Opinion | Why I stand with the Strand traders in Exmouth

Ed: Nub News is impartial and does not endorse views expressed in opinion pieces.

This article is the view of Cllr Paul Millar and concerns commercial negotiations for use of the grassed areas in the Strand for outdoor seating.

Click here to find out more.

The Strand is Exmouth's beating heart, our central meeting hub for civic occasions, the place we gather for big community events of all kinds.

But its new piazza design was aimed also at establishing a 'cafe quarter' and alfresco dining experience for residents and visitors. I was a teenager when that regeneration took place, led by former Mayor Darryl Nicholas and others. Whether you supported it or not, there is a general consensus now that we must make the best of what we have for the town.

Yet, since we had the regeneration well over a decade ago, I think all would agree that the space has not been utilised to anywhere near its full potential. Then the pandemic happened, and last summer briefly showed The Strand meet its potential.

Exmouth is lucky to have a diverse range of attractive independent local cafes and bars keen to realise the exciting vision made in the late 2000s, and each of them - Franklins, Bayleaf, Palm, The Grapevine, Spoken and others - have the ability and expertise to offer that experience in spring, summer and early autumn. Nearly all are run by families local to the town, and crucially, their prosperity means profits that stay in the town, and more jobs for people who live in the town.

All of these businesses are prepared to pay what most people would see as a reasonable rent, a three figure sum, to use a few patches of grass between April and September every year. That income will benefit the council taxpayer and allow the businesses to trade at a small profit.

I am personally feeling very frustrated, for all the progress I and another councillor personally made last spring working with the local traders and council officers has been lost. I recall the lengthy exchange of emails with the council assets team, managing to persuade the lead officer to allow businesses to expand outside last summer as an experiment and crucially that chairs and marquees could be left out overnight (as originally it was insisted they be taken in every evening, a ridiculous obstacle for struggling businesses).

A nasty shock

The 144-fold rental increase announced just three weeks before the Easter weekend, with Exmouth councillors not consulted, has come as a nasty shock. There have been six months to resolve this matter since the holding solution last summer, but no progress has been made.

What must be remembered is these businesses transformed the Strand from a desolate abyss into a vibrant and exciting place to eat and drink out. Hats off to the imagination of the proprietors and their staff at Bayleaf, Franklins, Palm, The Grapevine and Spoken who made that happen in a pandemic. We all loved the Mediterranean vibe, as did visitors.

So how does my council thank them? By allowing negotiations to continue to be outsourced to Torbay Council's development agency, a cold and heartless approach, reflecting an old ethos of outsourcing that I'd hoped EDDC was on the way to moving past with a new administration. Sadly not.

As this embarrassing debacle unfolds, it is worth emphasising that this issue is not outside of the purview of elected members, and the cabinet would do well in my view to listen to the strength of local feeling and give officers the appropriate steer.

Over the past few years my own confidence and morale has been shaken by a frankly sinister institutional culture so many members of the public can so evidently see within EDDC from the outside looking in. From my experience, this has consisted of a lack of accountability from office holders and a failure to accept constructive challenge from the public. Above all, an attitude of putting commercial self-interest before the needs of local communities, which is what we see here.

So right now, the cabinet at EDDC need to sit up, listen, and get us to a situation where these cafes and bars are able to expand into the Strand not just this summer but next year and the year after; not only does it make the whole area look amazingly attractive to locals, it means attracting more and more people coming down to visit Exmouth from further afield: good for the council, good for local independent businesses, and good for the town as a whole.

No excuse

Some things the council does and gets wrongly criticised for are fiendishly complex, but this is so, so simple. Devon County Council are continuing with their regime of supporting independent local business with their continued below market rate offer for use of their pavement. They are not using the Torbay Development Agency to carry out negotiations on this piece of land. EDDC has no excuse for how it's acted.

Yet, despite that, there is still time to save the day and win support from the public. All it takes is humility and accountability, two traits not in the traditional cultural DNA of EDDC, but perhaps if certain individuals look deeply in their hearts, they will find.

Only by showing those at the top at EDDC the full weight of public support can we move towards a long-term lease agreement for these independent local businesses to use land the overwhelming majority of the local public wish for them to use. I say to the leader of EDDC, act now, put an end to these absurd practices, which may long precede you, but which you have the opportunity to put right.