A ROW has broken out amongst a group of shopkeepers in Bexhill after claims that the motion agreed at a key meeting regarding their future at the Colonnade has been misrepresented in the official record.
Councillor Connor Winter has accused the council of rewriting a democratically agreed motion ‘behind closed doors’, dramatically escalating tensions following a heated Full Council meeting held on Monday, 14 July.
The meeting saw councillors debate a 4,800-signature petition submitted by traders at the Colonnade in Bexhill, calling for the right to return to their seafront units once renovation works are complete.
In a strongly worded statement issued after the meeting, Cllr Winter said: “The wording of the amended motion now being presented is not what was proposed, debated, or agreed in the chamber.”
He claims that councillors had clearly agreed on an amendment giving existing Colonnade tenants ‘first refusal’ on favourable terms and that this was the basis on which votes were cast.
However, the version later published by the council instead states: “We can guarantee that we will take into account the good relationships and excellent track record of existing tenants when new applications are assessed.”
Cllr Winter branded the revised wording a ‘complete fabrication’. He warned that the situation threatens the very foundation of democratic accountability.
Charlotte Arundell, a shopkeeper who headed up the petition told Bexhill News: “We thought we had won our petition with a guaranteed right to return! Our supporters thought we had won! Some of the councillors who voted thought we had won!
“But, apparently, we haven’t! What we thought was voted for wasn’t. We are confused and everyone in the council chamber and our supporters watching online were confused! What happens now?
We, the traders at the colonnade, and all our customers and supporters need to know what happens next.”
The council has denied any wrongdoing.
In a statement to Bexhill News, a Rother District Council spokesperson said: “The motion on the Colonnade petition was debated at Full Council on Monday evening.
“Following an amendment proposal during the debate, councillors agreed to remove from the motion the line that the authority would be ‘unable to guarantee the right of return’ to the building once work has been completed.”
They continued: “It was not proposed to include the option of giving the existing traders first refusal on the new leases in the motion, although this was discussed during the debate.
“The amended motion, which was passed unanimously, guarantees that the council will take into account the good relationships and excellent track record of the existing tenants when new lease applications for the refurbished Colonnade units are assessed.”
Cllr Winter is now urging residents and traders to watch the publicly available video of the meeting and draw their own conclusions.
With the council indicating that no changes can be made until minutes are formally approved in September, tensions look set to continue over the summer as traders await a clear answer on whether they will have a future at the Colonnade.
