Shelters: formal call to go back to drawing board

Chairman Ron Storkey claims most residents would "applaud" Rother District Council if it took a step back and looked for a more acceptable solution.

At Bexhill Town Forum he proposed an ad-hoc show of hands on whether members supported the design in terms of appearance and functionality and the vote was unanimous against both.

And last week some 400 protestors gathered outside the town hall for a rally to demonstrate and express their opposition.

Now Mr Storkey is asking: "Will RDC take any notice of the residents' concerns?"

He added: "If these new shelters are built they will be on our seafront for decades."

Having been invited onto the consultation committee for the design back in January Mr Storkey made the point the main users of seafront shelters were not tourists but residents who visit them all year round.

He commented: "When RDC's Jury Panel questioned the level of shelter provided by their design, the Duggan Morris architectural team explained 'they had wanted to be honest with the environment, they were't seeking to provide enclosed shelter, but were embracing the weather.'"

"This is diametrically opposed to what the majority of residents expect from a shelter. They do not want, in the words of the designers, to 'embrace the weather'. They want the shelters to do that for them."

Nine months has been spent by the RDC Steering Group on "unsuccessfully" modifying the design, chosen even though it was judged not right for the specific location, according to Mr Storkey.

He said: "The resulting structure, now devoid of tree, perforations and metal cladding, is still a single open space with views from the internal seating in two directions - the sea or the back wall!

"Its shelter-wide front elevation is completely open.

Users will be vulnerable to the rain from the front, and the wind from just about every direction.

"The combination of an open front and other openings in the back, sides and roof will turn it into a wind tunnel even on fine days."

He urged residents to express their views by writing or emailing the Observer and the chief executive of Rother District Council, Derek Stevens, at the Town Hall.

Next Wave project sponsor Cllr Christopher Starnes said: "Our answer really does stay the same. We are confident the shelters will give the level of protection set down by the design brief.

"No shelter can give total protection unless it is an enclosed box, but these shelters will give respite from the wind and rain.

"Just as importantly, they will offer protection from the sun, as people use the promenade more in warm weather.

"They will also offer great views of the sea, something the architects had to consider in their brief.

"The designs have been created with the public consultation in mind, hence the timber construction and wooden seats.

"The question of design is subjective, but we are sure the shelters will perform as they are meant to."