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PLANNERS from both sides of the Channel have spent two days at the newly-restored De La Warr Pavilion as Rother hosted a prestigious international design conference.

Studying how Bexhill and Hastings developed as seaside resorts and how they adapted to the post-war shift in holiday patterns is seen by the South East England Development Agency as the basis from which to plan their regeneration.

Meanwhile, similar work is being undertaken in Picardie, the two linked under EU Interreg III regeneration funding.

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The theme of this week's 11th annual conference of regional planners meeting as the South East Design Champions Club was "generating enthusiasm for design."

Monday was given over to study tours of Hastings and the pavilion before guests, based at the Cooden Beach Hotel, dined at the pavilion where they were welcomed by Rother leader Cllr Graham Gubby.

The pavilion theatre was the setting for Tuesday's conference session when the welcome was given by new Rother chairman Cllr Wendy Miers.

The opening session saw Rother planning chief Frank Rallings and Elizabeth Justome, who has undertaken an architectural study of the Picardie coast, compare and contrast the history and development of the respective English and French resorts.

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Cllr Gubby told Monday's delegates: "In welcoming you to Bexhill and the De La Warr Pavilion I want to steal a few words from the invitation letter that you were sent from Miranda Pearce, SEEDA's urban development manager.

"She quite rightly drew attention to the new vibrancy and prosperity which is being brought to Hastings and Bexhill to help us fulfil our enormous potential as desirable places to live, work, study and visit ...

"I was also impressed by her comment that the most interesting and sustainable developments have been produced where people work closely and intensely with experts from all the necessary disciplines.

"In Hastings and Bexhill we have brought together landowners, developers, local authorities and the regional development agency to convince Government to spend the massive sums of money that it has in helping us to regenerate this area.

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"In addition we have benefited from two Interreg programmes and therefore are very pleased to work with our French partners and welcome them here tonight.

"The active participation of local people has been crucial to these developments."

He concluded: "As design champions you have an opportunity to lead from the front and generate enthusiasm for good design amongst our communities."

The Rother chairman told Tuesday's gathering that previous conferences in Brighton and Southampton had given a city perspective to design. This year's conference was looking at regeneration and the issues affecting smaller resorts.

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It was also a pleasure to welcome delegates to the newly-restored pavilion with its current architectural and photographic exhibitions.

Cllr Miers said: "The pavilion is one of the major cultural elements of the regeneration plans for the Hastings / Bexhill area that is being driven by SEEDA, Seaspace, Hastings Borough Council and Rother District Council.

"Hopefully, the delegates who partook of yesterday's study tour and guided visit to the pavilion will appreciate both the positives and negatives that override the regeneration of this part of East Sussex."

She said doubtless delegates had their own views on local transport links. But now that they had arrived they could appreciate the history of the towns, the attractiveness of the coastline and the history of the countryside.

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"As with all regeneration proposals, the trick is to identify the best of the old, the opportunities for enhancement and the seizing of modern architectural opportunities wherever possible."

Regeneration of cities such as Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle was an example of what could be achieved when councils, planners, architects and the public worked in collaboration. New ways had to be sought to engage the public in the future of their communities.

"A few successful schemes and projects engender that confidence and allow the very necessary change to take place."

Frank Rallings traced the histories of Hastings and Bexhill and their distinctive architecture - Hastings Old Town with its fishing history, Burton's elegant 19th Century St Leonards Development, the way the De La Warr family had transformed the village of Bexhill into a turn-of-century resort which, in 1935 culminated in the building of the Pavilion, now an international architectural icon.

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There were parallels with the development of French counterparts Le Touquet and Deauville.

Pictured: Hosts Cllr Wendy Miers and Frank Rallings with Marilyn Scott, director of the Lightbox project, conference chairman Barry Shaw of Kent Architecture Centre and Annette Hards of Kent Architecture Centre. H21019.