The District Council and the draft local plan..................... "We are working as hard as possible to complete the work."

Last month, concerns were expressed once again about the lack of a Local Plan for East Devon:

Futures Forum: East Devon: "urban sprawl”, taking neighbourhood plans into account ... and the continuing delay in the District Council securing a Local Plan

This process has been going on for many years now:
Delay in drawing up the new Local Plan is “like a recurrent nightmare” , says EDDC Councillor | Save Our Sidmouth

The concern is particularly about how this absence is having a direct effect on the ground:
Futures Forum: Does not having a new Local Plan or Land Supply in place leave East Devon vulnerable to development?

For example:

New housing development proposed for village
14 January 2015

The field in East Budleigh, by Oak Hill, in which Clinton Devon Estates is proposing to build 21 homes.
Plans have been put forward to build 21 new homes in East Budleigh.
The site was previously controversial when East Devon District Council (EDDC) earmarked it to provide the homes allocated to East Budleigh in the draft district Local Plan for housing, contrary to the village’s preference for Carter’s Yard, as expressed in a village poll.
New housing development proposed for village - News - Exmouth Journal

All this might well have an effect on the upcoming District Council elections:
Futures Forum: Housing in East Devon: "the delay (and the developer free-for-all) could influence how residents vote in the next local elections in May 2015."

The East Devon Alliance, which will be providing support for independent candidates , has declared that “EDDC is floundering desperately without a local plan.”
EAST DEVON: The birth of a new political party - View from Sidmouth

Home - Sidmouth Herald

To what extent are councillors and planning officers distracted by the Knowle relocation project?
Richard Cohen on the marketing of Knowle and related issues | Save Our Sidmouth
“Quite honestly, we have fallen flat on our face” with the relocation project, warns Honiton Councillor, Peter Halse | East Devon Watch
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: connected to the draft Local Plan ... connected to employment ... local business ... retail parks vs the high street ... proposed Sidford employment land ... building on floodplains ... tourism ...

The EDW blog has a summary of some of the issues:
Local Plan – further setbacks – “complexities” cause delays | East Devon Watch
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