By Jim Hollands
(Written in 2012)
Looking back seven years to the August 2005 issue of “Rye’s Own” I came across the following piece I wrote at that time which contained predictions of what could happen to Rye during the following eight years. I was interested to know how accurate I had been with just one year of the eight left to run. Continue reading What Has Changed Since August 2005?
A Tribute to Keith Taylor
By Jim Hollands
As you go through life you meet just a few ‘very special’ people who are more interested in what they put into life rather than what they can get out. Dr. Keith Tayor was such a person. Continue reading Rye Loses a Great Champion
Regular readers of “Rye’s Own” will know how this magazine has always fought for keeping community assets for the use of Ryer’s, often against great pressure and determination of elected and unelected bodies who have had ‘other plans’ for our precious land and buildings. We challenged the South Coast College “Done and Dusted” lady who wanted to sell off the Lion Street School. (which had been left for the education of the children of Rye ‘in perpetuity’ by the Meryon family 140 years ago). Continue reading Lion Street School Saved
An opportunity for Rye Town Council to put action to the words
By Jim Hollands
It’s all gone quiet at Rye Town Hall – All the build up and work that went into gaining ‘Quality Town Status’ and earning a framed certificate and the elusive ‘Power of Wellbeing’ has come to nothing, just as those who thought up the scheme probably knew it would end! Continue reading The Power of Wellbeing
At last Monday’s (24 November) meeting of the Planning and Townscape Committee at the Town Hall, Councillor Mary Smith (CDR group member) pressed for the Council to hold an urgent public meeting on the “Core Strategy Plan” for Rye. Continue reading Call For Public Meeting
This is one story I dreaded I would have to report but as I have recorded many times in these pages over the past two years, it was a foregone conclusion. Continue reading The Ultimate Kick In The Teeth
Three candidates were declared for the forthcoming Bye Election for a place on Rye Town Council. Continue reading Three Cornered Election Fight
Perhaps the Rye Allotments will soon be back under the control and ownership of Rye Town Council. This example of money wasting will then no longer happen.
Information collected by the Love Lane allotment holders.
(First published in Rye’s Own, summer 2006)
Site Visit 1
A plot holder observes a council official on the Love Lane allotment site. The council officer explains that he is looking for the source of a water leak from the underground pipes feeding the water troughs. This is suspected because of a rise in the water bill. The gardener says that he has known the site for many years and offers his assistance in locating any problem. The offer of assistance is rejected. Continue reading How to Trace a Water Leak – the Rother Way
“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. Continue reading The Floding Debate
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.”
All articles, photographs and drawings on this web site are World
Copyright Protected. No reproduction for publication without prior
arrangement.
