The summary below is not comprehensive. It is intended as a guide to some serious concerns, and a reminder that the  public consultation on the Knowle Planning Application, ends at midday next Friday, 1st February (details on Dates for your diary, at http://sidmouthindependentnews.wordpress.com . Also on our own website, Jan 17 post. ) Please refer to DOCUMENTS page here,  for official responses.

KNOWLE’s GOOD for Sidmouth:
e.g.
It’s got parking places for weekend shoppers
Has bats and beasties ….Is part of the town’s green corridor
Acts as a soakaway, avoiding more flooding problems
Is Sidmouth’s biggest employer, with well-paid jobs
Has historic parkland, including Old Monty, the UK’s  broadest Monterey pine.

EDDC’s KNOWLE Plans are BAD for Sid Valley, and East Devon:
e.g.
New build Council HQ at Honiton could cost ratepayers a fortune, and soon be a white elephant.
Relocation means job losses in town, helping create artificial need to build business park on Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty at Sidford, on a floodplain
Trained staff are not locally available for the proposed 60-bed care home.
Affordable homes are a greater local priority than the planned luxury homes, which will inevitably attract older buyers,  adding to pressure on local health services.

Information on most of these topics can be found in the SIN blog archive http://sidmouthindependentnews.wordpress.com

Some relevant dates are:  Dec 8th; 18th ; Oct 19th (2 posts), 26th , 31st ; Nov 6th, 12th  (3 posts),17th ,23rd and 24th.

Items in our Knowle Watch category might also be helpful..e.g. Jan 8th , ‘True reasons…’