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 1'.

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 1, was conspicuous by its absence. This did not go unnoticed by the committee.

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!!

Unfortunately, this is unlikely to be the end of the road for this totally inappropriate application. B&Q and Sovereign Harbour Ltd,, through their agent, have indicated that they will lodge an appeal to continue their quest for greater profits at the expense of the harbour residents who have already contributed their hard-earned money by investing in the concept of a 'marina village'. We will fight on!

Time for a celebration - Why not?

Why not join us at Simply Italian on the Waterfront on 31st October for some fun at our Halloween party? Their will be a children's party from 4:30pm until 6:30pm at a cost of just £4.95. For this, the kids will get a meal and drink. There will be games and prizes for the best costumes.

At 8:00pm, the restaurant is turned over to the grown-ups . . well . . .adults . . . .well . . .the rest of us. Tickets are priced at £10.50, which includes a buffet. However, members can get in for a silly price of just £7.50. Don't be disappointed, get your ticket, in advance, from S.I.

The fight goes on

As you will see from the front page, the B&Q application has been turned down, but an appeal appears to be almost certain. The SHRA committee are determined to contest this application to the bitter end. This will not be easy, but with your continued support, we can 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 can 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 seen increasingly as the only body that can represent the interests of harbour residents.

Why not complete the form below and return it to us today. Membership from now until the end of April 2006 is just £5.00