June 2011
This month the update comes from Cheryl, the project support officer on the Next Wave team. Having joined the Next Wave team in December 2010, I can't believe how quickly the last 6 months have gone!
The original project support officer, Ian, moved on to a new job within East Sussex, working in an advisory role with several local councils. This left Janice with a gap in the team at a point where everything was happening at once - so that's where I came in. I already worked for Rother District Council as admin officer for the leisure team - providing project, website, communications and clerical support for the art, sport and museum officers. Having worked closely with Bexhill Museum and the De La Warr Pavilion in this post and assisting with other projects and events, meant that I would be able to step in and take on the reigns and hopefully be an asset to the team. Well, when I came into the post, we were just a couple of weeks away from opening up the West Promenade under 'partial completion'. All the while, Contract B was well underway with the demolition of the Rowing Club and preparing the Colonnade for refurbishment and extension. I also took on the co-ordination of the memorial plaques along the seafront. I hadn't quite realised what an in-depth task this was when I first embarked on it, but certainly a satisfying one when families telephone and email to say 'thank you' for making the arrangements and how much it means to them. So, what's happened since December 2010? At my first walkover of West Promenade with Ian just before he left, I really found it hard to imagine just how it would turn out. All I saw was soil, diggers and protective fencing - oh, and I found out that when the wind is cold and strong in the winter, I get an earache... |  |
| All I can say is "what a transformation". I paid a visit on Easter Monday to see it all from a visitor's perspective - and I loved it! From people sitting on the benches with the little 'tables' eating their fish and chips whilst children play in the garden rooms, to visitors walking along the prom enjoying ice-cream and admiring the splashes of colour the new shrubs and plants provide - it was a real picture of a popular and exciting seaside resort. Our coastal officer reported that it had been one of the busiest Easter Bank Holidays he had ever witnessed in Bexhill! I must mention the day the shelters arrived. It certainly was a sight to behold - a fully constructed shelter arriving around the Sackville Roundabout and making its way along West Parade on the back of a low-loader! There were lots of amazed and interested onlookers, all with their cameras waiting to take a shot of a piece of Bexhill-on-Sea's history in the making. I was immensely proud to be part of such a momentous occasion. |
This takes me onto Contract B: the Colonnade refurbishment, new Rowing Club and re-landscaped Metropole Lawn. I had not worked on a construction project before and having attended a couple of the technical progress meetings, I can honestly say that I had no idea what went into a project of this size and nature. Not only working on a listed building, but being so close to one - the iconic De La Warr Pavilion - it is phenomenal to witness the amount of planning, technical issues (and solutions) that have to be dealt with constantly. I will never look at any construction site in the same way, now knowing what happens behind the scenes. So; dealing with enquiries from residents and visitors, liaising with officers of the Council who will be responsible for the seafront once completely finished, communicating with the architects and contractors, keeping the website up to date, co-ordinating memorial plaque arrangements, delivering a presentation to the Primary Schools' Council this month - my role as project support officer is a busy, rewarding job that I am thoroughly enjoying. |  |
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