Observer Comment: House of cards as DLWP funds scrutinised

Not only is the incentive package, which relates to customer satisfaction, being looked at - there is also a petition from the Bexhill Alliance which now has so many names it can force councillors to debate DLWP funding in full chamber.

The Alliance wants to see more local use of the DLWP, in keeping with the original spirit in which the Modernist structure was built in 1935.

However the idea of using the incentive grant to fund the launch of the controversial Next Wave scheme will no doubt sit extremely uncomfortably.

After all, many will question why the cost of the launch wasn’t factored into Next Wave’s £5.6m price tag.

But even that pales into a side issue when one looks at the wider picture.

If Rother miscalculates with the funding package, we are told there is a real risk the charitable trust could fail, leaving the taxpayer to pick up the bill.

If this were to happen, then Bexhill is likely lose out in a major way as the financial burden of failure is sure to override everything.

Therefore it is up to the trust to do everything it can to increase the number of both residents and visitors through its doors - and leave them wanting to come back for more.