The authorship of this blog has no connection with any EDDC councillor, past or present nor any employee, past or present, of East Devon District Council nor is it authored by anyone with any past or present connection to Sidmouth Chamber of Commerce or other Sidmouth campaign groups. It is intended to give an independent voice to local public opinion, and does not necessarily represent the views of any other body. This site may offer information, national or global, which could be relevant to local issues and concerns. Its focus is however, and will remain – Sidmouth, Independence and News. We believe that the overwhelming majority of the employees of East Devon District Council are hardworking and honourable people and it is unfortunate for them and us that they are embroiled in the difficulties brought upon them by our council.
12 November, 2014. Police investigation into ex-councillor Graham Brown has been closed, with insufficient evidence to pursue the matter further. http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/Police-drop-investigation-East-Devon-councillor/story-24517531-detail/story.html
Note from SIN It is not illegal for councillors to work as paid consultants
For those not familiar with the events, this has been a high profile case because Graham Brown was a former EDDC Councillor and its erstwhile Chairman of the Council’s Local Development Framework Panel and simultaneously Chairman of the now defunct East Devon Business Forum (which was supported financially and with dedicated officer time by East Devon District Council). The local Conservative Party withdrew his membership shortly after he had told an undercover journalist from the Daily Telegraoh “If I can’t get planning permission, nobody will..but I don’t come cheap”
STORY HERE
Some months before the above story broke, East Devon District Council had set up a Task and Finish Forum (a sub-group of its Overview and Scrutiny Committee) to scrutinise the relationship between the Council and Business. The Chief Executive has since advised that it cannot investigate any planning matters. A key witness, due to be Lead Officer on the Business TAFF (which had been stalled while the police investigation was in progress), resigned a few weeks before the police inquiry ended. (He is Nigel Harrison, EDDC’s Economic Development Manager who had simultaneously been Honorary Secretary of the East Devon Business Forum.)
On 12 November 2014, in a letter to councillors, the Chief Executive accused campaign groups and an opposition councillor, of undue influence on the Business TAFF. http://eastdevonalliance.org/2014/11/12/eda-intense-disquiet-with-chief-executives-letter-to-councillors/
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Dates for your diary:
A full list of dates and agendas of forthcoming EDDC public meetings with agendas and minutes of past meetings can be found HERE.
The weekly digest of news circulated by EDDC to its Councillors (The Knowledge) can be found HERE.
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OTHER BLOGS REPORTING ON MATTERS OF INTEREST TO SIDMOUTH AND THE WIDER EAST DEVON AREA
http://eastdevonalliance.org/
and/or
http://saveoursidmouth.com/
and/or
www.claire-wright.org
Contact SIN at: sidmouthindependentnews@gmail.com
Contact East Devon Alliance at: info@eastdevonalliance.org
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