The annual Town Meeting was held on Tuesday, March 7 at the Tilling Green Community Centre. It has been a very full year in which much has happened both in the public gaze and behind the scenes and in a long and detailed address, the mayor went through the events of the last 12 months.
His opening topic was the swimming pool and leisure which we have covered elsewhere in this issue of Rye News. But while the pool was undoubtedly the main victim of rapidly increasing costs, it was not the only one.
The council is facing some £35,000 of additional costs this coming year and after much consideration it has been decided that the Information Point, based in the Town Hall should close from the beginning of April. While this is regrettable, it is a feature of the times that more and more visitors to the town are finding the information they require on line. A further consideration was the desire to ensure that finances were as strong as possible to absorb the transfer of allotments, open spaces and public conveniences to local control. The mayor pointed out that, unlike ESCC and RDC, the town council receives no money from business rates and has to rely solely on its share of our council tax plus any money it can raise itself from other activities.
Along with most other tax-raising bodies, the council has had to make a “relatively modest” increase in its precept for the coming financial year. This equates to 31p per week (£16.12 p.a.) for a band D tax payer.
Allotments and devolved services
There have been discussions and disagreements over the 2 allotment areas for many years, including, at one point the threat that at least one of them might be taken over for development. However, following negotiations it is hoped that an RDC cabinet meeting due shortly, will agree to the transfer of ownership of this land to the town council, thus safeguarding it for the future.
Management of Rye’s open spaces by Rother has been less than satisfactory for some time and with the cash-strapped district council cutting costs wherever possible, is only going to get worse as time goes on. Discussions are therefore taking place to transfer responsibility for management to the town council. The smaller areas would be maintained by council staff but the larger ones, such as the Salts, Gibbets Marsh etc would be contracted out. Either way though, control would remain within Rye.
The public conveniences are a separate issue and currently in an unsatisfactory state of repair and daily maintenance which is not suitable for a tourist town. Taking them over from Rother would present its own challenges but, bearing in mind the image that the town needs to present to its visitors, is an important one to tackle.
Litter
This has been a problem for some time and RDC have recently contracted with an organisation called National Enforcement Solutions (a name that itself would seem more appropriate in an authoritarian dictatorship than our democratic and free society). Its representatives, dressed in quasi-military black uniforms with cctv cameras attached have been harassing and intimidating individuals (as we heard later, from the floor of the meeting) and businesses with demands for on-the-spot fines (they receive no money from RDC but are paid through the fines they collect). The town council has asked RDC to consider not renewing their contract when it expires in the summer. In the view of at least one audience member when the meeting was opened to the floor, there is no need to wait until the summer and both Rye and Rother should adopt a tougher attitude now and either demand a change in tactics or cancel the contract with immediate effect due to unacceptable behaviour by NES operatives.
Other matters
There was much more in the mayor’s address, but in order to avoid this report becoming over long, we will summarise them here:
The town council are acutely aware of the need for more affordable housing generally and in order to establish precisely the type of accommodation required, have asked Action in Rural Sussex to carry out a survey. A questionnaire will be sent to every household and it is important to complete and return it (this can also be done online).
Many readers of Rye News will be aware of the demise of the Hastings National Town Crier competition. This is now being taken over by Rye and will be held in October. Full details will be announced nearer the time.
The initial stages of the Environment Agency’s new flood defence work alongside the River Rother has begun and the work of raising embankments and building a new flood wall is expected to take two years and be completed in August 2025. Works access will be adjacent to the rugby club entrance in New Road.
There is currently a formal consultation under way prior to changes in parking arrangement and restrictions. The main areas affected are Military Road and North Salts and the consultation continues until March 17. At a later point in the meeting, ESCC councillor Keith Glazier urged anyone with specific views on the revised arrangements to make sure they contributed to the consultation. Their views, he said, were important in order to get a satisfactory result.
Any town meeting would not, of course be complete without mention of the Landgate. The latest news we have is that RDC have commissioned an ‘underground survey’ to establish whether a safe alternative access could be created which might open up further options for use of our ancient monument.
Finally the mayor reminded us that elections for both town and district councils were coming up in May and encouraged anyone interested to consider standing. Nomination forms are available from either the town hall (email: townhall@ryetowncouncil.gov.uk) or visit the ‘Current and Forthcoming Elections’ page on the RDC website (www.rother.gov.uk).
Image Credits: John Minter , Nick Forman , Kenneth Bird , Chris Lawson .