In
this month's issue:
(Click on a headline to go directly to the article)
As
we look forward to the Christmas and New Year holidays, harbour residents
can look back on a year in which the profile of the situation on the harbour
has been raised throughout Eastbourne. Whether they love us or hate us,
there can be no doubt that most residents of the town are much more aware
of our problems, and the issues we are fighting, than they were just a
few months back.
Without singing our own praises too loudly, the committee of the SHRA
takes some credit for the successes, and recognise the contribution of
many others, especially the members of the 'No to B&Q' group who's
campaign was the catalyst for bringing us together.
Our chairman, Rick Runalls, will review the current year in his 'Chairman's
footnote' so no more of that for the time being; let's look forward to
the New Year.
Many of the current issues will still be with us in the New Year, and
there will be many new ones. But, be in no doubt, 2006 will be a defining
year for the harbour. The opportunity to rescue the original concept is
long gone, but what happens in 2006 will determine whether the harbour
becomes a thriving community, or whether it becomes a 'sink estate' on
the borders of Eastbourne. The SHRA is determined that it is the former
option that becomes a reality, and we will be relying on your support
in the fight to achieve that goal.
The problems around the two commercial sites are still to be resolved.
At the time of writing, B&Q have not yet submitted an appeal against
the rejection of their planning application. However, they still have
five more months in which to do so. We must not be complacent, if the
appeal comes, we will have just six weeks to present our case to the First
Secretary of State's inspector; we will need everybody to contribute if
we are to be successful.
Our council has assured us that any appeal will be vigorously contested
and that they are confident that the case can be won.
The good news, for residents, is that B&Q's trading situation continues
to deteriorate and we have received information that they are likely to
embark on another series of job reductions and store closures in the near
future. Should they appeal and lose, they will incur considerable costs
and, in the light of their financial situation and stated restructuring
plans, their management would have great difficulty in explaining to their
shareholders why they are pursuing this ludicrous application.
The greatest opportunity to make a real difference to the fate of the
harbour, and rescue the 'harbour village' concept, rests with the development
of the 'Five Sites'. These five areas are the only remaining plots of
land for which absolutely no planning consent has yet been granted, and
as such are of the utmost importance in our fight. They represent the
opportunity to salvage the infrastructure required to create a thriving
community from what has become just another housing development.
Sovereign Harbour Ltd., you will not be surprised to learn, are insisting
that development of these sites should include a high proportion of high-density
housing. Considering that the housing density on the harbour already exceeds
the upper limit of John Prescott's ridiculous targets, the SHRA will vigorously
contest any application of this kind, and will be asking for your support,
and also for the support of the EBC. What we need is not more housing
but a medical centre, a community centre, open space and leisure facilities.
We are aware that we will be fighting an uphill battle, and so we need
to ensure that we use every weapon in our armoury.
The creation of Sovereign Harbour required the consent of Parliament through
the 'Eastbourne Harbour Act' of 1980 as revised in the 'Eastbourne Harbour
Act' of 1988. Though these Acts, Parliament agreed to the creation of
the harbour and the residential and commercial development that would
surround it. Anybody who has seen the original concept that was put to
Parliament would not recognise it in what has actually been built. It
is our view that the will of Parliament has been ignored, and we have
consequently asked our MP, Nigel Waterson, to seek a Judicial Review into
the history of the harbour's development to determine where it all went
wrong. The objective of this request is not to apportion blame, but to
ensure that no further development can take place under the original consent,
unless it supports the original concept.
The coming year will also see the intensification of our campaign to persuade
the EBC that adoption of all the residential developments on the harbour
is well overdue. In order to facilitate this, the EBC must be persuaded
to put pressure on South Harbour developers to complete the highway and
footpath works that have been outstanding, in some cases, for almost ten
years.
With your support, the headline on the December 2006 issue of Waterlines
will read '2006 - An outstanding year for Sovereign Harbour'.
On the evening of November 24th, about ninety members braved the inclement weather to attend the SHRA's mid-year General Meeting.
Those who came along were able to watch an excellent slide presentation
by Alan Everard of the RSPB on the flora and fauna of the area. As a skilled
artist and photographer, Alan was an ideal choice as the judge of the
photographic competition that was run during the Summer months and, following
his well received presentation, he announced the winners and presented
the prizes. Alan said he was impressed by the standard of the entries,
and that he had a very difficult job in making his decision. The
prize winners were:
First prize, a meal for two at Simply Italian on the Waterfront, Mark
Jarvis, Long Beach View.
Second prize, lunch for two at the Dover Street wine bar in London, Elaine
Smith, St Lawrence Way
Third prize, a bottle of vodka, Joan Baxter.
SHRA chairman, Rick Runalls, opened the meeting by welcoming our guests,
Sovereign Ward councillors Patrick Bowker and Patrick Warner.
Rick then reviewed the progress that the SHRA had made since the current
committee took office.
Membership, he said, had been less than fifty in the run-up to the AGM;
our 450th member joined the association on the evening of the meeting,
a massive, almost ten-fold increase.
Rick also presented the treasurer's report, which showed that the Association's
finances were in good shape, and that expenditure was under control.
Other
issues discussed were:
Harbour Development and Planning
The Sovereign Harbour Trust
Adoption of open space and highways
Anti-social behaviour
Towards the end of the meeting, we had a visit from our Community Support
Officers, Martin Hyland and Emma Southall, who explained their roles and
responsibilities. Emma and Martin can be contacted through the Police
non-emergency help line on:0845 60 70 999. Martin told the meeting that,
in emergency situations, the public should use the '999' service.
View
Full meeting Report online
or as
pdf
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?
Bev
Adams e-mailed Waterlines to ask for our help, which we are pleased to
give. Bev came to the harbour almost a year ago, newly divorced and very
short of friends in the local area. She quickly came to the conclusion
that she was not alone in her situation and that there must surely be
many other people around the harbour who, being new to the area were feeling
lonely and isolated. Not being one to sit on her hands, Bev decided to
do something about it and put an advertisement in 'The Local Oracle' for
anybody in the area, married or single, who wanted to make new friends.
As a result, a group of like minded people began to meet on a monthly
basis and, at one point, 36 people attended the meeting which, as Bev
says, "was brilliant".
Bev is so pleased with the way things have gone that she would love to
expand the group to help others to develop a circle of new friends. In
her e-mail, Bev says," I really feel this is an important part of
the wonderful place we live in, and I know there are an awful lot of people
that would love to make friends but are at a loss how to go about it".
Bev is self employed and her work takes up a great deal of her time, so
she is very anxious to get some help in ensuring that what she started
can continue, to the benefit of the harbour community.
Bev concluded her e-mail by saying, "I really believe in this and
after the terrible year 2004, I can honestly say this has been the happiest
year of my life, and that is mostly due to making friends with some lovely
people."
If you are interested in becoming a part of this group, or are willing
to help in the administration, please contact Bev Adams on:
01323-479797
Or e-mail
Bev
The next meeting of the group will take place in the Yacht Bar on the
Waterfront on 21st December from 7:30pm onwards. Look out for Bev, she
will have a name sticker on her top.
Future meetings will take place in the smoking area of Simply Italian
for drinks, or nibbles, or a meal, starting at 7:30pm on Wednesday:
- 25th January, 2006
- 22nd February, 2006
- 29th March, 2006
Why
not give it a try, what have you got to lose, other than lonely evenings?
Christmas
carols, bah humbug!!
Where's your Christmas spirit? In the November issue off Waterlines,
we called for volunteers to take part in a carol singing event around
the harbour in support of local charities.
We were aware that it would be a bit difficult as we had left it a bit
late, but the response was very disappointing. Consequently, we will
not now be able to go ahead.
However, those who were interested have vowed to start much earlier
next year and make this event a success. You have been warned.
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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:
-
7th January 2006
-
4th February 2006
-
4th March 2006
Land at the End of the North
Harbour
Residents of the North Harbour will be aware of the vacant plot of land
at the end of the harbour, adjacent to Pacific Drive. If you ask what
they believe the land will be used for, most will tell you that it will
be a car park to serve the pontoons that will be installed at that end
of the harbour. Wrong!
True, Sovereign Harbour Ltd. was granted planning permission in October
1998 to relocate the Southern Water pumping station on the site, and
build a 55 space car park. A condition of the permission was that the
work should commence within five years. The work on the pumping station
was completed, but work on the car park was never started. We have now
been told that, because the work on the car park was not started, the
planning permission expired in October 2003 and the original outline
consent for the North Harbour comes back into effect. That consent allows
the land to be used for residential development and that is precisely
what Carillion intend to use it for. However, as the application was
for the re-siting of the pumping station and the car park, it could
be argued that the work was started and the consent should not have
been allowed to expire. How can residents have any confidence in the
planning process, especially when applicants are able to pick and choose
which parts of the consent they put into effect?
Of course, during the five years that the consent was in place, searches
by purchasers' solicitors would show that this would be open land. Coincidence?
What do you think?
When asked about this land at a meeting with SHRA committee members,
Carillion Development Director, Mark Orriss, stated that "there
was never any intention of using that land for car parking". In
that case, why was planning consent applied for? Unfortunately, at the
time of the meeting, we were unaware of the lapsed planning application.
In the near future, Sovereign Harbour Ltd., or a subsequent owner of
the marina, will be installing more pontoons at the end of the North
Harbour. The new berthholders will need somewhere to park their vehicles,
and, on current evidence, will not be prepared to walk too far. We are
already seeing berthholders vehicles, and those of marine contractors
taking up valuable space allocated to residents and their visitors.
Unless sufficient, convenient parking is provided, this can only get
worse.
When the North Harbour berths are fully occupied, boat owners at the
end of the harbour will be a considerable distance from ablutions and
toilet facilities. Unless facilities are provided closer to the berths,
it is likely that some boat owners will be tempted to discharge their
waste directly into the harbour. This land could also be used to provide
those facilities in addition to the car parking spaces.
The most worrying aspect of this case is that it reinforces our conviction
that, having granted outline planning consent, the EBC is virtually
powerless to exercise any control over future development. This is why
any future attempt to gain outline consent must be challenged.
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Ongoing
Issues
When the outline planning consent for the harbour was granted, the land
owners were given almost carte blanche to build residential developments
almost anywhere they wanted. Developers have abused this consent and
the council planning enforcement officers have done little to enforce
the meagre conditions that were applied to the consent. For example,
the consent for the North Harbour required that every development should
have a play area for children and an amount of amenity open space. To
our knowledge, of about fifteen developments, only two have play areas.
We should all be asking why this was allowed to happen, and who is responsible.
Another condition of this consent was that developers should provide
on-site parking for their contractors. After pressure from the EBC and
the SHRA over the large number of vehicles regularly parked at the end
of Pacific Drive, Carillion imposed restriction on parking in this area.
As a result, some of the parking has moved further along Pacific Drive,
but much of it has moved onto the Key West area of the South Harbour
close to the locks. This area is now so congested during the day that
the SITA refuse collectors are unable to get through to empty residents'
bins. This in itself presents a serious problem but, more importantly,
if a refuse collection lorry cannot gain access, the same would apply
to emergency service vehicles. Once again, developers' convenience takes
precedence over the health and safety of residents.
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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
Garage doors supplt and repair. Remote controls
Dimensions
01323-743263
Garden Maintenance
Dave Rhodes
01323-479141
07792-321983
e-mail
Dave Rhodes
Gas fitting and plumbing
JayDee
01323-507266
Household
Maintenance, painting and decorating
Dave Rhodes
01323-479141
07792-321983
e-mail
Dave Rhodes
Interior design and creation, electrical installation, solar photovoltaic
installation
Living Spaces by Julian R Caddy
01323-471112
07799-411712
e-mail
Julian Caddy
Light upholstery, chair seats, stools, etc
The Tapestry Company
Paul Dunkley
01323-508042
07980-988527
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
Alan
Watford
01323-472545
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New Sponsors needed for 2006
Sending a copy of Waterlines to every home on the harbour is a drain
on the SHRA's financial resources. However, we feel that it is very
important that residents are kept informed about the news and issues
that affect us all. Our costs have been kept relatively low by the support
of our sponsors, the two most generous of which you see in the panels
above. We thank them, and wish them well.
However, this regular support will be coming to an end at the end of
the year and we will be looking for new sponsors, either on a regular
basis, or on a month by month basis.
Because of the Christmas holiday, we will not be publishing a January
edition of Waterlines, but will be beginning the New Year with a February
issue.
If you would like your company name to be associated with the SHRA,
and have your message delivered to every home on the harbour, please
contact us at:
Waterlines
PO Box 124
Eastbourne
East Sussex BN23 9AW.
Or e-mail
waterlines
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Chairman's footnote and review
of 2006
Well, our Committee has been in for about 6 months now, so
it seems appropriate to take stock, think about what we have done, whether
its been as effective as we wanted, and above all to think about where
we are going. Those SHRA members who were at the AGM in May this year,
and readers of the first addition of 'Waterlines', will recall that
we wanted to make openness and communication cornerstones of our approach
and to take a more demanding and transparent position in dealing with
Council and business interests when it came to representing Harbour
priorities. The introduction of the 'Waterlines' newsletter, our monthly
'surgeries' on the first Saturday of each month and the recent General
Meeting at Haven School have complemented each other in opening up a
better dialogue with residents and, as a result, more residents are
approaching us with feedback, and to talk through issues they have.
In the interests of encouraging more sense of 'community' we have also
organised a Halloween event for residents and children, and a photographic
competition for residents.
As far as taking a more demanding position with respect to major Harbour
developments is concerned SHRA, has been working in concert with the
'No to B&Q' group in resisting the application to change land use
of the development areas along Pevensey Bay Road. SHRA set up and ran
the open meeting in July, which was supported by elected
representatives on the Council and at which residents from the Harbour
and surrounding areas made their opinions felt. Finally to facilitate
residents attending the Planning Meeting at which B&Q's application
was heard, we laid on a special bus service. Although it was gratifying
that the elected representatives on the Planning Committee were aligned
with residents' views and rejected the application, the fact that Council
officers were advising acceptance of the B&Q proposal, even though
it contravened Eastbourne's own development plan, was sobering. An appeal
by the planning consultants representing B&Q and Sovereign Harbour
Ltd. (Carillion) is anticipated sometime over the next five months and
frankly, I feel uncomfortable relying on the tenacity of our council
officers in fighting such an appeal, given their support of B&Q
to-date.
Clearly SHRA has much more work to do on this and other planning issues
affecting the Harbour. As a Committee colleague eloquently indicated
at our recent General Meeting, for several years the Harbour has been
a 'cash cow' of tax revenue that has provided a major boost for Eastbourne.
All Harbour residents have had from this is ongoing over development
with little or no control being exercised by planners in the face of
business interests. Now its time that the social needs of Harbour residents
is put first. As far as I am concerned, we cannot relax while any 'development
opportunity' exists for business interests to exploit. Sadly we do not
seem to be able to rely on Council officers to protect our interests,
so the tenacity and support of our elected representatives is critical,
as is the need for SHRA to continue fighting for residents' welfare.
Finally, my thanks to all of you who have given your time to support
our efforts by delivering newsletters and other such tasks. Your contributions
have been crucial to the massive progress the SHRA has made in such
a short time. I wish you all a Happy Christmas and New Year.
Rick
Runalls
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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