Your letters - June 25

Leave us windsurfing

IN response to last week's letter from Marcus Whitney regarding windsurfing restrictions along Bexhill beach, I feel I must also write:

Up until now I have kept quiet about the proposed windsurfing restrictions imposed by RDC. After many letters of complaint RDC agreed to cover up the 'no windsurfing/kitesurfing' notices on the sign boards along the promenade and reassured us that they would not pursue their idea of a bylaw amendment which would ban windsurfing in certain areas.

However it made my blood boil when I found out that RDC are trying a back hander by trying to pass these new restrictions regardless of their promise. Windsurfing is a harmless, wonderful sport which is fuelled by nature's power- the wind. It is neither noisy nor polluting and gives so many people so much pleasure. After a very hard day at work, I seek pleasure in taking to the water. As I get onto the water I feel free and all of the day's stresses melt away. I am a female windsurfer in the town and am so proud of our beaches and the fantastic windsurfing conditions that we are lucky to have in 'windy hill'.

As windsurfers we are a very considerate bunch of people- we take care to set up our equipment away from busy areas and launch where it is safe. Can I ask RDC what evidence they have that windsurfing or kitesurfing has caused any harm to members of the public within recent years?

Furthermore, I am shocked to see that the new Next Wave fabric posters which have been erected on the seafront depict a windsurfer carrying his equipment across the promenade, in an area of the beach where RDC says it will be banning windsurfing! Have I seen this correctly?! Talk about a contradiction in terms. Why is RDC trying to make itself look 'cool' on these posters when they will ban windsurfing anyway along that area?

If RDC is so confident that its proposed banning of windsurfing in certain areas and production of a new bylaw is justified then please be decent enough to call a public meeting so that the public can have their say.

Laura Norman

Glenleigh Avenue

Bexhill

Neighbourly thoughts?

REGARDING the article in last week's Observer regarding the Ingram family, Live And Let Live:

As frequent visitors to Ian Close to visit relatives, on several occasions we have come across a recovery lorry with two old stock car type cars on it taking up most of the road.

Also on seeing the notice in their garden I would find this very threatening if I lived near.

Perhaps if the Ingrams thought a bit more about their neighbours they might get on a bit better.

NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED

Exactly the frustration

I would like to thank all of the people who have written in concerning the De La Warr Pavilion over the last few weeks. It is obvious that there is a lot of concern that the De La Warr is no longer fulfilling the needs of locals. Not only that, but it is also now failing to be the visitor attraction that it has been in the past. All of this makes John Betts' letter in last week's Observer all the more astonishing.

One thing that John is right about is that the DLWP is OUR own unique and iconic building. However, that is exactly the frustration. It is a wonderful building'¦ it is just poorly managed and no longer serves Bexhill residents as it should.

I should think that John's letter will have made quite a few residents angry. For him to suggest that residents writing into this newspaper may have never actually visited the building is utterly ridiculous and demonstrates the seriousness with which his comments should be viewed. He has mentioned a couple of days in which the DLWP has been busy (nice, summery days). Perhaps we could list the other 363 days of the year that the DLWP has not been busy and the evenings in which the DLWP has been in total darkness. Yes, 363 days is an exaggeration, but there have been far more empty days than full days. It was originally built as an entertainment venue - now we have to look to theatres in Eastbourne and Hastings for entertainment, meaning that all the evening revenue goes out of town (but never mind, the DLWP doesn't have to make a profit).

Now, maybe all that would be okay if the DLWP was actually attracting visitors to Bexhill. But it's not doing that either. Recent independent surveys (Tourism South East, for example) demonstrate that and the only statistics that act as a counter-claim are the unfathomable ones produced by the DLWP themselves. It's a good job, then, that in Alan Haydon's last report he was "avoiding the temptation to rely on statistics."

I actually asked Rother District Council three times to give its response to the Tourism South East survey results (remember that they showed that only eight per cent of visitors came to Bexhill specifically to visit the De La Warr Pavilion in 2009 - seven per cent lower than in 2006) and it refused to answer the question.

At the end of the day, whether or not we like the way the DLWP is being run, we are all paying for it with our council tax money. That means that every one of us has a right to say what they think about it and should be encouraged to make our views known if we aren't happy - without being belittled by others.

Georgina Roberts

Cantelupe Road

Bexhill

Thanks to sponsors

I would like to thank all those who sponsored me for my part in the Rotary Club Charity Walk on Sunday June 13. I received sponsorship in excess of 767.

I would also like to thank the Rotary Club and their volunteers for their efforts to make the day go well and safely. Thanks also to St John Ambulance, as always in attendance in case of need.

Once again thank you all.

C O'Connor

Ingrams Avenue

Sidley

Christian Aid Week

A huge and sincere thank you to everyone who was involved in any way helping to raise funds for Christian Aid this year. A magnificent total of 9,742.48 was raised through all the churches in Bexhill, Catsfield and Ninfield. This represents a lot of hard work in all sorts of different ways: Church collections, walking door-to-door, standing outside Sainsbury's or in the town, coffee mornings and tea afternoons, a sponsored walk, a quiz, a supper or special service. So many different ideas and so much generosity! Well done everybody.

Wendy Gubby

Sewell Avenue

Bexhill

Offer of bicycle

Re the bicycle theft of Chimene Carrick:

I have an old bicycl;e with a puncture,

and she is very welcome to have it free of charge. She can come to see it after a phone call to me.

J Duffy

Sutton Place

Bexhill

'¢ Contact details held at The Observer

SSAFA open gardens

I would like to record our immense gratitude and appreciation to the members of the public who visited our open gardens event in Cooden and Little Common last Wednesday. We also acknowledge the generosity of the owners who presented fantastic gardens demonstrating what can be achieved with care and dedication. The standard of gardens was exceptional. Finally we must mention that the weather was certainly on our side which encouraged more than 250 visitors and enthusiasts to enjoy a day seeing how others have created real gardening treasures.

The result was equally pleasing. The day's activities raised a whopping 1521.22 which will go to support local ex-servicemen and women, including those of the RNLI, their families and dependents, who require help or assistance.

Our thanks again to everyone who contributed to make our event really exceptional.

Bernard Stonestreet

Secretary of Hastings and Rother SSAFA Forces Help

Transparency wanted

I HAVE been reading the recent articles and letters about the high school and its inherant problems. The first thought that comes to mind is why do Mr Conn, Mr Kentfield and the govenors not want a public meeting?

Could it be that they do not wish to have to answer to the parents etc where lots of other interested parties are present including the local press? Speaking to individual parents is of course much easier as the only people who know exactly what was said were those present.

Lots of red faces can be saved. Surely the good of the children is of paramount importance here and for everyone to pull together all the troubles must be aired publically and not behind closed doors. The present parents and future ones must have confidence in the school and its staff and the only way this is going to happen is if there is total transparentcy on all aspects of school life.

Too much has recently been dealt with and decided in private it is now time to open the books and all doors to those parents. How about it then?

PM ADAMS

Hornbeam Avenue

Bexhill-on-Sea

Plea for tolerance

I AM appalled at the lack of tolerance shown by neighbours of the Stepping Stones Sanctuary in London Road.

Were they never young and boisterous? I am in my eighth decade in this world but still remember being a little inconsiderate in my youth.

Fortunately, I had the luxury of a few understanding people around who had the kindness to allow me to mature in time, as each of these young people will eventually.

One neighbour claims that none of the youngsters were ever homeless .Has she really looked into the backgrounds of every single one of these people to reach this conclusion? I doubt it.

The fact that these young people are estranged from their families at a young age would suggest that many will not have had the parental guidance and support that most of us take for granted.

They need all the love and understanding that we, as a society, can offer them. Closing this facility down will not make these people disappear.

It will make them feel rejected and embitter them,thus making it even harder to teach them to comform to an acceptable standard.Try showing them by example what good neighbourliness is all about,

David Barry

Terminus Road

Bexhill