Your Letters - November 16

Baird tribute

MANY thanks to Elizabeth Downs for pointing out that Ch4 were, in fact, in time to film Baird Court last Spring - although they don't appear to have done so (Moving Places November 2]. At least they showed some interest. Local TV didn't seem to want to know. However, I wasn't "sad because Baird Court had been demolished before it could be featured" but about it's specific loss and local short sightedness.

Why let Hastings have all the historical action? Having just come back to Bexhill I see that (predictably] Malcolm Baird has contacted the Observer from Canada. Perhaps it should have been the other way round and especially last year at the 60th anniversary of his father's death, and 70 years TV experiments and the opening of the DLWP!

As the new development has adapted the style of the old building (definitely much better than a concrete block] there is an opportunity available to salvage the situation. Re-instatement of the Blue Plaque (or an equivalent] prominently with an explanatory feature re TV History and restoration of the name Baird as a Court, Terrace or Precinct would be a good move.

Why didn't the planning committee insist on this? Perhaps the developers themselves could consider making a civic gesture, in the Bexhill tradition, that would give something back to the town and be appreciated by everyone.

Mr Baird could even be invited to the opening. I'm sure that prospective purchasers would understand and want the recognition. Ironically, when you look just under Malcolm Baird's letter (at the Pebsham decision] it is clear that councillors are able to be assertive about infilling when they want to be! I look forward to the day that a much needed, high quality cast iron sign appears outside the station directing visitors to the Old Town, the seafront and the site of J. L. Baird's last residence - in Bexhill - at the prominent new building.

I also note (from the Hastings Observer] that bed and breakfast accommodation and information is now in short supply / difficult to find in Bexhill. The main complainant is apparently the De La Warr Pavilion.

This must all relate to the ridiculous lack of a Tourism Office. May I just point out that in my home town of Bury (and many others] the equivalent Metro Arts organisation carries out this accommodation function as an integral part of it's reception and booking facility! Now there's an opportunity for the DLWP to both raise it's profile and make itself popular with it's many local critics.

You've already got the brand new facility and the staff. All that's lacking is a bit of dynamism. Personally, I'd put a few JLB books on sale as well!

DAVE WALSH

Rotherfield Avenue

Focal point

ON reading in the Observer (November 2) about the development of a marina and hotel on the De La Warr Parade - very exciting.

I think a focal point such as this is what this town needs to make it a more vibrant and interesting place people would want to come and stay and see.

There are many new developments going on in Bexhill at the moment and a marina would be a great attraction; so I hope it gets the go-ahead.

I think it's what Bexhill needs to compete with some of the better seaside towns on the south coast.

S WELLS

Knebworth Road

Pavilion, too?

I REALLY like Alec Macpherson's plans for a marina in Bexhill, and believe that it would be a major contribution to the town's regeneration.

I also believe, too late, that Mr Macpherson should have been the man to oversee the restoration of the De La Warr Pavilion.

He can build a marina, an 83-room hotel, six retail outlets, two underground car parks -one for 80 cars and one for 150 cars- ornamental gardens and a bandstand for 12m yet it was not possible to complete the restoration of the pavilion for 8m.

Am I missing something?

T.R. Rosner

Marina

No thanks!

RE: The 12m Sea View

Please register our objections to the above considered project.

A couple of years back other developers were "knocked-on-the-head".

This seems another "Back door" attempt which must be similarly "Dealt with".

No! No! No!

MR & MRS ABERCROMBY

Ocklynge Close

Pipe dream

IT would be very good for Bexhill to have a Marina. But I believe that what was reported last week is just a pipe dream.

The council in Bexhill would debate this for years and not reach a conclusion - as can be seen with regards to the cycle path, dog control orders, link road. Even when this council decides on something they get it wrong and mess it up -such as rubbish collection.

It would cost a lot more than 12 million to build. Though if that would be the cost, it would be a small price to pay compared to the eventual financial benefits this would bring to the town. I suggest every business in Bexhill should support this idea, the council should give the approval before this town becomes just a name in the history books.

Peter Fell

Bexhill

Grand design

MAY I ask why the Grand Hotel in Bexhill is becoming flats? The property at the sea end of Sackville Road is to be developed into flats, both of these could of been accommodation for visitors to Bexhill. The De La Warr then could do summer shows for holiday makers.

The Park Lane Group propose to build in Buckhurst Road. Why can't Rother Council have a say in what is needed, not just have the developers do what they want to do.

A hotel on the Buckhurst Road site could become just what is needed, so may I suggest Rother tell Park Lane what to build.

LAWRENCE KEELEY

Fairfield

Herstmonceux

Bowls poser

WE were delighted to see that our councillors took the common sense and popular view when they refused planning permission for the controversial housing development at Pebsham.

They are to be congratulated for ignoring the officer recommendation to grant permission.

What a shame they were not so inclined when considering the Gullivers Bowling Club site in Knole Road, Bexhill. Initially Rother's councillors on the planning committee refused permission to Churchill Retirement Living to build retirement flats on the site.

But when it was known that Churchill's were taking the application to appeal the planning officers at Rother persuaded the planning committee to drop their first reason for refusal - knowing this would significantly weaken Rother's case against the development at the appeal itself. By taking this action on May 24 2007 the planning committee was persuaded to act against Rother's own independentlycommissioned 'Open Space, Sport & Recreation Study' which had been published only three days earlier! This study assessed the current supply of outdoor sporting facilities for the Bexhill area and concluded that there is less than a third of the amount of outdoor sporting facilities required for the area and only a sixth of the amenity green open space required. In fact the study singled out the bowling greens as being of high quality and high value to the district!

Recently Patricia Mayer wrote (Bexhill Observer October 26) saying she felt that Rother should adopt a policy that no construction should take place on land which has not had previous building. Rother already has policies to protect "greenfield" sites set out in their Local Plan which was adopted some time before the 2006 planning application was submitted to build on the bowling greens site. There are also regional and national government policies which the council has a duty to follow, as reiterated by Rother's Chief Planning Officer when the Pebsham development was being debated. And "greenfield" the Knole Road site most certainly is - in all its history it has only ever been used for sport and recreation, except in the war years when it was needed for allotments. How green is that?!

CHRISTINE MADELEY

Chairman

Gullivers Action Group

Food waste

WRAP, acting as advisors to DEFRA have recommended that food waste should be collected weekly where a council has opted for alternative weekly collections. An online petition has been set up at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/rotherfoodwaste/ calling on Rother District Council to implement this guidance. Please sign it and ask friends and family to do the same.

STEPHANIE WEBB

Collington Avenue

Bus route

On behalf of several local residents and myself, I would like to thank Frances Winterborn, our Lib Dem councillor for Old Town, for her letter of October 5 last regarding the Bexhill Community Bus Service. It was good of her to highlight the plight of those of us who have been unable to get on the mid-morning bus due to overcrowding. However, judging from Mr Harris' response a week later, it would seem that nothing can or will be done to improve this situation.

May I just ask, was not the original purpose of this bus service to provide transport in areas not (well) served by other bus services, particularly with elderly and less mobile residents in mind?

If this be the case, is it right that quite regularly when the mid-morning bus reaches The Glades (777) and / or St Peter's Crescent full with people from areas that are served by line buses, such as Pebsham, elderly people in our neighbourhood are left standing on the pavement? On Monday morning (05/11/07), for example, 2 of us at The Glades, including a lady with severe walking difficulties, were left without transport to the town in this way, and a further 5 were unable to board in St Peter's Crescent.

We all understand that this service relies on the availability of many volunteers, whose wonderful efforts we very greatly appreciate, and the limited availability of buses. However, would it not be possible to review the current route of the mid-morning bus so that seats are available to those who need them most? I'm sure that most people, like myself, would even prefer to pay a fair rate for the service and get a seat, than pay nothing and take the risk of being left stranded.

Dulcie A Robinson

The Briary

New lessons

A NEW report published this week by educational body Teach First titled Lessons from the Front has interesting conclusions which are of relevance to local secondary schools here in East Sussex, and Bexhill in particular.

The conclusions of the report will not come as a surprise to many.

These are that smaller secondary schools generally perform better academically, and give young people a better social experience than large schools.

The reasons for this are not hard to fathom: Rather than students being lost in a sea of anonymity, headteachers are able to know individual children's names, while children and teachers are able to get to know each other and build better working relationships.

The result is that less effort has to be expended on 'crowd control' and behaviour management, and more resources can be devoted to teaching and the individual needs of each child.

Here in Bexhill, the High School has continuously expanded in an unplanned way over recent decades, from an original 400 pupils at the Down Road site, to house more than 1,200 pupils today, plus another 300+ overspill at Gunters Lane.

The investment of more than 30m in secondary education in the town is welcome and very long-overdue, but it is regrettable that the authorities still see the future through the Stalinist perspective of a new 1,800-pupil mega-school. All the indications from this report and from empirical evidence are that a two-school solution, or taking into account planned population growth in North Bexhill, even three schools might lead to better outcomes for our young people.

Richard Madge

College Road

Moped incident

On Tuesday, November 6 I was unfortunate enough to be in a collision with a car which pulled right out in front of me from the driveway of Bexhill Hospital and knocked me off my moped.

Fortunately I wasn't going very fast or my injuries could have been a lot worse as the impact would have sent me over the handlebars.

However, the point of this letter is to express my heartfelt thanks to the two nurses who came to my rescue and looked after me until the ambulance came and to the lady passing by who volunteered herself as a witness. I really don't know what I would have done without them. Thank you!

Also, the ambulance men and the police were wonderful and deserve my thanks.

Hazel Barton

Potmans Lane, Lunsford Cross

For children

WE are extremely grateful to the ladies' team, of Highwoods Golf Club, who have raised an amazing amount of 5,403 for the children who come to us, to get financial help for specialist medical treatment and therapy. The treatments are not available from the normal health organisations.

These wonderful ladies ran the Hastings half marathon this year, and have continued to raise funds throughout the year.

The Tree of Hope Children's Charity desperately needs funds for the children, some who have life threatening conditions. Half of our children go abroad for their treatments, which is expensive, and who now have a better quality of life.

A special thanks to Sylvia Legg for all her hard work as chairperson during the last year.

As we do not advertise, we ask that people recommend the Tree of Hope Children's Charity for their fundraising events.

Once again, a massive thank you to Highwoods Golf Club. These ladies are simply the best.

HYPERLINK "http://www.treeofhope.org.uk" www.treeofhope.org.uk

CORINNE GARDNER

Chairman

The Tree of Hope Children's Charity

Regimental help

THE Royal Sussex Regimental Association fully supports General Sir Richards Dannatt's campaign to reconnect the British public with its servicemen and women serving the nation in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Association would like to invite and entertain any service person returning from operations at one of their monthly branch meetings held throughout Sussex, to talk to members informally about their experiences.

Would any reader who knows of any returning service person, please tell the Regimental Secretary Maj Brian Hudson on 01243 752350, he will then put them in contact with the local branch in their area.

B M HUDSON (Major)

The Royal Sussex Regimental Association

Westgate

Chichester

Power crazy

"NOW then, Rother residents, do as I say," say our leaders and ministers.

"Put your few pounds weight of plastics and tin cans in the recycle bin and we will organise it to be collected by our diesel-guzzling lorry and workers on full pay to collect it."

Um ... does the energy used in the manufacture of the lorry and its daily energy consumption make the effort worthwhile?

Add in the ticking-over at the increasing number of traffic lights and the energy used in the functioning of the traffic lights and...oops, shouldn't be mentioning this; it undermines the council's policies and the Highways Authority's relentless campaign to cause traffic to stand still at lights, (instead of roundabouts) spewing out carbon monoxide and dioxide that assist global warming.

Why worry about insignificant Rother compared to what is happening on the global scale?

After all, 26 Prime Ministers and Presidents of the EU will be flying by private jet to Lisbon to sign the revised EU Constitution and then fly onward to Brussels, for a knees-up dinner and conference.

Experts have calculated that the jaunt will add between 10 and 15 tonnes of CO2 to the EU's carbon regurgitation into the atmosphere.

This is extra to the 20,000 tonnes of CO2 produced by the monthly journeys of MEP's Commissioners and their entourage to Strasbourg.

"Yes, Rother residents, keep doing as you are told; do as I say; not as I do."

Isn't it time that we got rid of this umpteenth tier of government bureaucracy; reduce the British carbon footprint ... cut out the EU?

Tony Smith

Ashburnham

Battle

Public holiday

10 DOWNING Street has approved a petition that asks for a new public holiday to fall on the Monday after Remembrance Sunday in November each year. It would be known as the National Remembrance Holiday and has three objectives:

1. To remember those servicemen/women who gave their lives for us;

2. To remind people of the importance of protecting our Nation and what it stands for, and

3. To break that three month period between the August Public Holiday and Christmas when there are currently no long weekends.

Apparently the UK has fewer public holidays than most European countries.

If your readers agree, they can sign up to the petition - it doesn't take long - and it would be good if they were to forward the link to other people as well.

This is more than a selfish request for a day off. Rather it seeks to establish a designated day that would reinforce the message of Remembrance Sunday, i.e. to remind all in a pragmatic way (see reason three above) to remember those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/remembermonday/

KEITH STANDRING (Cllr)

Chairman

The Freedom Association Sussex Branch

Bexhill-on-Sea

Purse snatch

AS the Observer recently warned, purse and wallet snatching is rampant at the moment - a missing one can be a devastating experience.

I was one of the lucky ones recently and had mine returned after three horrible days. Enormous thanks to the lovely person who handed mine in to the post office, and the kindly attention of the staff, and the sympathetic reception and attention at the Bexhill Police Station.

B SANDERS (Miss)

Lunsford Cross

Waste deal

GORDON Brown and the government have decreed that Sussex will have to dispose of London's rubbish.

They also insisted that Sussex will have to find fixed sites for travellers. Beware, all residents in the Pebsham, Herbrand Walk, The Ridge, Sandrocks and the Summerfields areas (here we go again). However, one has to admit that this will be a wonderful way to regenerate Bexhill and Hastings.

On the question of Europe, our glorious leader stated the new constitution is different from the previous treaty. However, quite a few European leaders have said that they are the same. Have you heard the story that when a man was apprehended going the wrong way up the M1 motorway, he protested that all the other motorists were wrong - he was the only one going in the right direction! Mr. Brown keeps praising the wonderful red lines on the new treaty. These red lines have been known to disappear very quickly when one signs on the dotted line.

R SANDERSON

Top Cross Road

Human error

REGARDING the letter, 'Dog's life', from Tim Matthews, of Luton, (Observer, November 9) I don't understand why you noted my letter 'with interest' only.

I was savaged! Badly! A child could have the same treatment. Dogs like this should not be allowed on the streets or in open places. It has been seen down De La Warr Road, near the entrance to College Road. Hopefully, it will keep away from me. To anyone who knows this tan and white English Bull Terrier, named Major, perhaps they would be kind enough to report it to the police or dog warden. On Mr. Matthews words about dog mess, I agree. It is up to humans to clear the mess, as many, many people do in this town. I know my walkers clear my mess if I make any, but I would love to catch the dog who does it outside my house.

I would like to know what other readers thought about my previous letter. After all, on both subjects, it is humans who give us dogs a bad name.

JACK GARDNER

De La Warr Road

Top care

RECENTLY I had to attend the Conquest Hospital as a day patient. From the time I arrived at the reception first thing in the morning until I was allowed out in the evening I could not wish for better treatment, they were wonderful to me.

I would like to say a great big thank you to them.

M OLIVER (Mrs)

Eastwood Road

Heartfelt

WE would like to thank all our supporters and helpers for helping to raise 486 at the British Heart Foundation's Christmas Fair held on Saturday at the Youth Centre in Bexhill. This money will benefit our local area for equipment and local Heart nurses.

Jacky Chrisp

On behalf of the Bexhill fund-raising

committee.

Royston Gardens