New clean-up drive hopes to give town heart
20/2/13- The former Curzon Cinema, Bexhill.
AN initiative by Bexhill’s Town Team to clean up the appearance of our streets is already having effect.
Vice chairman Patrick Stappleton, of Redwell Estates, sent out a code of practice to estate agents and landlords asking them to take away post and litter from empty shops, clean windows and make sure vacant premises look tidier.
Already Maltby’s has responded by freshening up the unused cinema foyer in Western Road and others have started to follow Patrick’s lead.
He is pleased that the document is being well received and his ideas taken up with the view it is a “worthwhile project that could benefit everyone especially if we all pull together and make it happen.”
He commented: “Already Maltby’s and Shuttleworth have responded and helped by clearing newspapers and post from some of the empty shops and it’s amazing how many people popped into my office to tell me that some of the shops are now looking tidier because of the actions of a couple of local agents. Bexhill Town Team would like to thank the guys at both companies for their actions. Every little helps.”
Town Team chair Hillary Randall said: “We had no idea what to expect. When we got the draft for the code of practice together we involved Rother District Council and got its backing, then we worked really hard on it to get it ready. People have been so enthusiastic and really positive as well, saying what can we do and how can we be involved - which was excellent.”
Tatty empty premises are likely to stay that way according to Patrick, who thinks it is in everyone’s interests to work together: “This would probably bring new businesses to the town and in turn promote a vibrant and more interesting environment for new and returning customers to visit on a regular basis, instilling a sense of pride back into the community.”
He also suggests landlords and estate agents encourage pop-up shops so that prospective businesses can try before they buy and see if their product will take off, with agreements for six to 12 weeks’ use.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Bexhill-on-Sea
Saturday 18 May 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 9 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: North east
