Stand Up For Seaton on Gemini Radio Tuesday 9 January pm
Listen to Stand Up For Seaton on Gemini radio tomorrow - 9 January 2007 - in the afternoon news bulletins.
South West Tourism say the Visitors Centre and the Megamarsh are good for "the south west and for Seaton". Of course they are good for the south west - all visitors are good for the southwest. But for Seaton - why is it good for Seaton to replace regular, year round, long stay visitors with people who can stay only 3 hours because they have to park in a supermarket car park and visit a tiny visitors centre (max 1500 sq m probably less) dwarfed by a supermarket. (5000 sq m and probably more) and a DIY store (2000 sq m and probably more) - and when Seaton loses a day nursery, swimming pool, gym and meeting facilities to be replaced by - what exactly - the promise of a "room" in the Visitors Centre - which as of this moment is not funded.
Would you bring your kids to such a place (after 5 years of it being a building site)? Would you go across to the "old town" to visit shops that sell the same things as the supermarket? Would you come to a seaside town whose main claim to fame is "shopping for leisure". Why would 250,000 people come to the tiny Visitor's Centre (go to the Town Hall and look at the scale map of the site and see just how small it is)? Perhaps there will be a "ball park" so you can leave your kids whilst shopping!
Just remember - there is no funding - as far as we know (except developer money) for the marshes (unless EDDC is keeping something secret from us), there is SOME money for a Visitors Centre but only if it is matched by outside funding - e.g. another lottery bid and no such bid has yet been made - indeed cannot be made until East Devon District Council sells its land to the developers.
You cannot be sure that we will have a Visitors Centre, if we do have one you cannot be sure how big it will be. But you can be certain we will have a supermarket and a DIY store 200m from the river, town and beach - an area which we should be celebrating as World Heritage Jurassic Coastline.
We will have more than 630 houses with probably more than 1,000 adults and less than 350 jobs (and that's the developer's optimistic figure). Roll in second-homers and retirees yet again.
Where do you think tourists will be choosing to vist: Lyme Regis, Seaton, Sidmouth or Budleigh Salterton and where will they stay when we lose our 400 beds a night.? All in the South West of course so South West Tourism is happy.
posted by Fighting for East Devon's future @ 3:11 pm
8 Comments:
I wonder who Gemini have been talking to.
Hmmm, could it possibly be EDDC?
Terry Dinham?
Good balanced reporting then, if that's the case!!
Unfortunately South West Tourism are falling into the developers trap. Deny the Holdiay Village a lease that permits them to invest then say it has no future. And while you're at it gag them with a clause that doesn't let them say anything to prevent you getting planning permission.
Of course those of us who live here know that the Village is doing very well. SW tourism and EDDC just accept any rubbish the developers want to tell them. The developers - and Martyn Harrison - have been challenged to produce visitor figures and profit figures for the Village and to make them public. If you're going to close the Village commercial confidentiality doesn't matter does it! But beware of the criminal offence of making false statements in support of a planning application.
This seems to be happening in other places in exactly the same way, too - holiday villages that are apparently thriving one day and then not thriving the next - useful only for development land. Cheapest development land in the country - Hull £1m per acre so heaven knows what this 40 acres is worth to Liatris.
Hollybush also owns Weymouth Football Club and I gather there was a suggestion that their ground should be sold off to Asda but the local council there would have none of it. At least some councils see sense.
I should also add that EDDC has a duty of "due diligence" and has the right to demand to see the books of anyone it is dealing with. This is specifically mentioned in the Local Plan.
We can therefore assume that EDDC will have access to this information.
I wonder if there is anyone at EDDC who can understand it? (Another job for consultants perhaps!).
If they don't understand it and this development goes pear shaped before it's finished - whose fault will it be?
The supermarket location and its size are a bit of an enigma. Supermarkets are generaly located to make for good logistcs. i.e. Tesco Dorchester(not very near) adjacent A35; Morrison's, Bridport adjacent A35;
Tesco, Axminster adjacent A35: Tesco, Honiton adjacent A30; Even Waitrose, Sidford is beside A3052.
So who will be looking to open a big supermarket some 10Kms from a major trunk road?
I think somebody could be pulling EDDC's leg!
The "Megamarsh" its already there and people come here to enjoy it. Again is somebody pulling EDDC's leg?
There is also the fact that the EDDC have no record of any outline planning permission being logged for the area around the carpark which is also council owned.
In addition, it is usual for a supermarket [particularly one the intended size for the development] to consider a sizeable mileage radius around the proposed site as it's catchement area. What would they do with the half of th catchement area that consists mainly of Lyme Bay seawater.
Kestrel said...
I wonder who Gemini have been talking to.
Hmmm, could it possibly be EDDC?
Terry Dinham?
>>
No, probably Asboslut PR, do you know I can't find "presenting a truthful picture" or similar anywhere on their website. That's PR for you, about as trustworthy as a property developer;-)
I hve left this statement on another site We came to Seaton2007 Tesco has all the land and shops next to our house in Birmingham to stop Sainsburys building The shops and houses have bee boarded up fo 10 years they dont secure them against squatters vandals etc the fire brigade is always here. They intend building a Teco super store with an 800 car park. We have a Tesco with a 300 car park less than a mile away and being in town also several other big stores Asda etc. They will ruin your town it will be left derelict for at least 5 years. The man in charge of Tesco developements is David Hall tel 01707634396 their solicitor Mr Wolf tel 01590623342 You will all be runined by Tesco good luck.
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