Plans for Port Royal: anticipating a Regeneration Board >> the Scoping Study, the Local Plan and the use of consultants

It's all about 'regeneration' - but not everyone's happy about what's happening in Exmouth:
Futures Forum: Regenerating Exmouth seafront >>> demonstration Saturday 12th November

However, the District Council has promised to 'learn from its mistakes' when it comes to what's about to happen in Sidmouth:
Futures Forum: Plans for Port Royal: anticipating a Regeneration Board >>> District Council approve project brief for ‘Scoping Report for the eastern end of Sidmouth’ >>> 'We weren’t perfect in Exmouth and we have all learnt lessons from that'

And yet, the track record of the District Council is not that happy:
Futures Forum: "Regeneration and economic development" in East Devon >>> looking beyond the conventional, the ideological and the heavyhanded

The point is, though, that plans to 'regenerate' Port Royal are in the Local Plan, come what may:
Futures Forum: Plans for Port Royal: the draft Local Plan and 30 new homes

As one recent observation notes:

The District Council will be redeveloping the Port Royal area, whatever the outcome of the 'Scoping Study' because it is in the Local Plan - and whatever the 'scaremongering' has generated, 'regeneration' is pretty much a fait accompli:
Futures Forum: Plans for Port Royal: anticipating a Regeneration Board >>> and 'scaremongering' over including the Ham in the Scoping Study

And another observation notes:

The promise of 'consultants' can be rather uncertain to say the least - and the Scoping Study project is about to make its choice:

Futures Forum: Plans for Port Royal: anticipating a Regeneration Board >>> Scoping Study consultants to be chosen

Because one has to ask how it is that so many public projects lack local council expertise and must rely on outsourcing a key function such as scoping - especially in these times:
Futures Forum: Brexit: and local democracy ... of devolution and cuts in local government 

A recent BBC documentary looked at the phenomenon of the consultancy in local government:

Jacques Peretti explores how public bodies utilise their resources and asks whether taxpayers are getting value for money.

BBC iPlayer - Who's Spending Britain's Billions?
BBC Two - Who's Spending Britain's Billions?

Of course, the consultant will always deliver what their paying client demands:
REPRESENTATION TO LOCAL PLAN - final version - vision group for sidmouth - 14jan13
Futures Forum: Public Examination of the New East Devon Local Plan ... HOUSING
East Devon Business Forum’s influence over the Local Plan - Claire Wright

And the Scoping Exercise project brief for the incoming consultants at Port Royal makes clear what the client wants:

A recommendation on the choice of next steps (eg Masterplan, development brief, outline planning permission): 

(i) A broad specification of a future detailed commission 

(ii) Projection of cost of the next steps 

(iii) Timetable for delivery

Agenda_STC-050916.pdf

It's just that it's rather less a transparent relationship that might be desired:
Access to contracts for Alder King and Kensington Taylor - a Freedom of Information request to East Devon District Council - WhatDoTheyKnow
Full access to Kensington Taylor documentation re Knowle relocation project - a Freedom of Information request to East Devon District Council - WhatDoTheyKnow
Full access to the Alder King "Review of the Council's offices at the Knowle" - a Freedom of Information request to East Devon District Council - WhatDoTheyKnow
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