencies'...

This is from the front page of the latest Herald:

Home - Sidmouth Herald

To look in more detail at the Save Our Sidmouth claim that "a retirement community would contravene rules set out in the emerging East Devon Local Plan": 

> These plans do indeed appear to be a breach of Strategy 4 of the draft Local Plan, which states:

“Getting more age-balanced communities - many East Devon communities have an overtly aged population profile. Where this is the case we will encourage residential development that will be suited to or provide for younger people and younger families”

East Devon District CouncilThe New East Devon Local Plan 2006 to 2026: ProposedSubmissionDraft of thePlan

Respondents to the District Council's strategic planning process would agree with the need for 'balanced communities', for example:

East Devon Proposed Local Plan Consultation 2012

www.eastdevon.gov.uk/final_response_to_eddc_ldp_consultation_from_web.pdf

This is also a matter of health policy, as the Exmouth Budleigh Health Locality Commissioning Group stated in its representation to the draft Local Plan:

Section 6. Spatial Strategy Page 28- 37:
Page 37 Quote: Balanced communities: c) „Getting more age-balanced communities – many East Devon communities have an overtly aged population profile. Where this is the case we will encourage residential development that will be suited to or provide for younger people and younger families.‟ 
Response: We were pleased to see acknowledgement of this issue and the proposals to address the imbalance, with health care as core policy areas. 

www.eastdevon.gov.uk/local_plan_responses2-2.pdf

Interestingly, Devon Senior Voice, which represents the 'aged-population', nevertheless has the perspicacity to realise that strategic policy needs to address the longer-term issue of 'balancing communities':

R 6.46 Getting more age-balanced communities. 
This we consider this to be an important strategy which needs to be emphasized in the emerging Neighbourhood Plans and particularly in the preparation of the forthcoming Village Plans. The lack of awareness in some of the rural parishes and the consequences of an overtly aged profile to community wellbeing is frightening. The actual task of providing residential properties for younger people takes time to achieve and is fraught with difficulties.

www.eastdevon.gov.uk/6219-devonseniorvoice-mrkencrawford.pdf
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