No. 45. Saturday 17th February 2007. Your free local newsletter - anything and everything to do with Bohemia

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Bohemia V illage V oiceBohemia get s a ‘street bobby’No Travellers’ site in Bohemia

please, say local resident s

BAA’s open meeting

It has probably not escaped yournotice that Hastings Council is cur-rently trying to rush through propos-als for a transit site in Hastings forGypsies and Travellers. A number ofmeetings have taken place recently ineach of the three locations inHastings and St Leonards at which asite could be provided. One of theproposed sites is on the green areabetween the ambulance station andSummerfields Leisure Centre. At themeeting attended by the BohemiaVillage Voice, held at Horntye ParkSports Complex on 23rd January,two separate presentations on theissue were made.

The first, given by Jake Bowers, aRomany journalist who lives in theHastings area, outlined the history ofGypsy communities in the UK, andin the process sought to dispel whathe claimed were a number of deroga-tory myths about his people. In par-

ticular, Mr Bowers refuted claimsthat Gypsies and Travellers are dirti-er and more prone to crime than thesettled population. He said that hehad become a journalist specificallyto counter what he regarded as presspropaganda against his community,describing prejudice directed atGypsies as the ‘last acceptable formof racism’.

Martin Jenks, Parks and OpenSpaces Manager for HastingsBorough Council, outlined the needfor a dedicated transit site in Hastingsto accommodate the influx ofTravellers, particularly in the sum-mer months, who come to the townto find work or to have a holiday.Currently, with no specific site setaside for Travellers, the council isforced, every year, to deal with anumber of illegal encampments atvarious locations around the town.T h e

Meet Andy Hubbard, the recentlyappointed ‘street bobby’for Gensing.Andy is just one of some fifteen newstreet bobbies (or police communitysupport officers to give them theirofficial title)who can nowbe seenaround then e i g h b o u r-hoods ofHastings andSt Leonards,Andy’s briefis to spend 90per cent of histime walkingthe streets,m e e t i n gtraders andmembers ofthe public ‘tobuild up com-munity rela-tions, to bringthe communitytogether to resolve minor issues, andto nip any problems in the bud with-out them blowing up and leading toarrests’, as he puts it.The bobbies are a recent initiative

set up to offer an increased policingpresence on the streets. In some waysthey mark a return of the traditional‘bobby on the beat’, and in mostrespects their powers are similar to

those of apolice consta-ble. They areable to arrestpeople undercommon law,and they canalso conducth o u s e - t o -h o u s eenquiries asback-up to theregular police.For instance,at a recentincident onB o h e m i aRoad Andywas the thirdofficer at the

scene. He wasassigned to search the premises andafterwards conducted house-to-houseenquiries. However, street bobbiesare not able to investigate crime, so

Proposed Travellers’ site at Summerfields

(Continued on page 2)

(Continued on page 4)

Card shop opens on London RdA new card and gift shop has openedat 130 London Road, most recentlythe site of the ill-fated Book Cafe.Roseanna and Brian’s Gifts andCards, which opened on Thursday8th February, is the joint venture ofRoseanna Williams and Brian Cairns,and sells a range of cards, toys andtrinkets. Roseanna and Brian havebeen business partners for four years.Previously, they had a shop onHastings Pier, where for three yearsthey saw business steadily improve.‘It was just getting really good andthen they closed the pier, so we’vehad to start all over again,’saysBrian. After that setback, the two ofthem tried opening another shop inSea Road, Bexhill, but business was-n’t that good, so they took up the

lease on the vacant London Roadpremises. Brian, who looks after theshop, worked in Canary Wharf as abuilding manager before he went intobusiness

New card shop for Bohemia

Report by Peter Holland, Chair, BAAThe Bohemia Area Association(BAA) meeting on 8th February wasa specially designated open meetingwith particular reference to the gyra-tory traffic concept. Following the welcome by the chair-person, Peter Holland, the meetingmoved to its first principal item, therole of police community supportofficers in the Hastings area. AndyHubbard, the PCSO for Gensing, andhis colleague Claire Chambers, thePCSO for Silverhill, outlined theircontribution to the targeting of anti-social behaviour. It is the street war-dens’role to deal with environmentaland public-hygiene issues such asfly-tipping and dog-fouling. Some ofthose at the meeting gave Andydetails of specific problem areas. Tocontact PCSO Hubbard, pleasephone 0845 60 70 999, choose option1, then tap in extension 21185.

The issue of the proposedTravellers’site at Summerfields wasthe next discussion item. A total offour committee members were pres-ent at the two meetings (by invitationonly) at Horntye. Despite pressreports to the contrary, both meetings

were well attended, and our council-lor, Daniel Poulter, was mentionedfor the clarity of his objections to theplacing of the site in our area. Otherobjections were made, and consid-ered well founded, to the effect thatSummerfields was not the best possi-ble site in the borough. The gyratory traffic system was dis-

cussed again. As traders and retailershad received very short notice of themeeting, it was agreed to delay byone month the decision over whetheror not to proceed with this campaign,to allow the business communitytime to consider its viewpoint.The Upper Park Road subcommittee

continues its dialogue with Co-op[Alldays]. The Parking and theWalkways and Alleyways subcom-mittees filed no reports. TheBohemia Bygones subcommitteebrought optimism to the meeting – alllooks set for the exhibition to takeplace on the weekend of Friday 13thto Sunday 15th April. The next meeting, an open meetingwith particular reference to the gyra-tory system, will be held at 6.30 onThursday 8th March at the YMCA inSt Paul’s Road. [Peter Holland](Continued on page 4)

‘Street bobby’ Andy Hubbard

Bohemia Village Voice No. 45. Saturday 17 February 2007 Page 2 Page 2

In the days since the meeting atHorntye Park Sports Complex, theBohemia Village Voice has spoken toseveral of those residents livingclosest to the proposedSummerfields site. One resident ofEllis Close has recently moved therefrom Fairlight, where she said shehad had first-hand experience of liv-ing near to Travellers. She claimedthat they had left a lot of ‘mess’andwere responsible for ‘thieving’,though she did not elaborate on whatshe meant by this. Another newarrival in the same close said thatshe thought she had moved to a quietcul-de-sac, only to find that peoplealready used it to cut through fromBohemia Road to the town centre.The presence of a Traveller commu-nity would only increase that traffic,she said. A third resident we spoke toin Ellis Close thought that the sitewas rather small for the intendedpurpose and was also at the‘entrance to the town centre’. She said she had no personal experienceof living close to Travellers, but she was led to believe that a ‘certain amount of rubbish goes along with

that lifestyle’.One resident of Redmayne Drive

raised a number of objections to theSummerfields site. For one thing, hesaid, what was the point of choosinga site where the land first needed tobe flattened, with all the cost thatthat involved? On the other hand, hewondered whether all the moneyavailable to the Council through thegovernment’s Gypsy SitesRefurbishment Grant Scheme wouldbe needed to set up the site, whichled him to speculate that some of themoney might be set aside for otherpurposes. He also suggested that, ifthe Summerfields site was selected,it might be part of a wider strategyaimed at closing the leisure centre,thus allowing the Council to turn theentire site over to redevelopment.He also said that Travellers deserveto be treated with the same respectas any other group of people, butthat this site would not be the rightsolution to the problem.

These are some of the argumentsput forward to the Voice, and it hasto be said that we’ve yet to hear any-one in favour of this proposal. The

Council plans to make a decision onone of the three possible sites withinthe next two weeks, and intends tosubmit a grant application by the endof this month. Let us know what youthink by dropping off a note to us at

the offices of Bohemia Village Voice(see box, page 6) by Friday 23rdFebruary. We will make sure theCouncil hear the opinions ofBohemia residents before it makes afinal decision. [JB]

Resident s’ reaction to T raveller site proposal

current proposal, Mr Jenks claimed,is intended to alleviate this problemfor both the council officers and theresidents affected by these illegalcamps, and also for the Travellercommunity. ‘Our objective’, he said,‘is to deal with illegal encampmentsin a more positive way.’ Mr Jenksalso admitted that the governmentgrant available to pay for the workwas a great incentive, as such a sitewas needed anyway, and the burdenof paying for it would otherwise fallupon council-tax payers.

The Summerfields site is one ofthree possible locations out of a muchlarger number that were originallyconsidered. The three remainingpotential sites were the only ones thatmet all the criteria, were not private-ly owned and were currently unde-veloped, Mr Jenks said. TheSummerfields site is slightly smallerthan the other two, and would accom-

modate up to seven pitches (a pitch isone caravan and two cars), the mini-mum requirement for such a site.Each pitch would pay rent and wouldbe allowed to remain at the site for amaximum of 28 days.

In the question-and-answer sessionthat followed these presentations, thestrength of opposition from localBohemia residents, businesspeopleand community leaders was clearlyvoiced. The main concerns raised atthe meeting were:1) Having an authorised site will be

a magnet that draws Travellers toHastings, especially in the absence ofsimilar sites being provided by EastSussex County Council, RotherCouncil and various other boroughauthorities. The Summerfields siteprovides for seven pitches, but itcould easily be oversubscribed,thereby creating further problems ofillegal encampments within the town.

2) Health provision in this part of

the town is already stretched to copewith the needs of the many sociallydisadvantaged people who live in thearea. The influx of Travellers wouldplace a further burden on alreadystrained resources.3) Access to the site would probably

have to be through Summerfields carpark, which is often fully occupied.The arrival of Traveller vehicles try-ing to negotiate their way around thecar park to access the transit-siteentrance could be a traffic headacheand even a road-safety hazard forpeople, especially children, visitingthe leisure centre.

4) The provision of a transit site isbeing promoted based on the avail-ability of government money to payfor adapting the site for that purpose.A far more sensible solution wouldbe to choose a larger site, to accom-modate both a site for a permanent,residential encampment and a transitsite. The presence of a permanent

community will act as a restraininginfluence on any visitors to the tran-sit site who are disinclined to act andlive responsibly. Travellers them-selves favour this two-tiered solution.In this regard, the Summerfields siteis the least suitable of the three (beingby far the smallest), and could not beexpanded in the future when the timecomes to create a permanent, residen-tial encampment.

5) The green area proposed fordevelopment is a valuable localresource, especially in summer, whenfamilies and visitors to the town playgames and have picnics there.Following the consultation period, a

site will be chosen in mid to lateFebruary, and a grant applicationsubmitted at the end of the month. Ifthat is successful, a planning applica-tion will then be submitted some timein March or April. Planning permis-sion secured, a site would be createdin late 2007 or early 2008. [JB]

Travellers (from page 1)

Ten things about Gyp sies you may not have known 1 Romany Gypsies have lived in the

UK since 1515.

2 Gypsies in Britain were originally

known as ‘Aegyptians’.

3 Until the 17th century it was an

offence punishable by death simplyto be a Gypsy.

4 In later centuries punishment for

being a Gypsy became deportation(to Australia and other places).

5 It wasn’t until 1989 that the

British Government first recognisedGypsies as an ethnic minority.

6 It was not until 2000 that Irish

Travellers were accorded the samestatus as Gypsies.

7There are now 12 million Romany

Gypsies in the EU, the fastest-grow-ing community in the Union.

8 Some 2 million Gypsies live in

Romania (representing 10% of thepopulation), where they are treatedbetter than in most other Europeancountries, according to a Save theChildren report published in 2002.

9 The majority of Travellers in the

UK, some 80%, have a settled basefrom which they travel. But there iscurrently a shortage of 5000 pitchesin the UK. There are only four coun-cil sites in the whole of East Sussex.

10 There are more famous people

with Gypsy or Traveller heritagethan you might think. Among themare the Jazz guitarist DjangoReinhardt, the actor Bob Hoskins,the footballers Eric Cantona, JoseAntonio Reyes and Wayne Rooney,Hollywood legends Ava Gardnerand Rita Hayworth, as well as ElvisPresley, Pablo Picasso and formerUS president Bill Clinton. [JB]

Where the proposed Travellers’ site will be located (marked in black)

Bohemia Village Voice No. 45. Saturday 17 February 2007 Page 3 Page 3

ASSISTANT EDITORBohemia Village Voice has a newassistant editor, local resident JulianBeecroft. Julian has been a freelancebook and magazine editor and writerfor a number of years, working forpublishers such as Macmillan andA&C Black. Any stories you wantreporting or investigating, just lethim know by calling on 430460 oremailing him at john@john-humphries.f2s.com, or else drop in tothe office at 79 Bohemia Road (nextto Masquerade).

NEW OFFICES The Bohemia Village Voice moved into new premises at 79 Bohemia Roadat the beginning of February, in timefor the relaunch of the newsletterafter a break of two months. Theoffice, which according to local resi-dent Annabel Tilley ‘looks fab’, isopen to callers every day from 10amuntil 1pm, though someone is oftenin the office outside these hours. Ifyou have a story to tell, we want tohear about it.

DISTRIBUTION Distribution of the Voice has beengreatly increased; it is now beingdelivered to all homes, businessesand organisations in the following 53streets: Aldborough Road, AmherstRoad, Amherst Gardens, AmherstRoad, Barnfield Close, BlomfieldRoad, Bohemia Road, BuchananGardens, Chapel Park Road (toEllenslea Rd), Cherry Tree Close,Church Road (to Ellenslea Rd),Clarence Road (and Upper ClarenceRoad), Cloudesley Road,Combermere Road, CornfieldTerrace, Cranbrook Road, De ChamAvenue, De Cham Road, Ellis Close,Five Acre Walk, Gilbert Road,Hillyglen Close, Hop Garden Close,Horntye Road, Linton Road, LintonCrescent, London Road (Needlepointto Anglesea Road), Lower SouthRoad, Magdalen Road (to St John’sRoad), Newgate Road, North Road,Redmayne Drive, Salisbury Road,Selmeston Close, Spring Street,Springfield Road, Springfield ValleyRoad, St Catherine’s Close, StMatthew’s, Drive, St Matthew’sGardens, St Matthew’s Road, StPaul’s Place, St Paul’s Road, StPeter’s Road, The Courtyard, Tower

Road, Tower Road West, Upper ParkRoad, Upper South Road, VerdantClose, Winterbourne Close, andWoodland Vale Road.

COPIESIn addition, copies of the Voice areavailable from Wood’s Newsagents,Munday’s Newsagents, the ShellGarage, Alldays Supermarket,Bookman’s Halt, Empress Art,Hassan Pet Supplies, Horntye SportsCentre, Summerfields Sports Centre,Travelodge and Visual Magic.

DIRECTORYA new directory of businesses,organisations and individuals tradingor practising in Bohemia is due to bepublished. Proof copies have goneout to each of the 137 names fea-tured, which include schools, church-es, political parties and public utili-ties such as those which line one sideof the lower end of Bohemia Road.Some 3000 A5 copies of theBohemia Village Directory will hitthe streets in March, available freefrom the usual outlets and also deliv-ered to homes and businesses in thelocal area.

The compiler and publisher of thenew book, John Humphries, whoalso publishes the Village Voice, sayshe hopes the Directory proves to be‘a useful guide to the range of servic-es available in Bohemia, to encour-age people to use those services’.John started compiling the list ofnames in the book back in Novemberlast year. He says he is surprised athow many different businesses thereare in the area. Something in excessof 800 people are employed by thesedisparate organisations.

It is John’s intention to update theDirectory on a regular basis, and healready has plans for a second editionto appear some time in the summer.He is presently in the process of cal-culating how many unused businesspremises there are in the area. ‘Forinstance, in Tower Road’, he says, ‘8out of 16 units are currently not beingused as commercial premises, ofwhich 7 have recently been or arenow being converted for residentialuse. Sadly, this kind of commercialdecline is echoed to only a slightlylesser extent in London Road andBohemia Road.’[JB/JLH]

Changes at the Village Voice

There has been a change of manage-ment at the Wheatsheaf pub inBohemia Road. The new manager,Duncan, took over at the beginningof February, after seven years’expe-rience of managing various pubsacross Sussex and Kent. Duncan sayshe would like to put on music at thepub, but he’s still finding his feet. ‘I

need to get to know my customers,see what’s best for them and for thepub,’he says. He is also keen to pointout that the Wheatsheaf is still underthe same ownership as before, sothose patrons who made themselvesunwelcome under the last regimeshould still regard themselves asbarred from the pub. [JB]

New Manager at Wheat sheaf

The exhibition of a local artist’s worktook place in January at the premisesnow occupied by the Village Voice.Ron Beauchamp died six years ago,having moved to St Leonards only afew years earlier. The exhibition at79 Bohemia Road showed all of theartist’s work in the possession ofexhibition organiser JohnHumphries, who was also Ron’scousin. A number of people saw theshow over the three days it was open,from Saturday 13th to Monday 15thJanuary, including local MPMichaelFoster, whose constituency office ison Bohemia Road. The private view,held on the evening of Friday 12thJanuary, was also well attended, with25 people enjoying the generous buf-fet before bidding for some of theworks on display. Among the gather-ing were Ron’s long-term friendDave Larner and fellow art enthusi-ast Phil Sellens. Ron and Phil firstmet at the New Riviera Group, alocal art society.John has been heartened by how

well the exhibition was received.‘We managed to sell 72 pictures andwood carvings – that’s most of them

– during the four days. Another 14have gone since. The prices at theauction ranged from £2 to £25. Theyreflected what people were preparedto pay. The work that was selling wasmostly representational, though Ronalso did abstract work. The two mostexpensive works were two picturesof cats which a local woman boughtfor £25 each.

‘All sorts of people bought the pic-tures. I was surprised. They weren’tthe art set, they seemed to be ordi-nary people. I think Ron would havebeen quite chuffed at the level ofinterest and appreciation that theregenuinely seemed to be. Most peopleremarked on the wide variety ofstyles and subject matter he used.

‘I did a fully-indexed colour cata-logue featuring some of the works ondisplay, which also included a biog-raphy and photographs of my cousinfrom different periods in his life.’

The exhibition took in excess of£550, all of which will be donated toRon’s favourite charities. ‘I’vealready sent off a cheque for £375 tothe Cats’Protection League.’[JB]

Art Exhibition ‘great success’

Local resident Bill Third, Edward Munn from Essex and exhibition organ-iser John Humphries discussing the finer points of Ron Beauchamp’s art.

Local councillor Vivienne Bond in background. [Photo: Paul Elmes]

Doris Paine 1922–2007The funeral of Doris Paine was heldat Park Road Methodist Church onValentine’s Day this week. Doris, 84,died suddenly at home on 2ndFebruary. The church was packed forthe service. A tribute, called ‘OurMum’ and written by her daughterSheila, was read by the family. Doriswas a well-loved and, by allaccounts, accomplished organist atPark Road Church. She had twelvechildren – nine daughters and threesons. [JB with thanks to Paul Smithfor this information]

Doris Paine

Bohemia Village Voice No. 45. Saturday 17 February 2007 Page 4 Page 4

with Roseanna. He says he spent 25years in Londonbefore deciding he’dhad enough.

Roseanna was dis-abled after breakingalmost every bone inher body in a car acci-dent while she was inher twenties. She usedto be an accomplishedviolinist but has notbeen able to play theinstrument for manyyears on account ofher injuries. She hasbeen making cards for15 years. ‘At first itwas physiotherapyafter I couldn’t workanymore,’she says. ‘Afriend of mine askedme to embroider acard for her, and whenpeople saw what I’ddone they started ask-ing me for more. Thenmy partner at the timebegan taking orders atcraft fairs and gradual-ly the business grew.Later I had a stall in the market onthe pier when that was still going,

before Brian and I started the shopthere. Eventually we had the largest

unit there and thenthey closed it withonly an hour’s notice.’Roseanna designs and

makes all the cards forthe shop, which is cur-rently well stockedwith cards forMother’s Day, amongother occasions. Sheworks several monthsin advance to keep upwith the regular festi-vals. ‘On Mother’sDay I’m doingFather’s Day,’ shesays. ‘But I won’t doHalloween cards. Idraw the line at that.’However, she doesmake cards for themajor Jewish festivals.Prices range from£1.75 for the smallercards to £3.50 for a 7 x5in card that comes ina box. The shop isopen from 9am until5pm every day exceptSunday, though Brian

says he always closes for lunchbetween 1 and 2pm. [JB]

New card shop:Roseanna and Brian

they cannot conduct interviews like aregular constable, for example.Andy’s other duties include speakingto landlords and checking their‘refusals books’for details of indi-viduals barred from pubs in the area.Andy, who is 34 years old, was born

in Bethnal Green in London but nowlives in Ore. Prior to becoming astreet bobby he was a section manag-er at the Tesco store in Hollington.Having decided on this change ofcareer, he undertook the four-monthtraining course required to become astreet bobby.

Another Hastings ‘street bobby’,James Mackintosh, says, ‘As far asI’m concerned, PCSOs are what theold British ‘bobby’used to be. We’reon the street, willing to talk and listen– but also willing to get our handsdirty to make the town a better placeto live.’

How to contact Andy direct: call0845 60 70 999 and dial extension21185. This takes you straightthrough to Andy. If he’s busy, he’llring you back as soon as he can. The0845 60 70 999 number can also beused to contact the police for any non-urgent matter. [JLH]

(‘Street bobby’ - from page 1)

Local taxi driver Paul Elmes (pic-tured) had his car attacked in Lidl’scar park on Wednesday 3rd Januaryat around 8.30pm. Mr Elmes, whohad been doing hisshopping at thestore, saw a num-ber of youngstershanging around thecar-park entranceas he returned tohis car. He told theVoice, ‘One tried toopen my car dooras I was leavingthe car park and anumber wereblocking the exit. Idrove towardsthem to let themknow that I wantedto get out, but theywouldn’t budge. Then a couple ofthem started having a go at the car –one kicked the back of it, and anoth-er aimed a flying kick at the sidedoor. There’s still a slight dent in it. Igot out and started shouting at them

and they ran off in the direction of DeCham Road. I could see they’d beendrinking. They were holding cans ofsome kind.

‘I contacted thepolice and theygave me a crimenumber but I’venot heard any-thing since. I alsotold the managerof Lidl about theincident andasked him whythere weren’tsecurity camerasin the car park.He said that thecompany would-n’t provide them.But it’s obvious.Look at the Shell

garage next door. They’ve got cam-eras, and the kids don’t go in there.’Mr Elmes is keen to see this storyreported as only then, he believes,will the police do anything about it.We await developments... [JB]

Car att ack in Lidl’ s car p ark

Paul Elmes – attacked at Lidl’s

At the time of writing, the VillageVoice has received 19 entries for itsultra-short story competition. Somewriters have submitted multipleentries (permitted under competitionrules), including a whopping sevenpieces from one author. The fascinat-ing range of submissions includesseveral ghost stories, a few war sto-ries, a tale of romantic longing, andstories touching on insanity anddeath. In our opinion, the judges’taskwill not be an easy one, such is the

quality of the pieces submitted so far. Close readers of this newsletter

should note that as Julian Beecroftnow takes an active part in producingit, he has resigned as one of thejudges of the ultra-short story com-petition. The closing date for submis-sions is 28th February 2007. Thejudging will take place in the firstweek of March, and the winner willbe announced in the next issue of theVillage Voice, to be published on17th March. [JLH]

Short stories stream in

LUNCH CLUBLocal resident Don Ray is running alunch club in St Peter’s Church Hallevery Monday at 12.30pm.Subsidised by a charity connectedwith the church, the club is confinedto people who live in the parish of StPeter and St Paul. A typical menucould be carrot and coriander soup,roast gammon with potatoes and twoveg, syrup sponge with custard, andcoffee. Soup and coffee are made bythe organisers, while the main courseand dessert are supplied by SandownSchool kitchen. A three-course lunchcosts 50p. The club currently has 18members but can cater for up 40.Anyone living within the parish canapply for membership to Don Ray, 6Clarence Road, tel: 439556.

WHIST DRIVEFollowing the lunch club at the samevenue there is a whist drive every

Monday from 2 to 4pm. Anyone whocan play a reasonable hand of whistis welcome to turn up. There is nolimit on numbers. Entry costs £1, andthere are small cash prizes and also araffle. [JB]

BOOK SALESt Peter’s Church Hall will host itsanuual book sale on Saturday 17thMarch. This will be the seventh yearof an event whose popularity contin-ues to increase. Books are sold atbargain prices, attracting dealers andmembers of the public alike. Typicalprices are 30p for paperbacks and80p for hardbacks, though the better-quality books are individually priced.There is no admission charge, soeven those who buy nothing are wel-come to have a browse and a coffee.The book sale is open from 10amuntil 2pm. [Stewart Buchan]

St Peter ’s Church

Card shop opens (from page 1)

A tea and coffeemorning was held inthe new vestibule ofPark Road Churchon Tuesday 23rd

January between 10 am and 12 noon.The organiser, Mrs Hampton, saysthis will be ‘a weekly event for peo-ple in the community to come andmeet friends and have a chat’. [JB]

Park Road Church

Wednesdays 5.30pm and 7pmPark Road Methodist Church Hall

Tel: Denise 440293

APOLOGIES. Keen readers of thelast issue of the Voice will note thatthis issue is a week later than prom-ised. Our recent move to new prem-ises has proved more complicated

than we imagined it would be, andwe can only apologise for the delay.We also apologise for the non-appearance of our three serials. Theywill all be continued in future issues.

Bohemia Village Voice No. 45. Saturday 17 February 2007 Page 5 Page 5

A development of five flats and onemaisonette is being proposed for 3–5Tower Road West. This would entail

the conversion of an existing ware-house. The applicant is Mr B. Allumof Maze Hill, St Leonards. [JB]

Flats for T ower Road W est?

More flats for Bohemia? Tower Road West proposed development

Kendal House site for 36 flat s?

Long-standing residents of Bohemiamay remember the collapse of thefacade of Kendal House (pictured)on Chapel Park Road back in the late1990s. The five-storey Victorianhouse, which at the time had beenconverted into a number of flats, wassubsequently pulled down, sincewhen the site has been vacant. Now aplanning application has been sub-mitted for a large development offlats on the site. The new buildingwould be six storeys high and com-prise 36 flats.

The development has attracted aconsiderable number of detailedobjections from local residents.These have ranged from the loss of

daylight to surrounding propertiesresulting from a building of this sizeto the increase in environmental, traf-fic-noise and road-safety concernsthat an extra 36 dwellings wouldbring to the area. Other concernsinclude the potential depreciation oflocal house prices, the inappropriatesize of the building in comparison toits neighbours, the loss of privacy forproperties adjacent to and oppositethe new building, and the effects ofso many new residents on alreadystretched local resources. A decision from Hastings Council’splanning committee is due at the endof February. [JB]

Chapel Park Road’s Kendal House (1992 photo)

A development of nine flats has beenapproved for land immediately adja-cent to Newgate Reservoir on thesouth side of Amherst Road. Theapplicant is Park Lane Homes(South East) Ltd, whose offices onBohemia Road will be well-knownto local residents. Another proposalfor a development of four semi-detached houses and two flats hadpreviously been submitted bySouthern Water (who still managethe underground reservoir) in Augustlast year, as reported by the VillageVoice in issue 33, 19 August 2006.That scheme was later withdrawn bythe applicant, and this new plan,involving the construction of a com-plex of four one-bed and five two-bed flats and associated parkingspace, was submitted in December.

The new plan has been approved byHastings Council’s planning com-mittee, though not without reserva-tions, as local councillor and plan-ning committee member VivienneBond explained to the Voice. ‘Theoriginal plan, submitted by anotherapplicant [Southern Water], was forsix terraced houses, which the plan-ning committee refused. It cameback as four houses, as we’d sug-gested, and a couple of flats, and weapproved it. But then the applicantwithdrew the plan. We were unhap-py that it came up again as this newdevelopment of flats, because theprevious designs were much better.But, unfortunately, we couldn’t finda good-enough planning reason toturn it down.’[JB]

Nine flat s for Newgate Reservoir

Two commercial properties in theheart of Bohemia were sold at auc-tion recently. The building at 85Bohemia Road, including a shop anda two-bedroom maisonette, was soldfor £110,000. The shop has beenvacant since the last tenant, 1066Consummables, gave up the lease.

Further up the street at 119 BohemiaRoad, a shop and two one-bedroomflats were sold for £130,000. Thecurrent tenant of the shop isDominic’s Barber Shoppe. Bothproperties were sold by Clive EmsonAuctioneers on 14th December2006. [JB]

Shops go under the hammer

LOWER SOUTH ROAD. A two-bedroom flat is being planned forland adjacent to 27 Lower SouthRoad. This would be an addition tothe three one-bedroom flats alreadygranted permission for this site inFebruary last year. The still-undevel-oped site is currently occupied bytwo garages. The applicant is J.Baker, c/o Pump House Designs, afirm based in Sedlescombe.ELLENSLEA ROAD. A develop-ment of flats is being proposed for 5Ellenslea Road. This would entailthe conversion of an existing 3-bed-room ground-floor flat into one two-bedroom and one one-bedroom flats,and the construction of a two-bed-

room maisonette, two two-bedroomflats and parking spaces. The appli-cant is London Allied (Hastings)Ltd, a firm based in Fulham in south-west London. HERON HOUSE. Planning permis-sion is currently being sought fortwo roof-mounted air-conditioningplant adjacent to an existing unit inLondon Road’s Heron House. Theapplicant is Mr N. Farooqui of DWPEstates, based in Central London.BOHEMIA ROAD. A developmentof four flats is being proposed for148 Bohemia Road. The property iscurrently classified as a shop and amaisonette. [JB]

Plans in the pipeline ... ↸ ↸ ↸

Newgate Reservoir site – Park Lane Homes will build flats here

Please note that if you have any comment to make about any proposedlocal development you should contact Hastings Borough Council’sPlanning Department without delay. This is located at Century House, 100Menzies Road, St Leonards, Sussex, TN38 9BB. Tel: 0845 274 1090.

Bohemia Village Voice No. 45. Saturday 17 February 2007 Page 6 Page 6

Published and edited by John LHumphriesat 79, Bohemia Road, Bohemia Village,Sussex, TN37 6RJ. Tel. 01424 430460. e-mail: john@johnhumphries.f2s.com Assistant editor: Julian Beecroft. Proof -reader: John E Humphries. First pub-lished May 2006. © John Humphries2007. Circulation: (Dec 16): print ver-sion: 1,807, e-mail: 105, total: 1,912. Toreceive an e-mail version of this newslet-ter, send an e-mail to John Humphries.

Advertisement ratesSizes in mm, (height by width). Whole page (269 x 189)..................£80.00Half page (133x189)......................£40.00Quarter page (133x93)..................£20.00Eighth page (65x93)......................£10.00Sixteenth page (65x45)....................£5.00 Lineage (per column cm)..................£1.00

Next issue: No. 46, Sat 17th Mar 2007.Deadline for advertisements and editori-al: 5pm Mon 12th March 2007.

Bohemia V illage V oice

Letters +++++Bohemia V illage?Dear Sir, Firstly let’s stop all this vil-lage nonsense once and for all.According to Radio Sussex on the15th December, after a listener’squestion, a village must be con-trolled by a parish council, whichBohemia has never been, to myknowledge. And as it is covered byat least two parishes, it cannot be.Vic Chalcraft, Aldborough Road.

Dear Sir, With reference to the ongo-ing debate over Bohemia’s villagestatus, when I was a young girl mygrandfather used to say to me, ‘Townor village?’ Then he’d toss a coin,and if it came up ‘town’then we’dgo down to the town, but if it cameup ‘village’ then we’d go toBohemia village and he’d buy mesome sweets. Obviously, I alwayshoped it would come up ‘village’.Ann Adams, Hassan Pet Supplies.

School dinnersDear Sir, The McIver letter re: StPaul’s [issue 44, 16th December2006]. As he is talking about longafter I left, I cannot say yea or nay. Iknow that at some time in this peri-od pupils had dinners in what is nowthe Red Cross Hall, and there was aschool in its own right in MagdalenRoad, though I was never aware of

its association with St Paul’s.Vic Chalcraft, Aldborough Road.

Shornden PassageDear Sir, Vic Chalcraft is right aboutShornden Passage [issue 44, 16thDecember 2006]. I was going towrite but Vic beat me. It was listedmany decades before. I’m not happyabout inventing names; but the exist-ing named twittens should berevived.Edward Preston, Bohemia Road

Street p arty – more name sDear Sir, Re: 1986 photo [issue 43,2nd December 2006]. 1. PeterGarnett. 4. Tim (bus driver). 28. RodWelfare. 30. Karina Garnett (daugh-ter). 31. Gill Welfare (Rod’s wife).32. Collette Campbell (Karina’sfriend). 35. Linda Welfare (Rod’sdaughter). 37. Len from AldboroughRoad. 40. Peter Alexander. 41. BobIvy. 42. Tom Huston. 43. PeteHomewood. 45. John Stevens (land-lord of the North Star pub). 47. Min.48. Ross Garnett (Peter’s son). 50.Brenda Garnett. 51. Martin Stevens(John’s son). 56. Dee Jones. 67.Sandra Hurrell (Karina’s friend). 73.Chrissie Stevens (landlady of theNorth Star). Spadge Barrett. 78. VeraBarrett.Peter Garnett, Bohemia Road.

Next Issueof

Bohemia VillageVoice

is due out onSaturday17thMarch2007

Last day for storiesand advertisements:Mon 12th March PRINTED BY FASTPRINT OF ST LEONARDS

DOROTHY WOOD. Localnewsagent Dorothy Wood has beenunable to attend her daughter’s wed-ding in northern Australia. Dorothy,who recently celebrated her 80thbirthday, suffered a thrombosis a lit-tle over two years ago. Various air-lines and insurers refused to fly her tothe wedding, which took place inCairns on 16th December, after localdoctors declined to issue her a med-ical certificate. ‘I tried three differentlocal doctors to obtain a certificate,but they all turned me down. You’renot allowed to fly within three yearsof having a thrombosis, and unfortu-nately my daughter couldn’t post-pone her wedding.’

CORMORANT? Local councillorVivienne Bond has spotted what shebelieves is a cormorant nesting in atree overlooking Shornden Lake onthe west side of Alexandra Park. Isthis a good omen for the village?MAN FOUND DEAD. A local manin his early sixties was found dead inhis flat last month. The body of a dogbelieved to belong to him was foundwith him in the property, which is sit-uated above the Bet Bet Bet 24/7shop in Bohemia Road. The case isstill being investigated and as suchthe Coroner’s Office was not able toprovide us with any details.[JB]

Grapevine

Puzzle 45 - £10 prizeThis issue’s puzzle is one for those ofyou with long memories or goodresearch skills. It’s in two parts. Inwhat year did Christchurch School(pictured above) move to its presentlocation in Woodland Vale Road?What was the name of the institutionthat occupied the site beforehand?Answer to puzzle 44Those of you still pondering theanswer to the puzzle we set in the lastissue (16th December 2006) can nowbe put out of their misery. GeorgeMonger (1840–87), who lived in

Tower Road, is a localman who won aVictoria Cross at theSiege of Lucknow,according to theplaque on the propertyin Tower Road. Threecorrect entries werereceived, and the win-ner (randomly select-ed) is Tim Whitfieldof Cornfield Terrace.Tim has been sent a£10 token from

Empress Art of Tower Road.Answer to puzzle 43Readers with even longer memorieswill be interested to hear that we hadjust one correct reply to the puzzle inthe previous issue (2nd December).The winning entrant had this to say intheir letter to us: ‘Should this bysome fluke be the winning entry,please donate the prize to SurvivingChristmas. Thank you. Finding thehouse names was reward enough.’The £10 (provided by Empress Art)was gladly donated to this prominentlocal charity.

Puzzle Corner

HYPNOTHERAPYJames Caspian BA(Hons), CHP(NC).

*Stop Smoking *Stress/anxiety*Pain relief *Exam nerves *Weight issues

National College of Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy trained. (www.hyp-notherapyuk.net)

Tel 07939 542632 or 01424 714647