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Herne Bay, England, CT6
United Kingdom
Community website for all things Herne Bay (Kent, UK). Covers: The Downs, Herne Bay Museum, Herne Bay Historical Records Society, Herne Bay Pier Trust, Herne Bay in Bloom, East Cliff Neighbourhood Panel, No Night Flights, Manston Airport, Save Hillborough, Kitewood, WEA, Local Plan and much, much more...
Filtering by Author: HBM
This document is floating around the Interweb, being described as the much sought after, but long undisclosed, Risk Register associated with the Government's proposed NHS reforms.
It might be, it might not. Have a look and see what you think.
As you probably know, Manston airport recently presented Thanet District Council with a proposal for scheduled night flights. TDC eventually organised a brief public consultation. Manston airport is obviously outside Canterbury's feudal realm of control, but TDC agreed to let CCC have an input to the consultation...
The agreement was that CCC would be sent copies of all the submissions made to the consultation that came from the Canterbury district. CCC could then collate the replies, mull over the contents, and then base the Council's response to TDC on what Canterbury residents had said.
230 people from the Canterbury district responded to the TDC consultation, and 80% of them opposed the night flight proposals. You can see the all the responses, or at least CCC's brutal summaries of them, HERE. And this is CCC's conclusion (you can find the full report HERE)...
Conclusion
Whilst in principle supporting the continued role that Manston Airport can provide in the economic well being of East Kent, the City Council considers that the potential for adverse impact on residents of this night-time flying proposal is not justified. The Council will therefore wish the method of operation to be kept to the current one and that further discussions are held regarding the monitoring of night-time flying activity.
At long last Canterbury City Council has described its vision for the future of our Pier. In a word: short.
Some of the trustees of the Pier Trust have been angling for a new Pier for years, if not decades. All of the trustees have given generously of their time and expertise. They have drawn together a wealth of national and international experts to produce first rate proposals and business plans which they presented to our Council.
CCC dismissed them, and now we know why.
The Council was instrumental in setting up the Pier Trust, providing £5,000 of funding in the first year. This £5,000 was important, as it allowed the Pier Trust to register for charitable status. In exchange for the start-up funding, CCC insisted on having two councillors on the board of trustees.
In an ideal world, these two councillors would have provided a direct line of communication with the Council, thus speeding up the decision-making and smoothing progress. More recently, however, they seem to have been used as a way of keeping an wary eye on the Trust, dampening expectations, and limiting options.
The inevitable frustration with lack of progress led to some of the dedicated and hard-working volunteers resigning from the Trust. Unsurprising - there's a limit to how long anyone will bang their head against a wall. And the Council had the nerve to publicly badmouth the Trust and the trustees.
And now we know why. The Council, our Council, never intended to rebuild the Pier.
The Pier Trust's clearly stated objective has always been to rebuild the Pier. The Council's representatives on the board of trustees didn't support the Trust's goal, but undermined and stifled it. We've seen how effectively Canterbury City Council has been when raising money for projects in Canterbury (Beaney, Marlowe). No such efforts were made for this project in Herne Bay.
Click HERE to read an excellent response to the Council's criticisms of the Trust, and a few well-placed criticisms of the Council. The splendid Kim Hennelly cut to the chase with her characteristic directness, and asked Cllr Gilbey (Leader of the Council) whether CCC ever intended to rebuild the Pier. Here's the reply:
Mrs Hennelly
I am writing in response to your email of 7 March 2012 regarding the future of Herne Bay Pier and the council’s intentions in this regard.
The council does not have any current intention of rebuilding the pier itself, our Corporate Plan pledges to improve the sea front and the current pier platform.
The Herne Bay Pier Trust was set up so that a business plan could be developed by the Trust working with the people of Herne Bay. The council is supporting this process by helping the Trust to develop its business plan during this year and to deliver events and activities on the pier platform for the 2012 season. We expect the Trust to pursue rebuilding or extending the Pier if they consider that to be right.
Regards
Dawn Hudd CMgr, MIED
Deputy Head of Culture & Enterprise
Canterbury City Council
So there you have it.
The Council is happy to knock down the Pier - which needed to be knocked down because it had been so cheaply maintained over the years that demolition became cheaper than continued patching. The Council is happy to splash down some tarmac and let us have "events and activities" on it.
But if the Trust wants to rebuild the Pier, they're on their own. I think the Council, our Council, should have made that clear from the very beginning.
After two of the driest winters on record water companies are introducing a hosepipe ban. Households across the county will have to live with a hosepipe ban until at the least the end of the summer.
The water companies’ restrictions to be introduced on April 5 will mainly target domestic users. Customers will be prevented from using hosepipes for watering gardens, washing cars, patios and boats, and from filling swimming and paddling pools, ponds and fountains. Anyone caught breaking the ban faces a £1,000 fine.
Five companies that supply the county are imposing the ban on the same day. Southern Water, South East Water, Veolia Water South East, Thames Water, Sutton and East Surrey Water, all say they are introducing the bans after the area became a drought zone last month.
The measures come after two of the driest winters on record. Experts say only heavy non-stop rain for weeks will ease the problem. Veolia Water South East head of operations Gavin McHale said the ban was an essential move to conserve a scarce resource and help ensure a secure supply during what could be a continuing and severe drought:
“In the Folkestone and Dover area we have no surface water from rivers or reservoirs to draw on and we rely on boreholes which take water from chalk and gravel aquifers. These natural aquifers need to be recharged each year during the autumn, winter and spring. Forecasts show the drought is likely to continue we need to move quickly to conserve our limited water resources.”
South East water says two of it key reservoirs at Ardingly in West Sussex and Bewl Reservoir in Lamberhurst, which it shares with Southern Water, are still below 50 per cent capacity. The companies are urging all their customers to use water more wisely and local authorities have to develop plans to make plants in parks and gardens more resilient to drought. A spokesman for Swale Borough Council said:
“We have massively reduced our reliance on watering over recent years, cutting back on bedding and replacing with more sustainable planting such as shrubs, bulbs and herbacious plants. We do not have hanging baskets and have a very limited number of troughs and planters. Bedding is generally watered to establish rather than throughout the season.”
A garden sprinkler uses more than 1,000 litres of water an hour, enough to supply six people for a whole day.
Howard Davidson, Environment Agency south east regional director, said:
“We will be watching to ensure water companies follow their drought plans, and expect them to demonstrate they are doing everything possible to reduce water demand including stepping up their publicity campaigns.”
The ban has been crticised by environmental groups and unions who say it is a sign of lack of long term planning in the water industry. Graham Warren of Protect Kent said:
“CPRE have consistently campaigned for a new wide-ranging water resource management strategy for the South East, incorporating sources of supply with the capacity to sustain Kent and the region as a whole under drought conditions, which records suggest to be of increasing frequency and duration.”
yourcanterbury 19th Mar 2012
Well, if you're one of the many doing your best to ignore the Olympics, then you have much to thank Lord Coe for. He has carefully engineered the Olympic torch route so that it will come no closer to Herne Bay than Upstreet and Sturry (on 19th July).
Looking at the map of the route, it does seem rather odd that they're happy to make a diversion after Faversham to visit Challock (pop. 843), but didn't divert to Herne Bay and Whitstable (combined pop. 65,383) on their way to Canterbury. Hey, ho.
Communities across Kent now know the exact street-by-street route the iconic Olympic Torch will take through their towns - for the full details and national route see the Olympic 2012 site.
Hundreds of people are expected to line the county’s streets to welcome the Olympic flame as it passes through Kent between July 17 and 20. Celebrations are planned for overnight stopovers in Dover on July 18 and Maidstone on July 19.
Chair of LOCOG Sebastian Coe said:
“Today we bring the Olympic Torch Relay to life. The flame symbolises the Olympic spirit and its journey around the UK will bring the excitement of the Games to our streets. Now the people know the route the Olympic flame will be carried along and the Torchbearers for their community, they can start planning how they might celebrate and make it Kent’s moment to shine.”
yourcanterbury 19th Mar 2012
Ancient Egyptian religion has always been a source of mystery and wonder to Westerners. Why was a special god chosen to represent the Nile? What was the relationship between the gods?
ln this day school we will explore the racy, sometimes amusing stories associated with the gods which ultimately shaped, sustained and directed Egyptian culture in every conceivable way.
Course: Egyptology Day School
Tutor: Christine Humber
Timetable: Saturday 19th May 2012, 10.30 am to 3.30 pm
Location: St. Andrew’s Church Hall, Hampton Pier Avenue, Herne Bay
Fee: £15.00 - payable in advance please - includes lunch and refreshments. Prior booking essential.
Contact: Jenny Bennett (01227 372281) email: Jenny_Bennett@tiscali.co.uk
;)
Market was a fairy tale despite missing stallsThe butcher did not turn up, the baker was in fine form and the candlestick maker continued to prove elusive. But Herne Bay's first farmers' market got off to a fine start – bar a few minor teething problems.
The market, held in United Church hall on Saturday, March 3, could now be extended to three weekends per month. Organiser Vanessa Hill said:
"It was a solid start. A butcher who had promised to do a stall didn't turn up but we had game, fruit and veg, cakes, fantastic breads and homemade pies. I do want to have the traditional butcher, baker and candlestick maker, so if anyone makes good candles, they should get in touch."
Mrs Hill is also talking to Pier Trust bosses about staging summer markets on the pier platform. The next farmers' market is on Saturday, March 17.
Call Mrs Hill on 07740 586010 if you are interested in having a stall.
Tesco has dramatically pulled out of plans to open an Express store in Herne, the Kentish Gazette can reveal. The supermarket giant today admitted it was not pushing forward with the controversial scheme, blaming highways issues in the village.
The news marks the end of a fierce five-month campaign waged by villagers against the company, which wanted to open in the empty Upper Red Lion pub. More than 700 marched in protest at the plans on Sunday, sending out a clear message that a new store was not wanted. It followed two public meetings held at the village church which were attended by more than 500 people.
Tesco spokesman Carol Leslie said:
"We always try and work positively with local councils and local people before we submit any applications. Taking on board all the feedback through our consultation and discussions, we have decided that we will not be pursuing a store at this particular site. Our Express stores are extremely busy and popular and we really wanted to invest in the village but it was clear there were lots of highway constraints for us in Herne."
Frank Holden, chairman of Herne Against Tesco, was thrilled with the news. He said:
"It's extremely good news. The biggest issue we always had was the health and safety dangers of putting a supermarket on that site. We're very pleased with the outcome and it moves us onto stage two, which is about pushing forward and looking at how we could become involved in the future use of the Upper Red Lion."
Tesco revealed it was pulling out on the same day permission was granted for a new Express store in Sea Street, Herne Bay.
thisiskent 9th March 2012 - by Joe Walker
Here's an excellent little video, produced on a shoestring by the resourceful and talented Gerald McCarthy, who says:
Often referred to as the 'Riviera of Kent' Herne Bay, a thriving seaside town in the 'Garden of England' enjoys one of the warmest climates in the UK. Offering a huge range of watersport opportunities,such as sailing, wind surfing and an extra wide launching ramp for jet-skis and pleasure-craft of all types, as well as miles of beautifully kept coastline for that gentle walk or bike ride.
Sample some of the best fresh fish and chips for miles, or, for the discerning visitor why not try one of our Michelin Star or other excellent restaurants or bars.
Come and visit us soon... see for yourself!
More than 1,000 campaigners are expected to swamp the tiny village of Herne on Sunday and march through its streets in protest against Tesco’s plans to open a store in a former pub. The demonstration plans were revealed after villagers gained police permission to stage the march.
Villagers should meet at the Cherry Orchard at 11am. The march starts at 11.30am and will go through the village to Curtis Wood Park.
Frank Holden, who is helping spearhead the campaign against a Tesco Express in the former Upper Red Lion pub, said:
"Tesco will be keeping an eye on our activities. We want the company to be sure that a supermarket is not wanted in our village. The more resistance it encounters the more difficult it will become. A high number of objectors indicates fewer people willing to shop at the store. That will call its viability and ability to make a profit into question."
The supermarket chain sparked outrage when it armounced it wanted to convert the pub next to the Grade 1 listed church into an Express store and create 20 jobs.
The Tescopoly Alliance was launched in June 2005 to highlight and challenge the negative impacts of Tesco's behaviour along its supply chains both in the UK and internationally, on small businesses, on communities and the environment. The campaign also advocates national and international legislation needed to curb the market power of all the major British supermarkets.
The opening of the film, which pensioner Mary Harris found among her mother's belongingsPensioner Mary Harris’s find of a 90-year-old film showing the Herne Bay festival has aroused a lot of interest, and now bosses at the Little Theatre in Bullers Avenue are planning to show the clip, which vividly brings back to life the town as it was in 1922.
Historian and curator of the Herne Bay Historical Records Society Mike Bundock will be giving a talk before the screening. He said:
"I'm planning to give a talk about the town from 1899 - when the third pier was built — to the early 1920 and finish with the film, which I have yet to see and am eagerly awaiting a look at."
Mike Bundock’s talk is titled Herne Bay - The Edwardian Era To The 1920s and will take place at the Herne Bay Little Theatre, Bullers Avenue, Herne Bay, on Saturday, March 3, at 7.30pm.
Admission for the event is £3 and booking is recommended via the box office on 01227 366004.
An open letter to CCC from the Pier Trust's ex-Treasurer Jason Hollingsworth and ex-Chairman Graham Cooper:
In light of all the recent Council criticism of the Pier Trust in the press, as past Trustees we feel compelled to respond and set the record straight.
Firstly and perhaps rather tellingly, our first observation is astonishment that CCC should level any criticism at the Trust at all, after all the Pier Trust is a community organisation and if the council considers there are deficiencies why has CCC not done the right thing and wholeheartedly got behind the Trust and to support it and help to rectify those supposed failings.
After all, CCC does have two council appointed Trustees on the board! Perhaps this would have been a more constructive approach and a far better one, than simply to sitting back and sniping. Indeed, looking back to the last Pier Trust Annual General Meeting, as we recall, one of the councillor Trustees presented the assembled members with all the plans he envisaged for use of the pier in 2012. What has happened to them? Perhaps that is where any criticism should be directed.
Since its inception, the Trust has continued to attract very committed, high calibre individuals to help and advise it. Many of the Trustees regularly put in hundreds of hours per year unpaid to work solely for a better future for Herne Bay and should be lauded for doing so.
The Trust has produced several sound ideas and organised numerous successful events, Party on the Pier – a huge all day event that offered free roller skating and entertainment for the whole of Herne Bay, the Christmas Grotto, events at the Herne Bay Festival and the Herne Bay schools arts project to name but a few, all of which happened with little or no assistance from CCC.
Throughout 2011 the Trust participated in a joint working group with CCC and from our experience the key difficulty was getting clear and consistent answers from the council as to their plans, ideas and funding. If any criticism is to be levelled at the Trust, it can surely only be lack of resource. The problem has never been lack of experience or commitment.
In our view, the Trust has never been effectively or adequately supported by the Council. Indeed that is at the core of why so many Trustees have stood down in the past few years. This is in stark contract to Hastings, where with the full support and help of the local council, the Trust has been able to obtain considerable funding to produce its long term business plan.
To truly deliver on the expectations of the Trust’s members and the Town as a whole, full and effective support from the Council is essential. We know that the Trust has done all it can to move things forward in a constructive and professional manner.
Perhaps the Council now needs to do its part by addressing the confused relationship between the Trust and the Council and replacing it with an open, honest and effective partnership agreement with clear responsibilities and objectives for all concerned. We truly hope that this will be forthcoming as without it the Pier Trust’s objectives both short and long term will be completely unachievable.
Jason Hollingsworth
Graham Cooper
The Herne Bay branch of the WEA (Workers’ Educational Association) is starting a new season of courses.
There will be a seven week course starting 17th April - one two-hour session a week - looking at poets and poetry between the two world wars.
Tutor Ron Dodge introduces the course:
Do you like poetry? Yes? No? Think again... Hitler and German rearmament. The Spanish Civil War. Grinding poverty. Ominous noises off. Was it likely that anything poetic could come from this 'low dishonest decade'? Yet poetry is always being written however turbulent the times.
In the 1930s a new breed of politically aware poets came of age, writing about the Spanish Civil War, about the increasingly urban sprawl, about the need to take sides, sensing the havoc of the coming conflict. People like WH Auden and Louis MacNeice were inspired to some of their finest poetry in this decade.
But as well as the so-called 'pylon poets' there were some notable others. The precocious Dylan Thomas was starting to make his mark. The mature poet TS Eliot wrote some of his finest work. Yet others, seemingly disengaged from the turmoil such as AE Housman and WB Yeats at the end of their creative lives made notable contributions.
Ron Dodge will look at the background of this uneasy peace between two wars to explore how the awareness of a world falling apart led some poets of the decade to come to terms with an unpoetic age, and how others seemingly did not.
Meanwhile, Caroline Finucane will take another group through seven sessions, starting on 19th April, on British Modern Art. She has already run a one day class, on Saturday 28th January, on The Origins of Modern Art.
On the subject of poetry again, the 17th March will see a one day course, led by Jane Ireson, which will be devoted to poems on the theme of Remembering. And another day course on Egyptology will take place in May - date to be decided.
And music? Well, the music course has already started, but there will be others, so keep an eye open.
If you are interested and would like to find out more, have a look at the WEA website for dates, times, venues and fees of courses in Herne Bay, or phone 01227 372281.
So the Herne Bay beach hut consultation was "long" and "public" and "very comprehensive". I wonder whether the report of that consultation is also "long" and "public" and "very comprehensive"... if anyone knows where this report is, do let me know, and I'll pop it on this website for all to see.
Extra beach huts look set to become a reality after council bosses voted to allow another 32 to be built. Members of Canterbury City Council's ruling executive committee voted to allow planning applications to begin, after a long public consultation on where to put them.
Speaking at a meeting of the council's executive in the Canterbury Guildhall, Tankerton councillor Neil Baker said:
"We're now down to 32 sites after a very comprehensive consultation. They are all genuine infill sites."
The new huts would be built by council contractors and the land would remain in council ownership. They sites earmarked include 15 in Herne Bay, 12 on Spa Esplanade West and three on Spa Esplanade East – and 17 in Whitstable. The decision now goes to the planning stage.
thisiskent 12th Feb 2012
Clouds of smoke drifted across Herne Bay, and at first it wasn't entirely clear where the smoke was coming from. After criss-crossing town, I found the Fire Brigade doing their good stuff at one of the garages backing on to Charles Street.
A car was destroyed when a blaze ripped through a Herne Bay garage. Two fire crews rushed to the workshop, near Rodney’s Sports Bar, at 3.30pm 2nd Feb. An overturned electrical heater appears to have started the blaze, which quickly spread to the eaves and roof. A Mini car was destroyed.
Crew manager Paul Austin explained the fire had already taken hold by the time they arrived. He said:
“We had to make a forced entry to both the front and the back of the garage as smoke was already blowing out into the street making visibility quite difficult. We also punctured a hole in the roof to increase the ventilation. That also gave us a chance to fight the flames from above as well as below.
The freezing temperatures meant we also called out the highways officers to grit the road as the water we’d used was turning to ice almost immediately.”
Crews had the fire under control by 4.30pm.
kentonline 3rd Feb 2012
Here's a councillor who thinks he was elected to speak his mind. What do you think - did you vote for representation, or a brain dump?
Battling Bay councillor Peter Vickery-Jones and campaigner Phil Rose have clashed over a campaign to get the Downs registered as a village green. At a recent council meeting, Mr Vickery-Jones blasted Mr Rose as "pious and lamentable".
The 51-year-old has hit back in an official complaint describing the councillor's comments as "slanderous and abusive". A copy, which was leaked to the Times, lays bare the bad feeling. Mr Rose said:
"Cllr Vickery-Jones has made a series of inaccurate and abusive statements about me and my work to protect the Downs. These culminated in his most recent allegations at Herne Bay Area Member Panel. He repeatedly claims I deliberately misinform the public. Cllr Vickery-Jones' behaviour is slanderous, abusive and disrespectful."
He demanded written evidence from Cllr Vickery-Jones, or a full apology and a promise to never repeat the allegations. But the councillor said:
"I was elected to speak my mind and that's what I do. I have no intention of apologising for doing so."
HB Times 2nd Feb 2012
"I was elected to speak my mind"? No, councillor - you were elected to represent the interests of your constituency.
Being elected doesn't give you the right to speak as you please, it gives you the duty to speak on behalf of others.
KCC are riding roughshod over the needs and wishes of the very people they are suppose to serve. Having apparently discouraged referrals to the Minnis Day Centre, they then cite falling attendance as a reason for closure. They arrive at the community meeting to discuss the Centre's future with their minds made up. This is all very disappointing and, of course, not entirely surprising.
The good news is that all is not lost - this is far from being a done deal.
A campaign to save the Centre has been started by local residents, and users from across the Centre's catchment area, and people who just hate seeing the vulnerable and needy getting stitched up.
More details will be appearing on this site soon. If you want to be involved, or you just want to find out more, contact Barry Hardy: hardy.barry@yahoo.com or 01843 845022
Users of Birchington's day care centre fear a county council review of services could see their "lifeline" shut. Kent County Council has written to carers and clients of the Minnis Day Centre inviting views on "future provision".
Chris & Sue GodbySue and Chris Godby have been regulars at the centre since Mr Godby suffered a stroke in 2010. Mrs Godby said:
"We are extremely concerned about the reduction or removal of the excellent services provided at the Minnis Day Centre. Many people who use the centre are vulnerable and would find it difficult to make their voices heard and should not be denied access."
During her husband's recovery, Mrs Godby was unable to find him a full-time carer. The day centre allows her to continue teaching and remain financially independent. She said:
"Day centres at Victoria Villas and Bradstowe Court in Broadstairs are already close to capacity and concerns have been raised over whether Minnis Day Centre clients would find another day centre locally. There are no alternative facilities in Thanet that cater for Chris's needs. The closest location is Faversham, which is impractical. The Minnis Day Centre provides a vital lifeline for Chris and myself."
Kent County Council say that the Minnis Day Centre is part of an overall review of Older People's Services. A KCC spokesman said:
"The number of clients that use the Minnis centre has dropped from 91 in 2010 to 79 in 2011."
IoT Gazette 27th Jan 2012
Campaigners have unveiled plans to extend the pier and build a new pavilion. Members of Herne Bay Pier Trust revealed details of the scheme – the brainchild of graphic designer Dave Parish – ahead of a crucial council meeting to debate the pier's future after council officers claimed the lack of a clear plan for the site meant that "difficult decisions" would have to be made.
In a six-page report due to be discussed by the council's ruling executive on 2nd Feb, council officer Dawn Hudd raised a number of issues. She said:
"Communications with the trust have been contradictory and we are now at a point where difficult decisions need to be made about any programme of activity this year. A clear understanding needs to be obtained of any planning limitations for the site. Given the Pier Trust's lack of experience and its own admission about its capacity… significant input from council officers will be required."
But pier bosses hit back, and said they were reviewing several options, including a row of beach hut-type stalls, a cafe, a local-information stall and an area for angling. They hope to attract private funding for their plans. Spokeswoman Doreen Stone said:
"We have been working hard for the future of the pier through our two appointed councillor trustees, Andrew Cook and Joe Howes. The trust sent its business plan to the council before Christmas. We have agreed to present a final business plan in mid February. On the main platform, we have suggested a multi-purpose floor, which could be used for skating, musical events, comedy, dancing and live performances. A local designer has presented rough drafts of two domes to cover the activity areas and the trust is currently planning several events this summer."
Council officials have warned any events need to be planned urgently, as most will need a premises licence, which takes 56 days. Health and safety issues, planning limitations and how to get power and water to the pier platform also need to be considered.
Councillors will be told tonight that they have four options, including leaving the site empty and closed off once the pavilion is demolished in about six weeks' time, keeping full control of the pier and putting activities in place, or keeping control of the pier platform but helping the Pier Trust and other organisations to organise events.
They were expected to choose the last option, and request an additional £40,600 from Canterbury City Council on top of their current budget for the pier of £75,000. The increased budget will include £18,000 for insurance, £10,000 for gates, £5,000 for a tide gauge and £10,300 for navigation lights, as well as £20,000 contingency money.
Heron councillor Andrew Cook told the Times:
"The council and the Pier Trust are working very closely to ensure activities are put in place. We will be presenting those at the King's Hall business and community exhibition on March 21. Local designer David Parish has presented us with a exciting model of a Victorian building with modern elements as a possible cover for the pier platform, which is quite exposed.
We are looking at the feasibility and finances of putting something like this in place; if not this summer, then during phase two, possibly over a platform doubled in length. Realistically, the pier platform is likely to open for its first event to coincide with the Queen's Jubilee."
HB Times 3rd Feb 2012
Plans for a farmers' market in the Bay are gaining pace, with organiser Vanessa Hill already lining up stall holders.
She received a flurry of calls after being featured in last week's Times and plans to hold the first of the fortnightly markets on Saturday March 3 in the Methodist church hall in the High Street.
The Bay mum, who works as a cook, said:
"I've already had some very promising calls from people. There are people who are looking to sell homemade chutneys, cakes, all sorts of local produce. I'm really keen to hear from people who could do locally produced fruit and veg, as well as butchers.
But we're open to having a few craft stalls as well. So jewellery makers or anybody with a particular talent they'd like to share are welcome to get in touch."
Got an idea for a stall? Call Vanessa Hill on 07740 586 010.
HB Times 3rd Feb 2012
The café bar at the Bandstand is about to change hands, with a mystery punter just weeks away from taking over the whole seafront building, sources claim. Owners the Thorley family have told the Times they are close to a deal that would see their lease handed over to another business.
They refused to name the interested party, citing commercial sensitivity, but spokesman Phil Thorley said:
"We're in the middle of negotiations. That's all I can tell you. But we expect a deal very soon, hopefully within two weeks."
Speculation about the future of the Victorian seafront building has mounted since pub boss Frank Thorley told the Times he was looking to get out of the building – and blamed the council for the excessive rent it was charging.
Council sources told the Times at the time that the Café Bar owners had threatened the council with legal action after a row over the council's 20-year rent package for neighbouring Makcaris, which included a three-year rent-free period. After a secret meeting councillors agreed to a rent-reduction for the café bar as well.
The seafront site has been looked at by a number of Bay businessmen, including the boss of the Ship and Plough pubs, Tony Farrow, as well as Vivid nightclub owner Karl Ahmad. Makcari's bosses the Hassan family denied they were the bidders, after speculation mounted that the coffee parlour owners would be taking over. Makcari's boss Hassan Hassan said:
"It's categorically not us. I've given up trying to keep track of who is meant to be taking it over. Most sensible people have looked at the site and concluded it's just too expensive."
HB Times 3rd Feb 2012
