St Mary’s Hall - a matter for the Church?
Posted in News under Adur | Council Watch | on May 20 2008
Not much fish is landed in Shoreham these days, but the smell of old catches is in the air. Why was St Mary’s Church Hall, uniquely useful to the local community, sold off? How is it possible that the Hall’s Trustees decide on their own to sell a valuable community asset, in secret, to a developer? Was it offered to other bidders?
Curiously, it seems that the lucky buyer is the same developer of stylish apartments for the financially fortunate that has cooperated so closely with Adur District Council on the ‘Waterside’ part of its (very) ambitious regeneration project, the Shoreham Renaissance - otherwise known as the Parcelforce site (ex B&Q).
Tarmount Lane Studios, another community asset from which Adur Council has evicted so many local groups, is fated to be another part of that grandiose scheme and conveniently leads through to ......St Mary’s Hall. Well! If the Council is ‘procuress’ for these interesting liaisons, heaven forbid, shouldn’t we know ? Who are the officers within Adur who are suited or capable of putting together complex land deals? Adur, still with the reek of Fishersgate on its hands, where a million quid of public money was blown in serial, Mr Bumble incompetence, seems keen on yet more in-house training.