Bob Buskin's comments in this week's Midweek Herald

On page 7 of this week's Midweek Herald, there is a report of the meeting of Seaton Development Trust last week, which more than 500 people attended.

Bob Buskin is a Seaton councillor and is also the local representative of Liatris - the main developer of the Seaton Regeneration Area. He did not attend the meeting but is quoted in the newspaper as saying that members of the Trust are "do gooders" and added that some had only been in the town for a few years and did not know what was best for the town. He went on to say "The holiday park doesn't actually bring in much money to the town; holiday makers arrive on Thrusday and leave again on Sunday".

I have sent the following letter to the Midweek Herald and asked it to publish it:

I read the comments of Bob Buskin on Seaton Development Trust’s meeting with some dismay. As the representative of the major developers of the Seaton Regeneration site, he must really get his facts right.

The holiday camp (which he says opens only Thursday to Sunday and provides no economic benefit to the town) is actually open seven days a week, has a maximum occupancy of 80% over the season and provides 147 jobs. It also accounts for a great deal of turnover for Seaton businesses. One local shopkeeper told me that on the rare occasions that the holiday camp is closed, her takings drop by some 33%. There is no doubt that it needs a face-lift but the terms under which the holiday company leases the business from the developer does not allow it to make long-term investment, as the developer can give the holiday camp as little as 12 months notice to quit should they get planning permission on the site.

The holiday camp currently houses Seaton’s only gym and swimming pool. It also acts as a local conference facility and hosts the Grizzly running event (voted the third most popular UK run after the London Marathon and Great North Run) by a leading UK running magazine. The Grizzly attracts 2,200 runners and is a major contributor to the economy of Seaton in the off-season of tourism.

As for Mr Buskin’s derogatory comments about “do gooders” and recent incomers (of which I am one) I would say only that the alternative seems to be leave Seaton’s fate to its old dinosaurs. This has already given us the dreadful 1960s and 1970s developments in Seaton and left us dragging our heels as tourists opt for the more pleasant seaside towns around us.

More than 500 people turned up to the Development Trust’s meeting and more than 300 turned up to a meeting a couple of weeks earlier about our lack of community facilities. Were all these “do gooders” and “incomers”? I think not.

For those interested in what is happening about the regeneration area please have a look at my blog [this URL then given] and have your say about this important matter. If we get this wrong, we get it wrong for a hundred years - our young people will not thank us for that.