I noticed that on Sunday afternoon the lorry park was full of fairground equipment.

It appears that the district council have given the fun fair permission to use the lorry park for one and a half weeks and it’ll be open from Thursday through to Sunday.

What a very professional looking advertisement!

I think it’s only local in that it’s in South Molton. I doubt very much indeed whether any of the rides are owned or operated by local people.

Apparently they’ve already been in Tiverton and they’ll be moving onto Barnstaple.

Bizarre that the District Council  can do this without either notifying the town council or asking them whether it’s a good thing.

I wonder where all the Land Rovers and trailers will park on market day?

I suspect the first question you’ll have is What on earth is a wayleave?

It’s a right of way granted by a landowner typically for such  purposes such as the erection of telephone/power lines or laying of pipes. Generally a payment is made to the landowner.

In order for the anaerobic digester at Great Hele to get its gas to the mains gas network a pipe has to be laid to the nearest access point. South Molton Town Council were offered, and accepted, a payment of about £14,000 to allow the pipe to cross their land.

This payment was quoted by the developer at a planning meeting as one reason why the development should be granted planning permission. In their words “there will be community benefit as a substantial [!} payment will be paid to South Molton Town Council”.

Has this been paid? No.

Will it ever be paid? No.

Why not? Because the pipe is taking a longer, but apparently cheaper, route and largely being laid under the public highway. That’s why Limers Lane and the road past Ford Down Farm have been closed!

Utility companies (e.g. gas, electricity and power companies) have so-called Code Powers. This means they can lay cables and pipes under public roads without having to pay a way leave.

I suspect that what has happened in this case is that the rules have been bent and the gas pipe from the digester to the gas mains has been deemed to have been laid by a utility company! Another case of private profit at public expense.

A lot of people think that the four waiting time targets for A&E are all about how long it takes to be seen.

They’re not!

The four hour target is about how long it takes until you’re admitted to a ward, transferred to another hospital or discharged. An entirely different thing.

I’d like to see figures on how quickly people are first assessed (i.e. triaged) when they arrive at an A&E department.