Thanks to all

Many thanks to all who assisted, encouraged or voted for me in the recent district elections. I was very happy to achieve a decent number of votes in not the easiest ward to cover.

Thanks also to all who read the leaflets and came on here, even if you placed your vote elsewhere or aren't in this ward. Please feel free to discuss and debate any issues raised.

Congratulations to Claire Wright for her overwhelming victory in the Ottery Rural ward. The extent of her achievement tends to have been overshadowed by the media focusing on the defeat in this ward of council leader Sara Randall Johnson. In reality the tories were nowhere, both over 500 votes behind in a ward where the electors had two votes.

Claire has shown what can be achieved by campaigning on issues that mean something to the community, an alien concept to the patronising clique that continue to run this authority. I would also suggest that the defenestrated leaderene may have marginally lost out to her tory colleague as a consequence of her attacks on the very popular winner.

Congratulations also to the other non establishment candidates who campaigned hard for encouraging, though not yet concrete results, and who had to struggle under the handicap of a local press who for some reason held their noses and ignored the election and its issues. Much more interesting to them to splash the word Paedo around the district at the start of the Easter holidays.

A big thumbs down to the Exmouth Journal and others in the Archant stable, who compounded their contempt for the voters with a rash of feel good stories, often featuring photos and quotes from retiring mayor Darryl Nicholas. They couldn't have done a better job of subliminally campaigning for the incumbents if they'd tried. We deserve a functioning local paper.

The ASDA chronicles, or Tory claim 7.

'We told Asda that their supermarket proposal as it stood did not meet the standards and needs of the town and did not have a satisfactory transport interchange. Asda eventually decided they could not meet the local requirements and did not proceed with their proposals.'

Once again my memory must be playing tricks. I will set out events as I remember them, with transparent willingness to retract should I be proven incorrect.

Asda's initial attempt to build a superstore by the estuary was seen off with great fanfare with our MP presenting an 11,000 signature petition to Downing Street. Almost immediately EDDC was held up to ridicule in Private Eye magazine for trying to counter the etition with a 'survey' of schoolchildren.

A couple of years down the line back comes the Asda proposal, except that it is dressed up as one of a series of proposals from four different supermarket developers for one each of four different sites. Asda's was the preferred bidder and was given the go ahead, despite the fact that it involved unnecessary disruption and relocation of our transport and leisure facities.

People asked why fours groups on different sites? Why no level playing field? No satisfactory answer was given at the time, though I've recently been advised that Stagecoach had sold Asda the option on their bus station site. Presumably an alternative could have been built on another part of the larger footprint? Was this deal being allowed to take precedence over other regeneration ideas for the town? I believe Stagecoach sponsored the festival that year, a coincidence of course.

Then it transpired that these meetings were subject to 'commercial confidentiality, and had not been minuted. When people asked why this was, we were told that they were held under a particular set of rules whereby minuting was not required. Then a retired civil servant wrote to the Journal, pointing out that these rules were not appropriate for these meetings. To their abiding shame The Journal didn't pursue this, and as ever we were left not to find out.

As the recent financial crisis reared it's head, Asda tried to reduce it's planning gain commitments below what was previously agreed, and remarkably the council held firm. So Asda walked away.

Every now and then The Journal tells us a number of supermarkets are interested in coming to the town, and Asda is always listed, although an Asda source has told me emphatically that they are no longer keen. I wonder if they still hold the option?

Manifesto cont.

The final day of campaigning for me, back to work tomorrow, so just got to wait and see what happens. All these bank holidays close together have been pretty disruptive and make it difficult to ask for extra time off.
I must say I've been welcomed as a candidate and encouraged by the representatives of the other parties that I have met. This is a useful reminder that the behaviour of institutions and groups may be different from that of the individuals within them. If elected I will go in with no preconceptions, just a clear set of priorities.
I am concerned at the effects of the cuts being imposed on us. This evening we had fish and chips near the new lifeboat station, and were struck by how high the beach was. I remembered reading that stopping beach maintenance was one of the proposed budgetary cuts. This was in about January with the decisive meeting in Feb. I am not aware of the decision being reported, but the work appears not to have been done. If left it will be detrimental to the tourist experience and will eventually need to be made good at greater cost than that saved in the short term. If that was the decision then why did neither the Journal or any of our representatives report it?
If I am elected I will report matters in which I participate briefly but clearly on this blog, including which way I vote. If confidentiality is requested then I will request justification point by point. Public service should be conducted openly, and there should be no place for blanket secrecy.
There were a number of dogs loose, of course we are now into the summer restriction period. They didn't pose a nuisance to anyone while we were there but were obviously with local people enjoying themselves in the surf. Dogs on the beach and other public spaces is still a contentious issue, one where it is important to bring both sides together to find a compromise.
I note that the police have taken up powers to break up small groups in the town centre, and of course there are alcohol restrictions in the area as well, despite a lack of will to limit the opening of off licenses. I am particularly concerned about the amount of glass left around or smashed in the town or on the public open spaces. I would be in favour of a total ban on using glass containers in this area or in public spaces, with powers to confiscate and fine. I would also expect any licensed premises that did not remove all broken glass from outside their premises by a reasonable time to receive a visit. Not prohibition, just reasonable behaviour and consumption.
Finally I would just like to say that I will be voting Yes to AV. It is not a fully proportional system but is rather fairer than the existing system. I find it most arrogant and hypocritical of Mr Cameron that he claims the public will not understand it, when he knows full well that it is simple enough to allow his colleagues to have chosen him as leader rather than the First Past The Post 'winner' David Davies.

Good luck to all, and I hope you all use your vote whoever it may be for.

Come back soon for The Asda Chronicles and reflections on the Maer play area.

A personal manifesto.

It's beginning to feel that mine so far seems a negative campaign. Obviously as a candidate not supported by a major political party it is important to demonstrate how and why I believe the status quo is not working for the best. I did not anticipate how much misleading information would emanate from the two main parties locally, potentially leaving false impressions that should not be allowed to stick.

Exmouth is a great place to live and to grow up. It is also becoming an increasingly popular destination to retire to. There is possibly a gap during the career development and working years.

The years since I first arrived here in 1977 have seen a number of changes.

The dormitory part of the town which has sprawled outwards over the past thirty years, seems more connected to Exeter than to Exmouth. Developed without thought for community facilities it has had a rather soulless feel. I think one achievement of the current town council is to go some way to reversing this.

The growth of the Exmouth Festival has also been significant in reviving the personality of the town as well as its culture, and in drawing the different parts together.

The docks and Rolle College, which were our most significant economic entities, have been closed down with developers in mind. Nothing has come along to take their place. We have lost an awful lot of jobs and a constant injection of young people as a result of this. The age balance and employment/career opportunities need constant attention.

Town and District planners should freeze any applications for supervised apartment blocks for incoming retired people. That is not to deny the elderly the right to retire here, but to put a brake on the ability of large companies to use our natural resources to draw them here in order to make profit which then goes out of the town. As well as creating a time bomb for the NHS locally. An important task facing the new authority should then be to assess the maximum level of these developments which we can sustain, and whether in fact we are already at saturation level.

The water sports businesses in the town have the potential to really take off. We have just missed out on a marvellous publicity coup when the provisional stag weekend plans of the Royal party were blown out of the water by someone blabbing to the press. If that had been allowed to happen discretely we would have been known worldwide as a premier destination for these activities.

When BBC presenter Jodie Kidd was given tuition here the Western Morning News quoted her instructor as saying 'we are the future of Exmouth, if allowed to get on with it'. I consider it a priority to engage with these important local businesses to see what obstacles they face and how they can be helped.

We also need to encourage more quality eating establishments etc rather than filling up for the sake of it with the likes of Bargain Booze.

More to follow.

We will fight against overdevelopment. Just as we always have.

Tory claims 5 & 6.

*We have worked to reduce the adverse impact of flat developments in The Avenues in respect of quantity, design, and impact on local services.

*We will fight against overdevelopment, particularly development in the Maer valley. (Previously expressed as: we want to continue to work for the protection of the beautiful Maer valley against any LARGE housing or other development). My capitals.

Or, in Brixington: With a Conservative East Devon we guarantee there will be no over development of the countryside – we will protect St John’s Wood/Bystock. It is our green lung!

     Since a number of the Conservative councillors live in the Avenues, one would have thought they had plenty of reason for keeping things ‘nice’.

     Take a walk up Lime Kiln Lane, coming away from Exmouth seafront at the top of Maer Road. On your left, for a considerable length of the lane, the hedge has been chopped down and you can see extent of  the development on the old Hazeldene hall of residence site. Although there are fewer units on the site than the original application, the 0.93 of a hectare looks pretty full. The houses are still very close to the lane at their rear boundary. The block of social housing flats has not yet been built, but its footprint looks substantial.

     This is a development whose impact has been reduced, not by a huge amount, but in the way the Conservative group claims it would. This was done not by elected representatives, but by the residents’ association with the unfortunate acronym, Save our Avenues from Despoilation. Sterling work by their members pointed out the holes in the developers’ figures and arguments and ensured that the authority had to take a rigorous attitude to the application. I am not sure that the members and representatives of SAD would be totally happy with the result.

     Carry on up to the top of the lane, which is quiet and leafy for the remainder, then turn left along Salterton Road. Then take the second left into Cyprus Road.

     You will immediately notice opposite a monstrosity named Villa Maison. This is the proverbial Cuckoo to its neighbours Dartford Warblers. Little wonder that the most obviously overshadowed neighbour, 6b, is for sale. This was hatched on the current incumbents’ watch.

      At the bottom of this road turn right into Douglas Avenue. On the opposite side there are a number of overdeveloped blocks of flats, conforming to varying interpretations of taste. There are also two development sites, one freshly demolished, plus yet another former hall of residence, Seacroft, which is subject to a planning application from McCarthy and Stone. The town planners have told the applicants that they are asking for too much on the site, so we are now waiting for the district planners to overrule them. No one seems to have addressed the issue of whether they should be allowed change of use. Despite, as our councillors claim; ‘If re-elected we will continue to press for good quality housing to be built in these locations’.

     By now we have the main Rolle College campus on our right. Part of this will be used for education and business start ups etc. in a Big Society project, subject to agreement with the site owners Bovis.

     As we enter the conservation area we come upon Rock House, a lovely old house with fine views out to sea, which has been allowed to dilapidate over a number of years. In Sidmouth the owners might have been instructed to maintain it. In Seaton they might already have a breeze block construction on the site. Eagle One have a poster on their boarding showing off 5 very glitzy ‘town houses’. Well worth their wait, I am sure. 

     At this point you might wish to carry on to the Carlton Hill roundabout to see how many apartments McCarthy and Stone managed to shoehorn into another old hall of residence site.

     Or you might prefer to retrace your steps back up Douglas Avenue to the Rolle College playing fields, which comprise the lower part of the Maer valley, not yet subject to the proposals threatening the National Trust land and farm further up. This land currently has protected status, but did a forward looking company like Eagle One really buy it to lease long term to the Boys Brigade?

     Better still turn left down to the seafront, then right at the still unfinished bowling alley  and walk along the promenade to the marina. Here you will find a modern café bar, The Point, which used to have a nice view across the channel. This view was courtesy of the last three remaining undeveloped plots on the old docks site. These were filled in one by one. The first, directly opposite the café, was rather higher than the artist’s impression suggested it might be. The second was higher still, and the third, on the estuary side, even higher. A stairway to heaven for the developers.

     The people who bought apartments in the initial dock developments were assured that no blocks would be higher than theirs. But this is the reality.

     When East Devon published its LDF core strategy document, Exmouth Town Council and many individuals made a robust demolition of  their targets, which were deemed way in excess of either need or available infrastructure. At the forefront of this was Exmouth mayor and Conservative East Devon councillor Darryl Nicholas, who is unfortunately not standing for re-election.

     East Devon responded sympathetically, saying that all targets would be reviewed.

For some reason we haven’t seen the results of this review yet. Did someone tell them there was an election coming? 

The trashed bus shelter on Salterton Rd, near hospital corner, has had it's glass replaced promptly and with glass that matches. Well done Street Scene. Of course it only serves to emphasise what an abberration the new bus shelter in The Strand has been. If the relevant people know the style of our bus shelters then how come whoever rushed this through was not aware?
The whole Strand business is very sad. Started as a well meaning desire to freshen up the centre of the town, had a disjointed and short-circuited consultation process, and then work started apparently by stealth before the consultation and planning process had completed before having a belated planning application for a large commercial building pushed through against the wishes of many residents. And now of course applications for referenda that don't necessarily cover all points of view.
I can't find anyone who can suggest an acceptable reason for not completing the planning and having the whole approved or at least debated before starting. Why was this done? There is certainly a sense of being misled when the trees were cut down, the first stage of the work.
Was it arrogance? We'll do this because we want to, after paying lip service to consultation. Or did someone have an agenda? Creating a fait accompli in anticipation of objections to aspects of the building plans. Or were those responsible just too dull to anticipate how this would look?
Is it possible that this was done in a hurry, perhaps as perceived appeasement or compensation to the community over being so badly let down by our representatives over the Rolle College fiasco. It's not the only project that's been rushed through and then listed as an achievement for electoral gain.

Barbecued asparagus on the beach.

This year's first decent picking was very nice barbecued, never tried before. Also kebabs and all the usual stuff,with some salad. Six of us chilling and then playing footie.
Watched the sun shimmering on the water, always special at Easter, and then going down. Kept the fires going with bits of wood from the sand, rotovated from other people's fires. Recycling I guess. Couldn't believe how much of this there was.
Plenty of camper vans on the Orcombe Point road. I really wouldn't want this pedestrianised. There must be other ways of dealing with boy racer issues than preventing the access of those who need or wish to come down by car, whether for sport or even to sit in the car and eat their fish and chips.