Karime Hassan talks sustainability - honest!

Today, Karime Hassan (our esteemed "Corporate Director, Environment at EDDC) speaks at a conference on "Sustainable Development and New Settlements" at the RIBA, London.

His talk: Cranbrook: A New Community for East Devon

The blurb for the conference reads (partly): "The new town is beginning to resume its proper place ..... popular backlash against high densities and town cramming ... more realistic look at the land required to handle an area's need for new homes and associated facilities. ..... Case study presentations ..... reali life current information [showing] the current approaches to developer's Section 106 contributions ....."

That's right, that's what our esteemed Corporate Director is speaking about. And here we are in Seaton - high densities, town cramming, no associated facilities, nothing to show for town residents for the Section 106 money - and there he is an "expert" on these things. Oh, would that I was there to ask some questions after the talk!

Well, we must hope that he comes back from the meeting A Better Man!

And whilst we are on the subject: when I went to check the planning application letters recently, there was a poster up in the room which said you will find it difficult to get hold of a planning officer as one-third of jobs in the planning department are unfilled. That seems an awful lot. Why?