I attended this week’s Stop Exmo20 public meeting in Brixington, where I grew up, in a bid to understand the situation from all angles. Because, in a few months I, along with the rest of the district councillors, will have to vote on whether we think the East Devon Local Plan 2020 – 2042—which sets out where thousands of homes should be built across the district—should be approved.
Since being elected in December 2025 I have been trying to find out as much as possible about proposals for Exmouth, specifically, as well as the general context, such as what exactly is imposed by central government (answer: the number of houses) and what councils decide (answer: site allocation), also the decision-making process – and it’s not easy!
This is because the process is not only complex and bureaucratic but because there is such a vast volume of information and policy associated with the decision-making process, and such a vast raft of considerations. Furthermore, there are various stages where different matters are dealt with. For example, so far, there has been no mention of infrastructure in the plans (see previous blog) because this is dealt with down the line, after the draft plan has been approved (when infrastructure is dealt with is the decision of councils)!
The committee shoulders the burden of trying to comprehend the minutiae, meeting for hours upon hours – all recorded on YouTube – to discuss and deliberate it all. They have had to get to grips with thousands of pages of reports and rely on the professionals, the planning officers, for guidance about what is and what isn’t permitted as per local government policy.
I don’t envy my colleagues. They must put their trust in the officers and the information they are being given, and use their political acumen, understanding of planning, and probably their intuition, to know when to challenge what they’re being told, and what the upshot will be if they do challenge anything.
Ultimately, well-meaning councillors have to make decisions within the parameters of policy restrictions and planning regulations determined/imposed by central government and based upon what they are told by council officials.
There is a housing crisis, both for first-time buyers and renters; as a single mum in my 40s, who’s unable to get on the housing ladder despite having spent 15 years saving for a deposit and working my whole life, I’m at the coal face of it.
We need more houses, but we need the right houses, those that are affordable for ordinary working people. And in the right place.
After commendable, time-consuming, deep-dive research and investigation, the Stop Exmo20 campaign committee members are raising what they believe are serious flaws in the process and alleging misdemeanors.
But when I’ve put their concerns to the committee members, these concerns have been rebutted with a sound explanation, pointing to misunderstanding.
Ultimately, all we can do as district councillors is be open-minded, listen, hope for transparency and accuracy, to try to understand the real, full, picture, so we vote in the best way for the residents and the environment we’re here to advocate for.
Councillor Fran McElhone 