Time to get it right

THE chain of command for the steering group within the council requires that the group reports and makes its recommendations to the Council's Services Overview And Scrutiny Committee of which Councillor Starnes, lead councillor for the seafront project, is chairman. The scrutiny committee then reports and makes its recommendations for decision by Cabinet which is chaired by Councillor Carl Maynard '“ also an enthusiastic advocate of the seafront project but who is not a Bexhill councillor and represents Brede. Councillor Kentfield is chairman of the Planning Committee which in the past has granted consent for the tower blocks in Sackville Road.

These arrangements are apparently constitutional and no personal criticism of these named councillors should be inferred from these comments. But in the context of the requirement so powerfully advocated by the Bexhill Observer recently, for “justice to be seen to be done”, and the need of residents to have confidence that we are not already en route to a predetermined vision, the proposed arrangements seem unconvincing.

Town centre regeneration is a long term concept and the council itself suggests a 10- year framework for this. Presently, there is no money anyway. There is plenty of time available therefore to first get the vision right. We believe that vision needs to be defined and agreed at the outset by residents and the business community for implementation by the council and not the other way around. That will be very difficult to realise and it will take time, money and serious application to achieve. To that end residents and business need to agree at the outset some fundamental themes to provide an agreed long term template with which each future town centre regeneration project should be required to conform. Such possible themes for decision might include for example:

• A quality town or a quantity town?

• A different town or a clone of all the others?

• A seaside town or a town by the sea?

• A high rise town or a town in scale with its heritage?

The steering group arrangements, as presently decided, seem to us unlikely to achieve this result. In our opinion it is not for a small group of councillors in conclave to determine a vision for our town and then, afterwards, to persuade us through so-called “consultation” to endorse their views. We have been there before. The proposed arrangements must be revised to incorporate much wider citizen and small business participation at the outset and complete transparency throughout.

There is time to get it right and no need to get it done quickly, just for councillors to be seen to be doing something before next May’s local election.

JOHN LEE

Chairman

Bexhill Alliance