Do you remember the days when anyone could apply to Eastbourne Borough Council EBC for a pitch or a kiosk to sell fruit on the seafront?

Those happy days are long gone; all but 3 of the 30 odd food outlets along Eastbourne Seafront are run by Convex Catering (also called Red Eventfull Cuisine).

I asked for the contract between EBC and Red Eventfull cuisine under the freedom of Information act and after many months I was finally given a copy, but with all the important information crossed out.

So why do EBC keep this information a secret? Because, and I quote the Council's words,“the reputation of the council may be damaged” if it were to be made public. I say that the Council should not enter onto agreements that would damage their reputation, and if they choose to do so, then it should be public information.

The EBC Tourism department protects Convex's near monopoly by claiming there are enough outlets selling food, ice cream, and drinks along Eastbourne seafront.

This near monopoly must go. It would be better if each kiosk and cafe along Eastbourne's seafront,(and any other food outlet owned by Eastbourne Borough Council EBC) run by a different person or company.

That way many people can have the opportunity to make a honest living. The competition between them would give seafront users more choice, and better value. The number of outlets would be set by market demand, and not artificially set by a council officer to protect a large company.

So that every year there are some available for new people the contracts on the kiosks kept short.

To end the secrecy, the leases would be sold by public auction at Eastbourne Town Hall, and the terms of the leases made public on the council's website, along with details of pitches that are coming available as leases run out.

In all, allowing ordinary people access to the business of selling food from EBC's kiosks would do give them an opportunity for a livelihood, and create better value and choice for people using Eastbourne's seafront.

Please sign my epetition at bottom of email and send this email onto interested parties who may want to:

http://epetition.eastsussex.public-i.tv/epeti... .