Stand Up For Seaton (SU4S)

True Faith

2009-06-18T13:11:00.000+01:00

The End

2009-03-20T21:33:00.001Z

Delay on Tesco Brixham Regeneration Site due to contaminated land

2009-03-18T14:36:00.002Z

Seems it isn't only in Seaton that contaminated land is holding up regeneration (click headline for link). In Brixham Tesco is the "preferred partner" for the regeneration of the town centre, which has now been held up because the old car park appears to be on contaminated land.

Exmouth gets special treatment

2009-03-17T22:41:00.002Z

A note on the EDDC website's Corporate Overview Committee meeting agenda for 26 March 2009

QUOTE
"Members to note that if required there will be a special meeting on 2 april 2009 to consider the design and enhancement of the Strand, Exmouth"

Anyone ever heard of a special meeting about the design and enhancement of the Esplanade, Seaton at EDDC - no, thought not.

Who has the crummiest seafront - Exmouth or Seaton? Who gets the "special meeting"?

EDDC's Chief Executive gets a close shave

2009-03-17T22:34:00.002Z

Article about a stunt for Comic Relief whereby EDDC's customer care people shaved off the Chief Executive's sideburns and raised money. Nice.

What is interesting is that they list the companies that donated services or prizes for a raffle:

46 Sidmouth companies
8 Honiton companies
3 Newton Poppleford companies
3 Beer companies
5 "other" companies (Exeter area and around Sidmouth, eg Bicton)

If anyone ever wondered if EDDC considers itself part of Sidmouth, there's the proof!

Seaside resort to get new image

2009-03-17T10:08:00.003Z

No, sorry, not Seaton - Blackpool.
Read about it here.
Amazing what a council can do when it has the vision.

How Tesco bypasses opposition to its stores

2009-03-16T17:38:00.003Z

An article from the Daily Telegraph of 27 January 2007 about how Tesco has arranged for another retailer to apply for planning permission for a new shop on its behalf. Once the local council has given the go-ahead for a new retailer, Tesco moves in.

Click here for the story

The other shop was a nominee company called "Carpets 4 Less".

Environment Agency apparently considers regeneration area contaminated land

2009-03-10T16:38:00.003Z

The Environment Agency has submitted a letter to EDDC dated 06 March 2009 concerning the Tesco planning applications. It is available to view on the EDDC Planning Portal website.

It says, in part, that they have reviewed Tesco's geotechnical report and they have identified elevated concentrations of metals in a number of groundwater samples (but not soil samples) that exceed relevant guideline values for arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, lead, zinc and vanadium. They now require further groundwater sampling prior to any excavation or construction work and they want to be consulted on the results of further testing.

They go on to say that they have already requested that "Contaminated Land" conditions be applied to the outline planning application for the majority of the site to protect controlled waters and to ensure that any site investigations and remediation will not cause pollution of controlled waters. [Not sure why they don't apply this to the full planning application - it is the same site].

They also say that they need more detail about the method to be used to raise/infill the site and that, although it was previously stated that the importation of sea-dredged material was unviable they gather that this is still being considered. As such they want further information regarding the contamination potential of any fill material, how the foreshore will be protected against scour and how water quality will be protected upon return flushing of any sea water and how fauna and flora will be protected from netative impacts of flushing.

They also point out that the Environmental Impact Assessment covers issues regarding protected species that they would expect to be raised for this site and they support concerns raised regarding the effect of increased disturbance from noise and lighting.

They recommend a "buffer zone" to protect Seaton Marshes and provide a wildlife commuting corridor on either side of any water course around any waterbody or wetland [presumably this includes the north to south containment area (monsoon drain) on the site] and they say that this zone should extend at the very minimum seven metres (preferably more) from any bank top or waterbody/wetland edge. It should be protected by the erection of fencing of sufficient specifications to protect physical, plant and animal features within the buffer zone and all physical features, plants and animals within the buffer zone must be left undisturbed by the development and/or associated works though they do add that the buffer zone could be incorporated sympathetically into an overall landscape scheme.

Back to the drawing board then ..........

Anyone seen the Tesco handout?

2009-03-09T18:04:00.002Z

Has anyone seen the Tesco handout qasking people to write in with their support for "a supermarket" in Seaton? Some people seem to have received one and others don't.

Sara Randall-Johnson makes Private Eye

2009-02-28T18:41:00.000Z

This week's Private Eye, page 13 "Rotten Boroughs":
QUOTE

Meanwhile, one in the /Eye /for Sara Randall Johnson, Tory leader of East Devon District Council, whose cheerleading for a giant Asda which would have despoiled the beautiful Exe Estuary was reported in /Eyes
/1148 and 1217. Last week, Asda pulled out, citing the "economic climate". EDDC said it was "deeply disappointed". Residents on the other hand were delighted. Recession not all bad, then.

UNQUOTE

Light relief for Friday

2009-02-27T07:49:00.003Z

Personal opinion - everyone is entitled to it....but not in Essex

From The Register>>>

A teenager from the international financial powerhouse that is Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, was given her marching orders after bosses discovered she'd described her office administrator's post as "boring" on Facebook.

Read the rest here

HT: El Reg

Council house blues

2009-02-26T06:02:00.001Z

Interesting article from the BBC on social housing, click title to go to site.

Magna Housing planning application at town hall

2009-02-24T14:23:00.003Z

The Magna/Barklay Park Homes planning application 09/0179/MFUL on the field opposite the Long House is with Seaton Town Council and can be inspected at Seaton Town Hall. This application is described on the EDDC website as:

Erection of149 dwellings (70% affordable) and a Kingdom Hall with associated car parking and vehicular access, roads and open space

Seaton Town Council will hear the application on Monday 16 March 2009 at 7 pm.

To support or object to this plan write to Planning Department, EDDC, The Knowle, Sidmouth EX10 8HL, quoting the reference number above.

Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline

2009-02-24T05:54:00.002Z

A hotline has been launched to help members of the public report abandoned shopping trolleys in canals and rivers.

British Waterways, which is organising the scheme, estimates 3,000 are dumped annually, and that fishing them out of its network costs £150,000 each year.

It says the hotline will be used to help recover trolleys, and name the supermarkets which own them.

Chief Executive Robin Evans said there was "much more the supermarket chains can do to take more responsibility".

Full article here

HT: bbc

Of Unitary authority

2009-02-23T10:27:00.004Z

Just spotted an interview with Brian Greenslade in Total Politics....
sample>>>

BD: Are you getting much feedback from the public on unitaries?

The public, frankly, are largely unengaged with this issue. They’ve heard and read through the press a lot about this. I think if you spoke to the average citizen of Devon and said, ‘are you aware that the councils may change?’ they probably would be but they wouldn’t be greatly excited. I mean, my postbag has not been full up of letters about this issue. It’s largely passing people by.

I think what the public want is good quality, value for money local government services and why should they be terribly worried about the structure? After all Devon County Council already provides 85 per cent of all local government services throughout the county anyway.

<<<
Of course, talking and listening to the local communities helps:0)
Read the full interview here

Village gets new sports facilities thanks to Devon County Council

2009-02-22T17:27:00.004Z

According to the Midweek Herald:

A VILLAGE project is to get a significant boost with the creation of new sports facilities - thanks to £53,000 given by Devon County Council from funds allocated from the sale of Exeter International Airport.

The 'Young At Heart' project in Upottery, near Honiton, is to get £32,000 from the county council's Community Fund plus a further £21,000 allocated by Honiton St Paul's county councillor Roger Boote from his local projects fund.

The money will pay towards a new cricket pitch, double all-weather tennis court and better drainage of the football field. They will provide playing and coaching facilities for local young people. In addition, new changing rooms are to be provided thanks to a local initiative to recycle a Portakabin previously used by the village school.

Well, aren't they lucky. If you live in Seaton you get NOTHING for sport or recreation - not even for a youth club. Our youth and community centre has been lying derelict for nearly three years now - DCC's answer: a bus that comes to the Underfleet car park which can deal with "up to" 30 youngsters. In the meantime, Town Councillor Sophie O'Connell's personal initiative, Grove Zero, regularly gets anything from 80-200 youngsters every week.

As far as we can pick up from local newspapers, the money from the sale of Exeter Airport has so far gone to projects in this area for: £500,000 for the Seaton Visitor Centre which has just had £1.2 million of SWRDA funding cancelled, £6,000 to Axmouth Village Hall, £4,000 to Beer Mariners Hall, £2000 to Seaton Tourist Information Centre and a new bus shelter outside the Townsend Road medical practice.

In the meantime, Colyton somehow manages to find masses of funds for a new youth centre to replace one it already has! What do you have to do to get facilities in Seaton? The mind boggles.

What is it about Seaton that means that we get overlooked time and time again?

Last day reminder

2009-02-18T11:14:00.002Z

Today is the last day for you to make representation either for or against the 2 planning applications covering the bulk of the Seaton Regen Area.
The EDDC offices at the Knowle close at 17:30hrs

Meanwhile...here's some eyecandy for a concept plan in China

You have only until 18 February 2009 to put in your objection or support of Tesco planning applications

2009-02-18T09:55:00.007Z

People in Seaton have only until

18 February 2009

to put in their letters of support or objection to the Tesco plans for a store and for the rest of the site.

Plans are at the town council offices and can be viewed Monday - Friday 9 am to 3 pm. When Liatris put their plans in for the site we were allowed 16 weeks to support or object to the planning application. On this we are being allowed only 4 weeks - there is no explanation why the consultation period is shorter. Send your letters to: Planning Department, EDDC, The Knowle, Sidmouth, EX10 8HL
Mark them with the reference:
09/0019/MFUL for the store plans 09/0022/MOUT for the rest of the site

What does our (current) MP think about Asda pulling out of Exmouth?

2009-02-14T16:07:00.002Z

Hugo Swire said: "I have met with ASDA on a number of occasions and have always made it crystal clear that my support for this project was conditioned on the design being of the highest order and the benefits to the people of Exmouth being clear and defined." He added that the District Council 'were entirely correct' in insisting on a new sports centre and swimming pool, a Jurassic Coast visitor centre, a new library for the town as well as a new food store and supermarket on the site. He added that the designs ASDA proposed where in his opinion 'almost satisfactory' and told them at the time that they 'had some way to go.' He said: "The siting of the store adjacent to the Estuary caused considerable feeling in the town and whilst I understand that, I believe that ASDA withdrawing is bad news for Exmouth. "I would ask those critics of any development where are these promised jobs going to come from now? "Where are we going to find the funding for all the other facilities that would benefit all of the people of Exmouth?

Funny, we never heard him say any of these things about Seaton - where a store will also probably be sited adjacent to the estuary (but alas not with a library, swimming pool and sports centre built by the developer). Surely it couldn't be because at the next general election he won't be needing our votes - no, of course not.

Asda pulls out of Exmouth regeneration

2009-02-11T18:05:00.002Z

Asda has pulled out of the Exmouth regeneration site. Click link above for EDDC press release which states, in part:

"The Council heard on Monday that ASDA’s Development Team were unwilling to satisfy the council’s requirements with a package of community benefits to the town, including:

A new sports centre and swimming pool
A Jurassic Coast visitor centre
A new library
A large town-centre food store and supermarket

The news means that a complete re-think will be needed by the various agencies that had been pinning hopes of regeneration on a major injection of private cash...."

...“The supermarket was part of a package of facilities that we insisted on if this development was to go ahead. We would not dream of accepting second best. We would not sell Exmouth short”.

(Councillor Ray Franklin, EDDC’s Portfolio Holder Strategic Planning and Regeneration)

Seaton Town Council Planning Committee vote

2009-02-10T13:25:00.002Z

Last night Seaton Town Council's planning committee unanimously rejected the Tesco planning applications (full and outline) for the Seaton Regeneration Area. Chairman Sandra Semple informed people at the meeting that she would be withdrawing, as she had prejudged the applications and did not think that anything she would hear at the meeting would change her mind, she then made a short statement about the reasons for this and left the meeting.

Local organisations and residents then gave their views on the planning applications and after debate the Planning Committee rejected both applications. The Town Council's reasons will become a public document and will appear here in due course.

The town council does not have the right to accept or reject the planning applications - that is for the District Council to decide.

TOWN COUNCIL ANNOUNCES DATE OF PLANNING MEETING

2009-01-20T10:02:00.004Z

The meeting of the Seaton town Council planning committee to hear both the Tesco applications will be on:

Monday 9 February 2009 at 7 pm in the town hall.

In response to requests from SU4S and others the office will extend its opening hours so that more people can see the plans - it will be open Monday to Friday 9 am to 3 pm until 18 February 2009 for people to consult plans.

The town council is also holding a "consultation day" on

Saturday 24 January 2009 11 am - 4 pm Town Hall

where people can give their views before the 9 February meeting.

Please, please go and look at the plans, send in your letters to EDDC and tell town councillors what you think - this is something that will affect Seaton for the next 50 years or even longer.

SU4S comments on Tesco planning applications to appear soon

2009-01-19T14:59:00.002Z

The SU4S comments on the Tesco planning applications will appear here soon, as soon as we have all had chance to wade through the 2 ft high pile of documents.

To assist us, Seaton Town Council should be opening their offices more often than 9-12 Tuesday - Thursday. This is too important to restrict access to those people who can get in during weekday mornings. We shall be tackling them about this tomorrow - when their office opens.

The plans are mostly available online but they are missing vital documents - a reason why the consultation time clock should not be ticking. To access them go to:

www.eastdevon.gov.uk
Click on the Planning tab
Click on the link marked "Planning Applications Online" and agree to the terms and conditions
Click on "Planning" on the left hand side
Click on "Application Search"

In the "Application Case Reference" Box, type

09/0019/MFUL
for the supermarket application OR
09/0022/MOUT
for the rest of the site
Click on "Search" (don't use the Enter key - this just brings up a calendar - scroll further down the screen for "Search"
Then go to "Click to View"
Then go to "Associated Documents"
then go to "View Associated Documents"

This pulls up a list of documents which will either need Adobe Acrobat Reader or Microsoft Word.

Note that the most important document - the Environmental Impact Assessment - is NOT there - it is only available on CD-ROM which you will have to apply for to EDDC or which you will have to make arrangements to view with the town council - assuming they have the facility for it.

Low cost UK holiday are what Britons want in 2009

2009-01-15T09:51:00.002Z

Click the link above to see the full story.

60% of people planning a holiday of £500 or less, campsites, seaside hotels, B and Bs and coach and caravan companies all expected to benefit. Twice as many holidaymakers plan to prioritise cost over convenience. The most popular destinations will be the traditional seaside resorts.

Shame - we could have taken 400 of them each night here in Seaton had the holiday camp stayed open, now we can take a tiny handful. Still, Sidmouth will reap the benefits so we must be grateful for that mustn't we!

Tesco planning applications - good news, bad news

2009-01-13T17:48:00.002Z

Good news - the planning applications have been validated.

Bad news - there are no supporting documents available to read online, the documents have not arrived at the Seaton Town Council offices as of today and the deadline for consultation is shown on the website as 3 February 2009 - 3 weeks only!!! Not even the one month for common or garden planning applications!!!

Liatris got 13 weeks - Tesco gets 3 weeks. Something wrong here surely? And surely we don't get two petrol filling stations!

Details taken from EDDC Planning Portal:

09/0019/MFUL Erection of retail store (5,996 sq m gross) with petrol filling station, other retail units (633 sq m gross) with assorted car parking, pedestrian and vehicular and vehicular access and landscaping

09/0022/MOUT Re-develpoment of land to include housing, tourism, new public realm, petrol filling station, hotel, retail development with public open space and access