Venue: Rother Town Hall, Bexhill – Committee Room Time 14.00 to 17.00 

Secretariat/Governance 
Anne Rathbone – Bexhill Neighbourhood Board and Partnerships Manager (RDC) (AR) 
Ellie Foster – Bexhill Neighbourhood Board Project Officer (EF) 
Anna Evett – Head of Service – Corporate and Strategic Service (RDC) (AE) – Apologies sent 
Lorna Ford, Chief Executive Officer, RDC (LF) 

Observers/guests: 
Frances McKenna (FM), Office Manager for Dr Kieran Mullan MP 

Apologies: 
Simon Yates (SY) on behalf of Katy Bourne, OBE (KB) 
Simon Whitehead (SW), Police Inspector, Rother. 2 

Item 1: Chair’s welcome and purpose of meeting; minutes of last meeting 

The Chair then reiterated the purpose of the meeting as follows: 

• Discuss the updates released from MHCLG regarding the Pride in Place guidance. 

• Update the Board on the submission of the Bexhill Neighbourhood Plan first 4-year plan and 10-year vision statement has been submitted to Central Government. 

• Present an update regarding walking trails in Bexhill. 

The Chair stated that as usual, she looked forward to some interesting discussions, hearing the Boards views and identifying clear next steps. 

The minutes of the last meeting were approved and are uploaded on the Bexhill Neighbourhood Board website. 

Item 2: Declarations of interest for Members and Officers 

The Chair read out the statement on Declaration of Interests as follows: 

In doing Neighbourhood Board business, it is essential that we follow strict procedures in declaring our interests. Members are reminded of the need to declare any financial or non-financial interests immediately prior to the commencement of the agenda item in question. Please could you bear this in mind as we go through the agenda today. Please also remember you are abiding by the Nolan Principles which I intend to ensure the Board stand by in all its business. 

AR confirmed that the Register is up to date. Any members with new or changing Interests should inform AR/EF as possible. 

Item 3: Action Log, budget, and activities update 

AR gave a verbal update on the action log. A partnership agreement has been drafted between RDC as the Accountable Body and the Bexhill Neighbourhood Board as the decision-making body for the funds. This needs more refinement against the newly issued guidance and will be brought to the Board at the next meeting All other actions were on track or ahead. 

The spend of the capacity preparation funding is on track to have an underspend of c. £40k at the end of the financial year. MHCLG have confirmed that this can be rolled forward into the start of the programme, as long as it is used on staffing or other capacity costs (i.e. not project delivery costs). There has been a saving in venue hire since the Neighbourhood Board has utilised the Town Hall for focus group meetings. We have balanced this with working with venues located around Bexhill to engage with as many residents as possible. 

Main activities since the last meeting were: 

• Submission of the first 4-year plan to Central Government 

• Desk-based research into proposed project ideas 

• Business focus group meeting 

• Residents and community organisation focus group meeting 

• Reporting to RDC Cabinet and Team East Sussex on the proposed priorities for the first 4 years, with positive feedback and thanks to the Board received at both meetings. 

Item 4: Update on submission return and implications of updated guidance 

The plan for the first 4-years has been submitted to Central Government. AR presented the plan to Committee on Monday 8 December. Following a meeting with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), there has been an update to the Pride in Place Programme guidance. AR provided a verbal update about some key changes: 

• Move to a community led model of delivery by year 3 (the Bexhill Neighbourhood Board plans already include this way of working for all projects) 

• Chair deselection or selection must be signed off by MP and Local Government representative (this is if the Chair changes in the future) 

Item 5: Comms update and next steps 

The new Bexhill Neighbourhood Board website has gone live, and the feedback that had been received as being positive, with people commenting on the modern, fresh feel and overall excitement regarding the feel of the visuals. The website will have other sections added (project updates) next year as we begin to implement projects agreed by the Government. 

AR/EF have been working to develop social media channels through LinkedIn and Facebook. Board members have been asked to share these new channels on their social media platforms to connect with as many Bexhill residents, community groups, and businesses as possible. The Neighbourhood Board are aiming for a regular schedule of posts, although there is a limited amount to report until we have received authorisation from MHCLG and the funds are received. 

Item 6: Community Safety – integrated into plan 

NW discussed a programme for Bexhill that provides training regarding conducting environmental visual audits with a focus on community safety. The training provides a template to use to record data, as well as to facilitate conversations with the wider community. Different Board members highlighted different organisations or individuals who might be invited subject to the number of places available. 

Item 7: Joint meeting with Eastbourne and Hastings 

AR updated the Board about the 3-way meeting between Eastbourne, Hastings, and Bexhill Neighbourhood Boards. The meeting will be held at Manor Barn in March 2026. The board have been asked to think about content and structure they would like to see for the meeting, what are the synergies across towns, and send their ideas to AR. 

AR will ask other Neighbourhood Board leads to speak with their Boards about ideas for the meeting.

Break and Networking 

Item 8: Focus on trails 

EF provided a presentation regarding different walking trail options for Bexhill. In conducting research into trails, EF discussed the idea of augmented reality (AR) trails and physical pavement trails. 

EG mentioned that primary schools would find the digital trails popular and a pilot project could be discussed to assess trail usage within Bexhill. 

IH mentioned that prior trails (Beat the Streets) was extremely popular in Bexhill. Living Streets also did a map for Sidley. There was discussion about the pros and cons of different trails there are already a number of trails in Bexhill, such as the smugglers trail, 1066 walk, Motoring trail, Coastal English Path, National Cycle Network and QR codes in Combe Valley Countryside Park. However, the AR trails in particular are relatively low cost, could be used to engage children and parents especially through schools’ partnerships. There was a view that we should link trails to our existing infrastructure, for example, use the dinosaur trail and link this back to the museum. 

There were some concerns about the lifespan of the physical trails such as the markings fading or being covered with leaves in the autumn, as well as concerns that with the AR trails that children may become too focused on phones rather than the people they are with. We will look at how these concerns could be addressed in any potential trail projects going forward. 

Item 9: Hotels update 

AR gave a brief update with regard to the hotel feasibility study. There is a 3-way partnership between Rother District Council, Bexhill-on-Sea Town Council, and the Bexhill Neighbourhood Board to fund the feasibility study. A meeting will be scheduled for January regarding a hotel in Bexhill. It is for a feasibility study only, to promote the idea of a hotel in Bexhill to prospective business investors, rather than being the hotel itself being a proposed project for the Neighbourhood Board plans. 

Item 10: Update on water feature preliminary market testing 

EF gave an update on the Bexhill water feature following the closing of the preliminary market testing period. The working group is scheduled to meet in February to discuss the options and to analyse the estimated cost. If the project goes ahead, it will go out nationally for a competitive tender, using a standard JCT (Joint Contracts Tribunal) contract for the water feature for maximum protection in terms of standard of work and liability for any breakdowns within a certain period following build. 

AR/EF will develop a step-by-step guide of what needs to happen next to move this project forward and the working group will report back at the next meeting. It was agreed that IH would replace KR on this working group, now that the Fountain working group is working forward to ascertain viability. 

Item 11: Any other business 

The Chair wanted to wish the De La Warr Pavilion a happy 90 birthday 5 

RDC and DLWP are discussing the potential for a bid to be 2028 Town of Culture, which would bring a lot of additional investment into the town for a yearlong programme of cultural activities of all kinds, if Bexhill won the competition. The Board welcomed this. 

KR talked to the Board about the planned renovations for the new Rother Voluntary Action (RVA) building in Bexhill and about setting a date for a site visit. 

The Chair thanked everyone especially the guest attendees. 

Next meeting of Bexhill Neighbourhood Board: 13 March 13.00 to 16.00 at Manor Barn, followed by the 3-way Neighbourhood Board meeting.