Pavilion trust takes control

THE entire responsibility for handling the £6m De La Warr Pavilion capital works programme is being given over by Rother to the Pavilion Charitable Trust.

The subject was debated behind closed doors on Monday.

The original plan was for work on the pavilion to start last Summer and for the public to retain limited access.

But potential contractors responding to the initial invitation to submit tenders, said Health and Safety regulations made this impossible and the building would have to be closed for the duration of the work.

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When the De La Warr Pavilion closed to the public last December, pavilion trust chairman Dr Richard Sykes told the Observer at a close-down party: "We are hoping that the builders will be coming here in January. We will be opening the tenders in the next few days."

At that stage it was hoped that work would be completed by the Spring of 2005.

Since then both Rother and the Trust have remained tight-lipped.

Under the terms of the Lottery grant, Rother handed over the running of the pavilion to the trust last year. A second round of tenders had to be sought on a revised specification after the initial submissions were found to be way over budget. There has been cabinet discussion since then on a trust request to take over the handling of the refurbishment contract.

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Monday's Rother cabinet meeting was due to receive a report from director of services Tony Leonard on the latest tenders.

But before the cabinet met the decision was taken to advise councillors not to discuss this in open session with press and public present but to go into camera because of the confidential nature of business figures.

Rother leader Cllr Graham Gubby this week issued a statement in response to the Observer's enquiries.

He said: "We had a very deep and wide-ranging debate before any decision was taken.

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"We were determined to do the best thing for the residents of Rother who have in the past and will continue to expect the maximum use possible for the public money that is put into it and we considered carefully what was right for the charitable trust and the council to protect the building works programme.