The argument that you hear most often in support of the Henry Boot proposals is that it is the only option on the table. This is not true.
COUNCIL LED
In June 2005 North Somerset Council considered another option alongside the Henry Boot scheme. The text of the motion put to the Council was:
“That this Council proposes the building of a modern, publicly funded, covered water leisure facility on the Tropicana site; it should be built and operated by a combination of District Council and Weston-super-Mare Town Council finance, appropriate small-scale on-site development and the marketing of, for instance, the Carlton Street Car Park for multi-storey, mixed-use development including car parking, residential and retail, or whichever combination provides the best capital return and that all relevant Council taxation and off-site receipts should be ring-fenced, following suitable constitutional changes, for the Tropicana Project.”
This was a proposals that could be delivered, would have meant the council would be in charge of its own project and we would not be dependent on the private sector or market conditions to dictate what can and cannot be done. In the public consultation carried out by North Somerset in the spring of 2005, 60% of the public supported this option.
North Somerset Councillors, in their wisdom, voted against this proposal.
NIGHTINGALE SCHEME
Whether it was ever truly serious or not, Councillors also rejected the chance to work with Richard Nightingale and other interested local business people on an alternative scheme. Mr Nightingale’s proposals attracted a great deal of local support. But this was ignored.
COMMUNITY TRUST
Other groups and individuals have also proposed the establishment of a community trust to take responsibility for the Tropicana site and project. They have suggested that such a trust could attract investment from the National Lottery and other sources and deliver a scheme.
Again, North Somerset Council have ignored these suggestions and pressed ahead with the Henry Boot scheme.
READY WITH PLAN B?
Mike Bell and TropicanaWatch want a successful scheme for the Tropicana and for the council to get on with it.
But, just in case anything should go wrong, we need to be ready with plan B - some ideas of which are set out above.
TropicanaWatch will act as a focal point for ideas and local initiatives to make sure that we solve the Tropicana ‘problem’ once and for all and start to take Weston-super-Mare forward.
If you have any ideas, comments or suggestions, please get in touch.
