Councillor's disappointment over the scrapping of the Seaton seafront regeneration project

District and town councillor Marcus Hartnell has expressed his "extreme" disappointment that the Seaton seafront regeneration plans have stalled, calling for the project to be "kept alive".

In a posting on social media today, Cllr Hartnell, who as well as being a town councillor represents Seaton on East Devon District Council, said: "Seaton town councillors, myself included, now need to review the project, taking time to understand and learn from mistakes that have been made, and to consider all options to keep the project alive."

Cllr Hartnell noted that all members of the town council that worked on the seafront project up until late 2020 had quit the council.

He added: "As an EDDC councillor I'm pushing to see the moridunum redeveloped as it is a key element that will offer a commercial opportunity on the seafront, and I will put a strong case forward to ensure the proceeds of any sale get invested in regenerating the seafront."

Planning permission for the enhancement scheme was granted in 2017 and it would have included pedestrianisation of sections of the seafront, demolition of the existing public toilets and moridunum and construction of a new building, alterations to the highway layout and a new pedestrian crossing, to allow formation of new public space with raised seating and siting of seasonal huts for commercial use.

Having already spent more than £50,000 on the project, the town council announced it was scrapping the idea last month after a number of procedural and financial concerns were raised.