EDDC makes proposal for dividing Devon into two unitary authorities
As the government pushes ahead with its plans for replacing the county & district councils by unitary authorities, EDDC and its leader Paul Arnott have made a proposal for how thus could be done, with two councils each covering a large area, one based in Exeter and the other in Plymouth. If this has to happen, thus seems a sensible proposal, at least from an East Devon point of view.
The key thing in my view is that this should be properly discussed and put to the electorate, not steamrollered through by an unholy alliance of the Labour and Conservative parties. This needs time and in the meantime the Devon county election should go ahead, so that those who make these decisions are reflecting the current views of the electorate.
, www.midweekherald.co.uk/news/24848437.east-devon-merged-exeter-unitary-authority/
Library move needs proper public discussion
It has been announced that in a cost-cutting exercise, Seaton Library will move from its present site to the Town Council’s Marshlands building. This will mean a serious contraction of the service which is valued by many members of the local community, young and old.
The move is another sorry consequence of 15 years of Conservative austerity, during which the library service has constantly been run down. Seaton Town Council has apparently agreed to this behind closed doors, because they will gain income from the move.
However, Library users and the community deserve their say – this cannot be yet another decision railroaded through regardless of local people’s views.
Devon democracy denied as elections postponed
In the County Council, an unholy alliance of the discredited Conservative Party and Labour has just recommended cancelling May’s county council elections, because the Labour government wants to abolish the council together with the district councils and impose a system of unitary authorities on Devon.
We the voters have not been consulted about the idea, there are no definite plans, and now the whole business will be left in the hands of local politicians who are literally past their sell-by date. It is good to see that Richard Foord and other Lib Dem MPs are opposing this stitch-up.
We must assume that Seaton’s present invisible Conservative county councillor, Marcus Hartnell, who has already decided not to stand for re-election, has gone along with this.
Save the Green Wedge: new call to action
From the Save the Seaton-Colyford Green Wedge Action Group:
Contentious planning applications are often submitted in the run-up to Christmas because it’s a busy time, but if you are at all concerned about the likely consequences of the proposal to build on land at Harepath Road, please respond to this application by 2nd January 2025.
The application for 2 retail warehouses (not an application for M & S or The Range), parking, drive-thru cafe/restaurant, EV charging centre and associated infrastructure, is due to be considered by EDDC Planning Committee in the new year.
Apart from the negative impact on the town centre, if this development is allowed to go ahead it would result in a significant and long-lasting detrimental impact on Seaton’s unique natural environment, its reputation as a destination for green tourism, its wildlife and its local economy, and will increase flooding to surrounding land and properties.
The applicant makes a number of references in the supporting documents to “future residents of the surrounding residential development”, suggesting that, if approved, the adjoining land at Harepath Road will also be developed for housing. Any future housing would put considerable strain on our already overstretched infrastructure and further erode our valuable green wedge.
Any development at that site is likely to increase traffic along Harepath Road, a residential route used by primary school children walking to and from school, patients accessing two doctors’ surgeries and older residents living in elderly people’s accommodation.
And a large number of Seaton’s independent retailers do not support this application because of the impact on their businesses and livelihoods, many already having experienced a decline in town centre shopping since the arrival of Tesco. The free parking facilities proposed at the Harepath Road site are generous and it is questionable whether those who shop there will then continue into town and pay £2 an hour in the town car parks. savethehighstreet.org recently stated that there is increasing evidence that out of town shopping takes business away from town centres.
If you think it’s important to protect our unique natural environment and our wildlife, prevent further flooding, support our local town centre businesses and our local economy, please write with your objections to this application by 2nd January to: Planning East, Blackdown House, Heathpark Industrial Estate, Honiton, EX14 1EJ and to members of EDDC Planning Committee:
brian.bailey@eastdevon.gov.uk; ian.barlow@eastdevon.gov.uk; kbloxham@eastdevon.gov.uk; Colin.Brown@eastdevon.gov.uk; jenny.brown@eastdevon.gov.uk; schamberlain@eastdevon.gov.uk; maddy.chapman@eastdevon.gov.uk; Olly.davey@eastdevon.gov.uk; peter.faithfull@eastdevon.gov.uk; steven.gazzard@eastdevon.gov.uk; del.haggerty@eastdevon.gov.uk; anne.hall@eastdevon.gov.uk; mike.howe@eastdevon.gov.uk; simon.smith@eastdevon.gov.uk; eileen.wragg@eastdevon.gov.uk
New update on Hospital
The Steering Committee has been continuing its work – this press release by Richard Foord MP explains the current situation. Let us hope that 2025 is the year we finally get the whole hospital back into use! With best wishes for Christmas and New Year to all readers.
Book launch picture
Paul Arnott asking me about my new book The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament at Wednesday’s launch in the Old Picture House. Thanks to all who braved the cold weather for a lively discussion! If you missed it but would like to get the book, it’s still available via the above link for £14 + postage (normal price £19.99) with the code EM30 at checkout.
Book launch this Wednesday 5 pm – all welcome
A reminder – my book launch is this Wednesday at 5 pm in the Old Picture House, Harbour Rd, Seaton. I’ll be in conversation with PAUL ARNOTT about The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, which has just been published. The discussion could range far and wide – everything from today’s nuclear politics and Gaza to local protests about Seaton Hospital, as well as the history. Nothing is ruled out!
Come along, listen, and have your say – one or two people who are coming may share their own experiences of CND or other things they were doing back in the day.
A year since the Hospital campaign began – the NHS is still bypassing Seaton Hospital
Twelve months ago (3rd November 2023) we held one of the biggest protest meetings ever in the Seaton area: 400 people gathered to oppose the demolition of a wing of Seaton Hospital.
The campaign continued into the New Year, and our Steering Committee, elected at the Colyford meeting, has been negotiating with NHS Devon and NHS Property Services ever since. They’ve had our business plan to take over the wing for over four months, but the election and the wait for the new government’s Budget has delayed a response.
Meanwhile the empty space is unused. Yet Devon NHS – which complained about the cost of it – is still paying for facilities elsewhere in Seaton to carry out vaccinations that were previously done in the Hospital. We saw the shambles with the vaccination van in the Tesco car park on 7th October, and now it emerges that they are booking space in Marshlands.
It is beyond time that the NHS and Property services got their act together and put services in Seaton and the future of the Hospital on a secure footing.
Key Seaton Museum meeting tomorrow – all welcome
Tomorrow (Wednesday 30th) sees the AGM of the Axe Valley Heritage Association, which runs Seaton Museum. This is the first AGM since the death of the Museum’s founder and curator, Ted Gosling, and so is an important moment in putting the Museum on a secure footing. The meeting is at 2 pm in the United Reform Church Hall, Cross Street.
I will lead tributes to Ted. Our Acting Curator, Laura Hewitt, who the Trustees are proposing should be confirmed as the new Curator, will give a report on her plans for the Museum going forward, and prehistorian Mark Farry will give a short talk on the archaeology of the local area. There will be tea and biscuits.
All are welcome – this is your chance to find out what is going on in your local Museum and decide if you would like to become a member or get involved.
Book launch, Old Picture House, 20 November
This is a rather unusual post. While I was campaigning for Seaton Hospital late last year (a campaign which has still to bear fruit, but we are working on it), I was also writing a book on a protest movement – The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
When our protest last November included the brilliant idea of ringing all the church bells, I thought of all the imaginative and daring ways that antinuclear campaigners used to highlight their issues. And when one of the bellringers joked that we needed to be making Molotov cocktails, I thought, no – but a peaceful obstruction of the bulldozers might be in order. (Non-Violent Direct Action is the technical term.)
Anyway, I am holding a launch event in the Old Picture House, Harbour Road, Seaton, on Wednesday 20th November at 5pm. All welcome!
I’ll be in conversation with Paul Arnott – himself a distinguished author – who will quiz me on why I wrote the book, what its lessons are amidst the growing world gloom, and all questions politics and protest. There will be ample opportunity to ask your own questions, and of course a bar.
If you want to learn more about The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, the publishers’ website has all the details and you can buy it with 30% off, using the code ‘EM30’ at checkout. It will also be available for £15 on the night (cash or cheque), but no obligation to buy of course.
I hope to see you on the 20th November – do spread the word!
Seaton & Colyton MATTERS 