SOS readers may recall that at  last week’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee Meeting, a question asked  by Barry Sangster elicited the reply from EDDC Chief Executive Mark Williams that several officers had been subject to “compromise agreements.”  ( Mentioned at http://sidmouthindependentnews.wordpress.com  29 March , Plannning planted firmly on the Business TAFF agenda   )

An article in today’s Daily Telegraph explores the subject further, as does one of the many recent Freedom Of Information (FOI) Requests to EDDC.

The following two links have details:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9967901/14m-bill-for-gagging-axed-public-officials.html

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/gagging_orders_6/new

More details of the meeting (Tuesday 2nd April) are below, and a fuller report is at http://www.claire-wright.org .

A well attended meeting, with 80 or so members of the public, many of them from Feniton village.

The two controversial  planning applications were:

1. 12/2626/MFUL Land north of Acland Park, Feniton – for 32 houses

Rejected 8 to 3 – Cllrs Keys and Atkins voted for the scheme represented by developer David Cutler ( and earlier supported by ex Ward Cllr Brown.)

2. 12/2649/MOUT Land west of Ottery Road, Feniton for 59 houses

Proposal from Strategic Land Partnerships represented by Simon Steele-Perkins was unanimously rejected.

Both applications had been previously rejected by the DMC and as Cllr Twiss observed the committee was being forced to agree applications that “nobody in the room wanted.” There was considerable concern and frustration expressed from panel members that the NPPF “tiger” was being introduced to centrally determine approvals over the wishes of local planning authorities.