Campaigners 'will live with consequences'

Campaigners at Tuesday's Bexhill Town Forum were slammed by council leader Graham Gubby. He warned the town would have to sacrifice some services to provide money for others. He blasted campaign groups for failing to work with the council and developer Sea Space in creating regeneration proposals. Cllr Gubby also bristled at a Bexhill action group's claims that a 400,000 proposal for public art in the town was coming at the expense of a facelift for Bexhill's "third world public toilets". His comments followed calls by John Lee, chairman of Bexhill's Save Our Seafront (SOS) group, for continuing public consultation to ensure a "common-sense outcome" to regeneration plans for the town. Cllr Gubby said: "We want to work on a programme of regeneration with you, but people don't turn up. We ask you what you want to spend money on. It's your money. "If you want to spend money on toilets, you won't have your flower beds. I'll happily go out and do what you want as long as you're prepared to live with the consequences." He added: "The 400,000 has nothing to do with toilets. It's money from the Arts Council that's being brought into the town when it wouldn't be there otherwise. They're totally disconnected. Mr Lee's approach came in the wake of the publications of Sea Space's Hastings and Bexhill Seafront Strategy, and a proposal for the improvement of Bexhill promenade. Pressure from the SOS group and the Association of Bexhill Citizens had prompted the scrapping of Sea Space's controversial plans for a hotel on the Metropole site in February. And Mr Lee urged the council to keep the public informed on its new plans for the area, so "residents could engage with councillors and officers on key questions". He proposed regular updates should be included as an item in Town Forums. But Cllr Gubby maintained full consultation would only be carried out once plans had been fully fleshed out, saying it was "not possible or practical" to provide updates whilst work was proceeding. He said: "I've always said the town council wants to engage with residents in an informed debate so they know the truth. "It's not possible or practical to go forward until work is going on. If we started identifying sites now, the land value would go through the roof. We have to think carefully, do our homework properly, and then come out and consult. "I will hold any consultation I can at the right time and I hope you will understand I have to do it at the right time for the right reasons."