Special meeting for £5.6m Next Wave scheme
A PUBLIC meeting is to be held to look at the impact of Bexhill’s £5.6million seafront regeneration scheme on the town.
Councillors at Monday’s meeting of the Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee met to discuss a report on Next Wave, the biggest capital project Rother has ever undertaken.
Due to controversy surrounding the scheme, the debate focussed on the right of the public to speak and ask questions.
Cllr Stuart Earl said local taxpayers wanted answers to their questions, and called for a separate meeting.
Leader of the council Carl Maynard told the committee there was a point of order on allowing the public to comment in Monday’s meeting, referring to Rother’s full council meetings, where there is a half-hour slot for public questions.
Cllr Kathryn Field said the report before the committee was ‘dismissive’ towards those who had objected and added: “I think a separate meeting would be helpful to everybody.”
Supporting this statement, Cllr John Lee said Next Wave was a major doorstep issue when he was standing for election in May last year. “The suggestion that there is a small group of renegades who don’t like it is disgraceful.”
Cllr Paul Lendon called Next Wave ‘the bane of his life’. “I have been a councillor for six years and on this issue I have never had so many people contact me on it.”
However Cllr Deirdre Williams said younger people in particular were very happy with the seafront but added: “However we have to be careful not to overrride opinion and you do not have to be an engineer to see there’s a lot wrong.”
Next Wave is currently in the ‘snagging’ stage, where faults such as subsidence at the Colonnade are cleared up by the contractor at no cost to the council. This will end in December.
On Contract A, which deals largely with the West Parade, there are 31 outstanding issues which need to be fixed, including modifications to railings, cleaning up rust and reparing the drinking fountain.
Contract B, which covers the Colonnade and landscaping works, has 24 items on the snagging list. These include rectifying subsidence, investigation of boggy turf at the western cupola and replacing dead turf.
One of the major causes for public dissatisfaction are the seafront shelters, which many say are not fit for purpose.
Cllr Maurice Watson praised the scheme. He said: “The council is to be congratulated on this project. It will do nothing but good for Bexhill’s regeneration and is money well spent. As a Bexhill councillor, I think the scheme is very, very good.”
The committee voted to hold a second scrutiny meeting just looking at Next Wave, with the chance for members of the public to submit questions in advance. The date, time and agenda has yet to be announced.
Cllr Kevin Dixon said: “This would be a fantastic exercise in public relations.”
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Weather for Bexhill-on-Sea
Monday 28 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: South west
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