Seafront shelters: designs should have been a simple matter

Monday's well-attended demonstration at the town hall shows the deep strength of feeling that the new shelters will not be up to the job.

And after a relatively slow start, we have since received a great many letters to the editor expounding on the same theme.

There is a strong concern that Rother District Council is being somewhat "ageist" in its attitude.

Looking at it from a purely logical perspective, the older generation is going to object most strongly to lack of enclosed space in the design because older people are the ones who are most likely to want to take shelter during the course of a blustery seaside walk.

While the council does have a duty to encourage regeneration in Bexhill, it is a fact that people do come here to retire.

The needs of such a large section of the community should not be dismissed because they might be deemed unfashionable.

Surely coming up with a specification that slots in with the general tenor of the town should have been a simple matter.

A promising new venture

RECENTLY the Observer was given a behind-the-scenes tour of Bexhill High's new skills centre, due to open in November.

Gleaming new facilities for training students in vocational skills such as catering, hairdressing and plasterwork show this is a very promising new venture.

After all, not every young person wants to go to university; many want the option of learning a trade.