Councillor “appalled” by local MP playing peacemaker after £5k donation from Exmo_20 developer

Cllr Charlotte FitzGerald says she is “appalled” that the current MP for Exmouth & Exeter East offered her a panel slot at his Exmo_20 meeting on 24 September alongside the site’s developer, without making the residents attending aware of the true nature of his relationship with the builder. 

“He seems to be setting out his stall as an independent mediator, even though just after his election he accepted thousands of pounds from the developer,” she said.

Charlotte was East Devon’s first local ward member to speak out on record against Exmo_20 and says she has been working tirelessly to make the plan work for the area. “Aside from the few months away from the committee when my son was born, I've dedicated most of my term in office to helping East Devon produce the best plan possible for new housing over the next twenty years,” she says, adding, “with housing, development planning is the most important thing our council does, and I can proudly say I have fought tooth and nail for every single affordable house delivered in my ward.”

She continues, “Given his financial interest, our Conservative MP doesn’t seem suited to being an impartial chair at an event on the subject.” 

According to the Parliamentary Register of Interests, Reed accepted the £5k donation following his election as MP for Exmouth and Exeter East in August 2024.

“While I’ve ensured the subject of Exmo_20 has never been far from the council’s minds by raising potential problems such as road safety and protecting habitats, our MP has achieved only a vested interest,” says Charlotte. She continues, “Concerns around Exmo_20 have been raised by hundreds of residents over the years at parish meetings and on the doorstep. I have listened carefully and brought these concerns before council in real-time for debate and decisions. It's one of the most deeply considered sites in the plan.”

She adds, “Of course the pressure on water systems is our biggest concern and whilst the council does everything it can do stop development without wastewater treatment capacity, it does so in the face of severe resistance from the actors responsible.”

“I’m also worried that our MP will use the meeting to muddy the waters between what the council has set out in policy and what is in the hands of his sponsor,” says Charlotte, adding, “I am not confident our MP understands the council and developer's roles. That hardly makes a good fit for a panel chair. Exmouth & Exeter East deserves better than that.”

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Notes to editors

1. Exmo_20 is promoted by 3West Group, a private housebuilder: https://exmo20.co.uk/

2. Entry in the Parliamentary Register of Members' Financial Interests referencing the £5,000 donation from 3West: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmregmem/240804/reed_david.htm

Photo: Fran McElhone / Liminal Media