Summary: we didn’t pull our fingers out in 2009 when a report noted that we did not have a 5 year land supply and would be in danger of a developer-free-for-all. We fiddled whilst Rome burned and wasted a couple more years having secret meetings that achieved nothing and we had to start the process all over again in 2011. We did not pull our fingers out when we were penalised for the messup by being then being forced by the government to identify a SIX year land supply. Now, even on our most generous calculations we have only a 5.19 year land supply and so we are almost powerless to stop inappropriate development.
Note: even if our Local Plan was deemed to be totally perfect (!) it could not be adopted earlier than late 2014 or early 2015 so developers can exploit what was a totally avoidable loophole till then.
Sidmouth Independent News 
Usual questions apply: Who has gained from this? Who “allowed this to happen”? Any connection between them?
And then draw your own conclusion. This isn’t “politics” … it’s misrule.
What do you want for Christmas, Dad? A United Nations Planning Department task force parachuted in, please, and just one leading councillor with the brains they were born with.
Follow the money … if you can.
There is a basic possible error here. At first our target figures for new homes was considerably lower than it is now. The higher figure was a result of pressure from landowners, developers and EDBF members.
It is quite possible that the earlier, lower figures were, in fact, correct (or possibly too high even then) and had EDDC computed those figures then we might well have shown a five or six year land supply, especially given the increasing development of Cranbrook and some high windfall figures.
But we didn’t and the Inspector should bear this in mind.