After 11 years of dashed hopes, a decision to demolish the Tropicana was approved by executive councillors on Tuesday – to the disappointment of a group of businessmen who harboured hopes of developing the site.

Last month a North Somerset Council working party charged with finding an answer ruled there were no viable projects left on the table – and recommended demolition.

However, Puxton Park owner Derek Mead put forward proposals at the meeting on behalf of a new consortium – which includes Grand Pier co-owner Kerry Michael and Worle businessman Guillio Ellis – in a last attempt to save the landmark.

They proposed forming a charitable trust, alongside the council, to create a community project and restore the attraction.

But this proposal was rejected by executive members who felt this would drag out the process of making a final decision.

Deputy leader of the council, Elfan Ap Rees, said: “Enough is enough; we have been trying for years to do something on this site.

“Demolition isn’t going to start tomorrow and there is an opportunity for them to come forward with a credible and viable solution, but we cannot just defer this forever and ever.”

Councillors Mike Bell, Richard Tucker and John Crockford-Hawley asked for the decision to be deferred to full council, to give the authority time to look in detail at the plans put forward by the consortium and to allow all the councillors of Weston to make a decision.

Council leader Nigel Ashton said the process of demolition would not start until the new year and there would still be time for interested parties to submit proposals for the site.

He said: “Anyone can put their plans in front of us before Christmas because nothing would have happened by then. Deferring this it just avoiding taking a decision instead of facing up to it.”

Members of the consortium voiced their disappointment at the decision.

Mr Michael said: “It’s not a good day for Weston and we are very disappointed with the decision, but that won’t stop us from taking the opportunity to put something back there.

“Their minds were made up a long time ago and if their minds are set on demolishing it, they are going to do that no matter what we come up with.

“It doesn’t encourage myself and others to spend money on plans knowing in the back of their minds their decision is to demolish it.”

Mr Mead said: “I think it’s not all lost. If they stick by what they say then there is still room to talk about it, and we have still got a chance. We hope to meet with the council about this as soon as we can.”

Reproduced from the Weston and Somerset Mercury.

CAR parking charges across Weston could be raised as part of a fundraising drive by the council.

The increase in charges, due to be discussed and possibly passed by North Somerset Council’s executive on Tuesday, would see some charges rise by as much as 25 per cent.

The proposals have led to complaints that the town is being used as a ‘cash cow’, with increased prices only affecting the 10 off-street car parks which currently have charges – eight of which are in Weston.

Liberal Democrat councillor Mike Bell said: “It is simply unfair that Weston is being treated as a cash cow in this way.

“We all understand that money is tight and that we have to pay for parking off-street. What many will not understand is why Weston is hit year after year with inflation-busting increases while other towns get off scot-free.

“The Conservative administration in charge at the town hall is famously anti-Weston and we can see further evidence of it in their parking charges policy.”

The proposed changes come in the light of unprecedented levels of savings which the authority is being forced to make.

They are designed to encourage use of long stay car parks, as there would also be a reduction in short stay spaces at the car park in Carlton Street.

The other two car parks affected by the proposals are in Clevedon.

Among the proposals, motorists staying for five hours in the Grove Park, Knightstone Causeway or Melrose car parks would see charges increase from £7 to £7.50, with price increases varying between 3.1 and nine per cent.

An overnight stay in Hampton car park will rise from £2 to £2.50, an increase of 25 per cent, while long stay season tickets at Locking Road car park would rise between 2.6 and 4.7 per cent.

But the peak charging period along Weston’s seafront will be reduced, with peak charges only lasting until October 31, not November 30.

A total of 22 short stay parking spaces will be created in the Locking Road car park to compensate for the closure of the Carlton Street car park as part of the Dolphin Square redevelopment works.

Reproduced from the Weston Mercury

Licences have been granted to two lapdancing clubs in the centre of Weston, despite concerns being raised over their locations.

Both Shadow Lounge in Regent Street and T’s in Oxford Street went before a licensing committee at North Somerset Council last week.

Objections had been raised against granting permission to T’s on the grounds that it was an inappropriate place for such a club, being near to Emmanuel Church and the Quaker Meeting House.

North Somerset Council ward member Mike Bell had raised objections to Shadow Lounge being granted a licence.

But councillors on the planning and regulatory (licensing) sub-committee granted both licences on November 29, with the proviso that both open no earlier than 10pm, and that outside signs must not specifically mention pole dancing.

The applications came after a new law came into force earlier this year, requiring existing premises to re-apply for their licences. Councillor Bell said he was disappointed with the decision.

He said: “I have no objection to businesses operating in any way which the law allows, but I do feel that these two locations in the tourism and leisure heart of Weston are not the right places for these kind of premises.

“I am particularly disappointed that the licence for T’s in Oxford Street was granted despite opposition from myself and local religious and community groups.”

“It is difficult to imagine a more inappropriate location for a strip club. We now have two strip clubs in the small area of Regent Street and Oxford Street and I do worry about how many more will be permitted.”

After the decision, Shadow Lounge owner Jesus Rodriguez Casas said: “I am pleased that our licence has been granted, but it will not make much of a difference to how the club is run, as we would have opened at these hours anyway.”

Reproduced from the Weston Mercury

A working party of North Somerset Council today agreed to recommend to the council’s ruling Conservative Executive that Weston-super-Mare’s Tropicana should be demolished and the site returned to beach.

The working party has been meeting for many months and met for the final time today following the results of a round of “soft marketing testing” by the council’s appointed external professional advisors, DTZ.

The working party voted by six votes to three in favour of recommending demolition. The final decision will be made by the North Somerset Council Executive on 13th December.

Liberal Democrat Group Leader Councillor Mike Bell, who is a member of the Tropicana working group and attended the meeting today, said: “This is a very sad day for Weston. The decision to demolish the Tropicana lets down present and future generations of Weston people and consigns a historic part of our town’s sea front to the scrap heap.

“I spoke and voted against this decision because we cannot honestly say that we have done everything we can to save the site. The council could have chosen to invest in the site and enable a development in that way. Conservative councillors have consistently refused to do so. North Somerset Council has contributed to the failure to redevelop the Tropicana over the past decade and it should be contributing to the cost of restoring it.”

Liberal Democrat councillors have consistently proposed a significant council contribution towards the capital costs of redeveloping the Tropicana. Their alternative budget proposals for next year, which are currently being debated by the council, propose a £10 million investment in the Tropicana site in partnership with the private sector or a community trust. The £10m council funding would be paid for through savings identified in the Lib Dem budget plan.

Councillor Bell added: “I cannot look local people in the eye and say we have done our best until I believe we have. Conservative councillors think they are being courageous in taking this decision. They could not be more wrong. It is the easiest thing in the world to knock things down, it is far harder to build things up. I would urge every local person who cares about the Tropicana’s future to contact their local councillor and fight for a change of heart. We must not let this be the end.”

WESTON’S transport infrastructure could receive a welcome boost through a new Government cash injection.

The West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), which includes North Somerset, will receive £11.3million from a growing places fund designed to deliver projects to support jobs and housing.

And that will mean more money could be spent on improving transport links in and around Weston, and providing a good base for businesses to develop on.

The LEP contains businessmen from the South West alongside North Somerset Council’s leader Nigel Ashton, and the leaders of Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire councils.

The money will be spent on different schemes across the region, but Cllr Elfan Ap Rees, North Somerset’s deputy leader and a member of the infrastructure and place group which advises the LEP, says Weston has been earmarked as a priority area.

He said: “It is yet to be decided on how it will be spent, but obviously the leader of the council is representing North Somerset in the organisation, and Weston has certainly been identified as one priority area.

“This could be used to improve road and other transport links into Weston, and to provide high quality service bases for building office and other employment space on.

“These are the kind of things we are looking at, which would help to bring businesses, and therefore employment, to the area.”

Councillor Mike Bell, Liberal Democrat group leader on the council, said: “This funding gives a much-needed boost to businesses in North Somerset and the wider region.

“North Somerset Council and our business community should make the most of the opportunity and put forward ideas that will bring the maximum possible benefits to our area.

“There are many areas, particularly in Weston, where we would like to see more progress to provide local jobs including Locking Parklands, Weston airfield and Weston gateway. I hope some of this funding can be used to help kickstart some of these schemes.”

Reproduced from the Weston Mercury

AFTER ongoing legal disputes over North Somerset Council’s investment in an Icelandic bank, a councillor has spoken of the risks which more overseas investment may pose to taxpayers’ money.

As of September 30, the council had £58.2million invested in banks, deposits and government bonds, according to the treasury management report, which was recently considered by the council’s executive.

Now the council has confirmed it ?will invest £3million with the Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation, in Singapore.

Liberal Democrat councillor Mike Bell voiced his opinion regarding the new investment at a full council meeting last week.

He said: “I am not convinced that we should be investing in any overseas banks. Now must be the time to invest closer to home and investing in Singapore may raise some eyebrows in the public.”

The council’s £58.2million investment in overseas banks includes the £3million invested in the failed Icelandic bank, Landsbanki. This is now subject to legal disputes in the Icelandic courts and eventually the council hopes to get most of it back.

Cllr Bell said: “I know that the council will say investments are only placed with banks with good credit ratings and with countries that are stable, but that is what was said about Iceland.

“I believe most local taxpayers would feel more comfortable knowing that these investments were in the UK where we have greater security and legal backing.”

But Cllr Tony Lake, executive member for finance, said making an investment abroad was not a risk because the bank had been thoroughly researched.

He said: “We do have some money invested with a Far East bank which is triple-A rated. We are very careful especially in view of what happened in Iceland. If it wasn’t triple-A rated we wouldn’t be investing in it.

And he said the £3millon lost in the Iceland banking crisis would soon be returned to the council’s finances.

He said: “The detail is about how and in what form the payment is made, but we are confident we will be receiving a payment in the near future.”

But at the meeting Cllr Bell asked him to consider changing the treasury management policy and not invest taxpayers money in these banks.

He said: “I do not believe that taxpayers’ cash should be gambled abroad in the pursuit of slightly better interest returns, especially at a time when the council budget is tight, it is cutting services and making staff redundant.”

Reproduced from the Weston and Somerset Mercury