eastbourne council

[rocky]

ive had my rant on the other forum about these greedy swindling ******* very serious situation unless you like county league football we need another poll tax like riot to show them what we feel about there money grabbing ventures ie this rent increase and the equally absurd parking scheme

[maz]

considering it was a bit of swampy marshland 17K for yearly rent is taking the p*ss.
With all the money that Eastbourne Borough Council spend on advertising in tube stations and other billboards and adverts , how about the Council sponsor the club for 17k on their shorts and call it quits.
Whatever next , parking meters outside the ground .
and next time that plonker of an MP decides to show his face at Priory Lane let your feelings known to him .
He is quick enough to jump on the bandwagon for good publicity but I bet he stays well clear of this issue .
Everyone has got to let their feelings known to the local paper

[shinless]

This is bad news. Maybe the council, or some property developer with chums in the council want the land?
I try to avoid local government issues, but could someone tell me if the local tory council is linked in any way to our tory MP Nigel Waterstone?
I have seen him watching games in the past so maybe he could help?

Rob

[davidb]

I've already raised this on the Nomad-Online Forum ...

They are simply trying to cash in on the club's success and all the (unpaid) hard work that has gone in over the years, largely funded through finances raised by the club.

They appear to be under the impression that we are generating huge profits - do they know anything about football? We are certainly in a more stable financial position than most clubs at our level but that is because of shrewd financial management and not throwing money around that we don't have... not because we are only paying a peppercorn rent for a prime site that was derelict and flooded when we took it on.

They are essentially saying: we leased you a bog; we had no idea that it could be turned into what is now; we had no interest in developing it... but now you have and made it worth more at your own expense, we want our cut!

Len Smith had a hard job convincing the Inland Revenue a while back who simply didn't believe that ALL the non-playing and coaching staff at the club, with the exception of the Commercial Manager work for nothing. That is a major factor behind the club's success - we all pull together for the benefit of OUR club.

This latest news is just another example of how unhelpful successive local councils have been over the years in constantly putting unreasonable obstacles in the club's way. In the past we have always bitten our lip and complied but this I feel, is simply a step too far.

Yet whenever there is a big event at the ground - the visit of Oxford United last season, or the Sussex Senior Cup Final for example - there is no shortage of local politicians on hand to sample the free hospitality on offer.

Our local MP Nigel Waterson is however, a regular visitor with his kids - as a fan I might add. He hasn't been to as many games this season but I will be interested to see what his response is.

If they want a fight, they may well have picked on the wrong club!

[markcritchlow]

the bloomin council

[shinless]

Thanks Dave.
Although I don't know Nigel, he does come across as one of the more decent politicians, and at some point he has been bitten by the 'boro bug', lets hope he has some clout with the Eastbourne council.
As fans we must do what we can if/when needed to, lets face it even when things were bad on the pitch last season we still had a hard core 400 fans, thats a nice figure come election day!

Rob.

[kwikfit]

sorry I can't stand by and be silent, we have got a thread with the words 'Decent' and ' Politicians'. THE TWO WORDS ARE NOT SYNONYMOUS.

After reading about our money grabbing councillors in the Local today, don't let us be fooled that Boro will be assisted by anyone but themselves and their supporters.
It's an opening for a 'sound bite' or 'photo opportunity' for all and sundry with delusions of Town Hall / Westminster grandeur.

DB - who do we need to get at ? this is too important for Joe Public not to get involved in as well.

[goonerboy]

if the club decide a protest of any sort against this rent rise i will support anyway i can, count me in.

[davidb]

kwikfit said:

DB - who do we need to get at ? this is too important for Joe Public not to get involved in as well.

Let's not forget that we only have one newspaper article so far to base our views on, so let's not jump in with our eyes closed. Front pages are designed to sell papers after all.

I think the most important thing to bear in mind if it comes to it will be to present a dignified, cohesive and united opposition where everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet. I realise that it's a different scenario but one of the problems Crawley Town supporters have faced in their own struggle against the Majeeds is that the official Supporters' Club and Devils' Trust are not entirely united in their cause.

If supporters are to be effective as a group they (we) have to work with and liaise closely with the Club, so let's wait for the time-being and find out exactly what the state of play is.

I know for a fact that this Club is admired around the county (I would almost go so far as to say 'without exception') by other clubs and officials for the way in which it has always conducted itself. I am therefore sure that we could mobilise a considerable amount of support from the football community outside of Eastbourne through say, the medium of Nomad-Online.

Then there is local radio, local TV, not to mention the wider media as a means of raising public awareness. If we do it carefully and responsibly, we could get a lot of public support and really embarrass this council, especially if the Club have legal documents that clearly state it is in the right.

Having said that, I suspect that the Club will want to try and work with the council to find a mutually agreeable solution rather than start a war, at least in the first instance and we should not antagonise things any more than let people know of our displeasure at this stage.

Perhaps the first stage would be to petition our local MP.

[sportspool]

I have posted this on my forum and will add it to this forum.
Nigel Waterson's email address is [e-mail] Email addresses for your local councillor can be found at www.eastbourne.gov.uk/council/councillors/borough

[Trevorfuggle]

What is very disappointing is the fact that in other towns in Sussex the local council has assisted their clubs with considerable financial assistance to provide facilities which are used by the local population. In particular I know of an instance where this has happened in the past couple of years for a club many rungs lower down the pyramid.

As others have stated I do agree that it appears that the council now think they have found a new cash cow to milk dry so they can supplement the areas where they have vastly underestimated costs ie the new cultural centre.

Unfortunately councillors do not appear to appreciate the value of this organisation which by being a community club gives so much to the local population from pre-school children to OAP's. It makes one wonder how many of the local councillors have actually visited the club and seen what goes on here.

I am sure Len and his committee members will negotiate this at length with the council to get the best possible outcome but I find it sad that yet again the local council finds it necessary to penalise success through the hard work of many individuals giving their own time and energy to bolster up their own depleted coffers.

[maz]

Well said taffy449,
Why not cut copy and paste and send to the Herald letters page

[portsmouth32]

lets go to the town hall and take the drums and let our fealing be know NOW WHO IS WITH ME !!!!!!!!!!

[davey]

dont be nutters

[maz]

portsmouth32 said:

lets go to the town hall and take the drums and let our fealing be know NOW WHO IS WITH ME !!!!!!!!!!

Whats that going to do

[portsmouth32]

yer i supose ok but if they try to take our money we need to do something what shall we do

[markcritchlow]

Your money? just right angry letters. And anyway it is just one newspaper report. ligthten up FOR NOW!