On 5 Dec 2008 at 11:07am Saviour of Sun Street wrote:
I see in today's Sussex Express that LDC planning committee blocked the change of use of HQ gallery. It will be a shame if the building stops being used altogether. Are there rumours of any potential buyers of the gallery?
On 5 Dec 2008 at 12:03pm Lewes resident. wrote:
Martin Elliot could live in a flat upstairs, and do community service downstairs babysitting the children of people who have had to spend all their free time picking up the pieces of his disastrous attempt at empire building.
On 6 Dec 2008 at 4:51pm Geoff wrote:
Mr elliott could rent the space to anyone locally requiring an exhibition space.
he seems to have made the mistake of confusing the required provision of a public facility in order to get planning permission for an otherwised excessive development, with the idea that he should only have to do so if he makes a profit. The sad fact is that public facilities cosyt money. if he can't afford to run his own public space, then he should sign it over to the Council.
When Mr Elliott signed up to this arrangement that none of us wanted, he took a risk. It seems it hasn't paid off. It is our public space secured through a 106 agreement, and a public space it should stay.
Let us remind Mr Elliott, and LDC that all we all wanted on that gallery site was a bit of grass and a tree. That would have kept everybody happy, and cost the price of an occasional trim, with a lawnmower.
On 6 Dec 2008 at 5:00pm Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
Well said, Geoff!
On 6 Dec 2008 at 10:50pm George Doors wrote:
How about it being a scout hut????????
On 7 Dec 2008 at 12:56pm Local Town Resident wrote:
Classic!
or some kind of 'community' space that the community could use for things they actually wanted to do. I am not sure how a Commercially run art gallery ever satisfied the requirment to offer public space, but thats what happens when you have a planning department determined to twist legislation until it breaks, in order to assist a developer, and take facilities away from tax paying residents.
Shouldn't Norman Baker have something to say about this, since it is his fellow Lib Dems that helped engineer this. I seem to recall that there was a bit of illegal vote rigging exposed when this was originally approved, because two Lib Dems had a little fall out about an agreement they had made, and it got blurted out.
On 7 Dec 2008 at 1:04pm FA wrote:
How about another shop that sells unaffordable crap that is no use to anyone but lots of tourists like to see....a bit like a lot of the other shops in this town.
Then we can all walk round saying things like "twee" and "quaint" to all our DFL friends
On 7 Dec 2008 at 3:35pm Rouser wrote:
Don't remember hearing anything about "illegal vote rigging" can you fill us in?
On 7 Dec 2008 at 6:58pm S.oliver wrote:
I think the reference is to two councillors both on the Planning Commitee, who made an agreement about voting, when one decflared an interest and didn't vote at all. He blurted out to neighbours his outrage that the other Councillor had the casting vote, and approved, what they had agreed she wouldn't, causing him to tell everyone out of fury.
This is the calibre of decision makers we have. who have the cheek to keep telling increasingly outraged residents they don't know about planning issues.
The HQ gallery is a very good example of an unwanted White Elephant, courtesy of dubious goings on.
On 7 Dec 2008 at 7:21pm Nullify wrote:
I think we can be pretty sure that there will be a slate of independent candidates at the next district council elections.
On 7 Dec 2008 at 9:39pm S.oliver wrote:
Wouldn't be a bad thing. A flock of sheep would be more independently minded than our current party representatives.
On 7 Dec 2008 at 11:22pm Rouser wrote:
Just because Lewes elects some independent councillors doesn't mean any of them get to be on the planning committee.There are some complicated legal rules about how places are handed out, which favour parties.
On 8 Dec 2008 at 6:08pm Nullify wrote:
Of course Rouser. But if the Lib Dems were completely wiped out?
On 8 Dec 2008 at 7:23pm Rouser wrote:
I think you're seeing it only from a Lewes perspective. Apparently there are 40+ LDC councillors, and the Lewes Lib Dems are only 6 of them.
The most likely result would be a Tory controlled LDC, they decide who sits on planning then, and if the LDS are the next biggest lot they take the rest of the places on things like planning. So I don't hold out a great deal of hope that what happens in Lewes alters anything much.
On 9 Dec 2008 at 8:47am Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
It's easy to forget that the district goes right up to Newick, east almost to Alfriston and west to Saltdean. There's a huge rural area, Lewes represents less than 20% of the population and is represented accordingly.