Monday, 28 August 2017

Plans for Port Royal: anticipating a Regeneration Board >> Scoping Study consultation and "independent experts"

EXPERTS AND POLITICIANS

 Have we had enough of 'experts'?
Gove: Britons "Have Had Enough of Experts" - YouTube

 Or perhaps we've had enough of politicians:
"The fault doesn’t lie with the data scientists, but with the politicians who wrongly treat them as prophets."
Michael Gove was (accidentally) right about experts | The Spectator
"People don’t trust all experts the way they once did, and can be suspicious of their role in public policy. Experts themselves bear some responsibility for this. So too does irresponsible political rhetoric."
People may have had enough of experts like me, but we need to find our voices again - Telegraph

 The problem, then, is with the political leadership who commission the experts.

 The political leadership at the Town and District Councils have been adamant about the 'independent' status of the consultants they have commissioned:
"The consultation is around the emerging findings of independent experts." 
Campaigners with alternative vision for Port Royal accused of ‘scare-mongering’ - Latest Sidmouth and Ottery News - Sidmouth Herald
"Together with data from the over 1,800 responses from the wider Neighbourhood Plan consultation, the information will be valuable to the councils as they consider the scoping study report of the independent consultants."
SVA weighs in on plans for Sidmouth’s Port Royal - Latest Sidmouth and Ottery News - Sidmouth Herald
"The report will be considered together with a scoping study being carried out by the independent consultants to assess the feasibility of redevelopment of the area on behalf of both councils.
"The study is only the first step in exploring options for Port Royal and will provide independent expert opinion on the opportunities and constraints of any development."
15 August 2017 - Five-week consultation on initial ideas for Sidmouth’s Port Royal attracts almost 250 responses - East Devon

 COMMISSIONING THE PROJECT BRIEF

 The outline of the Brief for the consultants was put together back in November 2015 by the political leadership of both councils:
"A Scoping Exercise is a preliminary analysis and study to establish what a potential project could involve, what the risks and possible difficulties are, likely cost and how such a project should be organised and tackled.
"East Devon District Council as the main landowner, would fund the majority of the costs of the study and in partnership Sidmouth Town Council contribute £2000 towards the exercise.
"To start the regeneration process with a maximum of transparency, the scoping exercise would include a consultation exercise with key stakeholders and interest groups.
"RESOLVED: that Sidmouth Town Council would contribute £2,000 towards an Eastern Town Regeneration Scoping Exercise which would act as a module of any forthcoming Neighbourhood Plan."
Minutes of the meeting of Sidmouth Town Council - Monday 2 November 2015
 "The consultants will be expected to propose a forward plan of action to achieve the best quality development outcome. This will include recommendations toward boundary definition, ideas about what Sidmouth would benefit from, a range of options possible for development, market intelligence, the approach to a development plan eg a Masterplan process. We would also expect a timeline and action plan for next steps.
"Lastly, the consultants would be expected to advise, potentially on a confidential basis, on financial aspects of a renewal scheme for Port Royal. This would include the spend required to take forward a development plan and what would be a potential capital receipt outcome."
Futures Forum: Plans for Port Royal: anticipating a Regeneration Board >>> ‘Scoping Report for the eastern end of Sidmouth’ to be presented to Cabinet >>> Wednesday 6th January

 And at the time, several misgivings were voiced about the nature of that briefing:
"Cllr Turner countered that people had always been cynical and it was up to the councils to try to involve them in the process."
Futures Forum: Plans for Port Royal: anticipating a Regeneration Board >>> ‘Scoping Report for the eastern end of Sidmouth’ >>> commission work initiated

 Especially at the council meeting in September 2016 when the final Brief was approved:
"During the discussion, some Members suggested the option of deferring the item for the redrafting of the document to include further detail. This was formally proposed as an amendment but defeated in a vote during the debate."
Futures Forum: Plans for Port Royal: anticipating a Regeneration Board >>> Town Council approve project brief for ‘Scoping Report for the eastern end of Sidmouth’ >>>
“I have every faith in Cllr Barratt and Cllr Dyson but I find it extraordinary the Conservative whip has chosen who they want to go forward. It makes no sense to me that the town councillors, who were voted for because of these specific issues are being sidelined.”
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'

 With a few more questions here:
Vision Group for Sidmouth - Plans for Port Royal: anticipating a Regeneration Board >>> Scoping Report and Project Brief >>> 26 questions

 Because he who pays the piper calls the tune:
"Some £8,000 of the total would be paid by EDDC, which owns the majority of the land around Port Royal, with the remainder offered up by Sidmouth Town Council."
£10,000 initiative will be first step in the regeneration of Port Royal - Latest Sidmouth and Ottery News - Sidmouth Herald

 Despite assurances made at the time:
Futures Forum: Plans for Port Royal: anticipating a Regeneration Board >>> report from Town Council meeting: 'the scoping exercise would form a key part of the Neighbourhood Plan'

 And 'regeneration' projects in East Devon are being driven by the District Council:
Futures Forum: Plans for Port Royal: anticipating a Regeneration Board

 THE CONSULTANTS

 But what about the process for awarding the contract?
Futures Forum: Plans for Port Royal: anticipating a Regeneration Board >>> Scoping Study consultants to be chosen

 Here is a piece from the time looking at the bigger picture in East Devon:

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

These are the consultants taken on to put together the Scoping Study:

HEYNES CONSULTING - LEAD CONSULTANCY:
Home Page - Jillings Heynes Planning Ltd


Consultant selected for Sidmouth’s £10,000 Port Royal study - Latest Sidmouth and Ottery News - Sidmouth Herald

Jillings Heynes were represented at the presentation of the initial concept proposals by Ed Heynes:

As outlined at the time:

GROUP WEST – DEVELOPMENT SURVEYING AND VALUATION:

 Jonathon Andrews represented Groupwest at the exhibition of the Scoping Study's findings at Kennaway House in June.
The company's portfolio includes being able to 'negotiate covenants away':
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