Clevedon Councillors (Chris Blades, Luke Smith and Michael Pryke) have written a joint submission to those conducting the review to the changes at Clevedon Seafront.
During the election the Conservative Team spoke to over 1000 residents, nearly double the amount in the initial consultation from Clevedon. Our team found near universal condemnation for the scheme, This has only been reinforced since then.
We have been clear that if we won we would fix the seafront, with an aim to reverse it.
The first thing the team did at council was to force a debate, making the seafront the first thing debated by the new council with a motion to reverse the greater part of the scheme.
We secured the guarantee that no options were off the table and that the AECOM review would happen and not be swept under the carpet.
Furthermore, we ensured that a mixed method consultation was realised in order for you to have your say and to avoid digital exclusion.
In our Councillors submission they make the point that:
‘Should the Seafront Scheme have been subject to North Somerset Council’s own policies it would almost certainly have been rejected.’
The scheme is not safe, has a detrimental impact to the highways, business and character of Clevedon. Additionally, the scheme makes a mockery of residents living inside the conservation area where paint, windows and doors are strictly controlled to preserve the character of the area.
As well as highlighting a number of major flaws in the scheme itself, it’s shoddy implementation, and the almost universal condemnation the scheme has received Clevedon’s Conservative Councillors are calling for the scheme to be fully reversed.
Councillor Pryke said this ‘We have been clear since the beginning that this scheme should be reverted back as soon as possible, this was precisely why my first act as a Councillor was to present a motion to put things back to how they were’.
Councillor Smith added ‘The scheme was badly managed, never supported by the public, breaches the council's own policies and is a net detriment to the character and safety of the area. The only sensible option is the scheme's complete reversal.’
Councillor Blade’s has stated that
‘Audit West have highlighted how poor the consultation was, this is made worse by the fact that a petition of 5000 signatures was ignored because the council initially supported by most Labour Town councillors wanted to implement such a disgraceful scheme.’
The full submission can be found below and was submitted to AECOM on Monday 25th September.
Following the close of submission, a public meeting is planned to show the outcome of the review.
