Seafront Councillors

posted by Rob Jones on 29 Apr 2011 at 5:14 pm

Does anyone know who exactly are the Councillors that are to blame for the seafront mess and what wards the represent?
I for one do not want to make the mistake of voting for one in the coming local elections.

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Councillors

posted by Jude on 02 May 2011 at 6:02 pm

Hi Rob,
I've also been trying to find out and having trawled through the minutes of loads of meetings on Rother's website, I'm none the wiser. I think that as the current Council stands at:

Conservative 28
Liberal Democrats 8
Labour 0
Assoc of Independents 2

we can guess who's probably responsible.

Letter Refused By Bexhill Observer

posted by Jim Milne on 03 May 2011 at 8:55 pm

At the last count the Rother district council consisted of 28 Conservatives, 8 Liberal-Democrats, and 2 Independents.

With such a large majority it is no wonder the Conservative Party's position of power has gone to their heads and in particular a triumvirate (historically a Roman term for taking control) by a few councillors sitting on the Cabinet and advised by the Head of Services. The rest of their party were veritable "yes" men and women "whipped" into voting.

This triumvirate decided in their "collective (lack of) wisdom" to pursue their their grandiose schemes without proper consultation with the voters of RDC.

The CONSTITUTION says in effect that the council "make decisions which ensure that these are efficient, transparent, and accountable to local people.
It also says, the Councils "Mission Statement" further commits these councillors to "working with the community to improve the overall well-being of the District.

As an independent Conservative voter I have seen little evidence that these councillors have, if ever, called an open meeting for voters of RDC to discuss their concerns, particularly in the People's Palace, the De La Warr Pavilion.

The Bexhill Town Forum was ineffective and was usurped by councillors. We have been fobbed off with one explanation after another.According to many voters the councillors have failed to answer letters from the public satisfactorily. I think the officers of the RDC invariably answer my letters sympathetically. One exception was the Chairman of the Council, who supposed to be impartial, who had to be reminded of his failure by a Council Officer.

I suggest that voters in RDC should realise that the Conservative Party has failed abysmally to address our concerns. One cannot but infer they have abused their position of power without proper consultation of the voters of the RDC, for example, with the Seafront development, the Shelter designs, the failure of the inducements to the De La Warr Pavilion etc.

So what next? Let us get the balance of power in better shape. I, for one, will not be voting for the conservatives.

PS I believe I can point a finger to the few who have been instrumental for this fiasco. Please get in touch. One of them was in my Collington Ward !!

Seafront Councillors

posted by jim on 07 May 2011 at 6:03 pm

Hi Rob and Jude,
Cllr Christopher Starnes was our conservative representative for Collington Ward was I believe instrumental in pushing forward the Sea front New Wave scheme. He fortunately did not put himself forward for the 5th May local elections otherwise he would have been voted out so I believe.. I am glad to say that John Lee of SOS fame and other worthy activites on behalf of the people of Bexhill, and Toni Mansi of Bexhill Festival of Music fame, have both been voted in as Independent Councillors for the Collington Ward. Unfortunately there were not enough courageous people like them prepared to stand as Independents against the Conservatives so we are lumbered with, more or less, the same same power base. In their case they have spent all our money on the sea front for better or worse. Where do we go now ??

Unbelievable!

posted by M Woolf on 07 May 2011 at 6:24 pm

So it seems like virtually everyone has been complaining about the seafront development, instigated and approved by a Conservative controlled council, and yet - incredibly - the Conservative majority has fallen by just ONE seat in the local elections. I'm sorry, but the people of Bexhill really do get what they deserve. Please: no more whining letters to the Observer - you lot voted for it!

Sorry But...

posted by Gary on 08 May 2011 at 4:26 pm

I actually like the new Western Promenade. I (and I am VERY sorry about this) don't mind the new shelters (okay, the hole in the roof seems silly) and the whole area is now so pleasant to walk along. Yes, I had no idea what was going on and yes, I know no one seemed to care what the public actually thought but it's actually really pleasant!

Spending almost 1/3rd the Rother District Council's budget is not justifiable but it makes our town more lovely.

Unbelievable!

posted by Jude on 08 May 2011 at 5:23 pm

M Woolf & Jim - I couldn't agree with you more. I had hoped that, in light of the seafront fiasco and subsequent complaints and protests, the Conservative majority would be substantially reduced.
I, like you, don't want to hear or read about anymore complaints and gripes about what's happening to our town. The people of Bexhill had their chance to protest at the ballot box but they chose not to. They should now just get on with it and accept whatever further money-wasting destruction occurs in the future.

In Fairness

posted by Gary on 11 May 2011 at 10:29 am

To be fair to the people of Bexhill, most residents are static voters who simply vote for a party and do not allow themselves to alter despite negatives by those they vote for. Based upon this then many people may well have voted against these councillors based upon the seafront but this would have little impact on the majority of residents; of which a large proportion probably do not even use the seafront to a significant degree and others may well like what they see.

The fact that you vote for a party is based upon the belief that they hold similar values to yourself but that when the idividuals stray from those ideals then you can hold them to account. It does not mean you vote AGAINST them, you simply instruct them about your dis-satisfaction. Yes, this builds jobs-for-life but 76% of the population voted for the system that allows for that and therefore we remain!