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Local Plan: last chance to comment on the Green Wedge
The consultation on EDDC’s new Local Plan closes on Thursday (27th). I’ve now commented on the Seaton-Colyford Green Wedge – reminding the planners of the 150-strong public meeting which I chaired last year – and the Seaton-Beer wedge.
This is you last chance – the process is easy, although the format doesn’t let you go back over your answers easily, or see what others have said. I posted a summary of the issues from the Green Wedge group a week or so back, if you need prompts on what to mention/
Exmouth: I wrote that Paul Arnott would make a good MP
Paul pictured with Claire Wright – here’s my article in East Devon Watch.
Statement by the Seaton Hospital Steering Committee
Jack Rowland (Chair of the Committee) has issued the following statement:
The Seaton Hospital Steering Committee has been made aware of comments on its work by an election candidate. We are a non-party organisation elected by a large public meeting last November, and our members give their time for the common goal of securing the whole of the Hospital for the community.
The Steering Committee has always welcomed support from all political corners and rejects any suggestion of a lack of cooperation with those who have shown their support for Seaton Hospital. We look forward to working with whoever is elected as our MP on July 4th.
We are proud of our record in representing the people of the Seaton, Beer and Colyton area in negotiations with NHS Property Service and NHS Devon over the last 7 months. Huge progress has been made in securing a long-term future for our local hospital:
- The Hospital has been made an Asset of Community Value – to our knowledge the first time a hospital in East Devon has been granted this status.
- Our expression of interest in the Community Ownership Fund has been accepted and we expect a decision on our application after the General Election.
- Months of discussions with local community and healthcare organisations, in conjunction with the two NHS organisations, have led to the formulation of a detailed plan for the vacant wing, which was submitted to the NHS bodies last week, also for consideration following the election.
BREAKING: Electoral Calculus predicts (narrow) Lib Dem win in Exmouth as well as here
EXMOUTH & EXETER EAST: Lib Dem (Paul Arnott) 30%, Conservative 29.2%, Labour 17.8%, Reform 14.9%, Wilson (Independent) 4.8%, Green 2.8%. Lib Dems have 48% chance of winning, Tories 43%, Labour 6%.
HONITON & SIDMOUTH: Lib Dem (Richard Foord) 46.7%, Conservative 32.7%, Reform 10.5%, Labour 7.4%, Green 2%, Coxon (Independent) 0.6%. Lib Dems have 83% chance of winning, Tories 17%.
CAUTION – these are estimates. You only get these results if you vote for them!
Seaton Hospital plan presented to Devon NHS
The Hospital steering committee has issued the following press release:
“Following six months’ discussion with over 30 community organisations, the cross-party Seaton Hospital Steering Committee, elected at a large public meeting in November and representing Colyton and Beer as well as Seaton, has submitted a plan to NHS Devon and NHS Property Services, the owner of the Hospital, for community use of the vacant wing in the Hospital, to improve the health and wellbeing of the local area.
“The plan has been developed after regular discussions with the two NHS bodies. It was presented to Sue Windley of Devon NHS by Jack Rowland, Chair of the Committee, Kirstine House, Chief Executive Officer of Seaton Hospital League of Friends, and Ben Tucker of Re:store, who was the lead committee member in long discussions with all our partners and in drafting the plan. (See photo.)
“We are now waiting for our partners’ responses, which they will not be able to give us until after the General Election. At that point we will share our plans with the whole local community who gave the Hospital such strong support when the wing was threatened with demolition. We are excited about the potential for restoring the whole Hospital to use on behalf of everyone locally, young and old.”
Labour to buy beds in care homes for NHS – they could reopen our community hospital wards too
NHS money will be used to buy thousands of beds in care homes under Labour plans to reduce overcrowding in England’s hospitals, long waits in A&E and patients becoming trapped in ambulances. Denis Campbell http://www.theguardian.com Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, said the move would tackle the huge human and financial “waste” of beds being…
— Read on eastdevonwatch.org/2024/06/19/labour-would-use-part-of-nhs-budget-to-buy-beds-in-care-homes/
Pro-proportional representation group Compass backs Richard Foord and Paul Arnott
Compass East Devon, a local group affiliated to the national cross-party campaigns group Compass, has come out in support of Richard Foord, Liberal Democrat candidate for Honiton & Sidmouth and Paul Arnott, Liberal Democrat candidate for Exmouth & Exeter East.
The group says: “Crucial to these endorsements is that both candidates are public advocates for proportional representation (PR), a voting system where everyone’s vote counts equally, politics is fairer and Parliament reflects how we vote.
“This decision is based on Compass East Devon’s close analysis of both seats which shows that these PR-supporting candidates are best placed to win with the help of a tactical voting campaign.“
In a press release, the group also notes that the by-election points to Richard as the main contender in our constituency, and successful local election results in 2023 and 2024 point to a Liberal Democrat win in Exmouth & Exeter East, and that both constituencies are on Labour’s own ‘non-battleground seats’ list -suggesting it is not seriously contesting either seat.
In other constituencies local groups are supporting parties other than the Liberal Democrats – for example, in Jacob Rees-Mogg’s North East Somerset seat the Compass local group is backing Dan Norris, the Labour candidate.
Compass, through the election-focused campaign Win As One, aims to facilitate collaboration between Labour, the Lib Dems and Greens in key seats to help a progressive government win power and change the voting system.
Compass local groups aim to back the best-placed progressive candidates who support wholesale reform of our democracy – starting with replacing our First Past the Post (FPTP) voting system with PR.
This is because FPTP stifles productive debate, promotes short-termism, tribalism and timidity, and blocks us from pressing ahead with the bold and transformative solutions that our age of permacrisis demands.
At the next election, voters in these constituencies have an opportunity to elect two Members of Parliament that will fight to change the voting system so that every vote counts, at every election, and every vote can be genuine.
A spokesperson for Compass East Devon said:
“Just a cursory glance at Westminster politics over the last few years shows our politics is quite clearly not fit for purpose. That’s why we need an entirely new system. To get one, we have to begin with electing people committed to reform – starting with proportional representation.
“With progressive MPs representing Exmouth & Exeter East and Honiton & Sidmouth, we can begin to build towards a new democratic politics where tactical voting is unnecessary, where our vote counts, and where our needs, as a county and country, finally come first.”
Seaton & Colyton MATTERS 