THIS MORNING (December 10) news emerged that the Beach Tavern in Pevensey Bay has been withdrawn from sale by auction at the Brighton Hilton Metropole Hotel on 15 December—Bay Life, 10 December 2015
The catalogue entry for Lot No. 82 at the auction, described as “public house with potential in prominent position” has now been marked as ‘postponed’ by auctioneers Clive Emson.
The amended catalogue entry suggests that the property may be put forward for auction on a subsequent date.
It is not known why the sale has been postponed and no other information has been provided publicly by auctioneers Clive Emson to explain the postponement.
What is known is that Wealden Council has received a nomination application to see the building become a community asset, with a decision pending and due by 25 January 2016.
The nomination has come from the Friends of Pevensey Bay Library. A spokesperson for the group told Bay Life (30 November), “one of the first actions taken by the Group has been to apply to Wealden Council to have the pub listed as an Asset of Community Value”.
“Our library was a social hub that supported families and reduced the isolation of many elderly people in the Bay. We want it back bigger and better than before. Modern libraries are not just about books, they are about community”.
The group argues, “Pevensey Bay library, which has now been closed for eleven months, is locked in a legal wrangle over who is responsible for the flood damage. However, the existing library has a steep flight of steps which makes access for older people, people with disabilities and mums with wheelchairs difficult. Relocating the library to an alternative more accessible site would benefit the community and could provide an opportunity to improve other services in the Bay”.
“The Friends Group wants to talk to the County Council to explore options for better library provision in the Bay”. They feel that an alternative site in Pevensey Bay that is accessible to all residents is needed, whether they are elderly, disabled or families with children in pushchairs .
They point out that “now that Pevensey Bay Library has closed, over forty thousand people are depending on the small library at Langney Centre and the temporary book exchange set up in a local church hallway in Pevensey Bay. This contrasts sharply with provision in other areas of East Sussex such as Seaford, Polegate, and Lewes”.
If, as seems possible, the nomination of the building as a community asset succeeds, it remains to be seen if the postponement of the auction will now give owners of the Beach Tavern the opportunity to consider the matter further.
Is it possible for all the parties concerned that an opportunity might emerge that will see the building become a valued community asset of some description?
The decision made by Wealden Council could have implications for the utilisation of the building for up to five years.
In relation to the nomination process Wealden Council explain, “once we receive the nomination we will check that the land/property and nominating group meet the criteria for acceptance set out in the legislation”
” If it is confirmed that both criteria are met then we will add the nomination to the List of Assets of Community Value and to the land charges register. The nomination will remain on the community assets list for five years”.
“The nominating group and the land owner will be informed of the decision to list and the grounds for an appeal set out”.
The question of what is to happen to the Beach Tavern continues to be a live issue within the community. Nomination of the building as a community asset would enable arguments to be put forward about potential community use of the building.
Support for the Friends of Pevensey Bay Library has come from a number of key figures and organisations in the last week.
Last week (4 December). MP for Bexhill and Battle, Huw Merriman at a constituency surgery in Pevensey Bay at the Bayside Diner, said “I am prepared to be involved in this issue and I am going to be investigating the matter in more detail, and I am perfectly happy for Bay Life to say that this is the case”.
Today (December 10) Edwin Pena, pastor at Pevensey Bay Baptist Church said “we will be publicly supporting this campaign and the church will be making a statement about the matter next week”.
At the Wealden Parish Conference in 2011, Councillor Bob Standley, Leader of Wealden District Council said “The Localism Bill gives Wealden District Council an opportunity to further strengthen our relationship with the town and parish councils in the District,”
“I have always taken the view that the public are not that concerned whether it is the District Council, County Council or Towns and Parishes who deliver a service. They want the service to be delivered in the most efficient way possible. The Localism Bill creates the opportunity for some fresh thinking on issues across the District.
“One of the proposals in the Localism Bill is that local groups should have the legal right to nominate ‘community assets’ such as shops, pubs, libraries & leisure centres if their future is under threat. These community assets could be recorded on a list held by the District Council, and should the pub, hall or shop be threatened with a change of use, the sale may be delayed to give that community the opportunity to buy and run the asset instead”.
The Localism Act was enabled on 15 November 2011.
It is a fact, as the Friends of Pevensey Bay Library suggest, the local library has now been closed for eleven months, it is locked in a legal wrangle over who is responsible for the flood damage and, most importantly, as they indicate, over forty thousand people are depending on the small library at Langney Centre and the temporary book exchange set up in a local church hallway in Pevensey Bay.
The postponement of the sale by auction of the Beach Tavern on December 15 marks a pause in proceedings with regard to the potential utilisation of the public house as an asset of community value.
News this morning that the auction of the Beach Tavern has been postponed has brought many of the issues about rural localities and their survival into sharp relief in the kinds of way that were indicated by Bob Standley, Leader of Wealden District Council at the Wealden Parish Conference in 2011.
With regard to the issue of library provision in the locality, perhaps now is the time to test the application of some new ways of working between local authorities as outlined by Bob Standley, Leader of Wealden District in 2011. His thought that The Localism Bill could provide the opportunity for “some fresh thinking on issues” was prescient.
Public libraries in this country sprang from the Industrial Revolution and notions of municipality and civic pride in the middle of the nineteenth century. They saw philanthropy, education, the churches and other organisations coming together to provide a service that was a powerhouse for people. Public libraries saw education and social hubs emerging that changed lives.
The Public Libraries Act of 1850 changed the way in which people could come together to learn and have access to resources that were an untold wealth.
The Local Government Act of 1888 passed the responsibility for the support of local libraries to county authorities. The responsibility for library services still lies with county authorities today.
The death of libraries is much exaggerated. The internet is the most important treasure house of knowledge that the world could ever imagine, but it is not a library.
Libraries are locations in communities that provide not just a treasure house of knowledge but the opportunity for people to share the experience of being in a treasure house of knowledge. Books and education are a transformative experience. A book can enrich your life, and one book can change your life, sending you on a voyage of discovery that will enhance the rest of your life in ways that are profound, and if you want to know the way, ask a librarian.
Set in communities the shared knowledge that resides in public libraries also becomes transformative to the communities that the buildings serve.
With the Age of Austerity has come great challenges for local authorities across the land, without question.
The Localism Act of 2011 is a powerful tool for local communities and decisions that have followed from the Act, in their own way are proving to be transformative. It is perhaps not in spite of the Age of Austerity, but because of the Age of Austerity, that these local changes are taking place.
Libraries now are becoming learning centres, computer teaching centres, social hubs, cafes, clubs, classrooms and meeting space. In the process they are re-casting themselves for a new generation. Most importantly in small locations, they are beginning to find new and powerful roles.
There is nothing new in this process. The Carnegie libraries which did so much to inspire both the United States and this country with the public library movement in the late nineteenth century served not only as free circulating collections of books, magazines and newspapers, but also provided classrooms for growing school districts, Red Cross stations, and public meeting spaces.
This is where the modern public library movement began.
The Friends of Pevensey Bay Library are right to say that “modern libraries are not just about books, they are about community”.
Who is to say that via the Localism Act of 2011, that some route can not be found to establish a new and sustainable small flagship library environment for Pevensey Bay?
Would there be value in a small project of this kind, if a path could be found to success? There would clearly be value to the local community, but as well, might there be value to the Wealden area and all the local authorities concerned?
It may not be written in the stars, but there is a conjunction of possibilities here that appears to present both a challenge and an opportunity.
Keith Richards, lead and rhythm guitarist of the Rolling Stones said, “when you are growing up there are two institutional places that affect you most powerfully: the church, which belongs to God, and the public library, which belongs to you”.
The next meeting of the Friends of Pevensey Bay Library is on Friday December 18 at the Ocean Bakery and Restaurant in Eastbourne Road, Pevensey Bay at 7:00pm. Organisers say that all members of the Friends of Pevensey Bay Library and supporters are welcome.
Simon Montgomery
editor, Bay Life
About Friends of Pevensey Bay Library
The Friends of Pevensey Bay Library aim to campaign for and support provision of improved public library services in Pevensey Bay.
FACEBOOK: Friends of Pevensey Bay Library
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