10,000 signatures reached
To: Brighton & Hove City Council (specifically, the Licensing & City Parks Departments)
Save Rockwater's Shacks by the Shore and Igloo Village
Rockwater’s Shacks and Igloo Village are under threat from a very small group of around 10 local residents who are trying to shut them both down for spiteful and disingenuous reasons. We don’t believe this small group, led by someone who tried to take over the View/Venue before Rockwater’s founder, should be allowed to destroy this community hub.
We are urging the Council to listen to the overwhelming majority of residents, and wider community, who are incredibly supportive of Rockwater’s Shacks and Igloo Village, what Rockwater is doing for the community and what it brings to a long neglected part of the Hove seafront. We are also asking them to consider the huge impact shutting the Shacks and Igloo Village will have on local employment in the hospitality industry as well the detrimental impact on a large number of local suppliers.
Specifically, we are asking the Council to: (1) grant a permanent licence to Rockwater’s Shacks to serve alcohol to customers until 10pm daily. Without the ability to serve alcohol, the Shacks are not a viable proposition; and (2) extend permission for the Rockwater Igloo Village to remain in situ and continue operating until 31 March 2021.
Why is this important?
From the very beginning, Rockwater has had the community at the heart of everything it has done. This Summer our team at the Shacks served you ice cream and hot dogs, Pimms and Prosecco, lobster rolls and cupcakes and we loved seeing the Western Esplanade brought to life again and used as a focal point for the community, as it was always intended to be. We passionately believe you should be able to continue enjoying all of our Shacks’ offering on the beach, and join us for sundowners on balmy Summer evenings, permanently.
When the weather turned, we kept you cosy with winter warmers and hot stews and invested in building an entire igloo village so you could get together in a Covid safe way. If this small minority gets its way, we will only be able to use the igloos for just under a month post 3 December. Given the investment in providing something unique for Hove and somewhere people could gather in the permitted groups of 6 and feel safe, this is devastating. Post 1 January, many of you may not be comfortable meeting/dining indoors with larger numbers of other people, particularly if you are vulnerable. So it is critical our igloos are allowed to remain open until 31 March 2021 to enable our wonderful customers to still get out and get together with their bubble in the safest way possible, no matter what the weather is.
We know from speaking to so many of you that our community has been crying out for this kind of hub for a very long time. But all of this is under threat because of these 10 people, led by someone who is motivated by a personal vendetta, are objecting to the Shacks and igloos without any genuine basis for doing so. We find this a bitter pill to swallow when they will directly cause the loss of around 45 jobs for local people in the hospitality industry (which has been decimated by the pandemic) and cause a huge loss to local suppliers, many of whom have been able to continue their business throughout this year because of demand from Rockwater’s customers.
This isn’t fair and we need your support in signing this petition to show the Council that a few people with questionable motives do not represent Hove or the wider community.
