By Jim Hollands
Up to eighty Rye people crammed in the public galleries at Rother District Council’s Bexhill Town Hall to learn the fate of the proposed building site for 135 houses on the greenfield land to the North of Udimore Road. Continue reading Six Months Reprieve
“Rye’s Own” has learned that the Environment Agency is prepared to lift objections they had regarding flood worries over the building of 135 dwellings to the north of Udimore Road if suitable conditions can be imposed on any planning permission granted in relation to the site.
We can reveal that these conditions will include installing water delaying valves, known as Hydrobrakes, in the drainage system, two water basins, (lakes or tanks), along with ‘swales’ (earth banks) that will hold the water back. Continue reading The Flooding Debate – March 2008
There was uproar in a packed Council Chamber on Monday 12 November when a demand, in the form of a 60 person petition asking for an enquiry into the affairs of the Rye Partnership was discussed.
The petition was signed by many prominent people including a past Mayor of Rye and several past District and Town Councillors.
Christopher Strangeways, on behalf of the visitors, requested that the discussion of the subject be brought forward “While everyone was still fresh”. A vote by Councillors backed up the suggestion and the agenda was amended.
Councillor Granville Bantick condemned the Partnership fairly comprehensively, citing failures, particularly to do with the Library, the Fish Processing area at the Fishmarket, and for the overall lack of accountability. During his speech Councillor Bantick was interrupted by Partnership Chairman, County Councillor Keith Glazier with cries of “Not correct” and even threats to sue. The Mayor, Councillor Paul Osborne intervened to allow Councillor Bantick to conclude his speech with a proposal that the Town Council should forward the petition on to the Audit Commission or a similar body, with their own recommendation that an investigation into the Partnerships affairs should take place.
Councillor Sam Souster explained that during his time as Partnership Chairman the affairs were run correctly and he produced documents relating to the successful grants that had been obtained by Rye Partnership during the period up to 2003. He explained that Councillor Bantick had got his facts wrong in many of the criticisms he had of the Partnership.
“I resigned from the Partnership in 2003 because I did not agree with the way things were going with the Library project”. He went on to say that “Things began to go wrong from that time”.
The Mayor then recited a long list of good things that he remembered the Partnership achieving, he was eventually interrupted from the visitors gallery by Freddie Lees who objected to the Mayor’s one sided approach to the debate. Councillor Osborne gave way and invited Dr. Keith Taylor to speak. Dr. Taylor chairs the Library Committee and was particularly damning on the way Rye Partnership had “Failed the community” on the Library project. He claimed that the recent ‘disappearance’ of Town Manager Yolanda Layborne, the lack of straight answers as to why she had left, and the uncertainty of a replacement, made this a good time for the whole of the Rye Partnerships affairs to be put under scrutiny.
District Councillor David Russell had the latest news on the Central Garage site in Cinque Ports Street, now out of the Partnership’s control and being developed by the owner of the ground. “New plans are about to be submitted” said Councillor Russell. “For a Library on the ground floor and living accommodation above”.
Councillor Lorna Hall wanted to know the answer to a financial matter. “Ian Foster has asked me to query what happened to the remainder of a £20,000 grant that was made to the Bonfire Boys. It was to be delivered over two years and senior members of the Bonfire Society had signed official government and European papers confirming the amount. Mr. Foster claims that less than half of the sum was ever received and would like to know what has happened to the other £10,000 plus.”
Sara Nixon had been a director of the Partnership but resigned when the Fishmarket and Library projects were introduced. “I considered these to be well beyond the Partnerships capabilities. Up till then the smaller projects were very successful.” Sara wondered how the mortgages on the Companies properties stood and what the income that served as a cash flow produced at present.
Sue Drew requested to know when the Partnership was going to grant her a proper lease on the building she uses at the Fishmarket. “I have been asking the Partnership for over five years and still have not got an answer”.
Keith Glazier replied that matters were in hand and they were working out a system that would allow them to give her an answer in the immediate future.
There were many questions being thrown at the Partnership Chairman, some relating to “improper A.G.M.s” and “missing accounts”.
“There are no missing accounts, we are probably the most audited business in town. I would welcome any enquiry from any direction.” He went on to say that “He recognised there had been mistakes made, mainly in public relations. We are putting this right. I want the Partnership to be completely transparent. I put many hours of unpaid time in my efforts to make Rye a better place.”
At this point there were even more questions and the Partnership Chairman turned on the public.
“You are always finding fault, never recognising the good things that have been done” he then antagonised them by refusing to take more questions, until Mrs. Blackman stood up and spoke to him directly.
“I have never been so disgusted by a Councillor’s actions before, you are a bully Councillor Glazier”.
Mrs. Blackman’s outburst obviously affected the Councillor, he immediately softened and was his affable self again. He went on to answer all questions in a conciliatory fashion.
Then it came to the vote. The first motion was lost but on Councillor Potter’s advice a proposal to delay the decision until the next meeting, to allow the petitioners time to gather a much larger number on their list, was seconded by Councillor Hall and carried by eleven votes with four abstentions.
The meeting, which started at 6.30pm. was still going strong way past 10pm. and was attended by far more public than the Annual Town Meeting has ever entertained. It seems as though Rye politics are coming alive again after many years of apathy by the public. Is this because the people of Rye are beginning to sense that some kind of real local decision making may be about to return to Rye Town Hall?
December 2007
By 1825 the Lamb family had dominated politics in Rye for 100 years,
providing the Mayor 23 times out of the 25 since the turn of the century,
most of the jurats and freeman were either family or supporters. This
had been achieved by the ‘Freeman’ system introduced in the days when
Rye played an important and very active part in building, maintaining
and manning the Cinque Ports Fleet. There were about 40 Freemen of
Rye and only a Freeman had a vote.
To become enfranchised there were only two ways. By birth as the eldest
surviving son of a Freeman or by election, one citizen a year was
voted in as a Freemen by Jurats and Freemen on Mayoring Day. Continue reading They Took Over the Town Hall
Following the meeting Councillor Granville Bantick issued an abbreviated copy of his speech. It is reproduced here in full.
“There has been disquiet over the activities of the Rye Partnership over many years. From the outset it became difficult to disentangle the relationship between Rother District Council and the Rye Partnership, which later became further complicated in that the then Head of Regeneration, Mr Mark Evershed, became the Partnership’s Secretary, a position which soon became apparent as having a conflict of interests, especially as he had become the major executive in charge of Partnership activities in Rye.
Many at the outset criticised the un-demographic nature of this organisation, but in the beginning it was believed its aims were laudable. Doubts surfaced when the public were told money would be available for a number of ambitious programmes for which there was a lack of clarity as to how these would be financed as accounts were often never presented at meetings or were incomplete.
The public’s anxiety was not abated when very ambitious plans were presented to them for the proposed development on the site of the old Central Garage of a mixed development consisting of maisonettes, a town library, and a space for Hastings College and a Housing Association. There were many vociferous local objections to the plan – the design was thought inappropriate for the conservation area of a historic town and the library was thought too small. Regrettably there was too little consultation in the Partnership’s desire to push the plans through. Following a series of negotiations with bankers, the owner of the site and Seaspace, Rye Partnership and its partners had to abandon the project as it was generally thought the project was not viable. The site was cleared for development at a cost of £90,000. To this day the site remains undeveloped and it has been left for the County Library authorities to try and negotiate with the site owner for a minimum library space. Plans for a library and flats only was submitted to the Planning Authority but were not accepted in the form in which they were presented and a revision was requested. We now understand that fresh plans are to be submitted in the near future. It is undoubtedly a disastrous story which leaves much to be concerned about. The question often asked is whether the Rye Partnership should have taken on the role of a property developer which was never its remit in the first place. The Rye Partnership has been largely kept afloat by the financial largesse of the District Council which has had to continually pump tax payer’s money into the organisation as there was insufficient income arising from their property portfolio. Then recently there was the problem that arose in the local fishing industry when local fishermen objected to the plans to change Rye Fisheries to light industrial workshops which would lose jobs. In fact Rother’s planners were unconvinced of assurances given to the fishermen that the building would still be used for fish processing. This matter has still to be resolved.
It is my belief, and that of a great many people in Rye, that there needs to be an independent enquiry into the affairs of the Rye Partnership. My proposal to ask the Rye Town Council to support such an enquiry was lost, but will be further debated at the next Full Council meeting when it is hoped a greater number of petitioners will have signed. Whilst there have been some admirable projects initiated by the Rye Partnership over the years there has on the other hand been some very bad decisions, and unfortunately due to a lack of communication and accountability the general public have rightly become cynical.
Until there is an enquiry the public will not be satisfied. If the Rye Partnership, as it seems from what has been said by the Chairman of Rye Partnership, has no objection to a full investigation, then it has nothing to fear, and at last hopefully this matter can be put to bed once and for all.”
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The Rye Town Council of May 2007. Back row left to right : Councillor Ian Potter, Councillor Granville Bantick, Councillor Jonathon Breeds, Councillor Frank Continue reading Rye Town Council 2007
Despite Rye Town Council’s approval of the plans for the new Primary School on ground adjacent to the Thomas Peacocke there are many who think the construction of the £6.5m. building on the proposed site is ill advised and detrimental to the education of Rye children.
Continue reading Row Over Rye Primary
Sometimes a piece of history turns up at “Rye’s Own” that we can’t wait to show our readers. This is one of those times. Mrs. Cox sent in this wonderful picture of the large room at the Lion Street School depicting the girls class Four of 1931. This Continue reading Class Four Lion Street 1931
Here it is! The proposed £6,000,000 new Primary School to be built
in the grounds of the Thomas Peacocke replacing both the Freda Gardham
in New Road and the Tilling Green Primary in Mason Road. Continue reading Six Million Pound school
Here it is! The proposed £6,000,000 new Primary School to be built in the grounds of the Thomas Peacocke replacing both the Freda Gardham in New Road and the Tilling Green Primary in Mason Road. Continue reading £6,000,000 New Primary School
