OPINION: Conservatives blow the whistle on plans to build a mountain of debt for East Devon

East Devon District Council met on February 26 to fulfil its legal requirement to present a balanced budget that in 2020/21 increases its share of the overall Council Tax demand paid by residents in the District by 3.5%. This includes over £400,000 on Consultants and over £300,000 on a Climate Change strategy.

The councillor in charge of finance in admitting that he inherited a good set of financial affairs from the previous Conservative administration despite protestations from other Independent councillors to the contrary, then proceeded to support a potential expenditure of £42 million to upgrade of existing council homes to a carbon neutral standard, which would cost an extra £3 million per year on top of a potential £2 million deficit in 2022.

The Independent Leader of Council called it 'a pittance' and more would be spent if necessary, failing to add how this would be funded, unless of course he has access to a magic money tree no one else knows about.

Conservative Councillors opposed this multimillion expenditure which would not add a single extra home to social housing which is so desperately needed in East Devon, nor help build the essential small business space needed for Employment.

The question EDDC Conservatives and many East Devon residents are asking themselves is; 'Did residents vote for building up mountains of debts at the 2019 election by electing a mixed bag of 'Independent' councillors and are taxpayers willing to stump up a huge extra rates bill, seeing other services go into drastic decline because of these ill-considered proposals?'

At the same meeting councillor Mike Allen moved a no confidence motion in the Leadership of the Council for proposing this massive increase in unsupported spending. The motion was lost by those who voted to saddle residents of East Devon with a massive debt.

Councillor Allen said: "The trouble is that these huge costs will not positively impact a reduction in carbon output for the other 96% of homes in East Devon, and proposals to put pay-charge-points for electric cars into East Devon car parks was simply ignored.

An upgrade might cut carbon output by up to 30% in these 4,200 houses, but there is no large scale impact on the critical changes needed to adapt to climate change which we all must do, no positive impact on jobs, productivity or transport, help to combat fuel poverty, unfairly loading huge costs disproportionally on to other tax payers, who will see no benefit from these plans at all".

Councillor Andrew Moulding, who leads the Conservative opposition to these proposals said: " Like all of the Conservative Group in East Devon who support widespread climate change measures, including reduction of carbon output in all our homes which I fully support, I cannot believe that taking on high levels of additional debt which benefits a relatively small number of properties and people in East Devon ticking a feel good factor box is what people voted for in May 2019.

"Broader measures were not even on the table for consideration that would benefit a much larger percentage of East Devon people."

Written by Phillip Twiss – Conservative District Councillor for Honiton St. Michael's.

East Devon District Council leader Ben Ingham has responded to the points made by councillor Twiss. Click here to read his response.