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LYME WOMAN’S ING PLAY HEAD E FOR MARIN STAGE www.lyme-online.co.uk PAGE 24
By-election called for council vacancy
A BY-ELECTION will be held on Thursday, April 6 to fill a vacancy on Lyme Regis Town Council. The by-election was announced after the minimum 10 electors called for a vote to fill the vacancy caused by the recent death of Cllr John Broom. Former Deputy Mayor of Lyme Regis, Jeff Scowen has already announced his intention to stand. REPORTS, PAGE 2
Sale of Abbeyfield benefits charities
TRUSTEES of the former Abbeyfield in Lyme Regis have donated funds from the sale of the house to 17 local charities. Westhill in Silver Street was sold last year, after the Abbeyfield home offering independent living for elderly residents was closed down amid financial difficulties suffered during the pandemic. REPORT, PAGE 2
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THE Rotary Club of Lyme Regis has donated £1,550 to Lyme Heartbeat, which funds and maintains public-use defibrillators in Lyme Regis. The money was raised through the Rotary Club’s Christmas street collections and at the annual Carols Round the Tree service - see page 6 for full report. Photo credit: Rob James
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TOWN COUNCIL ASKED TO BACK LOCAL BUSINESSES AMID DECKING ROW LYME Regis restaurateur Mark Hix was backed by a multitude of supporters at a town council meeting this week, as he continued a campaign to keep his restaurant decking.
Mr Hix attended the meeting on Wednesday night but did not speak. Instead, a petition signed by more than 8,800 people was presented to the council by his architect, Sebastian Cope, calling for the outside decked area at The
FRANCESCA EVANS
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Oyster & Fish House in Lister Gardens to remain in place. The decking was erected for a reported cost of £12,000 with no formal planning permission, when the government relaxed its guidelines on al fresco dining during the coronavirus pandemic to help keep the hospitality industry afloat.
The town council permitted the outside seating on a temporary basis, although some members have since argued that the three-tier “permanent” deck went above and beyond what was permitted under the government’s relaxed rules. With Mr Hix’s temporary permission for the decking set to expire at the end of March 2023, he requested formal planning permission to retain the structure towards the end of last year. CONTINUED ON PAGE 14
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