Pier flagpole under threat

The flagpole by the Bandstand being demolished.

12th Jan 2013

Plans to remove the flagpole at the front of the pier could be rushed through to save money, say opposition groups.

On Monday the council's regeneration group will discuss getting rid of the rarely-used mast near the pier entrance and transforming the area into an events space. Although the group has no decision-making power, it may recommend the plans to the executive if it considers them viable.

Councillors looking to minimise cost want the proposals pushed ahead while construction firms are still working on the seafront. They argue that redeveloping the flagpole would replace the space lost when the beach hut village and crazy golf course open on the pier.

Yet there are fears the plans could be approved without consulting residents to meet deadlines of construction firms. Another flagpole by the bandstand was taken down in January because the council said it had "decayed beyond repair" and would cost £32,000 to replace.

Cllr Ron Flaherty

Lib Dem Cllr Ron Flaherty said:

"I'm not happy about it. It is vandalism of a piece of heritage on the seafront as far as I'm concerned. At the moment, the demographic of the town is mainly over-55s. Elderly people, particularly, like to sit there in the summer months facing the sun and looking at the gardens. Will the gardens and seating have to be taken up as well? I am not convinced by this. I wouldn't like to see the executive rubber stamp this one without residents' consultation about it." 

Geoff Wimble

Also opposing the idea is former town partner Geoff Wimble of events organisation Herne Bay Group Community Projects Ltd. Mr Wimble, 65, of Sea Street, said:

"Where the flagpole stands is a lovely garden. Is this some kind of forward planning to develop something on the pier? They have destroyed one lot of gardens this year where they have built the playground. That won't grow back this year. Talk of taking the flagpole down is barmy. At the moment there are beautiful gardens. The seafront has got notoriety for its gardens. Why destroy more?"

Council spokesman Rob Davies said:

"There has been a proposal to remove the flag pole near the pier entrance, which is rarely used, to create an events space to complement other activities proposed for the pier. This idea would allow events to be staged at that end of the seafront, because currently these activities all take place by the clock tower. Two new flagpoles are also planned to go on the pier itself." 

Cllr Peter Lee

The idea to remove the flagpole was first floated at a meeting  of councillors on the regeneration committee some months ago. Cllr Peter Lee, who sits on the regeneration committee, said:

"If we have development on the pier, with the beach huts and a crazy golf course, it means we will have lost area to host events.  We have events near the clock tower and some businesses have said they could do with events at their end of the seafront, so we thought why not look at removing the flagpole and creating extra open space there.  We have a contractor working on the seafront at the moment and while someone is in place with equipment and man power, this would be an ideal time to do it."

It is thought councillors have investigated moving the flagpole to the site where the one at the bandstand used to sit but have been told it will be too fragile and old to survive.

HB Gazette 20th June 2013

Herne Bay volunteers given £10k for lights

Herne Bay's most recent Christmas tree (photo by Alan Porter)

A  group of volunteers hailed as "stars" will make the town shine next Christmas thanks to a grant from a Bay county councillor. Jean Law, who represents the town on Kent County Council, is gifting the remainder of her member's fund to four community groups in a bid to make Christmas 2013 the best ever.

She hopes the £10,000 will help Herne Bay Town Partners, Herne Bay in Bloom, Beach Creative and the BayPromoTeam attract more cash in match funding to pay for a spectacular lights display. Mrs Law said:

"These are all groups I have worked with in the past and they work brilliantly together. They are all stars and I know that working together they can make up for this year and all the negative publicity. I have lots of ideas and I would like it to be like Herne Bay in Bloom, where the whole town comes together to make it great."

This year's tree was slammed as the "worst in the country" by national newspapers, and its replacement was also panned by critics. There were complaints about the lack of lights in the High Street and that crossover lights used in previous years were missing. Mrs Law said:

"I was desperately disappointed with this year's display and there was a lot of negative feeling about it. It was supposed to be so magical and it didn't quite work like that. But I know next Christmas will be better than ever, and I want to see really inventive displays, not just common or garden lights."

Among the ideas being considered are trees for over shops, projected images of moving snowflakes on buildings, and a mini forest of Christmas trees, donated from different sources. Mrs Law said:

"We also need shopkeepers to get involved and do their bit in brightening up the town and that's where Beach Creative can get involved. It is a long-term project. We don't need bling, we just need it to be magical for the children and it is a real privilege to be involved in it. I hope that this year we can invite all those who criticised us to come back and see what Herne Bay can really do."

Former town trader Geoff Wimble has also set up a Christmas lights group made up of residents and shopkeepers, and they are planning fundraising events.

Next Christmas will be dazzling

Geoff Wimble

Traders and the community have teamed up in a bid to ensure Herne Bay does not once again become a national laughing stock for its Christmas lights. The town made national headlines after stars from the Marlowe pantomime in Canterbury flicked the switch of a poorly lit tree - and rather than cheers, got jeered by the crowd. As a result, Herne Bay’s lights were dubbed the worst in the UK.

Now, however, a group has been set up to organise next year’s illuminations. At its inaugural meeting, organiser Geoff Wimble said businesses and supporters had already pledged more than £2,000 with donations from the chamber of commerce and individuals. The total was boosted further by a cheque presented by Jean Herwin, a member of the group and secretary of the Hotel Business and Leisure Group.

More than 50 businesses have signed up to be involved, and five schools from across the town are also poised to offer their support. Mr Wimble said the group aimed to provide lights for the whole town, including Sea Street. He said:

“Our intention is to ensure we never get slated again. We want lights around the town and our intention is to make other decorations too, as they do on the continent. We want to buy enough trees so every shop can have a tree above or outside it, and we want to make sure we get a reasonable tree for the town centre too.”

kentnews.co.uk 18th Dec 2012

Supermarket plan causes friction and ructions

Traders fall out over plans for supermarket outside Herne Bay

A group of Bay business people is backing plans for a giant supermarket outside the town. Herne Bay Town Partners has agreed to support Sainsbury's bid for a store on the new Altira Business Park at Beltinge, despite council bosses trying to attract a supermarket to the town centre as part of regeneration plans.

Sainsbury's has a pre-let agreement with developers Terrace Hill for a 95,000 sq ft superstore and petrol station on the business park, near the driving test centre. Minutes seen by the Times state:

"The business group have recently met and discussed the proposed plans that Sainsbury's have to open a major retail unit on the outskirts of Herne Bay. It has been indicated that Sainsbury's will apply for planning permission before the end of the year. The group suggested we should endorse Sainsbury's proposal and, when the time is right, arrange to meet their development team to encourage them to support the town."

Dylan Hampshire

But a row between mattress shop boss Dylan Hampshire, who opposed the decision, and former director of the group Geoff Wimble led to Mr Wimble quitting in disgust. Former pawn shop boss Mr Wimble said:

"Sainsbury's should tell the council to get back in its little box and shut up. The council messed up the chance to get a supermarket in the bus station because it said the area was a flood risk. We want to support the town and now Dylan Hampshire is running around like a child with a smacked bottom complaining that an out-of-town supermarket would kill the traders. There's no proof."

Mr Hampshire, who runs Cockett's Mattresses in the High Street, said:

"I know Geoff is passionate about the town and has done a lot for it. But I think the Town Partners were too quick in supporting Sainsbury's at Altira without any corresponding pressure to promote the central development. There needs to be redoubling of effort to encourage a supermarket to Herne Bay."

Herne Bay councillor Peter Lee, who is in charge of the regeneration plans, said the city council's preferred option was still a major store for the town centre – a plan which received almost unanimous approval. He added:

"The council is confident that it can withstand any out-of-town development on the strength of public support for the plan. Herne Bay Town Partners are, of course, entitled to their view, but I don't believe that it will have much public support. Most people don't want to see Herne Bay Town Centre decline in the way that so many others have when faced with out-of-town competition."

thisiskent 14th Aug 2012

Is a superstore super news?

A huge Sainbury's and petrol station on the edge of Herne Bay - this would be on the ill-fated and currently languishing Altira site.

There's no indication in the press reports as to where exactly, but I assume it would be east of the existing developments at Altira, between the A299 Thanet Way and the railway line.

Big news for a small town, and not all of it good news.

Up:

• employment opportunities for Herne Bayers (and for anyone else who can travel along the A299)
• their salaries would inject money into the local economy
• Herne Bayers who usually shop in a supermarket will have one nearer to home - time saved, fewer miles travelled, reduced pollution
• a decent supermarket can give the town a lift, making it more attractive to people and businesses looking to relocate
• the superstore would take Altira up to the occupancy level which would oblige Kitewood to make good on its contractual obligation to build a pedestrian bridge at Blacksole
• ... do feel free to suggest more

Down:

• having a single large employer leaves the town vulnerable to the eggs-in-one-basket problem... think Pfizer
• Sainsbury's would be exporting their profits to Galactic HQ, wherever that is, and converting it into shareholder dividends
• the small petrol stations in town couldn't hope to match Sainsbury's prices and discounts
• the small food retailers - butchers, bakers, greengrocers and so on - would be in serious jeopardy, and they're having a hard enough time as it is
• ... do feel free to suggest more 

Then, of course, there is the impact on the CDA - the Central Development Area proposal to convert the William Street car park area into a small-scale clone town. This has been a shining example of greedy stupidity (on the part of both the Council and the developers) from the outset, and has centred on building a large new supermarket next to, er, a medium-sized old supermarket. The Council and the developers egged eachother on into believing this was great plan, and are now shaking their heads in bewilderment, having run into the brick wall of commercial reality.

Even before "austerity" became a freshly recycled buzzword, times were hard in retail. Any major operator thinking of investing millions in a store that they would want to last for a decade or two, would want a healthy catchment area, and they would want it to themselves. Why move in next door to one of your major competitors? And if Morrisons up-sized and moved into the new store, who would want their cast-offs?

For these (and probably a number of other good reasons), the negotiations between the Council and whoever was interested faltered and fell, leaving the whole project in suspension, and everything around it in confusion, uncertainty and blight. If Sainsbury's open a superstore on the edge of town, that will restrict the number of operators who might be interested in the CDA.

If we broadly divide the national chains into "upmarket" and "budget", Sainsbury's fall into the upmarket end. Commercial reality dictates that another upmarket operator in the CDA would have to compete directly with Sainsbury's for their customers. On the other hand, a budget operator would be serving a different "market segment", and might be able to make a go of it. A budget supermarket will do little if anything to lift and regenerate the town centre.

---

Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s have drawn up plans to build a superstore on the outskirts of Herne Bay three years after talks to build a town centre store. The supermarket chain is looking to build a 95,000 square feet store - equivalent to nine football pitches - and filling station at Altira Park.

They were thought to be one of three supermarkets looking to build at the Kings Road car park as part of £35 million plans to regenerate the town centre. However, the latest plans were revealed by property developers Terrace Hill who announced the Altira Park development as part of a six-month report.

They said they had signed a pre-letting agreement with Sainsbury’s and hope to submit plans to Canterbury city council at the end of the year. They added that they wanted to complete the development midway through 2014.

Herne Bay coastal manager Chris West said he had not been aware of the development but said it was not likely to detract from plans for a supermarket in the town centre. He said: 

"It is difficult to comment until we can look at the plans and decide whether it will be a good thing for the town or not."

However, he did cite Tesco on the edge of Whitstable as an example of an out-of-town supermarket which had not hindered the town centre.

However, one resident has voiced concerns saving the regeneration of the town centre needs to be the priority. Geoff Wimble, 64, of Sea Street, said: 

"I’m not impressed to be honest. Over the last 20 years they have hastened the degeneration of this town with the closure of recreation and caravan sites. When we were told we were getting Sainsbury’s in the town we were happy but it was shielded by Canterbury city council and Southern Water because it was a flood risk.

If that’s the case then the whole regeneration footprint is a flood risk, they are blocking out what they don’t want to deal with. It would have been good to open it in the town centre but they dropped out of the deal when they couldn’t get the Stagecoach site."

HB Gazette 14th June 2012 - Jamie Bullen jbullen@thekmgroup.co.uk