Monthly Archives: January 2012

Alphington “Have Your Say” Meeting – Chatterbox

January 17, 2012 in Alphington

Alphington community policing team hold a regular event called “Have Your Say – Chatterbox”.

This event is held every Friday morning in the Village Hall in Ide Lane, between 9.30am and 12.30pm, and is a great opportunity to meet the local police and other residents.

You can find out more about the Alphington community policing team here.

Councillor Margaret Clark regularly attends the Chatterbox Club and it is an opportunity to talk to her about local issues and concerns. Contact her on 01392 428099 to arrange a date and time you would like to meet her there.

 

 

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The Red House & The Half Moon Inn Updates

January 14, 2012 in Mincinglake

Dear Resident

Happy New Year for 2012 from both of us.

This will be a busy year in Exeter starting with a very busy January in Whipton Village as the Planning Application for The Red House Hotel is to be determined. In response to your concerns, allied to those expressed to us by the local police, we also have launched a licence review of The Half Moon Inn.

For the planning application, many thanks all of you who have responded individually in writing to the planning department on the proposal to formally change The Red House from a hotel to a hostel. Any of you who have not yet responded still have time to be part of the planning process.

The application is to be determined at the meeting of the Planning Committee on the evening of 16th January at 5.30pm at the Civic Centre, Paris Street. Access to the committee room is through the Customer Service Centre. We would like to invite as many of you as can attend to come to the meeting. We have previously accommodated up to 50 observers in the room. We suggest you arrive no later than 5.20pm.

Although the committee report has been written and is available online, a submission can be considered if it is received right up until the meeting, but will only be reported in writing to committee members if received by 12 noon on Friday 13th.

We have made clear throughout that we will both speak at the meeting as your local councillors. In response to the requests of residents who have expressed support and opposition to this application Ian will speak for the application, Catherine against. As your representatives, we will present your views. We are not time limited in how long we speak, but each intends to speak for no more than ten minutes.

We will read everything you have submitted in writing to the planners. Should you wish us to represent a particular point, as some residents have already, please do contact us.

We do not have a vote. The application will succeed or fail according to the vote of members of the planning committee.

Planning regulates the use of land or buildings, and issues relating to the licensing of the building as a hostel are not necessarily a planning concern. The Senior Planning Officer responsible for this development explained that examples of admissible concerns could include the effect of the amenity of the neighbourhood through the size of the development and its effect on the environment or fear of crime and disorder. The outcome of this meeting could be that the application is rejected, or granted subject to conditions agreed by the committee .

It is always extremely helpful to have engagement from the community on important local issues, and we were very pleased to hear from so many residents at the meeting organised at Whipton Social club and directly from individuals. At the meeting it was mentioned that Ian had submitted a Freedom of Information request to the police on call-outs to Trailways. The response to this FoI request was:

Devon & Cornwall Police

Freedom of Information Act Request No: 006819/11

For the Trailways Hostel Venny Bridge, Exeter for each of the last 11 calendar years:

1. How many visits have Devon and Cornwall police made to this establishment?
2. How many of those visits were made in response to a telephone call requesting police attend?

Data Source
• Original data taken from the Forces Operational Information System (OIS).

Data Processing
• Identified the premises using address search in OIS and using LocCode 3/13/34/1 searched all incidents linked to that address.
• Filtered on date of incident between 1st January 2000 and 31st December 2010.

1. How many visits have Devon and Cornwall police made to this establishment?

The table below shows the total number of times police have attended the Trailways Hostel, Venny Bridge, Exeter between 1st January 2000 and 31st December 2010.

Year Total
2000: 1
2001: 0
2002: 0
2003: 6
2004: 9
2005: 1
2006: 5
2007: 10
2008: 10
2009: 7
2010: 9
Total: 58

2. How many of those visits were made in response to a telephone call requesting police attend?

Clarification: 999 calls or non emergency call to the Police from the public.

Reported By:
Year: 999 call – Non Emergency Telephone call – Total
2000: 0 – 1 – 1
2001: 0 – 0 – 0
2002: 0 – 0 – 0
2003: 3 – 1 – 4
2004: 1 – 6 – 7
2005: 1 – 0 – 1
2006: 0 – 4 – 4
2007: 3 – 5 – 8
2008: 3 – 7 – 10
2009: 2 – 3 – 5
2010: 1 – 5 – 6
Total: 14 – 32 – 46

Thank you for your involvement in this very important planning issue.

The licence review of The Half Moon Inn is to be heard at 9am on Wednesday 25th January 2012 in the committee suite at Exeter City Council. Once again up to 50 people may attend to observe. We suggest you arrive at the Customer Service Centre no later than 8.50am. You may be aware that Councillor Martin has triggered this review on the grounds of concerns from residents about nuisance caused by the customers of the Half Moon Inn and of police concerns regarding the alleged dealing of illegal drugs on the premises.

Residents who wish to contribute to this review may do so in writing by email or by letter to the city council licensing department ideally by the end of this week – Friday 13th. The licensing process is similar to the planning process. However, we are concerned by detailing it here it may result in residents confusing the two procedures.

We strongly suggest you speak to either licensing officers through our central number 277888 or one of us on our landlines listed below before making a submission. If you leave us a message we will ring you back as soon as possible. We should be delighted to see you at our regular listening events. Many of you already have attended previous meetings. It was at this meeting the news of the planning application was first discussed in Whipton Village.

Community Forum meetings are held at Whipton Village Hall with City and County Councillors, representatives from the Police, Council officers and local community groups. The next meeting is scheduled for 15th February at 7pm. All are very welcome. I am sure we will discuss the outcome of these two very important events in your community.

Kind regards

Councillor Catherine Dawson

Councillor Ian Martin

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Bishop Blackall Update

January 13, 2012 in St James

Residents of Thornton Hill and nearby streets must be getting tired of yet further applications being submitted for the development of this site, about which we reported in the autumn 2011 issue of St James Ward News. At the time of going to print, we understand that the latest application has now been withdrawn as the developer has not been able to satisfy the City Council’s requirements. The developer has gone away to reconsider the situation. There may be a delay before a further application is submitted.

Keith Owen, the St James Labour council candidate, says: ‘The only possible good thing that can be said about this is that by dragging things out in this way, the developer is delaying the planned development. Many local residents fear that when it is completed, it is likely to be detrimental to the area.’

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Ben Bradshaw’s New Year Message

January 5, 2012 in Ben Bradshaw

If it feels like 2011 has been tough, 2012 looks to be tougher still.

With the Government’s austerity programme having choked off the recovery our economy is set to flat line at best. At worst it might tip back into recession. The real impact of a lot of the cuts has also yet to feed through and will be felt in full force in 2012. Exeter has so far been less seriously affected than most places, though virtually every family will be feeling the squeeze.

Over the years we’ve built up a diverse and  relatively resilient economy, thanks to the city’s natural assets and forward- looking local politicians. The University’s expansion, the imminent arrival of John Lewis and the continuing development east of Exeter and round the airport have given us a boost and signal a long term confidence in our city. Our high schools and Exeter College have continued their improvement of recent years. And the Royal Devon and Exeter has, once again, been rated among the best hospitals in the country.

It’s the NHS I have big concerns about next year. It was a major mistake for the Government to go for a massive organisational upheaval while pegging spending more tightly than ever. I hope they’ll see sense at this late hour and drop their plans. Otherwise I fear going back to the bad old days of long waits and worsening care. Rather than another re-organisation of the NHS the Government would do better focussing on implementing the recommendations of the Dilnot report into long term care. This is one of the biggest challenges facing our country and something that affects nearly everyone. The current system is both grossly unfair and not sustainable as the number of elderly grows. There is all party support for this and the Government would get credit for grasping the nettle.

Finally, in the middle of what is likely to be a gloomy year we’ll be able to escape into all the excitement of the Olympics. It was a great credit to Britain that we won the games and if they pass off successfully, as I hope they will, will be a big boost to national morale in a year we’re likely to need it.

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New Play Area in Dicken’s Drive Opens

January 5, 2012 in Priory

The children in the Dickens Drive area received an extra Christmas present when new play equipment was installed just prior to the Christmas holidays. It has given the whole area a facelift and looks new and exciting.

The new play equipment includes a basket swing, an super rocking dish, an overhead rotator, a see saw, a multi-play climbing and sliding unit and some cradle swings for younger children. Further improvements will be made in the spring including fencing off a kick-around area to make it dog free.

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Community Grants Update

January 9, 2012 in Whipton Barton

This year Exeter city councillors have been able to give grants of up to £300 to community groups for projects which benefit local residents. Each ward in the city had £1,500.00 available. Whipton Barton councillors have granted funding to the following projects:

  • ‘Men in Sheds’; an Age UK Exeter project to reduce isolation for older men and provide an opportunity to socialise and gain new skills
  • Installation of a memorial interpretation board at the site of the Exeter Blitz graves by the Friends of Exeter Higher Cemetery
  • A Home-Start Exeter project providing activities for 9-12 year olds during school holidays
  • A scheme by The Devon Carousel Project to develop a piece of land at Whipton Children’s Centre into a Wildlife Garden Whipton Lunch Club, which provides social facilities for local people living alone, including a hot lunch.
  • 39th Exeter Guides trip to London to visit Parliament and other activities to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee.

If you feel your project or association could benefit from a community grant, please contact:

Dawn Rivers, Community Involvement Officer, Exeter City Council (Tel: 01392 265531).

You can also find more information online.

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