The First Newsletter

Page One.
Page Two. Introduction.
Page Three. Letter to Councillor Tucker.
Page Four. Proposed Improvements.
Page Five. Improvements, (cont.)
Page Six. SBA Council.

Page One

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Page Two. INTRODUCTION.

THE POSITIVE SIDE
Dear Member
First of all may we thank you for becoming a S B A member. We aim to try and look after the interest of all our members. With this in mind it is of great importance that we represent all of your views and not just a few of the members. We as the committee therefore ask you to inform us if there is anything in our first Newsletter that you disagree with. Please let your committee member for your area know as soon as possible, preferably in writing. Your area committee member is listed on the rear of this Newsletter. It is of great importance to us as a committee to be sure that we are democratic and use the views of every member. We have with our first Newsletter tried to give you some idea of the work the committee has done
on your behalf.

We have to date, had many meetings with Councillors and their Officer. Two of the committee members now sit on the Steering committee for the regeneration projects, and report back to the committee regularly.

THE NEGATIVE SIDE
The S B A is trying to have sensible discussions with councillors and their officers. They say they are listening to our views on the future of St Leonards-on-Sea, but it would appear their views are substantially different from ours. “Consultation” is not merely an exercise to invite the opinions and objections of local people, then simply ignoring them whilst “stealthily progressing with unaltered original plans. Politicians constantly highlight their awareness of a growing public disillusionment with politics as an agent of change. They say they need to “clean their act up” get closer to the people and make change for the better. This is a damning indictment of H B C who appear to flagrantly disregard these aims.
Real democracy is based on compromise. More than just “listening “, it should be actually hearing what people are saying, and then integrating local people’s suggestions to find a best fit for all.
This council appear to pay lip service to the principle that they are representative of the people that voted them in. Surely H B C should be trying to boost trading activities rather than constricting them. A thriving community always has a forcefully pumping heart – Decline and neglect in the past has caused our community’s heart to slow to the point where some may think it no longer has the strength to fight – they are very very wrong !
One of the issues we need to resolve is the proposal to discourage commuter parking around the station area. Surely we need these types of people in the area. most of these have respectable jobs, spend money on properties and improve the area. If H B C makes this difficult for them then perhaps they will move on as have many businesses in the area.
Let’s encourage new blood from outside the town with good paid jobs who will spend money in the community, not force them away.
One of the few existing advantage that St Leonards has, is that at present parking is free and unrestricted. Do we need to throw this away? Why can we not capitalise on this? The new works effectively and rather pointlessly remove this facility.
Parking provision has to be seen as a vitally important part of any successful retail area; witness the provision of free parking by the major retailers in the country e.g. Tesco’s, Sainsbury’s, etc.. People do shop by car. (FACT). This may be seen as undesirable by those who have no investment in Central St Leonard’s, but as we are concerned with the economic viability of the area and not changing the world, we will not accept measures that go any way to opposing this.
There are some slight parking difficulties in Central St Leonards, as in any urban area, and the Business association recognise this. There is however no convenient “one size fits all” solution. The various problem areas need individual solutions and members of the Association are prepared to work with officers in arriving at these solutions.
We will address some of these difficulties here:- Kings Road. Norman Road. There is at present “Controlled Parking” allowing 2 hours with no return within 2hrs
This control however fails through a lack of enforcement. We have been told that it is not economic to enforce this. It is surmised though that this control could not have been introduced were it not financially viable. We should be interested in viewing the financial aspects underlying this scheme in order to arrive at some effective enforcement. To this end, the Association could support the reduction of the period to one hour free parking none return within 2hrs.and all within one zone from 10 AM to 4 PM Monday to Saturday.
This would also prevent the currant practice of moving vehicles from one side the road to the other.
Warrior Square. The association will support the introduction of “echelon parking” to increase the number of spaces, provided it is within the current free but controlled parking scheme.
Crystal Square. The association will support the construction of a “multi-storey car park providing paid for off-street parking for shoppers, business people, commuters, and office workers. This one action alone would more than adequately offset the impact on parking of any regeneration measures in central St Leonards, and provided charges are set at a realistic level, would provide income for the council.
Station Approach. Commuter parking only causes a problem for Stainsby Street, and St Johns Road and adjoining Streets when it is full. While commuters may well be seen as a justifiable “Cash Cow”, any poorly thought out attempt to charge them, will merely displace parking to aforementioned streets. It is however necessary to only control parking in the adjoining streets for a few hours, consequently a suitable scheme will need to be instituted. Committee members do have knowledge and experience in these areas, and will in co-operation with residents devise a suitable scheme.
It must by now, be recognised that to find solutions to problems, without adversely affecting the economic viability of St Leonards or requiring residents to pay to park outside their homes, flexible thinking is going to be required from Council Officers and input from Association members, via the committee and from residents.
We also wish to place on record, our findings that the proposed Asda development at Silverhill will have an undoubted economic impact for many Central St Leonards businesses. This will increase economic frailty for the area.
Assuring you of our dedication to the cause of St Leonards and our wish to see regeneration as more than a few bits of paving stone, traffic reduction targets, and paid for parking schemes.
W D Orton (Chairman) 01424 420322
V J Homewood (Vice Chairman)
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Page Three. LETTER TO COUNCILLOR TUCKER.

Dear Councillor Tucker,
As the St Leonards Business Association representing 120 businesses, and with co-opted members from local Residents associations, we wish to place on record our serious concern at many aspects of the Central St Leonards regeneration proposals, and also at the lack of any perceived need for the proposed Economic Impact Assessment. We also question the content of the document, produced as evidence for the justification of an Economic Impact ssessment, and are uneasy with the proposals to spend money on Consultants. We have to date attended several meetings with Council Officials and Councillors regarding this. We have had several meetings of our committee and Members to find out what Business and Residents
feel about the proposals for the Regeneration. It would appear that the general consensus from all of them is that the Economic Survey proposed by the Council is a total waste of time and money.

It is easily grasped that if regeneration of Central St Leonards results in Economic and Social Improvement for the area, and it is a very big “If”, more parking space is likely to be needed, not less, and consequently interested parties should seek ways of providing this. We detail the association’s thoughts on Crystal Square and Warrior Square.
Silchester Road – The current works are already having a deleterious effect on the businesses there, and demonstrate that through this being behind schedule, they are now aggravating that effect. Were this state of affairs to happen in Kings Road , London Road, or Norman Road, we seriously doubt that a large number of the businesses there would survive. We somehow feel that the closure of businesses in St Leonards on Sea should not be an objective of proposed regeneration schemes. A further matter of concern is that there is no indication of monies budgeted as provision for maintenance and repairs to the proposed work that will maintain their character, rather than eventually patching proposed york stone paving with
tarmacadam.
We have examined, and will continue to examine, the statement of proposed investment in the regeneration of St Leonards-on-Sea , and are alarmed at the fact that (a) it includes monies that have already been spent, yet produced no measurable impact on parking and b) it includes monies that have not been secured and provides absolutely no evidence that they will even be forthcoming. If this is the document, on which it is
proposed to base an expenditure of £25-£45.000 the competency of those responsible for its preparation must seriously be called into question.

We also note with concern, a lack of proper planning in the current Gardner Way / Burton Way road works around the Royal Victoria Hotel. The narrowing of the road is now going to cause a backup of vehicles attempting to access the A259. Currently there is road space for those wishing to turn left or right.
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Page Four. Proposed Improvements.

Proposed Improvements to Central St Leonards Urban Renaissance Programme Kings Road Corridor Project.

The Central St Leonards Urban renaissance Programme (URP) aims to deliver a package of public realm improvement schemes and initiatives, which will ensure that the local area benefits from, and contributes to the whole of the town’s regeneration. It will do this by creating the physical environment in which business and community life can grow and prosper. The Coucil’s Cabinet unanimously approved the package of improvements identified in the URP on 9th October 2006.
All the projects are jointly funded by SEEDA, Hastings Borough Council and East Sussex County Council (ESCC). The Council has specifically taken responsibility to lead on the Urban Renaissance Programme and considerable effort has been made to ensure integration and co-ordination between the various strands of regeneration activities in the area.
The Kings Road Corridor Project is one of the key packages of public realm improvement schemes identified in the URP for delivery. A preferred option, represented by the plans and sketches shown below, has been selected following extensive public consultations, stakeholder briefings, HBC members briefing through council portfolio groups and representation at the Central St. Leonards Renewal Area Steering Group, and ESCC Lead member approval.
This will now proceed to detailed designs, materials selection, safety audit approval, and financial appraisal prior to any works commencing on site. The main features of the preferred option designs are as follows:
• Creation of ‘gateways’ at main entry points to the local area, e.g. Warrior Square Station, Pevensey Road and London Road junctions, Kings Road Central Square, Kings Road and London Road junctions. These ‘gateways’ will be linked by the use of public art or special streetscape design features.
• Widening of the footway on both sides of Kings Road. Traffic will continue to flow through Kings Road and access to the station for vehicles will be maintained.

• In response to public consultation parking will only be maintained on the western side of the street but maximised by reducing the extent of the central square on Kings Road. This will approximately equate half of the existing parking capacity on Kings Road. To compensate for some of the loss there was a strong desire to see additional parking spaces at ‘Warrior Square’ through the introduction of ‘echelon’ parking.
The Council will now investigate this proposal.
• Kings Road and the Station Square (carriage way and footway) will be paved with new high quality materials, new lighting, made clutter free, more pedestrian friendly, with various arts projects as funding permits.
• It is proposed that the exit from Cross Street in to London Road is closed to assist traffic at the London Road and Kings Road junction and the pedestrian route towards the seafront. As a result Cross Street will be restored as two-way route feeding in to Western Road.
• Improvements for pedestrians on London Road (from Pevensey Road to Grand Parade) with raised crossings to Kings Road steps and at the Norman Road junction.
• Replacing the ‘staggered’ crossing with a ‘straight across’ on the western side of the Grand
Parade/London Road junction. This should enable much of the street clutter at the bottom of London Road to be removed, give a clear view of the sea from much of London Road, and allow pedestrians to walk ‘straight across’ to the sea.
• A bid has also been submitted to the Arts Council to deliver arts projects in the area in conjunction with the URP. We will know the outcome of this bid at the end of September 2007.

The Kings Road Corridor Project will be delivered in four phases to minimise the impact of the work during key seasonal activities and dates. The current programmes for each of the phases are as follows:
Phase 1: London Road South (Area 4) – Cross Street to A259 and Kings Road Steps
Detailed Design – Oct 07 Start on Site – Jan 08 Completion – March 08
Phase 2: London Road North (Area 3) – north of Kings Road to north of Pevensey Road
Detailed Design – Oct 07 Start on Site – April 08 Completion – June 08
Phase 3: Kings Road (Area 2) – including the junction with London Road and Cross Street
Detailed Design – Jan 08 Start on Site – Jan 09 Completion – Mar 09
Phase 4: Kings Square (Area 1) – Warrior Square Railway Station
Detailed Design – June 08 Start on Site – April 09 Completion – June 09
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Page 6.

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