​At the recent CLP meeting at the Vivian Moon Center on Thursday the 5th of May, members raised the subject of the proposed development of an area on the edge of Barnstaple called Manning's Pit. A local group called The Friends of Manning's Pit have been organising supporters and have managed to get over 2000 people to add their names to a petition to stop the development of the site. 

There was a motion raised at the meeting that the North Devon Labour Party should support the opposition to development on Manning's Pit and we happy to report that member voted in favour of the motion. The party will now do what we can to support The Friends of Mannings Pit group.

To show your individual support you can sign the on-line petition here or visit www.manningspit.com .

Also during the CLP meeting members also raised the issue of 2 more contentious developments in the area that are felt to not benefit local residents. The proposed development are at Yelland, where we recently joined other local groups to show cross-party support and the demolition and development of a Victorian building in Saunton.  

​These developments raised a wider issue on the subject of planning and the absence of a clear local plan. Marc Cann repeated his is point that “Until we get this plan adopted it is just a developers’ free-for-all.” As a result of this the CLP will table a full discussion on local housing at a future meeting and decide what action the local party can take. 

Well done to Gareth Derrick Police and Crime Commissioner candidate Devon and Cornwall who came 2nd by a very small margin with 22.6% of the vote which is an increase from 12.6% in 2012.

The results show a clear increase in support The Labour Party in the area.

Results
Gareth Gwyn James DERRICK (Labour) 66,519
Alison Selina Hernandez (Conservative) 69,354
William Morris (Independent) 22,395
Jonathan Leslie Smith (UKIP) 49,659
Bob Spencer (Independent) 41,382
Richard Younger-Ross (Liberal Democrat) 35.154
Spoiled ballot papers - 9,530
Total turnout 22.8%

Marvin Reese was elected the Mayor of Bristol with 40% of the votes. The local Labour Party gained 7 seats bringing the total up-to 37 out of 70 council seats, giving it a majority for the first time since 2003. 

Well done to our friends in Exeter where the Exeter Labour Party won 30 out of 39 seats in the local council elections. Which is an increase of 2 seats proving that Labour can do well in the South West.

Ben Bradshaw MP 

"Here in Exeter, we run a very local campaign based on local issues... we are one of the few councils in the country to be investing in our future."
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"Other councils are closing their leisure centres and theatres down – we are keeping ours open."

The North Devon CLP would like to congratulate Sadiq Khan on becoming the new Mayor of London. While this may not make a huge difference to us locally it is an important win for the national presence of The Labour Party and our leadership team.