Update: Riverford’s petition will be debated in parliament Jan 22 with potentially important ramifications for farmers across the UK. We’ll be listening in. Devon-based Riverford (of veg box fame) have launched a new #GetFairAboutFarming campaign, calling for British supermarkets to sign up to the principles of Riverford’s Fair to Farmers charter: Pay what you agreed […]
And so it begins again. Despite the unanimous verdict of the High Court decision back in the summer, wealthy asset manager, Alexander Darwall, has elected to challenge that decision and ask the Supreme Court to make a final judgement as to whether the right to wild camp (leaving no trace) exists or not. On Sunday […]
A community driven discussion on a default 20mph speed limit for BCP. Hear the evidence and testimonies, and come to a decision as a community. A community assembly is a way for the community to come to its own decisions on what it wants for its future. Rather than traditional no participative politics, an assembly […]
Extinction Rebellion Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (XR BCP) have held another protest – their fifth – since Perenco’s oil spill on 26 March 2023. They were joined by activists from East Dorset Friends of the Earth, Bournemouth and Poole Greenpeace, and other XR groups from across Dorset. The spill, at Ower Bay in Poole Harbour, […]
Dear Editor Power cuts remind us of the need for infrastructure investment The power cuts experienced by 860 properties in the Crediton area just after Christmas remind us how important our infrastructure is. The shocking truth is that much of the United Kingdom’s infrastructure is ‘not fit for purpose’. The most glaring examples are our water industries and […]
We are reissuing this horribly-prescient article, given the parlous state of so many councils across the UK. The prospects for the new unitary authority recently imposed on Somerset are not good. Like local government everywhere, the county is having to cope with a dysfunctional funding system and a decade of austerity. It will soon have […]
Councils have been facing a growing funding gap since the Conservatives came into power in 2010. It is estimated that one in ten councils face bankruptcy. The government has just announced the first increase in funding, following this protracted period of austerity, but councils maintain that it is still not enough to meet rising costs […]
The much-anticipated Independent Review of Protected Site Management on Dartmoor was published on 13 December 2023. It was overshadowed by the COP28 deal, but locally it’s just as significant: after all, Dartmoor is by far the largest area managed for wildlife in the south-west, and its peat bogs hold carbon stores equivalent to an entire […]
Dartmoor Environmental campaigner Tony Whitehead looks at the Independent Review of Protected Site Management on Dartmoor published this week and asks whether it will help nature restoration in this precious landscape … When I first skimmed through the Independent Review of Protected Site Management on Dartmoor that was published this week, my initial reaction was […]
Does Lib Dem-led South Hams Council know what the Freeport really means for our wild spaces? Jim Funnell questions whether the council is in control of the full facts… Last week I wrote to all the South Hams councillors with wards bordering on Dartmoor. I expressed my concern that South Hams District Council has failed […]
On the morning of December 4, 2023, a group of Dorset residents joined about 500 others around the country holding signs outside Bournemouth Crown Court, as part of the growing public campaign Defend Our Juries. Their signs displayed the centuries-old principle of ‘jury equity’, which is the right of all jurors in British courtrooms to […]
On 12 December 2022, wealthy landowner and hedge fund manager, Alexander Darwall and his wife, brought a case to the High Court to overturn the enshrined right to wild camp on Dartmoor National Park – the only place in England and Wales where it was legal. In January, he appeared to have won, but his […]
As the reality of the libertarian Freeport experiment unleashed on Plymouth and South Devon comes to weigh heavily on the shoulders of South Hams Council, the Task & Finish Group internal report (which will be discussed in Council Executive on Thursday 30 November) highlights issues of substantial concern. I unpack the concerns in detail in […]
Editor’s note: paragraphs in this font are direct quotes from council documentation It is fact that South Hams Council made no public consultation on the Plymouth & South Devon Freeport. It is fact that a Task & Finish Group was set up to scrutinise the risks and benefits of the Freeport agreement- AFTER a partnership […]
Friday 17 November saw the West Country Voices live debate on Plymouth & South Devon Freeport. Held within the spectacular St Mary’s Church in Totnes, the event was attended by around 80 people in person and an even larger number online. The livestream was not without some problems, but it was an ambitious project, blending […]
The charity Mid Devon Mobility is based in the town of Tiverton in Devon. It provides multiple services that meet the needs of residents in Mid Devon and North Devon, as well as those visiting the area and passing through it. The charity is a finalist in multiple in the Community Transport Awards 2023: 1 […]
Dartmoor is one of England’s most treasured landscapes and important wildlife havens. Just as the brooding hills, hidden valleys and spectacular tors delight visitors year-round, the oak woodlands, heath, bog and mires are home to many species that are vanishing elsewhere – including golden plover, curlew, high brown fritillary and countless rare insects, plants and […]
I ran into Robbie while campaigning for the South Devon Primary. Robbie’s controlled anger and frustration with the current state of affairs was mirrored in a democracy meter filling up with the stickers that represented people’s view of the current government – not positive. At all. A resident of this rather run-down estate, she explained […]
As those who attended last night’s session, either in person or via YouTube, will know, we empty-chaired representation from the Plymouth and South Devon Freeport. Towards the end of the session, a Liberal Democrat councillor pointed out that an official response had been sent at 15:50 on the day of the event , which started […]
Advent calendars are already in the shops. They have been a feature of the festive season for more than 170 years and originated in Germany. Printed versions started to be produced in the early 1900s. 16 million advent calendars are sold in the UK every year, most containing single-use plastic. The actual proportion of chocolate […]
What exactly is ‘one of the largest economic development projects in the South Hams’ – and why has no-one heard much about it? Why did South Hams District Council enter into a legally binding agreement with multi-million pound risks and liabilities over a year ago without asking its tax-paying residents? Is anyone pulling the strings of […]
Why this petition matters The petition was started by Seaton resident, Martin Shaw, who explains why it’s needed: The Seaton area community paid half of the cost of building the Hospital in the 1980s. The NHS agreed to own and run it with NHS services for the local community. In 1991, a new wing was […]
Stopping what he called the ‘war on motorists’ seems to be Rishi Sunak’s latest electoral wheeze. He, or his advisors, have worked out that there are lot of people who not only drive, but who love cars and the roar of engines, the smell of petrol, the sound of revs and the thrust of rapid […]
Local activists from Cycling Rebellion have launched the LOVE 20 campaign at Winton Banks in Bournemouth, calling for a 20mph speed limit on Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) roads where citizens live, work, shop and play. Heart shaped spoof 20 miles per hour (mph) speed limit signs were displayed along the road, chalk art brought […]
It was quite a coup for South Hams Society to get Henry Dimbleby to speak on the important issues of food security, food safety and the future of agriculture in this country and the event held in Kingsbridge was well-attended on a chilly Friday night . Also on the panel were the MP for Totnes […]
I’ve been waiting for over nine weeks for a meaningful reply from my MP – Anthony Mangnall (South Devon): so far, I’ve only had a three-line response to 19 clear, precise questions I asked about a proposal he made to the Minister for Levelling-Up, regarding government-backed loans to private companies to ‘win’ public money (and […]
News has broken that 136 asylum seekers are due to be transferred onto the Bibby Stockholm on October 19, now that the legionella has been dealt with (allegedly). The barge will have been empty for 68 days and is rumoured to have been costing £300,00 per week while empty. The Home Office signed up for […]
On Saturday September 30, around 300 people gathered at Princetown to show their passion for creating a wilder Dartmoor. The “March for Wild Dartmoor” was organised by Wildcard, a growing grassroots movement of ordinary people, campaigners and experts who want to put pressure on the country’s biggest landowners to commit to ambitious rewilding projects as […]
Local households recently received a letter from Selaine Saxby, our North Devon MP, which contained a petition to complain about dentistry, or lack of it, in North Devon. I also note that she asked a question in the House of Commons on the same subject in July 2022. You can look at this in two ways: […]
The colourful campaigners of Extinction Rebellion Wimborne (XR-Wimborne) joined the crowds gathered for the Inside Out Dorset performances in September 2023. “We sang fossil fuels themed songs, processed and unfurled banners before the Inside Out performances started, and in parts of Wimborne where performances weren’t taking place. Our message was simple, there’s still time to […]