Sara Randall-Johnson makes Private Eye

This week's Private Eye, page 13 "Rotten Boroughs":
QUOTE

Meanwhile, one in the /Eye /for Sara Randall Johnson, Tory leader of East Devon District Council, whose cheerleading for a giant Asda which would have despoiled the beautiful Exe Estuary was reported in /Eyes
/1148 and 1217. Last week, Asda pulled out, citing the "economic climate". EDDC said it was "deeply disappointed". Residents on the other hand were delighted. Recession not all bad, then.

UNQUOTE

Light relief for Friday

Personal opinion - everyone is entitled to it....but not in Essex

From The Register>>>

A teenager from the international financial powerhouse that is Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, was given her marching orders after bosses discovered she'd described her office administrator's post as "boring" on Facebook.

Read the rest here



HT: El Reg

Council house blues

Interesting article from the BBC on social housing, click title to go to site.

Magna Housing planning application at town hall

The Magna/Barklay Park Homes planning application 09/0179/MFUL on the field opposite the Long House is with Seaton Town Council and can be inspected at Seaton Town Hall. This application is described on the EDDC website as:

Erection of149 dwellings (70% affordable) and a Kingdom Hall with associated car parking and vehicular access, roads and open space

Seaton Town Council will hear the application on Monday 16 March 2009 at 7 pm.

To support or object to this plan write to Planning Department, EDDC, The Knowle, Sidmouth EX10 8HL, quoting the reference number above.

Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline

A hotline has been launched to help members of the public report abandoned shopping trolleys in canals and rivers.

British Waterways, which is organising the scheme, estimates 3,000 are dumped annually, and that fishing them out of its network costs £150,000 each year.

It says the hotline will be used to help recover trolleys, and name the supermarkets which own them.

Chief Executive Robin Evans said there was "much more the supermarket chains can do to take more responsibility".

Full article here

HT: bbc

Of Unitary authority

Just spotted an interview with Brian Greenslade in Total Politics....
sample>>>

BD: Are you getting much feedback from the public on unitaries?

The public, frankly, are largely unengaged with this issue. They’ve heard and read through the press a lot about this. I think if you spoke to the average citizen of Devon and said, ‘are you aware that the councils may change?’ they probably would be but they wouldn’t be greatly excited. I mean, my postbag has not been full up of letters about this issue. It’s largely passing people by.

I think what the public want is good quality, value for money local government services and why should they be terribly worried about the structure? After all Devon County Council already provides 85 per cent of all local government services throughout the county anyway.

<<<
Of course, talking and listening to the local communities helps:0)
Read the full interview here

Village gets new sports facilities thanks to Devon County Council

According to the Midweek Herald:

A VILLAGE project is to get a significant boost with the creation of new sports facilities - thanks to £53,000 given by Devon County Council from funds allocated from the sale of Exeter International Airport.

The 'Young At Heart' project in Upottery, near Honiton, is to get £32,000 from the county council's Community Fund plus a further £21,000 allocated by Honiton St Paul's county councillor Roger Boote from his local projects fund.

The money will pay towards a new cricket pitch, double all-weather tennis court and better drainage of the football field. They will provide playing and coaching facilities for local young people. In addition, new changing rooms are to be provided thanks to a local initiative to recycle a Portakabin previously used by the village school.

Well, aren't they lucky. If you live in Seaton you get NOTHING for sport or recreation - not even for a youth club. Our youth and community centre has been lying derelict for nearly three years now - DCC's answer: a bus that comes to the Underfleet car park which can deal with "up to" 30 youngsters. In the meantime, Town Councillor Sophie O'Connell's personal initiative, Grove Zero, regularly gets anything from 80-200 youngsters every week.

As far as we can pick up from local newspapers, the money from the sale of Exeter Airport has so far gone to projects in this area for: £500,000 for the Seaton Visitor Centre which has just had £1.2 million of SWRDA funding cancelled, £6,000 to Axmouth Village Hall, £4,000 to Beer Mariners Hall, £2000 to Seaton Tourist Information Centre and a new bus shelter outside the Townsend Road medical practice.

In the meantime, Colyton somehow manages to find masses of funds for a new youth centre to replace one it already has! What do you have to do to get facilities in Seaton? The mind boggles.

What is it about Seaton that means that we get overlooked time and time again?

Last day reminder

Today is the last day for you to make representation either for or against the 2 planning applications covering the bulk of the Seaton Regen Area.
The EDDC offices at the Knowle close at 17:30hrs

Meanwhile...here's some eyecandy for a concept plan in China

You have only until 18 February 2009 to put in your objection or support of Tesco planning applications

People in Seaton have only until

18 February 2009

to put in their letters of support or objection to the Tesco plans for a store and for the rest of the site.

Plans are at the town council offices and can be viewed Monday - Friday 9 am to 3 pm. When Liatris put their plans in for the site we were allowed 16 weeks to support or object to the planning application. On this we are being allowed only 4 weeks - there is no explanation why the consultation period is shorter. Send your letters to: Planning Department, EDDC, The Knowle, Sidmouth, EX10 8HL
Mark them with the reference:
09/0019/MFUL for the store plans 09/0022/MOUT for the rest of the site

What does our (current) MP think about Asda pulling out of Exmouth?

Hugo Swire said: "I have met with ASDA on a number of occasions and have always made it crystal clear that my support for this project was conditioned on the design being of the highest order and the benefits to the people of Exmouth being clear and defined." He added that the District Council 'were entirely correct' in insisting on a new sports centre and swimming pool, a Jurassic Coast visitor centre, a new library for the town as well as a new food store and supermarket on the site. He added that the designs ASDA proposed where in his opinion 'almost satisfactory' and told them at the time that they 'had some way to go.' He said: "The siting of the store adjacent to the Estuary caused considerable feeling in the town and whilst I understand that, I believe that ASDA withdrawing is bad news for Exmouth. "I would ask those critics of any development where are these promised jobs going to come from now? "Where are we going to find the funding for all the other facilities that would benefit all of the people of Exmouth?

Funny, we never heard him say any of these things about Seaton - where a store will also probably be sited adjacent to the estuary (but alas not with a library, swimming pool and sports centre built by the developer). Surely it couldn't be because at the next general election he won't be needing our votes - no, of course not.

Asda pulls out of Exmouth regeneration

Asda has pulled out of the Exmouth regeneration site. Click link above for EDDC press release which states, in part:

"The Council heard on Monday that ASDA’s Development Team were unwilling to satisfy the council’s requirements with a package of community benefits to the town, including:

• A new sports centre and swimming pool
• A Jurassic Coast visitor centre
• A new library
• A large town-centre food store and supermarket

The news means that a complete re-think will be needed by the various agencies that had been pinning hopes of regeneration on a major injection of private cash...."

...“The supermarket was part of a package of facilities that we insisted on if this development was to go ahead. We would not dream of accepting second best. We would not sell Exmouth short”.



(Councillor Ray Franklin, EDDC’s Portfolio Holder Strategic Planning and Regeneration)

Seaton Town Council Planning Committee vote

Last night Seaton Town Council's planning committee unanimously rejected the Tesco planning applications (full and outline) for the Seaton Regeneration Area. Chairman Sandra Semple informed people at the meeting that she would be withdrawing, as she had prejudged the applications and did not think that anything she would hear at the meeting would change her mind, she then made a short statement about the reasons for this and left the meeting.

Local organisations and residents then gave their views on the planning applications and after debate the Planning Committee rejected both applications. The Town Council's reasons will become a public document and will appear here in due course.

The town council does not have the right to accept or reject the planning applications - that is for the District Council to decide.