in Days Gone By with John Dowling

ALTHOUGH the Council may declare by resolution that there is no immediate necessity to erect further works of sea defence, and local sea defence experts may demonstrate that there is more beach on the foreshore than ever there was before, it requires neither the prescience of a Councillor or the superior knowledge of an amateur engineer to understand that Bexhill, in relation to its relentless oppressor, the sea, does not stand in the same position after the Great Storm of December 16th that it did before. The situation has altered, and altered remarkably for the worse.

ON and after 1st January, all dogs carried on the cars of the Hastings Tramways Company (which served Bexhill), whether carried in the arms or not, will be charged for at the following rates:- each dog carried over one penny section, one penny; each dog carried over more than a penny section on any route, twopence. No dogs, other than small ones carried in arms of passengers, or any other animal, will be allowed inside the cars.

1960

CHANTRY County Primary School has come a long way since it opened in September 1956 with 110 pupils for it now houses 140 pupils and the Headmistress (Mrs. E,M. Prothero) expects that the 200 mark will be reached before the end of next year. On Wednesday the children were given a holiday and their parents were invited to inspect the new extensions and alterations begun in September 1959.

THE hope that 1961 would see the start of a new era of gay, bright, and attractive seaside hotels was expressed by the retiring Chairman (Mr. Clive Tarry) at the annual meeting of the Bexhill Hotels Association at the Granville Hotel.

1970

SHOULD the auditorium of the De La Warr Pavilion have new seating next year, when heavy demands will be made on capital, or wait another few years when the cost of replacement will have increased dramatically? This was the subject for disagreement at the Town Council meeting on Monday.

THE recommendation to ban the attaching of street banners on trees met with a wall of opposition from members at the Town Council meeting on Monday who supported Councillor Goldsmith’s reference back to the Highways Committee.

1980

BEXHILL’S largest and best-known building firm could close if it loses its 20-year fight to build a housing estate on land off Mayo Lane at Sidley. This was the warning of Mr Alan Maltby, acting on behalf of R.A. Larkin and Brothers Ltd., at a planning appeal on Tuesday. The firm has built 2,800 homes in Bexhill since 1924.

PATIENTS’ interests should come first. That was the “commonsense” verdict of the executive of the League of Friends of Bexhill Hospital on Monday. The meeting voted unanimously to tell the Regional Health Authority it believes Hastings Health District should retain its independent status in the planned health service re-shuffle and not be merged with Eastbourne.

1990

ROTHER District Council is to hold back on a Sunday Trading prosecution against B and Q against an alleged breach pending an appeal to the House of Lords. Cllr Mrs Janet Wicks told the council this week that local churches had written asking for the law to be upheld. Recently, many shops had been disregarding the law, she said. Cllr Basil Bull said: “People who vote with their purses and their feet far outnumber the people who complain.”

PEOPLE who live in residential Eastwood Road are worried about the continued use of juggernaut lorries in and out of a book depot. Garden walls on either side of the entrance to Gardners Books wholesalers have been damaged and there are fears of danger to young children in the area.

2000

BEXHILL is celebrating Christmas 2000 with a massive spending spree. Traders say that after the bad-weather lull, that shoppers are back with a vengeance. Many are talking of a seasonal boom. Present-seekers have been crowding the town centre. Stuart Earl, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and the Town Centre and Tourism Action Group, said: “For us, until the monsoon stopped, it was not particularly brilliant. But as soon as the weather dried up people came out.”

BEXHILL’S shut-down Grand Hotel is being earmarked as a major resource centre. The project would include a new library and help revive the ailing town centre. Optimism for a brighter New Year comes hot the heels of the shock announcement last week that the 52-bedroomed hotel in Sea Road has closed. Ideas for the future of the Victorian building formed part of a marathon eight hours of talks this week aimed at boosting the town economy.