Issue 1

Issue 1 May 2005
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About SHRA:
The Residents’ Association exists for the sole purpose of representing the interests of Sovereign Harbour residents. However, to work for residents it must seek and hear the views and interests of residents. In previous years there has been little energy put into widening membership of the SHRA and finding out what residents think – the new Committee of the Association are going to change this and the Newsletter and the questionnaire that is being circulated with it is the first step.

About the committee:
The new Committee were elected with overwhelming support from the residents attending the AGM earlier this month following the resignation of the old Committee.

We, the new Committee are your representatives so you should know who we are:

Rick Runalls (Chairman)
Brian Dennis (Deputy Chairman)
Barry Miles (Treasurer)
Ian Weeks (Communications)
Molly Burton (Secretary)
Midge Killen (Events Organiser)
John O’Hara
Carol Golder
Lorraine Dennis
Colin White

We have no vested business or political interests to confuse priorities and indeed we have a range of political views. First and foremost we are Sovereign Harbour residents sold on the idea that we want to live in a community not a ‘development’ and contribute to the future of Eastbourne as a whole. We hope you share this view, but to be a community we all have to be prepared to work for it.

Under its Constitution the SHRA can have a Committee of up to 12 members so there are two places vacant.

We would like to fill these with enthusiastic residents with the skills, time and energy to represent the interests of the community. We would particularly welcome applications from residents of South Harbour – we are a bit light in this area at present.

If you really want a shock we are intending to post ‘mug shots’ and brief biographies of all Committee members on the notice board on the North Harbour side of the building housing ‘The Weather Shop’ and the ‘Yacht Bar’.

Joining the SHRA:

The Committee and, many other residents, have offered to help give their time freely. However, to get your views and reach you through Newsletters, meetings, etc does incur a cost. As a consequence the SHRA has historically charged a household £10 per year subscription for membership. Any household whether in owned or rented property is able to become a member. We believe the charge is modest if we are to represent your interests, and intend to keep this for a full year’s membership with a sliding scale for those joining part way through the year.

Please help us to help you and become members of the SHRA today. A slip is provided on the questionnaire accompanying this newsletter to enable this, or membership applications can be obtained from Committee members or through the contact points below.

Contacting us:
We have tried to make it as easy as possible for anybody to contact us:
·    By phone: A mobile donated by a Committee member, No. 07770 621368 – leave a message and we will get back to you.
·    By post: We have applied for a PO Box and anticipate this will become active on 30^th May. The number of this will be confirmed on notice boards and our Web Site asap.
·    Via our new Web Site: www.shra.co.uk

Monthly surgeries:
The contact points we are providing tend to be impersonal, so we felt it would be worth running a ‘surgery for residents’ once a month. This gives you the opportunity of meeting Committee members face-to-face to discuss concerns or problems we may be able to help with.

This surgery will be held on the first Saturday of each month between 10:00 – 11:00, starting on 2^nd July, the venue will be ‘Simply Italian’ on the Waterfront. Our thanks go to Maurizio, the manager for making this facility available.

B&Q development intentions:
One of the Committee’s intentions is to share views on any development issues affecting Sovereign Harbour residents. Of particular concern currently is the intention of B&Q to purchase and develop land from the Harbour Village roundabout along Pevensey Bay Road, parallel with Pacific Drive. The land is not designated for retail use and a previous application by B&Q a few years ago was turned down.

B&Q intend to submit another application, which we understand has been delayed and is now likely to arrive with the Council around the second week in June 2005. Presumably to get this through they will first have to get the Planning Committee to agree a change in land designation. If they achieve this then even more retail outlets may result – who knows maybe we will end up with another retail park. One thing that can probably be guaranteed is that although the plans will benefit B&Q and Carillion, Sovereign Harbour is unlikely to gain.

Several weeks ago, B&Q made a presentation at the Carillion office of their intentions to build a Warehouse store. This will be significantly larger than the ASDA superstore and incorporate around 500 parking spaces. A significant increase in traffic along Pevensey Bay Road and other routes will cause even more congestion in the local area – this is not just a Sovereign Harbour issue.

There was a view amongst some residents that the B&Q outline proposals were getting unconditional support from some influential groups – it felt like B&Q were coming irrespective of what Eastbourne residents wanted. This frustration led to the formation of a ‘No to B&Q’ action group and most of you will be aware of their information flyer circulated to residents. A lively meeting was held at Haven School on 25^th April where about 200 residents of Sovereign Harbour and the surrounding area made their concerns about B&Q heard.

Some of the new SHRA Committee were members of the ‘No to B&Q’ action group, and are still committed to resisting this development in line with residents’ wishes. However, to ensure no conflict with the need to concentrate on, and represent the balance of residents’ views the Committee has resigned from active participation in the ‘No to B&Q’ group. It is because we have such a short window of opportunity to discuss and influence this issue, that it is featured very strongly in this newsletter. However, this is far from being our only interest, our intent is to be open to any issues of importance to harbour residents.

Please keep your views coming in to us, and to the ‘No to B&Q’ Action Group.

Support for social activities:

Problems and concerns are one thing but any community takes joy in sharing companionship and common interests. The Yacht Club is clearly a significant focus for the Harbour and does excellent work in providing events for members. However, not everyone is a sailor and it is not feasible for everyone to get membership. We believe there is a role for SHRA to fill gaps where they exist. We might lay on social activities or bring together residents with common interests and provide opportunities to develop these. Let us have your views on the accompanying questionnaire.

Chairman’s footnote:
I hope this Newsletter will fill a gap that has existed on Sovereign Harbour since its inception. When my wife and I decided to move to the Harbour we had a concern that it would be ‘cold’ without much in the way of a heart. However, having met many residents over the last few weeks I know that we can build a community. Unfortunately commercial interest has restricted the features one normally expects to see in a community – a lack of communal space and play areas for children, insufficient primary and junior schooling facilities (Haven School is over-subscribed), no health centre, no community centre. It’s easy to build a development but hard to build a community without the infrastructure that gives it a heart. Who knows, perhaps Carillion, who have gained so much by developing the area, might be tempted to put something back in?