Support for Bexhill seafront traders agreed

Plans to support traders at Bexhill’s Promenade have been given the go ahead by Rother council leaders.
Bexhill seafront SUS-200722-142738001Bexhill seafront SUS-200722-142738001
Bexhill seafront SUS-200722-142738001

On Monday (August 17), Rother District Council cabinet members approved the granting of licences to allow the businesses on Bexhill Promenade to provide extra seating outside their premises. 

They also approved proposals to grant rent relief to its food and drink tenants at the Promenade from April 1 to September 30 in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Council leader Doug Oliver said: “It has been wonderful to see all the coffee shops along the seafront doing very well in this wonderful weather we’ve been having. The place has been looking very vibrant with enough business for everyone to go round.

“I think this is just a good exercise for us to be supporting our traders [and] to make life easier for those visitors to the town, who are coming in quite significant numbers.”

According to council papers, many of the businesses on the seafront have already begun laying on additional outside seating in light of the need for social distancing.

Without licences however, the practice could pose a potential insurance risk to the council should an accident occur.

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By granting licences (which would be free of charge) the council could cover this risk.

The council will also provide a six-month rent relief to its food and drink tenants at the Promenade backdated from April 1. This will include the Colonnade restaurant.

In all, the six-month rent relief is expected to cost the council approximately £27,700 in lost revenue. It is also considered unlikely that rent relief post relaxation of lockdown measures will qualify for government financial support.

Terry Byrne said: “It just strikes me that the Colonnade are benefitting to really quite a significant degree more than the smaller businesses and we are granting rent relief to essentially a very large restaurant, which wasn’t really part of the seafront offering. 

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“It really is just a remark. [Officers have] covered off the fact that the Colonnade was not expecting to really survive otherwise, but they are benefitting a heck of a lot more than places on our side of the front, like Stella’s beach cafe and even Hughie’s.

“We are being very generous I feel to the Colonnade.”

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