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Thursday 24 September 2015

District Council draft Local Plan >>> further consultation ends Wednesday 30th September

There has been quite a history behind the drafting of the District Council's local plan:
Futures Forum: District Council to consider draft Local Plan >>> Monday 23rd March >>> reports on housing
Futures Forum: East Devon draft Local Plan is rejected: SOS responds
Futures Forum: District Council draft Local Plan: how other see it >>>>>> >>> Conservatives and East Devon Alliance

There had been an earlier consultation on the draft Local Plan:
New Local Plan consultations - East Devon
15 April 2015 - Public gets a chance to comment on latest revisions to planning blueprint - East Devon

There have been further extensions: 
New Local Plan and current consultations - East Devon

With the consultation extended to next Wednesday 30th September.

This is the comment from the EDW blog from earlier this month:


FURTHER EVIDENCE FOR THE LOCAL PLAN AND EDDC TRIES TO PASS THE BUCK TO THE NATIONAL TRUST AND WOODLAND TRUST FOR REQUIRED OPEN SPACES

4 Sept 2015

Mr Thickett said he would allow the participants at the housing session an opportunity to see and comment on the Council’s further submissions.

The further submissions can be accessed here:
http://eastdevon.gov.uk/planning/planning-policy/emerging-plans-and-policies/the-new-local-plan/examination-and-hearing-sessions-and-further-consultation-at-april-2015/august-2015-evidence/#article-content

If you wish to make any comments on the new evidence and submissions only; on other matters will not be accepted, please submit these comments to me the Programme Officer by 30 September 2015.”

Our comment:

The EDDC “evidence” does not inspire us with enough confidence that sufficient robust evidence has been supplied by EDDC, particularly in respect of Habitat Mitigation obligations.

Many aspects have been left for the Inspector to decide because Natural England and EDDC cannot agree that enough has been done to safeguard special sites.

It also says that the Exmouth Splash Masterplan as it stood at the last hearing, may well not be the one that Exmouth ends up with but they don’t see why this should hold up the Local Plan.


Further evidence for the Local Plan and EDDC tries to pass the buck to the National Trust and Woodland Trust for required open spaces | East Devon Watch

And here is comment from yesterday:


NEVER MIND THE QUALITY- FEEL THE (WEIGHT OF) THE PAGES!

23 Sept 2015

In response to my recent plea for Watch Readers to submit articles (to eastdevonwatch@gmail.com), Owl has just received this:

The latest round of consultation on the local plan ends on 30 September, see previous Watch article:

http://eastdevonwatch.org/2015/09/04/further-evidence-for-the-local-plan-and-eddc-tries-to-pass-the-buck-to-the-national-trust-and-woodland-trust-for-required-open-spaces/

Readers may not have had time, or indeed may never have the time, to look at the paper deluge Ed Freeman has sent to Inspector Thickett this time around. It comprises a covering letter from Ed; a summary report and 13 supporting papers all of which amount to over 1,000 pages!

It’s the latest attempt by EDDC to try to convince Mr Thickett that 17,100 (minimum) is the right housing target over the next 18 years; that we have a 5+ year land supply in East Devon, despite what the Developers’ say; that none of this building will have an adverse effect on our rare landscape and habitats (all we need is collective membership of the National Trust (see above); and to carry out some belated consultations and box ticking exercises.

There are:

6 papers on housing delivery;
2 papers on housing numbers;
an overdue Habitat Assessment

plus the republishing of

2 supporting papers,
one commissioned by the National Trust
the other for Cranbrook;

and, finally,

2 papers on a sustainability box ticking exercise.

There are also two public consultations in progress: one on Gypsy sites the other on village Built Up Area Boundaries (BUABs).

All this should have been done in preparation of the Draft Plan years ago [at least in 2011 and possibly earlier when “The Local Development Framework Panel” was spending its time, under ex-Councillor Brown, mostly visiting sites of interest to the East Devon Business Forum – ed].

So is this the action of a Local Planning Authority confident in what it is doing – or does it have the feel someone desperately trying to play catch-up?

Four consultancy contractors have been employed to write these papers during August 2015.

Hard cases are hard to sell.

Dear Reader, it is all being done in your name, guess who is footing the bill!


Related

EDDC and the Case of the Mysterious Numbers In "Affordable housing"

The delayed Local Plan - the missing document tracked down and a commentary on it ("What the Dickins") In "Affordable housing"

Further evidence for the Local Plan and EDDC tries to pass the buck to the National Trust and Woodland Trust for required open spaces In "EDDC"


3 thoughts on “Never mind the quality- feel the (weight of) the pages!”

feuxdusoleil says:
23 Sep 2015 at 6:26pm

Current major applications for dwellings in East Devon, which are waiting for decision, amount to 7678 plus a 60-bed care home. We won’t have to wait long for the 17,100 target to be reached.

East Devon Watch says:
23 Sep 2015 at 6:51pm

But permissions granted but not started don’t count! Nor do “windfalls” of which we have many!

feuxdusoleil says:
23 Sep 2015 at 7:42pm

That’s why the number in my comment are applications “awaiting decision”. They will count as long as the Local Plan isn’t hugely delayed any further.

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