Seaton's newest town councillor has expressed her own personal opinions on the seafront enhancement scheme and the derelict toilet block, which has been described as an "eyesore" for many years.

Cllr Cheryl Wood recently moved to Seaton and joined the council as she wanted to understand why the seafront enhancement project put forward in 2017 had not started.

In particular, she had concerns about the derelict toilet block next to Fosseway Court on the Esplanade, which is owned by East Devon District Council (EDDC).

Seaton Town Council has no control over this, despite it being an integral part of the original plans to enhance the seafront.

Cllr Wood said one of the many problems lies with the fact that, although the planning permission was submitted by Seaton Town Council, it does not own or control any of the land or buildings which are part of the scheme.

She said: "It's a bit like putting in a planning application to completely remodel your neighbour's house.

"On top of that, add in the additional problems of not having the funds to complete it, or any resources, knowledge or expertise to manage and deliver a multi-million pound building project and you can start to appreciate the complexity involved."

Fosseway Transition Limited (FTL), a private company, obtained planning permission in 2014 to redevelop Fosseway Court, a large development of flats on the seafront which had fallen into a state of disrepair, and which sits above the toilet block and shares a party wall with the structure.

At that time a memorandum of understanding was agreed between FTL and EDDC to work together so that ownership of the toilet block could be transferred and development of the public access areas over and in front of the toilet block could be delivered by FTL within their separate development plans.

As the toilet block had not been part of the original planning permission for the FTL development, this design would be included within a wider seafront enhancement scheme, which was part of the planning permission granted to Seaton Town Council in 2017.

Over the subsequent years, negotiations over the final terms and conditions of the disposal of the toilet block by EDDC to FTL failed to reach a successful conclusion and finally reached an impasse in September 2020.

A final attempt to restart the dialogue was made by FTL making an increased offer in April 2021, but the decision to reject this was supported by deputy leader of EDDC and portfolio holder for Economy and Assets, Cllr Paul Hayward, who is ward member for Yarty.

Cllr Wood has expressed her disappointment that face-to-face meetings had not taken place to attempt to clarify any assumptions, check exactly what is included and bridge the gap between the parties involved to obtain a resolution even at this late stage, and also that Seaton Town Council was not consulted over this decision.

She commented: "I think the pressure is now on for EDDC to secure a better deal for the toilet block which will also deliver a real and tangible benefit for Seaton in the way that the original bid by FTL included significant work to the public areas.

"This is vitally important for Seaton, as any monetary value obtained for the disposal will belong to EDDC and is not automatically ring-fenced to be spent within Seaton, or be a contribution towards the funds required for the seafront enhancement scheme.

"This saga has dragged on for more than five years now so we do need to see some sense of urgency over getting a resolution so that the implications can be assessed for the viability of the wider seafront enhancement scheme."