The case for a Bexhill Town Council goes beyond Facebook

The organisation called D4B (Democracy For Bexhill) is campaigning for a Town Council, and has an informative, up to date website. Opposing views were held by Rother District Council until its demise at the May 2019 election, since when there has been no organised opposition to the Town Council idea.

February has seen the arrival of two new brands in the debate about how Bexhill can best involve residents in running its affairs. “Bexhill Voice” and “Bexhill First” have been launched to “promote Bexhill”, and counter the drive for a Town Council. The emergence of these brands coincides with the statutory Town Council consultation which starts on Friday 21 February and closes at 4.30pm on Friday 3 April, 2020.

The story of these two brands actually starts with a Facebook site called “The Bexhill Voice”, set up a few months ago. It’s a private group with some 3,000 members, and has two administrators - Sharon Blagrove and Connor Winter. Its stated purpose is to host competitions and its main activity is providing a forum for debate by members amongst themselves.

Residents will be aware of a free magazine also called “The Bexhill Voice” which hit the streets around the first week of February. Sharon Blagrove is the editor, and in her editorial she says that the purpose of the booklet is to showcase what Bexhill has to offer. It contains interesting information and useful adverts, but many eyebrows have been raised by its centrepiece item - an anonymous article on the subject of Bexhill Town Council - which gives a one-sided and inaccurate view (for example by equating the role and status of Town Council and Area Committee).

Recently we’ve seen the arrival of a “non-political, self-funding” group “with the aim of promoting Bexhill” called “Bexhill First”, and which the Observer featured in its edition of 7 February. The chair of the group is Sharon Blagrove assisted by Connor Winter as youth representative. Sharon, Connor and the other four committee members are keen contributors to the “Bexhill Voice” Facebook site.

It’s reasonable to assume that the purpose of the two Bexhill Voices and “Bexhill First” is to provide a platform for those who oppose setting up a Town Council for Bexhill. I look forward to seeing their contributions to the debate. In the meantime, I M Griffiths’ thoughtful contribution in the letters column of 14 February is a worthy starter for ten.

One final thought on the question of representation. On 7 February when the Bexhill Observer introduced the “Bexhill First” group with a photo and write-up, Connor Winter summed up the group’s aims by saying this: “My aim within this new and exciting group is to be a voice for the young people in the town and to encourage the youth to take an interest and pride in their town…I look forward to representing them”. My question is this: 9,300 residents have voted for a Town Council. How many votes has Connor received to represent the youth of Bexhill?