Rother says "yes" to Xmas switch-on

It will pay for them itself. But it will cost the average Bexhill Council Taxpayer just 0.994p a year.

It took Rother council 10 minutes last night to approve a 100,000 Bexhill special expenses charge-funded scheme to light the town centre this Christmas, vote out a Liberal Democrat amendment to reject a 16,000 Rother-funded scheme for new Christmas lights for the Town Hall and agree 750 worth of lighting aid for Little Common and Old Town.

In that time the record over the Chamber of Commerce's refusal to become involved in financing a further scheme was set straight.

But the clock is now ticking for contractors to meet the tight deadline for a new column-based system designed to overcome the shortcomings of the old cross-street design which proved vulnerable to Bexhill's notorious sea winds.

Rother cabinet ruffled town traders' feathers last month by criticising Bexhill Chamber of Commerce and Tourism for declining to bear the burden of a new lighting system.

Cllr Deirdre Williams reminded Monday's council meeting that it was Brian Storkey, Rodney Gadsden and Phil Morris, members of the former Town Centre Action Group on which she served, who fronted the appeal five years ago which funded the last system - and town traders and the public who subscribed to it.

Column-mounted lights would be less vulnerable to the wind and she hoped members would approve the scheme, funded from the Bexhill special expenses charge over a three-year period.

Former town trader Cllr Brian Kentfield said the lights would cost the average Bexhill taxpayer just 0.994p a year for three years.

Liberal Democrat group leader Cllr Sue Prochak proposed an amendment seeking to divert the 16,000 of Rother cash destined for new Town Hall festive lights to add to its funding for Rother Citizens' Advice Bureau.

She said members were always talking about having to make difficult decisions but the Citizens' Advice Bureau seemed a far more worthy cause than Town Hall lights.

The rural member said she knew what the answer would be if she asked her local voters whether they would prefer 16,000 to be spent lighting Bexhill Town Hall or on the CAB, which would be carrying out addition duties on Rother's behalf under new housing legislation.

This brought an immediate accusation by Rother's Conservative leader Cllr Carl Maynard of "Mickey Mouse-style" financial thinking by the opposition.

"Clearly, they don't know the difference between revenue and capital funding..."

The recent service level agreement funding for the CAB would ensure that it had the funds it needed for the next four years, so they knew where they were going, he said.

The 16,000 Cllr Prochak was proposing to give the CAB would be a one-off payment.

"What do they do next year, Cllr Prochak?" he asked.

Only the Lib Dem group voted for the amendment.