A correspondent writes:
Re EDDC Report – HOUSING LAND SUPPLY TO SUPPORT THE NEW EAST DEVON LOCAL PLAN AND FIVE YEAR LAND SUPPLY ASSESSMENT APRIL 2012
In this doc the Sidmouth Housing provision since 2006 is
1 Dwellings built 2006-2011 238
2 Site planning provison or underconstruction in 2011 275
3 Sites progressing thro planning 52
4 Strategic 0
5 Non Strategic 100
Total 665
Not clear whether this does or doesn’t include 150 from Local Plan, nor whether the Persimmon Homes (103 dwellings) Sidmouth AONB 09/2093/MFUL 9th March 2010 is included in 2?
Don’t think folk are aware of just how many new homes have/are being built in Sidmouth at the moment.
Surely it is therefore unnecessary to ruin Knowle Park?
Sidmouth Independent News 
This isn’t about homes, though, is it? Follow the money. Follow the land. Follow the developer …..
Betjeman Close-by
Some time ago a very experienced Sidmouth Town and East Devon Councillor suggested that a ‘corner’ of AONB could be ‘tidied up’ by building on it. This was the bit of unkempt field that would often sport a few unkempt cows on the corner of the A3052 and the B3176. So, tidy up we did and allowed Persimmon, the largest house-builder in the country, to build houses on it. We had to because, as another very experienced Sidmouth Town and East Devon Councillor said, if the planning department dared to mention things like flooding or access or past refusals, then any appeal would sure to be lost…
And so, today, we have an estate of 103 clone-homes which are utterly devoid of any local character, let alone any principles of sustainability, let alone any principles. And why? So that out-of-towners can buy-to-sell. Or buy-to-let – which is why the current ‘to rent’ pages seem so full of clone-homes.
And where exactly might we find one of these newly-advertised properties? Why, on Betjeman Close of course.
Not that the developers see any irony whatsoever in the name. What’s in a name, after all? Well, Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman would have seen plenty of material there to develop – noting much about the name no doubt, and with plenty of irony too.
If you google any Sidmouth tourist website together with ‘Betjeman’ it’ll go gaga over the wordsmith who described this place as ‘A town caught still in a timeless charm’.
And now not only are we caught still in charmless times as we do battle with the philistines and moneymen – but we have to wheel out Sir John to remind the very experienced Sidmouth Town and East Devon Councillors what they were elected to look after.
Sir John Betjeman, Poet Laureate and honorary Sidmouthian, will be making an appearance on 3rd November at the Mass March (see http://www.saveoursidmouth.com).
He is not currently residing at Betjeman Close, Upper Woolbrook, Sidmouth.