Ottery town councillors were in rare agreement this evening as they unanimously opposed an application for a 100 acre quarry at Straitgate Farm, near Ottery.
Around 60 members of the public were present, and about 10 of them spoke in opposition, including Margaret Hall from West Hill Residents Association and Alan Burrows, who farms cattle at Straitgate Farm.
Roger Giles and I visited King’s School yesterday morning as part of the annual global awareness event. There were a range of workshops including humanism, buddhism and humanitarian work.
Our workshop was about the changing face of politics and it was intriguing to hear the students differing views on the political system and how things might change.
There will be a one-off meeting to consider whether the decision to close Torrington Hospital’s beds should be referred to Jeremy Hunt, the secretary of state for health, Devon County Council’s health and wellbeing scrutiny committee agreed last week (18 June).
Ottery St Mary town councillors will debate a planning application for a 100 acre quarry next Monday evening.
The meeting will take place on Monday 29 June, 7pm, at the Narthex (next to the church) in West Hill. Members of the public will be permitted to speak for three minutes each at the start of the meeting.
A trial to grow wildflowers on highways verges in the Ottery area is set to be extended across the county by this autumn.
A protest outside county hall will take place tomorrow to demonstrate the importance of retaining community hospital beds in Devon.
The protesters, which will gather at about 9.30am, will be mainly from Torrington and other parts of North Devon.
The health and wellbeing scrutiny committee (which I am a member of) will debate the decision to close all the beds at Torrington Hospital and its minor injuries unit, as well as receiving updates on the proposals to cut beds in East Devon community hospitals.
Tributes are pouring in for Ottery Gazette editor, John Gaffney, who sadly died on Friday evening.
Residents have taken to Facebook to express their affection for him and their sadness at his loss.
John put together Ottery’s free monthly newspaper, The Gazette, which won several awards for its content over the years.
John was always loyal to Ottery’s causes and Roger Giles and I were frequent contributors to the Gazette. John was especially interested in ensuring that important campaigning issues such as saving Ottery Hospital, the town bus and resisting a quarry proposed at Stratigate Farm, were given a high profile.
Each month, Ottery Town Council had a column, as did many other local charities and community groups.
In later years, John invited two younger residents to submit a monthly column, on how they saw the world - former King’s School student, now a broadcast journalist, Oscar Pearson - and Laura Copley, also a former King’s student.
Their contributions gave the magazine new life and a different perspective.
John embodied Ottery’s community spirit and was unfailingly kind, helpful and cheerful. He was always reliable and printed many many of my election leaflets and letters over the years, including lots during my parliamentary campaign.
So sorry he is gone - it feels like the end of an era. Ottery will be a poorer place without him.
Rest in peace John.
See the tributes here - https://www.facebook.com/groups/175988535857207/?fref=ts
See email below from me urging East Devon’s MP, Hugo Swire to support local people and Devon County Council in pressing for the EU nature directives to be retained….
Devon County Council today confirmed that it will press for the retention of important EU laws which protect scarce habitats and wildlife.
A group of West Hill residents have presented a petition of 392 names to the chief executive of East Devon District Council, as their first step in attempting to establish a parish council for West Hill.
Currently, West Hill is a ward under Ottery St Mary Town Council, as part of the Ottery parish, along with Tipton St John and Alfington.
The planning application for a 100 acre quarry at Straitgate Farm, near Ottery St Mary, has now gone live on Devon County Council’s website.
A separate application has been submitted for processing the sand and gravel at Blackhill Quarry on Woodbury Common, which would result in 140 lorry movements each day along the B3180.
Residents now have around three weeks to comment on the application, by Aggregate Industries.
Also, the draft minerals plan (long term strategic quarrying document), in which Straitgate Farm is a preferred site, will be considered by Devon County Council’s development management committee on Tuesday 15 July, before being consulted on for three months. It is vital that as many people attend this meeting as possible. It starts at 2pm.
For more information about the proposed quarry visit http://straitgateactiongroup.blogspot.co.uk/
Here’s the link to the documentation - http://www.devon.gov.uk/index/environmentplanning/planning-system/planning_applications-mw/planning_applications/planapp_bymonth.htm?date=2015-06
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NHS England has identified Devon’s NHS as one of three areas in the country that needs extra support, due to financial crisis.
At the end of this financial year, the NEW Devon CCG is expected to be a whopping £80m in the red. And it means that £64m cuts must be made as a result.
See more here - http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/Devon-s-NHS-financial-crisis-dealt/story-26602377-detail/story.html
The statement from NHS England below is not very informative and I am unclear exactly what this means. However, I am trying to find out more ....
Here’s the link, via the Real Zorro’s blog - http://realzorro1.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/new-statesman-article-shines-spotlight.html