Cabinet vote on Next Wave design

In a Cabinet meeting on Monday, councillors took a decision allowing the design team at HTA, lead architects for Next Wave, to begin detailed plans.

Director of services Anthony Leonard told Cabinet that the 2million currently allocated to the Colonnade from within the total Next Wave budget of 5.1million would not be sufficient without compromising other elements of the Next Wave project.

Initial indications suggest that in excess of a further 1million would be needed to complete the development.

Faced with this dillemma, councillors were divided between the option to carry out basic repairs to the existing Colonnade without enlarging the footprint, or instructing the design team to come up with an alternative scheme which can be delivered within the original 2million budget.

Despite opposition from Liberal Democrat councillors, Cabinet voted to redesign the scheme.

The decision does not commit the council to implementing the forthcoming design, but further changes will raise design costs over the current budget of 94,800.

LibDem Cllr Martyn Forster said: "You are left with two options. Spend 2million and stop work through lack of money, or complete a full refurbishment for about 1/3million and use the remainder to help the town centre get back on it's feet.

"In the middle of the worst recession in living memory, with the centre of Bexhill in steep decline, it would be folly to spend millions on a scheme which has no demonstrable commercial value."

Cllr Lathryn Field re-iterated LibDem support for a remedial restoration project on the colonnade, with excess money to be spent in Bexhill Town Centre, and some Conservatives raised questions over the scheme.

Cllr Paul Lendon said: "On the evidence it does not appear that there is much support for the retail units. This is further born out by the fact that the retail units have not yet been taken up."

Cllr David Vereker expressed concern at the rising cost of the project, saying: "I am horrified to think that whilst it is just the preparing of this piece, the costs seem to have gone up by 33 percent. What will happen when we start putting down bricks and mortar?"

However leader of the council Carl Maynard spoke strongly of "mystifying" changes of direction by the LibDems over the Colonnade.

He said: "I have never seen so many changes of position in my entire political career. The Liberal Democrat point of view has changed once again. You have said, 'let's do the collonnade', and now we have the party of stagnation.

"To spend 94,000 as the fee for design, I think is good value for money. The simple reason is we do hope that we will then get some private investment from landlords and companies. They will then have the information that's required to make an informed decision.

"We are in a recession. We have to as a council and Cabinet send a clear message that we are interested in regeneration. We need to be careful of the design and the clientele we attract into the Colonnade but the answer for town centre regeneration is not a multi-storey car park."

Cllr Robin Patten echoed these views, saying: "I personally do not think option two (basic repairs] really moves the town on at all. It does nothing except hold the Colonnade as it stands at the moment.

"People suggest that the money should go towards regenerating the town centre but what regeneration are they talking about? The town centre regeneration is dependant on what happens across the square, in terms of Sainsbury's, what happens with the link road, etc. This is very nebulous.

"The regeneration in Bexhill has taken place around the De La Warr Pavilion. It's now completely different from five or six years ago. Next Wave and the redesigning of Bexhill seafront is all part of this. It seems this is the direction to go."

The new design will create less space for retail units but will still consider linking with the Rowing Club.

The main benefit of this option is the positive message sent to investors looking to rent space in the new retail units.

Conversely, the main risk is that suitable occupiers have not so far been forthcoming, and until further design work is carried out it is not possible to say how much space will be created and what the potential financial return might be.