Save Our Sidmouth

Category Archives: EDDC


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The Future of the East Devon Business Forum now in question

The repercussions from the Graham Brown affair are many (see recent posts on this SOS website).  One is the question of what will happen to the East Devon Business Forum, from which he has now resigned. The reaction from its current Vice-Chair can be viewed at http://sidmouthindependentnews.wordpress.com , 16 March Letter to members of EDBF from Roy Stuart .

A window on the workings of EDBF has been opened by the setting  up of a special group (TAFF), by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. TAFF Chairman Graham Troman and his team have been asked to examine how the Business Forum works as  a ‘joint body’ (as the Council CEO describes it) with Councillors. Despite this TAFF having been hampered (some say,’muzzled’) , as extensively reported on our website and on the SIN blog, questions can now be publicly aired.  We hope they will all be addressed.

As promised, SOS will post examples of these questions. This one was from Marianne Rixson of Sidford W.I.,  to the Task and Finish Forum: Business, on 12 March 2013:

An article in the Sidmouth Herald, in June 2012, had the heading “Local Plan Chief: I was misled over jobs hub. No idea why it was included”. The Local Plan Chief in question was  Cllr Mike Allen, who had chaired the Local Development Framework Panel.In this article, he publicly expressed his astonishment when  ( after public consultation had ended),  the 5 hectares of employment land site at Sidford Fields had somehow appeared in the Local Plan. Cllr Allen told the Herald reporter, “I have no idea why the Sidford-Sidbury proposal was included but it was represented to me as a result of consultations with Sidmouth Town Council, which it clearly was not.
“I am investigating this and will find out. Once I find the facts I will almost certainly be asking the scrutiny committee to look at this.”
In light of the Cllr Brown revelations, with the damning connections to the East Devon Business Forum and his planning consultancy, surely the Sidford proposal must form part of this TAFF enquiry?


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BBC ONE, The Politics Show: Interviews with East Devon Councillors, possibly broadcast 11h00 today, Sun 17th March

Independent Councillors Roger Giles and Claire Wright will be commenting on the present controversies in East Devon. They will discuss the  impact of the National Planning Policy Framework deadline (scheduled for Wednesday 27th March), dubbed Black Wednesday for the Countryside.

More at http://www.claire-wright.org

Large crowds are expected at the Countdown to Black Wednesday protest march next Saturday (23/03) , at Feniton , a village under threat from developers.  Graham Brown, the disgraced ex-Chair of the East Devon Business Forum, was formerly the Councillor for Feniton and Buckerell.  PROTEST MARCH

More information on yesterday’s post on this SOS website. Also at the SIN blog,  http://sidmouthindependentnews.wordpress.com


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Mass March at Feniton next Saturday, 23 March, 11a.m.

Ex-Councillor Graham Brown’s  former ward included  Feniton, a village under threat of development encouraged by their former councillor. The aerial view shows the numbers of houses planned, for your information.  The Local Plan housing allocation for the village is for 35 homes, but proposals for almost 300 are shortly due to be approved.

FenitonDev2

Things will rapidly get worse, nationwide, if new planning regulations (NPPF) go ahead, from March 27th 2013.  This is the deadline, after which any Local Authority without a 5-year Plan in place,  will have no choice but to approve what Graham Brown termed  ‘a stampede’ of planning applications from developers. EDDC, like many other councils, has no 5-year Plan.

SOS is therefore supporting next Saturday’s Mass March at Feniton, organised by the newly-formed East Devon Alliance (a non-party-political pressure group uniting all seven towns and many villages across the District).   The march aims to delay this deadline, with the help of national press and major organisations.

Details of the March are here  feniton-march-poster 23.03.13

More on East Devon Alliance in this website’s East Devon Alliance category archive, and at http://sidmouthindependentnews.wordpress.com/