In a press release from EDDC yesterday it became clear that Council Leader Paul Diviani’s pet project to move EDDC’s HQ from the Knowle might be less “cost neutral” than promised.
He said “expressions of interest are to be sought for the Council-owned Heathpark site in Honiton following the Cabinet decision (4 September) to test the market.”
He went on: “We are committed to exploring all options for a possible new office site as well as maximising the values from our landholdings. One option has always been the sale of our Heathpark site alongside that of Knowle and Manstone Depot in Sidmouth and to use the money raised for a new, more efficient and modern headquarters”
Is this the first time that it has been suggested that it might be necessary to sell three council-owned sites to fund the move?
No wonder one of the most respected and experienced Tory councillors, Peter Halse, expressed concern about the financial risks of “moving and improving” at July’s full council meeting.
Critics have accused the EDDC communications office of peddling propaganda. Their suspicions will not have been eased by yesterday’s press release claiming that the district-wide “stakeholder” meeting held at the end of July, “encouraged” the Knowle move.
This will surprise quite a number of attendees at the cosmetic publicity stunt convened after the decision to relocate had been taken by the council.
They reported numerous criticisms of the relocation project project put to Cllr Diviani at the meeting.
Sidmouth Independent News 
So what happened to “cost-neutral” and how many more public assets will they need to sell off?
The man is out of control on this vanity project and if his fellow Tories do not recognise this, and the false information they have been fed (he is confusing his fellows with the Exmouth public), they too can expect to pay the price come election time.
Does he give no thought about those who will follow, has he already written the note, similar to that of Labour prior to the last General Election, saying “the money and land have all gone”? (And to top it all, he never received a single vote)
So, cost neutral means that they have to sell a vast industrial estate that belongs to US to buy themselves fancy offices closer to their homes and constituencies. We lose a considerable asset and its annual income and gain – what exactly?
Do they perhaps want to call it Williams House after the CEO or Diviani House, perhaps with busts in the entrance hall – full size, of course. And maybe with their newly purchased coats of arms?