In
this month's issue:
(Click on a headline to go directly to the article)
Haven
School, Atlantic Drive,
24th November 2005, at 7:30pm
Guest presenter - Alan Everard
will
announce the winners of the photographic competition
Exhibition of photo competition entries
Progress Report
Harbour issues
Adoption of developments,
and more.
Don't
forget your membership card.
At
a special meeting of the EBC Planning Committee, held in the Floral Room
of the Winter Gardens, almost 400 Eastbourne residents, most of them from
Sovereign Harbour, listened to a heated debate on the application by B&Q
and Sovereign Harbour Ltd to build a warehouse and builders yard on the
land adjoining Pevensey Bay Road, known as 'Commercial Site One'.
Nigel Waterson our MP, Stephen Lloyd the LibDem spokesman, Clive Gross
of the Green party, David Elkin the deputy leader of the council, David
Tutt leader of the opposition and Martyn Relf, chairman of Churches Together
for Eastbourne, all voiced their opposition to the application, as did
members of the SHRA, 'No to B&Q' and many members of the public.
Support of the application by SEEDA, quoted as a firm prospect to acquire
the remainder of Site One was conspicuous by its absence. This did not
go unnoticed by the committee. Also, members of the boating community
might like to ask their representatives in the Berthholders Association,
and the Yacht Club where they were. They have just as much to lose by
this development as the residents.
The four hour meeting, which ended at 8:30pm, culminated with the audience
standing to applaud the unanimous decision of the committee to dismiss
the application. Great news we thought, the bubbly flowed. This result
is the product of a huge amount of hard work by very many people, all
of them volunteers, and we thank them all for their support, their time,
and their efforts. We should also recognise that without the early intervention
of the 'No to B&Q' group, this application could have easily
been slipped, unchallenged, through the system; we should all be very
grateful to them.
Our elation was short lived. We now find that this is not the end of the
road for this totally inappropriate application. B&Q and Sovereign
Harbour Ltd, have stated that they will lodge an appeal, so that they
can continue their quest for greater profits at the expense of the harbour
residents, who invested in the concept of a 'marina village' that has
already brought them massive returns. We will fight on!
You might ask why, having had the application firmly rejected by the East
Sussex County Council and the Eastbourne Borough Council, not once, but
twice, and by the First Secretary of State, B&Q are still allowed
to try to force this application through. It is because the planning laws
are stacked against us and in favour of big business.
The SHRA committee is determined to contest this application to the bitter
end. This will not be easy, but with your continued support, we will be
successful. It is very likely, that at some time, we will need to take
professional legal advice; that will not be inexpensive! In parallel with
the B&Q application, there are a number of other pressing issues to
be dealt with, not the least of which is the failure of the EBC to begin
the adoption of completed developments. The greater our membership, the
greater are our prospects of success, please join us, there is strength
in numbers.
We will win!!
We understand that not everybody is in a position to give their time,
but even a small amount, maybe to distribute newsletters etc., takes the
pressure off of those who are more deeply involved. We desperately need
help from anybody with legal experience, or knowledge of the processes
of local government, especially in the area of planning.
We have made enormous progress over the past few months, and our membership
is increasing daily. Our influence is widening and we are being increasingly
recognised as the only body that can represent the interests of all
harbour residents.
Membership from now until the end of March 2006 is just £5.00;
why not download
an application form, fill it in, and post it to us at the
address below?
Alternatively, why not come along to the Haven School. See below
On Thursday 17th November, from 6:00pm to 9:00pm, the Haven School PTA
will be holding a shopping event for families and friends of the school,
and for local residents. This is an ideal opportunity to buy some early
Christmas gifts while, at the same time, supporting the Haven School,
which is at the heart of our community.
There will be Christmas music, mince pies and a variety of stalls selling
seasonal goods, including Christmas cards, jewellery, textiles, candles,
wooden roses, chocoholics, etc.
The RNLI and the SHRA will be taking part in this event and we would invite
residents to come along to meet committee members, and discuss the aims
of the Association, the progress we have made, and the way in which we
intend to go forward. We would be very interested to hear your views.
Also enter our competition and win a Christmas hamper, proceeds to the
Haven School PTA.
Non-members might like to take the opportunity to join us; why not download
an application form, fill it in, and bring it along on
the evening?
Waste
water removal
In the September issue of Waterlines, we reported a failure in the foul
water removal system which resulted in raw sewage 'backing-up' into
residents' homes. We also suggested, at the time, that the system was
inadequate to handle the volume of waste that was being fed into it.
Sovereign Harbour Ltd. have assured us that this is not the case. Because
the harbour is so low-lying, they say, it is necessary to pump waste
into the main sewers and, in order to facilitate this, waste is passed
through a 'masher' before it reaches the pumps.
Over the August Bank-Holiday weekend, there was a failure in the pumping
system, and this was caused, we are told, because the 'masher' was completely
clogged by disposable nappies and 'wet-wipes', which contain a high
proportion of plastic. The instructions on the packaging clearly state
that these items should not be flushed down the lavatory and, we have
been informed, unless they are correctly disposed of, there is a likelihood
of this situation being repeated. The situation was made worse because
residents were unsure which authority was responsible for rectifying
the problem.
The services run beneath the main highways through the harbour. On the
South Harbour, because Atlantic Drive has been adopted, Southern Water
are responsible. On the North Harbour, until the road is adopted, the
sewers are still the responsibility of Sovereign Harbour Ltd. and, if
a similar problem occurs, it should be reported to the Harbour Office.
However, before reporting any problem of this type, residents should
ensure that it is not local to their property. In this case, it is the
owners responsibility to get the problem rectified at their own cost.
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to index
Outer Harbour wall repairs
We have been informed that, due to a greater than expected level of
erosion, it is necessary for the walls of the outer harbour to be repaired.
This will be done by reinforcing the walls with large rocks, and the
work will take place over the next few months. The rocks that will be
used will be brought in by sea and stored on the spit at the harbour
entrance. We are assured that every effort will be made to minimise
disruption and inconvenience to residents. However, because the tides
and weather are critical factors, some work will, inevitably, take place
outside of normal working hours and at weekends.
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Harbour
Footbridges
The Harbour Office has informed us that, for an experimental period,
starting early next year, the harbour footbridges will be raised for
ten minutes in every hour; the times will be published when the scheme
comes into operation. It is expected that, in the long run, delays to
pedestrians will be reduced and, in any case, will be limited to a maximum
of ten minutes.
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Members' surgeries.
Don't forget the monthly members' surgeries at Simply Italian on the
Waterfront.
Future Surgeries from 10:30 to 11:30 on Saturday:
3rd December 2005
7th January 2006
4th February 2006
4th March 2006
The November surgery was very well attended and, unfortunately, some
members who were kept waiting too long, left. We are very sorry that
this happened and will take steps to ensure that it doesn't happen again.
If those members would like to write to us at the address below, we
will contact them to arrange a meeting at their convenience.
SHRA
PO BOX 124
Eastbourne BN24 9AW
Or, e-mail Waterlines
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Halloween
Party
Both the children's and adult's Halloween parties at Simply Italian
were very successful. There were some very innovative costumes and lots
of fun and games. Thanks to all who supported the event.
Several raffle prizes were donated by local companies and the winners
were:
| White 24 | Paul Chek's Swiss Balls Video | Unclaimed |
| White 39 | 2, 'Ashprint' customised T-shirts | Unclaimed |
| White 72 | Dinner for two at Simply Italian | Mr M Bloom |
| Green 25 | Manicure by 'Amazing Nails' | Mrs O. Heasman |
| Green 38 | Bottle of Vodka | Miss E. House |
| Brown 31 | Bottle of Tattinger Champagne | Mr J. Burton |
Simply Italian will be hosting a series of themed Live Music Events. These will be non-smoking, ticket only events, in a closed restaurant. The price of all events includes a Three Course Meal.
| Tues 29th Nov | 'Dean Martin' | £22.50 ph |
| Mon 5th Dec | Jazz Band | £19.95 pH |
| Mon 12th DEC | Opera | £25.00 pH |
| Thurs 15th DEC | 'Frank Sinatra' | £22.50 pH |
Simply
Italian are also available for your Christmas Party and offer a Three
Course Party Menu at just £16.95 per head.
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'Reliable Tradesmen'
As promised, below is our first list of tradesmen recommended by our
members. Although we are happy to publish the names, the SHRA is unable
to endorse the recommendations and would urge members to make their
own checks.
We would appreciate your comments, good or bad, on the service you receive
or, if you feel you would like to add a service to the list, please
write to us at:
Waterlines
PO Box 124
Eastbourne
BN24 9AW
Or, e-mail Waterlines
Bathroom installation & general plumbing
Carl McGreevy
01323-470773
07816-847658
Garden Maintenance
Dave Rhodes
01323-479141
07792-321983
e-mail Dave Rhodes
Gas fitting and plumbing
JayDee
01323-507266
Interior design and creation, electrical installation, solar photovoltaic
installation
Living Spaces by Julian R Caddy
01323-471112
07799-411712
e-mail Julian Caddy
Milk and general groceries delivery
Dairy Crest Ltd
01323-727343
Window Cleaning
C-Thru Window Cleaning
01424-441564
07730-537227
www.c-thruwindowcleaning.co.uk
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to index
Asda
trolleys
Asda management have informed us that they will soon be installing an
'electronic ring' around their site which will automatically apply a
brake to the wheels of any trolley that crosses it. Hopefully, we should
soon see a marked reduction in the number of abandoned trolleys.
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to index
Photographic competition, we have
winners!!
After prolonged deliberations, our judge, Alan Everard, has managed
to come to a decision on the winners of the photographic competition.
Because Alan felt the standard was so high, we have decided that an
exhibition of the entries will be mounted at the members' meeting on
24th November. At this meeting, Alan will be giving a presentation on
photography and, at the end of this, he will announce the winners.
There will be three prizes:
" Lunch for two, including wine, at the Dover Street Restaurant's
wine bar, in London
" Dinner for two at Simply Italian
" A bottle of Vodka
If you entered the competition, please try to be at the meeting, you
might be a winner.
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to index
Dog fouling and noise
We have been pressing the Borough Council to supply additional dog bins
around the harbour, and have been assured that additional funding will
be sought for this purpose. We are hopeful of progress, but are not
holding our breath.
With any luck, dog owners will respond by making use of them.
Excessive dog noise is, unfortunately, still one of the most common
causes of complaint. If you are suffering from this nuisance or, if
you are able to identify the owners of dogs that are allowed to foul
the harbour, you should contact the Dog Welfare Officer, Sue Criddle,
on 01323-415380.
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to index
Christmas Carols
The festive season is fast approaching and we would like to organise
a Carol singing evening around the harbour, in aid of local charities.
Ideally, we would like the singing to be accompanied by a small brass
band. If you are a member of such a band, if you run a band, or are
an individual musician, and would like to be involved, please contact
us.
If you enjoy singing and would like to take part, we would like to hear
from you too. This is a great opportunity to meet other harbour residents
and, at the same time, help others who are in need at this season of
goodwill.
We appreciate that we are starting later than would have been ideal,
so we would appreciate a swift response. Write to us at:
Waterlines
PO Box 124
Eastbourne
BN24 9AW
Or, e-mail Waterlines
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to index
Our thanks to our sponsors, who's generosity has again allowed us to produced this newsletter at almost no cost to our members.
Temple
Bird, Solicitors
Steel and Co, Financial Advisors