BTF at DLWP

Approximately 150 attended the event which had a new Question Time feature to give the public a chance to raise issues and have immediate feedback from councillors.

This week questions followed a presentation by RDC park manager Ian Rushforth and covered subjects such as allotment gardening and overgrown grass verges.

BTF chairman Paul Plim felt the meeting "went very well", having been keen to see the Forum in the larger central venue, with a view to attracting new members, and open out to a wider audience.

He commented: " I was pleased that thepeople of Bexhillhad the opportunity to publicly question councillors.

"The presentation given was a brief outline of the recreational activities, provided however the questions submitted did not seem to come from the younger elements of Bexhill, which surprised me."

He continued: "However the questions that were asked were very interesting. It's a shame all those that submitted questions didn't get the opportunity to ask them. This was due tothe tight time scale we had to keep to.

"The next forum I hope will expand on this item on the agenda and give the opportunity for the people of Bexhill to question councillors on the subject of local government finance.

"Maybe being closer to local elections we could have prospective local government candidates on the panel with the hope of stimulating debate.

One interesting item that was covered was the aspect of the Local Action Plan for Bexhill and the overseeing role the Town Forum will play and the newsthat Cllr Joy Hughes will play a vital part in delivering this plan for Bexhill."

The chairman is currently asking for ideas on a new-look BTF logo to go with the freshened format, and hopes any ideas '“ particularly from the young '“ could be submitted to him via the Bexhill Observer.

He added: "I hope that your readers will join us in September for the next forum and take part in the debate and become part of the change that is taking place within Bexhill."