In this month's issue:
(Click on a headline to go directly to the article)

• You Did It Again!
• Chairman's Update (by Rick Runalls)
• Weed Watch (by Alison Attwood)
• Marina mums
• Harbour Friends
• Shaping Health
• Sovereign Harbour Racing Club
• RNLI Regatta (by Mark Robinson, Second Coxswain, Eastbourne Lifeboat)
• Make use of the SHRA website
• Why not become an SHRA Sponsor

• 'Members' Surgeriesl
• 'Reliable Tradesmen'
• 'Vets' Football
• Natural Fitness Centre (by Jan Weeks)
• The Crumbles Story (by Jan Weeks)
• Lock up your bike!
• SHRA Fighting Fund
• This Month's Sponsors

To contact waterlines, write to:

Waterlines
PO Box 124
Eastbourne
BN24 9AW

Or, e-mail Waterlines

Planning Committee Reject all 'Five Sites' Applications

At the special meeting of the Eastbourne Borough Council Planning Committee on 8th August, all five applications by Sovereign Harbour Ltd for further high-density residential development were unanimously rejected.

Your response was magnificent. Despite the timing, 4:30 in the afternoon, in the middle of the holiday season, 300 harbour residents packed the Town Hall Assembly room. They applauded and cheered as speaker after speaker voiced their objections to the applications. There were similar reactions as, one by one, each application was refused by the planning committee. As with the B&Q application last year, free coaches were provided by the SHRA to allow residents to attend the meeting. Our thanks to Eastbourne Coach Tours for the excellent service they provided.

As the plans of the proposed developments were shown on a large screen, there was a huge collective gasp of astonishment at the shear scale and inappropriate design of the proposals.

Residents listened in amazement as the agent for SHL attempted to justify three blocks of apartments on Site One, a total of 122 dwellings, as being in line with the planning inspectors assessment that 'the site could accommodate a small amount of residential development'. Also, his assertion that the residential development proposed for Site Four did not require dedicated parking as residents could use the Waterfront parking area was met with derision.
Once again, as in the B&Q application, residents were perplexed by the recommendations of the case officer that the plans for Sites Three and Four should be approved. And, once again, they were equally perplexed that, when rejected by the committee, three very good, valid reasons for refusal were immediately found. Those reasons for rejection were always there; why were they not found before the applications came before the committee? Because of this, as with B&Q, the Borough Council and the SHRA are now on the back foot in defending the probable appeals.

So, where do we go from here? SHL's outline planning consent, the main cause of all the problems on the harbour, has now expired and, should any appeal be rejected, the site would revert to 'virgin land'. This would mean that any further application could be considered strictly on its merits and 'planning gains' could be negotiated.
We hope that SHL will now do what they should have done in the first place and enter into discussions with EBC and the SHRA to determine the best possible use of the 'Five Sites'. We recognise that these are valuable commercial sites but, considering the massive profits that have already been made, now is the time for something to be put back.

With vision, something so far sadly lacking in the twenty years that the project has been running, the 'Sovereign Harbour Marina Village' could still be rescued from the appalling mess that greed has created. All that is needed is for Carillion to look very carefully at the sustainability and social responsibility policies that are so proudly proclaimed on its website, and put them into practice.

The SHRA is ready to talk, the EBC is ready to talk, we look forward to a positive response from Carillion. The alternative is further confrontation, further costs to residents and council alike, and further delay in bringing the project to a final conclusion.

Come on Carillion, bite the bullet, comply with your moral obligation to the residents of Sovereign Harbour, bring some reality to the dream that we were promised.

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A good result for residents at the recent Planning Committee Meeting but for me the most significant and pleasing thing is that our Council is listening to residents' views in a way that has not been apparent over previous years. However, although I'm pleased with the result, this represents just one more battle - the war has still to be won and there is a long way to go. We expect to be busy at a public inquiry early next year on the 'B&Q' issue and I have no reason yet to expect that Carillion / Sovereign Harbour Ltd will start providing what residents need, and consequently we may expect to see appeals against the Council's decisions on the recent applications. So, I would like to express my thanks to all SHRA members and those other residents who have joined with us to fight for our future, but wish to appeal to everyone to keep that support coming - we will need it! Coming back briefly to the increase in support we are getting from Councillors, I should qualify the SHRA Committee's position.

Although encouraged by recent successes we are labouring not only against the Developers, but against EBC Planners' recommendations in their support. Also there is a vast history of decision making that has resulted in the Harbour's predicament. As a consequence we will continue in our attempts to get injustices exposed through formal complaints and the engagement of the Local Government Ombudsman, etc. This is not an assault on our Council allies but a necessary ongoing process to balance the Developer's case and at long last get some justice for residents, whose interests have always been secondary to everyone else. On a happier note this year has seen residents continuing to take things in their own hands with the formation of support groups and clubs, etc. We as a Committee will continue to support this in every way we can. If you have ideas that you want discuss please let us know. Thanks again and watch this space!

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After many weeks of corresponding and pleading with Persimmon, their contractors have at last started to clear the weeds at West Harbour bridge and around Santos Wharf. Again, we have won a battle, but not the war. We have asked Persimmon to ensure a regular programme of cleansing and maintenance throughout the year until we get the walkways adopted. I think it may take a lot more pleading before we get there.

Could everyone please be vigilant and active. We all pay management companies to maintain our developments and we should not put up with second-rate service. If you see weeds growing round your estate, contact your management company and demand action. Let SHRA know too so we can try to help. e-mail Alison

Sadly there have been more graffiti strikes around the harbour - on Pacific Drive, and most recently at Silver Wharf. If anyone does find graffiti, again please contact the management company for your development as they are responsible for cleaning up the mess.

Please report any such anti-social behaviour as soon as possible to the community police, tel: 0845 60 70 999. The police may not be able to catch the offenders immediately, but they do need to be aware of the problems so they can see the full picture and plan their patrols accordingly.

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'Marina Mums' is a group, set-up by harbour resident, Sam Skull, to provide a social network for mums and 'mums to be' and their babies, toddlers and children. Meetings are held on a monthly basis, to create a social network, and provide an opportunity to get together, to chat, provide mutual support and to discuss local issues and concerns.

The next meeting will be in Simply Italian on the Waterfront, on Wednesday 20th September, starting at 11:00 am.

If you would like to go along, or would be interested in future events, please contact Sam.

Phone or text: 07949-687996
or, e-mail Sam

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Harbour Friends is going from strength to strength. We now have 50 paid-up members and our Sunday evening get-togethers are very friendly and good fun. They are usually held on the last Sunday of each month from 7pm onwards in the new Yacht Club, and our next club night is Sunday 24th September. New members are always very welcome. Membership costs a mere £6 to the end of the year, and you can come to your first event free to see if you like us before you join.

If you would like more info about Harbour Friends please call Bev on 01323 479797 or e-mail Bev

We also hold various other social events for Harbour Friends. Unfortunately our August picnic was rained off, but a number of members had a great evening at the bandstand for the post-Airbourne proms night and fireworks display.

Our next event is a family BBQ from 2pm Saturday 9th September. We will be on the beach by the picnic tables in front of Fort Fun, west of Sovereign Centre. Please bring a disposable BBQ plus some meat, fish or salad stuff, your own drink and something to sit on. Contact Liz on 470706 or 07989 396543.

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Better decisions, better health

• Do you care about health and the local NHS?
• Would you like to be involved and make a difference?
• Then join the local Patient and Public Involvement Forum

You can find out about local healthcare views of the public and patients and present them to the relevant NHS Trust. By law, all trusts must listen to what the Patient & Public Involvement Forums say and give a response.

You would also look at how wider issues in the local community, such as social care, transport or housing, affect the health and wellbeing of that community.
Local forums are independent and made up of local people from within the community to improve and enhance services.

If you think this is of interest to you and you would like to give time as a volunteer to this work contact Linda Beckmann on 01323 438634 e-mail Linda

Or write to:-

EAVS - PPI Forum
FREEPOST RLZB-YGXE-XUUZ
EAVS -PPI Forum
8 Saffrons Road
Eastbourne BN21 1DG

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On Saturday, 26th August, again travelling by Flagship Coaches, the club set off to Goodwood racecourse.

Members picnicked in the car park before going into the course to watch some very exciting races. The handicapper did a great job and there were several very close finishes.

Although the weather was changeable, we were very lucky that the races took place between the showers.

There was only one 'dodgy' result; Linus took first place in the sweepstake with three winners. However he was exonerated by the resulting steward's enquiry.

Another great day out, our thanks once more to Linus and Margaret for all their hard work.

Keep you eyes open for the next outing which, Linus assures us, will be a very popular event!

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Following the success of the first Eastbourne RNLI Regatta last year, which raised in excess of £10,000 for Eastbourne lifeboats, this year's Regatta was bigger and better, due to lessons learnt from the previous year. Even the occasional downpour did not dampen people's enthusiasm.

The yacht racing attracted visiting boats from Rye, Brighton and Newhaven. Thirty-six boats entered this event and it was enjoyed by all. There was some good racing in varying wind conditions.

The local fishing fleet made a superb effort to dress up their boats, making a wonderful spectacle in the lock and outer harbour where flour bombs, eggs and water hoses were the order of the day.

During the day, in the outer harbour, there were opportunities to try out dinghy sailing and kayaking. It was here the rowing teams did battle, with the trophy going to the Eastbourne lifeboat crew.

The entertainment was a mixture of live bands and disco during the afternoon and evening.
I would like to say a big thank you to the events sponsors, competitors and people who attended and supported the successful weekend.

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The SHRA website, http://www.shra.co.uk, is growing in popularity. So far this year, there have been about 11,500 unique visits to the site, and those visitors have viewed 44,000 pages. After a slow start to the year, the average monthly visits have settled at about 1,600, that's over fifty a day.

The most frequently visited pages, not surprisingly, are the 'News' and 'Waterlines pages and closely behind come the 'Letters' page and the 'For Sale/Wanted' page. What is surprising is that, considering the frequency with which the 'Letters' page is visited, there are so few contributions to it. Please don't be shy, share your opinions with other residents and let us have your comments on the letters that are published.

Also, considering how many of you view the 'For Sale/ Wanted' page', and considering that this is a free service, we receive surprisingly few advertisements.

The website is a very cost-effective way of getting information to you in the shortest possible time, please take advantage of it. Why not make it your 'Home Page'? That way you will get updates as soon as they are posted on the site.

If you are not yet on our mailing list, and would like to be included, e-mail Waterlines

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• 7th October
• 4th November
• 2nd December

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