The Council Plan– Consultation Responses

The Council commenced its consultation on The Council Plan on Monday 27^th November and ran through until Sunday 14^th January 7 full weeks although it is acknowledged that one of these weeks was Christmas). The recommended good practice for running consultation is 6 weeks.

The survey consisted of:

- Online Survey on the full plan (hosted on our consultation website CommonPlace)

- Social Media quick polls on specific topics

- A Town and Parish Briefing session to gain feedback

- Directly inviting Town and Parish Councils to send responses to the Council

- Asking residents what they consider to be important for the Borough via attendance at pre-booked events taking place during the consultation (Okehampton Health and Wellbeing Fayre, Tavistock Dickensian and Okehampton Edwardian).

Overall, the levels of response were low which is typical for consultations on Corporate plans – given the broad coverage of priorities. Plans are in place to develop a Community Development and Engagement team to support future engagement activity and enable better coverage of face-to-face engagement.

While overall a low level of response, it is important to highlight that the Delivery Plans for The Council Plan have been developed with Councillors through Advisory Group meetings. Councillors have a wealth of knowledge and understanding of local issues and opportunities from residents and local partnership working. This has heavily shaped our plans.

Section 1 – Online Survey

1. Did you find the strategy easy to read and understand?

Yes – 38        No – 4       No decision – 3

Comments:

· It is written in "local government speak", which doesn't engage and too often assumes a knowledge of issues and organisations that ordinary people are unlikely to have.

· It would be good to have more detail on how the lead members are aligning primary aims and initial actions. Overall the strategy was good and any follow on work would be good to baseline and prioritize based on impact.

· More could be done to make it accessible to all residents.

· Reasonably so, but there is a fair amount of repetition, particularly around environmental topics. Personally prefer keeping it more concise and direct.

· The strategy mainly consists of vague aspirations with little detail of specific goals.

2. Does the strategy reflect the West Devon you live or work in and the challenges it faces?

Yes – 28       No – 13       Don’t Know / Other – 4

Comments:

· I agree with the choice of eight key areas of work.

· I feel the strategy does reflect the challenges and would like to see a more joined up approach to planning with the DNPA and how to enhance the energy efficiency if our homes given the challenges seen from our housing stock and prevailing climatic conditions in the SW.

· It is a good reflection of West Devon but I feel it sadly misses that strong sense of community that we already have and doesn't demonstrate the great ways in which communities support each other. It also doesn't demonstrate the diversity of our communities or reflect individual experiences within West Devon.

· In part, though I find it woefully lacking in local business/traders support, in the last week 2 more shops in Tavistock have said they are closing. Tavistock should be a destination town, nobody will come if it gets Holsworthy or Callington vibes..

· There is an over reliance upon digital means of contact and seeing appropriate members of staff is, from personal experience, virtually impossible.

· Strategy must consider local people first.

3. Overall, do you feel that the ambitions, aims and actions set out in the strategy address those challenges suitably?

Yes – 23         No – 16      Don’t Know / Other – 6

Comments

· I agree with the overall aims, but too many of the actions lack ambition .  There needs to be much stronger and more specific measures to tackle climate change, improve biodiversity and to ensure that we have a good stock of new affordable and social housing.

· I think a programme of joined up thinking in the delivery of the services and infrastructure is needed. work packages should look at interdependencies and analysis assessment done to identify the greatest impact  and widest reach from council spending.

· I've put yes, because I understand the restraints on public services, however, the actions are limited and its possible that more could be done with better consultation and community engagement.

· There are lofty ambitions with few specifics and no details of actual steps to be taken to achieve goals within stated time-frames

· It's not a strategy which I think is about putting things in place now that will enable the big changes and ambitions happen. It all feels very short term, 6-18 months, and little changes.

· Better quality of shops in town centre. Poorer shops less footfall

· No, I feel there could be more tangible actions listed to address challenges such as climate change and the cost of living. I appreciate the council has limited funding but this strategy seems weak in it's substance - what are you actually going to do to achieve your aims?

· I think it can go further in meeting Climate and Ecological responsibilities in house building, using localised materials and innovative insulation and renewable energy.  You haven’t addressed the issue of lack of burial provision. Every community should and could have a natural burial site to reduce and eventually eliminate damaging energy misuse and high emission levels.

· I think there are too many ambitions to be realistically achieved in the current financial climate - why not do a few cote things well like prioritise housing and education first - -also there are no deliverables with timescales so at the moment it’s just words – don’t fall into that trap - the council is making good progress but people aren’t interested in glossy strategies that don’t deliver anything

4. Please let us know if you feel we haven’t got any specific areas right

· Greater and more specific  commitment to build social housing.

· Support and information service for sustainable farming practices, e.g. for regenerative agriculture.

· Support for more green burial sites

· Ensuring effective network of EV charging points

· Adopt and support energy advise programmes as developed by Tamar Community Energy

· Support  for 20 mph traffic zones in all built up areas

· Support for community transport schemes

· I would like to see more localized work places set up in towns and villages, we have a population that may work further afield post Covid 19 and providing collaboration space and community hot spots could help drive local business and industry. We have some hard to reach residents and siloed communities and if we can access further funding from central government for innovation and community cohesion (or even engagement) would be good. I would like to see more sports and recreations policys like static fitness equipment in sports fields as this would allow broad sections and ages of our society to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle. I would like to see electric vehicle and electric bicycle charging stations made available as this would bring people further from more dense urban environments and provide opportunities for rural industry growth if we can increase sustainable foot fall. On housing is there an oportunity to create canton style planning policy that restricts the purchase of a significant percentage of new build to that of local residents as this inflates the cost of the minority if new build whilst allowing most homes to be sold at reasonable prices. To take this even further if this was possible at resale to limit who could buy like the channel isles or Switzerland this would allow locals or those who have stayed and contributed to our society a realistic chance to work up our housing ladder as our families grow and then allow our homes to be kept for other families as we down size. I agree that council tax should be increased for second home owners and properties that have lain unused could also have a ratcheting up of cost applied to release.    

· Its a shame that the vision doesn't show specific peoples experience of West Devon, simple quotes about what its like living in West Devon would show that there had been some engagement with the community.

· What about children (0-11), young people (11-19) young adults (19-25) what are their experiences of West Devon? Are we retaining our younger generation or are they moving away at the first opportunity?

· What about ethnic diversity? What is it like living in West Devon if you have moved from the Ukraine? What about other asylum seeking families?

· The Vision and Strategy goes some of the way in highlighting some of the issues faced by West Devon but it doesn't show the people of West Devon, their experiences and how they can be part of the solutions.

· The people who wrote these plans must feel very proud of themselves. Unfortunately it is written in such a way that the vast majority of West Devon residents will not get beyond page one   I am sure it will meet all targets for communication but in reality will serve little purpose.

· Firstly, this webpage is defective as there are no buttons to click to "add something else to make a comment" for questions 1-3 above

· In general terms, the strategy is far too vague with just lofty ambitions and no detail as to the precise aims and actions to be taken to achieve such aims

· There is insufficient emphasis on the agricultural sector and how to support the needs of rural communities.

· Whilst active travel cycle routes may be suitable for more  urban areas, they are clearly unsuitable for more rural areas in view of often challenging terrain and , for example, eco friendly buses servicing villages would be a better use of resources and would be accessible by all including the less mobile and elderly

· stop geoengineering and chemtrails and take down the dangers cancer causing 5g towers and most of us don't want the net zero draconian restrictions on the lie of climate change

· THere is insufficient emphasis on the agricultural sector and rural communities . Instead of just prioritising active travel (which is not accessible to all and has limitations for example in hilly areas), consideration should be given to eco friendly electric buses  linking rural areas which could be used by all

· The ambitions are motherhood and apple pie and don't feel ambitious at all.

· There needs to be a balance between "conserve existing historic fabric" and climate change imperatives, i.e. the installation of better insulation (including windows etc) and, for example, solar panels on roofs.

· Natural environment - Needs to include stronger support for agriculture including meat production using sound farming methods.  Wind Turbines - do not support these.  They end up in landfill at the end of their lives. Allotments in South Tawton.  These should be provided and funded by the parish council as it falls within their duties rather than WDBC.

· Housing - we need social housing in villages.  Include building relationships with registered providers who are prepared to develop small numbers of houses such as Hastoe.  Deliver social housing on the Wonnacotts site in Okehampton. 

· Economy & Jobs - I should like to see the ambition to establish a BID in Okehampton strengthened in the Strategic Plan with a clear commitment of support.  Currently it simply states that WDBC will consult on the formation of a BID or Chamber of Commerce.

· Accessibility & Comms - those who are unable to engage digitally are being seriously disadvantaged.  The Annual Council Tax Bill should include a paper copy of the waste collection calendar for the year.  WDBC should consider having a Localities Officer providing a regular face to face presence  - at least in the larger towns. 

· Fiscal prudence is essential.

· Insufficient emphasis on supporting the agricultural sector

· Too much emphasis on active travel - whilst sensible to have cycling and walking routes in urban areas -no  recognition that a large proportion of the population are unable to walk or cycle in view of age, disability etc. Small electric buses, for example, serving rural areas would provide access to more and be environmentally friendly

· No actual targets for new housing. There seemed to me to be no detail on what you want to achieve.

· Your strategy reflects aims not actions

· I am very concerned about the potential for renewable project being forced on local affected people without due consideration on the impact they will have on individuals. Local opinion should mean within an affected parish and not at bourogh or district level.

· Firstly, this is a very poorly designed/implemented webpage. Questions 1-3 state "click add something else to make a comment". There is NO Add Something Else button below these questions! So the basics are not right.

· Neither are the basics in the document. Never mind about eg. "Our contribution to a global blueprint", what about the efficient provision of core Council functions?

· These are very lofty ambitions but it would be nice if the basics could be got right first. How about phone numbers for departments so that people can easily get through? How about being open to the public so they can talk to you? None of the focus is on little parishes in the area unless the Mayor lives there. How about stop wasting money on replacement ceremonial robes and use it towards small parish projects. Help the residents with things you can do rather than lofty statements increasing biodiversity throughout the borough.

· There are a number of new estates built in Tavistock but no more doctors' surgeries of schools. Also the space where Woolworths used to be needs to be filled. This could mean flats for single homeless people.

· How does/will WDBC interface with DNPA. Living in a WDBC within the National Park, I can see conflicts

· There are many mentions, quite rightly, regarding the challenges facing young people in West Devon - but I was surprised there was no mention of rural isolation and loneliness faced by older people, particularly as the borough has an elderly population.

· Traffic congestion in Okehampton

· Buying 5 properties for temporary accommodation for those displaced by conflict; Where? Why just Tavistock?

· Increase Electric Charging Points including exploring in-house delivery opportunities for EV charging point on council property. Mandatory for Developers  ?

· Work with South West Water (SWW) and the Environment Agency (EA) with a ‘Call for Evidence’ on discharge of raw sewage into rivers;  2. Collaborate with relevant authorities and stakeholders to improve sewage treatment infrastructure; Okehampton Treatment works upgrade to cope with new housing is desperately needed (since 1984!)

· Support the delivery of more affordable housing – Pioneer Hamlets. Yet you turn down plans for sensitive and well designed barn conversions if there is no bus stop in the vicinity? How can this help provide more rural housing?

· Delivery of Okehampton Transport Hub. Has land been set aside/ aquired to enable new businesses to be built to enable the hub to be incoming as well as outgoing for workers?

· Support community infrastructure and facilities through timely allocation of developer contributions to community schemes.  Can we stop the slopey shoulders blame game and actually ensure infrastructure is in place as soon as possible – that developers do not weasel their way out of the commitments they made when allocated the land to develop.

· Improve outcomes for care-experienced young people by supporting them to access the housing they need.

· 1 Bedroom small modular housing is ideal for these young people. A place of their own but manageable on low incomes.  A mix of 1 and 2 bedroom modular would enable young couples and families to mix and help stabilize young adults.

· You won't have clean water with all the extensive house building that is going on in the communities. The populations are expanding too rapidly putting too many pressures roads and all services.

· Higher parking fees will drive people away from the town centre. Supermarkets car parks are fee.Shops in the town centre can’t complete.

· Little mention of culture in this strategy. Culture plays a key part in wellbeing and community cohesion. Will there be a separate cultural plan for each town/ West Devon as North Devon and East Devon have or are putting together?

· Referring to my last comment, currently 80% bodies are cremated PA causing 115m kg of CO2 every year in the UK alone. It has become a convenient default. Our farming communities can increase their incomes AND increase biodiversity by providing Natural Burial sites. It is possible to earn £1.7m per hectare pa in this way (figure produced by the Association of Natural Burial Grounds). This is not set-aside land but can be incorporated into grazing, sylvo pasture, wildflower meadow, woodland. Every village in the country has/had a cemetery or churchyard.  Burial provision increases local employment, habitat, nature connection and so much more to a regional economy. Sheep’s wool for burial being one! 

· Most of your photos are of heritage buildings and yet you want to destroy that look by putting parking meters In Tavistock. How will parking meters increase jobs ? The shops will close and the parking attendants will be out of work. Say what you mean and mean what you say.

· If you need more money tarmac the waste ground next to Superdrug’s and make it a car park. No shop is going to be built there because we already have empty units. Make a car park. You get more money and there’s parking  for the town . Win win.

· I think there should be a specific section on children young people and families (even though the legal accountability sits with DCC ) - I also think you should address the impacts of an aging population-

· Okehampton Town Council feels that the strategy is an overview document of WDBC’s priorities but that it needs to be evidenced with more detail, although it is understood that there may or will be associated documents that will do this in relation to each identified priority.

· The Council does not feel that the strategy adequately addresses all of the particular problems experienced at this time, both in Okehampton and across West Devon, particularly in relation to the economy and employment.

· With regards to the economy and employment, more could be done to promote Okehampton/West Devon as a location for businesses to relocate to, especially with the good rail and road links now available in Okehampton, and the planned West Devon Transport Hub.  Development of home-grown businesses could also be encouraged with help provided for those who wish to improve their skills and/or set up their own businesses.  This would help to enable the economic sustainability of the area as a whole.

· Reference to the 'agriculture’ community should be more specific to reflect different farming patterns

· The eight key priorities diagram should be proportionate the Council spending on each element.

· Reference is made to address the 'broken housing market'.  How?  Isn't the market driven approach the problem?

· No mention is made of the need to retain Okehampton Hospital and its beds.  The Hospital is an important issue in the community.

· The launch of a new website does little to help older persons or the disabled.

· Welcome the plan for Wildlife Wardens'

· Parking 'enforcement’ strategy needed in Okehampton, not parking meters!

· Okehampton transport hub is no the name for the new station which it is understood is yet to be agreed.

· The paper needs to show the house price / income ratio.  This would enable people to compare wages with affordability or lack off!

· Need to urgently implement the 200% Council tax for second homes.

· Agree road surfaces are a priority.

· Replace the old picture of the railway with the modern 158 units.

· Housing.  The empty council office in plymouth road is still empty.  Loads of unused empty flats above shops in tavistock need to be tackled and addressed.

· Lobby gvt to make the insulation of listed properties possible and affordable

· the whole net zero agenda and getting rid of carbon is insane we need carbon and co2 to live without it we will all die

· Same old ***** thats not in peoples best intrests.

· No mention of the severe lack of NHS Dentistry, this is a massive problem for my family and so many others

4. Finally do you have any further comments you would like to make about the draft strategy?

· The overall aims of the strategy are fine as far as they go and the 8 key areas selected are I think correct. But there needs to be more targeted and ambitious actions to achieve these aims.  I think the consultation is poorly conceived - it's not altogether surprising that so few have completed the questionnaire. It doesn't feel like a a genuine consultation, but rather an exercise in eliciting comments on a document that's already written. There exist plenty of models for genuine participatory consultations, which can properly engage with people. It's a pity that WDBC hasn't adopted one of these.  And why are all but two of the lead councillors middle-aged white men?

· The strategy is focused in the right direction and would like to see more innovation in delivery.

· If this is a draft strategy, how will the views shared in this survey be used to influence the next edit? Also, how do you intend on involving more in developing this strategy? An online survey is not accessible to all, how might the overall process of engagement be more inclusive?

· Resources would be better spent on producing a strategy with specific and detailed aims and the actual steps and actions to be taken to deliver such aims

· Some of the strategy should be reduced, overall bring at least half of it back to the basics needed to allow people to enjoy their lives with a degree of contentment. Minimize their deeper concerns. I didn’t see anything about the growing trend of anti social behaviour? Many people I know would choose not to walk alone in the dark, we should be doing better on this front, West Devon is not Plymouth city centre

· It is of note that the  survey has now been rectified to allow additional comments to be added to questions 1-3 but as this facility was not available for some time and problems were also experienced in submitting responses to the survey, consideration should be given to extending the consultation period. It would appear that problems may have been encountered in participating in the survey bearing in mind that only 20 responses have been received to date from the entire population of West Devon!

· Retain our national park and existing green areas/spaces. Do not build more homes unless on brownfield /redundant trading/retail sites.

· More detail on what you propose and what would the extra cost to council tax payers

· Please make your plans people focused and compassionate looking to the needs of the rural poor and those who simply cannot afford to rent or buy in West Devon as locals.

· There is not enough detail or clarity about the plans in the strategy to make an informed comment. Details of each proposal and any actions the Council are msking should be made publicly available on the West Devon website for comment and challenge.

· Entries to make the heart sink:

1. Under People and Community - "Develop an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Commitment for the Council". Please, no!

2. Under Performance and Resources - Under "Our Primary Aims", the FIRST aim listed is "Support the wellbeing of our staff..." This should be the last aim, if mentioned at all.

The first (and possibly only Primary Aim should be the present no. 3 - "Guarantee efficiency in service delivery by managing performance:

As for the existing no. 4, "Responding to our climate ambitions", only an !!! will suffice.

As an additional point to "Performance and Resources", the most important thing the Council could do would be to get employees back in the office. The data is in on WFH and it's less productive/efficient.

· It is a waste of paper and nothing will change

· It's a good start - for me the key issues facing people in this area is lack of housing. In an ideal world all the suggestions above are desirable.

· Unfortunately you cannot develop and increase the population  one hand and address climate change on the other, no such thing as sustainable development which is why the world is as it is.

· Don’t spend to much of the budget on climate change and biodiversity. Local care of all residents should come first

· The emphasis on the climate emergency is to be welcomed. Also the focus on truly affordable homes.

· This feel like a good start but it could do much more and overall has left me disappointed in the level of ambition and action the council will be taking.

· Sounds good. Hope you can deliver.

· A focus on encouraging use of local natural resources such as timber for building houses (instead of sensitive outside our region), wool for clothing, insulation, natural burial, peat bog restoration and so much more. Focus on circular economy. More community renewable energy provision.

· Yes - put deliverables in so that you can be held to account

· The rat problem in tavistock needs to be sorted. They are everywhere. This should be in your environmental proposals.

· the council need to forget the climate agenda it's a globalist agenda man made climate change is a fraud and we do not need to get rid of carbon or co2 we need it to survive and the electric points for electric cars is pointless as most people won't touch them there are many times these electric cars and busses catch on fire and are alot harder to put out than petrol car fires and the batteries need for them are alot more damaging to the environment than a petrol car it's all a big scam to control our lives and make us all poor also the council need to take down every 5g tower I have emailed my local town council with evidence from many doctors and scientists that these things are dangerous to our health so look into taking these down also the constant chemtrailing and spraying our sky with chemicals and heavy metals we are all breathing in you need to look into that also and do something to try and get it stopped all this will affect everyone in the council and their families and it all needs to stop

· Please please add something about the complete lack of NHS Dentistry, it affects wellbeing in such a massive way yet always seems to be forgotten

Section 2 – Social Media Polls

During the consultation, the Council held a number of quick polls on social media to gain insight from residents. Again, the levels of response were relatively low.

FACEBOOK Comments

No to net zero stop chemtrails get rid of the cancer causing 5g towers that's what me and many others want

I’d start by having a word with DCC to stop them installing parking meters

Multi storey or additional parking for residents with none.

No parking meters

You better not be one of the councils signed up to the draconian net zero 2030 agenda

Well you won’t create any new retail jobs in Tavi if you put parking meters in 

Twitter

Does poor broadband connectivity impact on your life, running a business, keeping in touch with friends, or just browsing online?

Are you looking forward to better transport links with the Okehampton Transport Hub?

With the cost-of-living crisis, it’s more difficult than ever to make ends meet. Are you worried about paying your rent/mortgage payments in the coming months or years?

Are you worried about energy bills increasing this new year?

Is the history and heritage of West Devon important to you?

Are you concerned about the affordability, and/or availability, of houses in West Devon?

Are you thinking about, or have you already, switched to an all-electric car?

Are you worried about your carbon footprint?

Does poor broadband connectivity impact on your life, running a business, keeping in touch with friends, or just browsing online?

· And even having a fibre connection has not helped.

· we are waiting for a call back from Wildanet, heard they are one of the best and local, office hq in Liskeard

· I need a landline sadly and was pushed into BT when John Lewis stopped providing the sevice. But BT no better than before!

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We have set out our goals to help support our local economy, encourage more visitors, and create more jobs. Is there something you or your business needs to flourish? Have your say on our Vision for West Devon. Let’s Talk! 👇

· Don’t increase the Council Tax.

· Don't put parking meters in Tavistock. It'll ruin trade even more.

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Are you looking forward to better transport links with the Okehampton Transport Hub?

· There also needs to connected local services to and from the said Transport hub

· Don’t stop at Okehampton, continue to Yelverton area which used to have a railway connection but it was closed years ago.

· Yes, we need to have a train to Okehampton from Tavistock, and preferably Bere Alston!

· We are cut off with only 1 bus on a Thursday to go from Inwardleigh into Okehampton please give us a bus service

· We need a better bus services in the more rural areas like Dousland. There is one small bus that goes to Princetown and other places i believe but it’s very infrequent and I’ve never used it myself so can’t give a full assessment of the service. The 101 could extend its service a little further than the Yelverton shopping village to assist people that can’t drive anymore through age or disabilities.

· Please please please open Sampford Courtenay rail station

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With the cost-of-living crisis, it’s more difficult than ever to make ends meet. Are you worried about paying your rent/mortgage payments in the coming months or years?.

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Are you worried about energy bills increasing this new year?

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Is the history and heritage of West Devon important to you?

Are you concerned about the affordability, and/or availability, of houses in West Devon?

Are you thinking about, or have you already, switched to an all-electric car?

Are you worried about your carbon footprint?

Section 3 – Face to Face Engagement

During the consultation, the Council undertook engagement with residents by attending events happening in the Borough.

Through the sessions, the most common feedback was frustration at a lack of access to other services such as dentistry and GP appointments. Another common theme was the need for the Council to do all it could to respond to climate change and biodiversity loss.

Housing came up as a topic during a number of conversations, with a particular focus on ensuring associated infrastructure was in place to meet the future needs of communities as they grow.

It is proposed that further engagement with residents be undertaken throughout the year to help shape future plans. This will include attendance at community events across the Borough where there will be good levels of footfall to ensure the best possible level of engagement.

Members and Officers have also met with key partner throughout the consultation period to understand their future ambitions. This has included meetings with Housing Associations to set out our priority areas and other Devon Councils to shape future support offerings for Care Leavers.

Section 4 – Town and Parish Council engagement

Town and Parish Councils were each sent a copy of the draft vision and strategy and invited to submit their comments and thoughts on the plan. To enable a conversation about the priorities, a Town and Parish briefing was held on Microsoft Teams which saw 14 Town and Parish colleagues join from across the Borough. Some of the key points raised include:-

- Understanding which properties are eligible for Home Upgrade Grants (with the request that this be clarified in the Strategy)

- While agreement that landlords should be held to account where a property is sub-standard, the strategy should also reflect that the borough will support those landlords who are working hard to provide tenants with good housing but may need some additional support – particularly around difficult tenants

- Consideration around how adaptable the plan would be to the opportunities or challenges presented by a change in national government during the first year of the plan.

- Feeling that Town and Parishes still need a space to come together and share positive practice, challenges and to receive updates from key partners.

- While broadly supported, many felt that more detail was needed on the specifics and to ensure that there was accountability in delivering what the plans say

- A request for us to consider signaling strong support for the reinstatement of the Tavistock – Bere Alston railway link

- Pleased to see focus on supporting digital connectivity in WD but keen to know what can be done

- Many Parish Councils are unsure how to consider local reorganisation. Community Governance reviews have been brought forward by some parishes but a query as to whether a more strategic approach is required from the Borough to encourage local reorganisation to offer better service to residents.