15 April 2018
Dear Friends,
I have been waiting to send a
newsletter until the intentions of EDDC became clear, but they seem to be moving
very slowly and I can't discover anything definite.
Luckily it was the
Sidmouth Town Council Annual Assemblage on Monday 9th April and I was able to
ask the Councillors what they knew.
It seems that the Councillors who were on
the Reference Group for the scoping study recently received an update on
progress. The timescales still seem a little vague but, broadly, EDDC have the
tender out to identify the best company to market the site; the company is
expected to be chosen within the next 3 weeks. The company and EDDC will then
work together for about another 4 weeks to develop the best strategy, collate
the relevant information and prepare images and brochures. At the end of this
time the 6 month marketing period will start. So we may be looking at the
marketing starting around the END of May and closing early November
2018.
I was told there will not be any restrictions placed on the sale as far as
plans for reuse or demolition are concerned. Both options will be considered
equally, so the fight is not yet won.
So far I have only heard about one local community group who may be
interested in buying the Hall. Please let me know if you have heard of others as
I want to help all potential buyers as much as possible.
It did strike me
that if STC, or a community group, had owned the Hall we would not have had to
trek up Salcombe Hill to the Scout Hut on Monday night; and that more people may
have attended the meeting! Parking was very tight at the Scout Hut and many
people had to park on the road, creating a considerable hazard as the cloud had
come down and visibility was very poor.
The only other news is that both
Matt Booth and I have both put up web pages to try to help anyone contemplating
taking on the Hall.
Matt's is more targeted at community groups and can be
found at Community Bid
Mine is much broader and aims to be useful for anyone whether it be Community, Charity or
Commercial.
To finish with some links.
This is what EDDC needed to
know when they took over the Drill Hall, but it was only published last month.
Managing Vacant Historic Buildings, from Historic England. We
can of course quote it when we are saying that condition is not a reason for
demolition.
This is a place to consider for funds, or companies who could
put the Hall to good use.
And this is a fun piece when considering a new bridge over the Sid
As soon as I hear the Hall is
on the market I will let you know.
Kind regards, Mary
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