Save Our Sidmouth

Category Archives: Knowle Watch


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EDDC’s relocation plans: notes on meeting with ’stakeholders’ (26th July 2013)

The meeting was held last Friday, at the Flybe office at Exeter Airport.

All EDDC Cabinet attended, plus senior officers. There were representatives from Parish and Town Councils and Chambers of Commerce, plus selected organisations termed ‘stakeholders’, including Save our Sidmouth, East Devon Alliance, Vision for Sidmouth’s Futures Forum, Knowle Residents’ Association and others.

Deputy Chief Executive,Richard Cohen, presented the case for moving. Leader,Paul Diviani,  supported him. Options include Cranbrook, Honiton, (2), or possibly Sky Park

Questions followed the presentation. One was from Kelvin Dent, newly elected Sidmouth Town Councillor. As Councillor Diviani had mentioned, for the second time, that relocation would have an impact on the economy of Sidmouth and that steps would be taken to try to mitigate the effect, Councillor Dent asked what those steps would be, bearing in mind the loss of nearly 100 jobs over 10 years and £4.5million of contracts and spend in Sidmouth. He did not receive an answer, but the question was minuted, and will presumably be addressed in due course.

Then several discussion groups were formed, to consider four questions ( quoted verbatim here):

  1. The services received, by residents and organisation; will they change when the office is relocated and could this impact on the organisation and/or people I represent?
  2. The way in which my colleagues and I work with or communicate with the council; how might that change?
  3. What other statutory provisions, government regulations or business activities and financial arrangements, (for example), that you are involved with do you think might be affected?
  4. What concerns, risk or opportunities do you perceive there to be, which would impact on the community that you represent, and it wellbeing(sic). vibrancy or economic effectiveness, or similar

 

Answers ranged from having a new large multi purpose council chamber to shared services with Exeter City Council ( and new methods of working using IT). 

(SOS has of course already given its strong views on question 4 . See  EDDC Cabinet to look at options for Knowle relocation…But is relocation itself an option? posted 16th July on this website.) .

SOS Chair, Richard Thurlow, commented, “It is clear that Honiton, (through the Chamber of Commerce) is very keen on getting EDDC in the town and is already planning for it (with bus services from the station ,etc…).”

“Not much will come of this or subsequent meetings”, he continued. “It was purely a public relations exercise.”

The SIN blog has a more detailed report of the meeting, From our correspondent “Fly Me”, posted 26th July at http://sidmouthindependentnews.wordpress.com

 


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EDDC relocation plan….reminder of a warning from SOS

Save our Sidmouth has been invited by Leader Paul Diviani, to a special talk tomorrow for selected ‘stakeholders’ . The topic is EDDC’s office relocation plan.

EDDC Councillors will no doubt be mindful of a  clear warning about relocation, offered by Jeremy Woodward on behalf of SOS, some months ago. Here is the link to it:   SOS to eddc full council – 5dec12

The SOS representatives attending tomorrow’s meeting will also be familiar with the publicity issued by West Dorset to promote their (disastrous) move ‘to smaller,cheaper and greener offices.’

You can view it  today at http://sidmouthindependentnews.wordpress.com


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SOS Statement to Full Council at Knowle last night (24th July)

There were four representations from the public. Leader, Paul Diviani, answered them very briefly, lumping them all together, in a response lasting approximately two minutes.

Richard Thurlow, Chair, spoke on behalf of SOS, as follows:

SOS Statement.

Chairman,

I want to raise two issues with questions.

Firstly the Knowle.

We welcome the reduction in development land take now required to finance your ambition to move elsewhere, noting though that one of the three  zones remaining has been increased in size; it does show that the Council is forced  occasionally to listen to the public.

 

But we still believe that the move is based more on emotion than practicality and economic viability.

 

You have not assessed, to a level which would certainly be the case in the commercial world,  the viability of improving the modern office block.

 

There are many other flaws in your support documents, but it seems the public will not be allowed to discuss this with you.

 

You have spent over £350,000 of taxpayer’s money, excluding the huge time costs of Technical Employees on the first futile exercise, and have committed another £100,000). .In this time of financial stringency it is an appalling waste, money that could have been better used elsewhere.

 

We still object to the move. We remain convinced that there is  a compromise of remaining at the Knowle and preserving all the benefits, whilst improving the standards of your offices, and developing housing. You have never allowed us to have any meaningful discussion with you about this

 

At the Cabinet meeting last week, Cllr Halse tried to make you aware of the risks in moving; I have spent many years in the construction business, and I fully echo these sentiments. You will be committing huge sums of money, to a project which is risky and not warranted at this time. In the probable event of over runs, it will not be the Developer who loses money, it will be EDDC.

 

Are you really prepared to take this huge  risk?

 

Secondly the Local Plan.

 

We note that this still includes an allocation for Employment land at Sidford.

 

This perhaps the most contentious and poorly reasoned proposal in the Plan.

 

It is not needed; your calculation of its need and therefore size, are plain wrong. where are the 1300 new employees working there to come from? Sidmouth?.. if not you destroy your own rationale for the site.

 

There are already vacant office and light industrial sites further west on the A3052… where is the need for another site?

 

You have not assessed in any way, the extreme flooding which regularly takes place there. You have not assessed the traffic, which will be generated on an already overloaded road system. Surely before putting a site forward you should have made sure that it was viable?

 

By your own admission you  have included the site because it was put forward by a developer who wants to build there; some of your own Councillors have said that they do not know why it is included.

 

The existing employment site, with an improved access will be sufficient for many years; we have done the necessary work to prove this.

 

Our proposal would be to leave out this site from the LP and review its need and viability, as has been suggested. Will you do this?

 

If not how will you proceed if the Developer submits plans for Planning Permission in advance of the Inspector’s report?

Further reports on the Full Council meeting will be posted shortly.