HASTINGS & ST. LEONARDS OBSERVER 22 MARCH 2019 - Hastings council leader expresses frustration with pier reopening delay

The leader of Hastings Borough Council has expressed his frustration that reopening of the town’s pier will be delayed.

Councillor Peter Chowney made the comments after pier owner Sheikh Abid Gulzar said the reopening would be delayed by a few weeks.

Mr Gulzar shut the pier for three months in December 2018 for essential repairs.

On Tuesday, Mr Gulzar said the reopening would be delayed, however, in a Facebook post on Friday morning added it would be open ‘before Easter’.

Councillor Chowney, who has previously said the pier closure could have been handled better, added: “We were disappointed when the pier closed suddenly before Christmas, potentially losing out on the lucrative business between Christmas and the New Year.

“Similarly we had a fantastic half term in February, with the temperatures some of the highest ever recorded in winter. The town and our seafront was packed, with several traders saying they’d bettered their summer trading figures on some days. Yet the pier remained closed.

“We understand that the storms of the past fortnight may have had an impact on the pier, but we would have expected that any issues could have been addressed quickly with an appropriate maintenance regime.

“Easter is likely to be very busy too, especially as it is later this year; normally residents and visitors would flock to the pier then, the traditional start of ‘the season’.

“It is frustrating to see this fantastic attraction standing empty. We remain very keen to work with the pier management, but urge them to reconsider their position and reopen the pier as soon as possible, and certainly before the start of the Easter holiday.”

On Wednesday (March 21), Hastings and Rye MP Amber Rudd wrote a letter to her constituents saying the pier ‘belongs to our town’. By Stephen Wynn-Davies

HASTINGS BOROUGH COUNCIL

In common with all shire counties, the whole of East Sussex County Council is elected every four years. The first election to the reconstituted council took place in 1973, to prepare for the handover of services in April 1974. The 1997 election was the first at which no representatives from Brighton and Hove were elected, as a result of that area acquiring a unitary council. The Conservative Party has always held the largest number of seats on the council, though among the existing divisions of the council (excluding wards from Brighton & Hove), in 1993 the Liberal Democrats won 23 of the 44 seats, which would on current boundaries have given them overall control. Since the removal of Brighton and Hove, the Labour Party influence has been reduced although the party retains the majority of seats in Hastings.

DISTRICT & BOROUGH COUNCILS

East Sussex has five District and Borough Councils, each with a border on the coast. From west to east they are: 

Eastbourne Borough Council

Hastings Borough Council

Lewes District Council 

Rother District Council 

Wealden District Council

There is also East Sussex County Council as the provider of services to the 5 East Sussex districts.

As near neighbours and with councils now sharing facilities and working together, these area of Sussex are included in our remit and an area where climate change and affordable housing are issues that need urgent attention. Where the coastline is a feature in every Council, Blue Growth is a food security issue, especially where this side of of our local economy is under-exploited.

LINKS

http://www.lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk/

https://www.lgbce.org.uk/

GLOBAL WARMING - The Sun provides us with an infinite supply of energy upon which all life on earth depends. Our blue planet has experienced many climate changes in its history, including the ice age when amazing creatures such a the Dinosaurs and Mammoths suffered extinction. Man is artificially warming the planet by burning fossil fuels in some kind of economic arms race that cannot be sustained and must be brought under control if we are not to extinguish the lives of many more species such as the Polar Bears in the Arctic.

COASTAL TOURISM - Hastings has a lot going for it, a pier, this fabulous fleet of fishing boats and the historic net sheds, two museums, smugglers caves and cliff escalators, St Mary in the Castle and the White Rock Theatre. More features by number than Eastbourne.