Community Action for Seaton's Regeneration Area, 80% owned by Tesco - a floodplain on a World Heritage site bordered by nature reserves, tidal river, the sea and the unspoilt town. SU4S is a state of mind - no members, no structure, no politics. SU4S has objected to 2 planning applications by Tesco, including one for a massive superstore/dot com distribution centre which led to the recent closure on the site of 400 tourist beds with the loss of 150 jobs,a gym and pool - all used by locals.
As a condition of granting a planning application in Woodbine Place, Seaton, EDDC has insisted on a contribution of £7395.73 towards "open spaces".
posted by Fighting for East Devon's future @ 9:22 am
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7 Comments:
I would love to ask. As would other people. Just tell us who we have to email....
Well, I guess you have to start with our old friend Karime Hassan at EDDC. But perhaps the best question to ask is:
How much Section 106 money has EDDC received in the last five years, from whom and for which projects and what has it been spent on in each town or parish.
Bear in mind Section 106 money can be received from one place and spent in another. For example, £100,000 could have been received from developers in parish A and spent on town B or town C and parish D.
or you can ask your current Town councillors, who may already have asked for this information. If they haven't you might consider asking them why they haven't asked for it. If they have it why haven't they publicised it?
I have to say it was only because of the Liatris thing that I became more interested in what happens to Section 106 money. And then only because I was thinking about how it is being used that I got to athinking about how past Section 106 money has been used. And that led me to thinking what could have had section 106 money in the past and where could it have gone and I cam up with the sheltered housing units. There may, of course, be many other examples I know nothing about.
EDDC has kept its interest in Section 106 issues very close to its chest. For example, it is refusing to tell us (i.e. the town, not just Stand Up For Seaton) just how much Section 106 money (and other money for the land sale) is planned to move to and from Liatris and what it will be spent on. They say they will tell us when the Development Control Committee gets the information and yet the Wetlands project is being put together with a specific sum from Liatris in mind - this is borne out by the minutes of the Executive Committee of EDDC of November 2006.
EDDC is also refusing to divulge the timetable for the planning application to either ourselves or to the Town Council.
When this happens there seems to be no organisation you can complain to - no governmental department appears to be at all interested.
As I have said before, as long as local authorities tick boxes and stay in the black they seem to be able to do pretty much whatever they want.
It is also very debatable just how much local authorities tell District Councillors about what is going on in their area. My gut instinct is that district councillors get to know maybe 20% of what is actually happening and town councils maybe 5%.
There are so many things we have to keep our eye on with EDDC (there is a trust issue!) that it can get overwhelming.
The Town Council is, in the end, only 12 out of more than 7,000 people in this town (0.0017% to be exact. The whole town should be our eyes and ears. We should ALL be watching and listening and using different ways of holding EDDC to account. There more of us do it, the more accountable they have to be.
Councillors need to recruit researchers to help them if they can't cope. It is still appropriate to ask them if they have asked the questions on behalf of the Town.
Do you envisage these researchers being paid or doing it for free?
It's probably better to ask the direct question of EDDC councillors as the major landowner is them, and any 106 deal is therefore in their remit. Asking the town councillors is like having a dog and bark yourself.
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