I'm raising £2,500

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I'm raising £2,500 to I want to take legal action against Southwold Town Council and their managing agent. In August 2024 I moved into the enterprise hub in Southwold,

Originally the council kicked off existing businesses and demolished their premises in order to get a government grant for enterprise. Nobody locally wanted this enterprise hub. There were protests and petitions to try and prevent it. Eventually, the council pushed forward, disregarding everybody's opinions. They managed to grab a massive government grant.

Even though after COVID-19, it became apparent that these office units were definitely not going to be utilized, the opinion was by most people was to stop and repurpose the space. Southwold town Council, decided yet again not to listen and stubbornly carried on with their vision.

Once the project was completed, the office spaces sat empty. Surprise surprise. Enter the management agency, who are not from this area and have no idea about the demographic of Southwold, the actual size of the population of the town and the complexities of it being a seasonal mainly holiday resort. The population of Souwthold is out of season, absolutely tiny. If you want to see how tiny go look at the electoral role.

Anyway, the management agency who proclaimed to be a not for profit organization, with 40 years of supporting business behind them, decided to submit a change of use to allow for these units to be used as retail, therefore broadening their appeal from just office based. This obviously didn't go down well with the council and their vision of office only.

This is where the problems begin. I took a unit here with a vision of moving my café into a sparkly brand new unit. There was a lovely courtyard which I had visions of being able to entertain outside with additional seating. Southwold town Council, very firmly said no!! even when I appeal their nonsensical decision. They said no.!!!

They then proceeded to say no! ! A lot. Notice signage.? it's a conservation area. That would be all fine and dandy apart from the front of the building is a glass, brick and wood clad modern looking building with absolutely nothing in common with the surrounding building buildings in the so-called conservation area. I applied for a drinks license and the only people to say no, were Southwold town Council. They objected on the grounds of antisocial behaviour. My Neighbourhood wrote letters to say that me being there would actually have the opposite effect. The council were having none of it so I had to go to a special license hearing, to fight my corner. Surprise surprise, I won my case, as I have previously been a licensee in the town at two other further establishments and never once had to call the police or had a complaint about noise. Since moving out of the premises, the corner shop had its windows put through. This is what happens when a space becomes unoccupied. As I pointed out at my license hearing because at the time, Southold town Council had several empty scruffy, unoccupied premises. They looked rundown and were a magnet for possible drug dealing or squatters. But hey, ho me running a business in an enterprise zone is definitely going to be leading to antisocial behavior.

perhaps the council should get a grip of the drug usage in the town rather than trying to stop me from functioning as a business. This is what happens when you let a bunch of busy bodies with self interest, run a council and give them a free reign with government money. They seek to absolve their self of any responsibility and point fingers where they don't need to be pointed. Clean up your own mess before trying to paint other people.

anyway, I eventually opened my unit and have been there for 11 months and it is with great sadness that I've had to close the venue because of all the restrictions being put in my direction by the council. The management agency, who are a joke. They will tell you with their shiny leaflet that they are doing a fantastic job. I have both documentary and physical photo evidence to contradict anything that they might say. I'm sad that I've had to close my business because of nonsensical bureaucracy and so therefore I'm deciding to take legal action against Southwold town Council, and they managing an agency who have squandered and wasted taxpayers money. All they wanted was the money to build and fund the project. Neither party are interested in making it a success because the council don't care because the management company are now stuck in a 10 year lease. And the management company I bailed out with various grants, for Running courses that nobody attends and producing leaflets, that you can basically get information from off of the government.website.

making tax digital. Developing AI. Advice for startups. This is all smoking mirrors as this advice is all readily available on the dot gov.uk website. If you can't find it on the website, you can generally find what you were looking for on Google., yahoo or any other social media. All you have to do is fact check by cross referencing.

so this is why I want to take them to court for not meeting their obligations. Taking money from the government and a false pretenses. Not providing the services they said they would provide. Basically not doing what they said on the tin.

if you like me getting infuriated by government and local government wasting your taxes, I hope that you will enable me to take these two to task. Please, please, please make a donation and help me contribute towards what will be a lengthy and probably expensive legal battle. Between these two organizations, I have lost a business that I started in Covid with a bounce back loan. The irony is I finish paying my bounce back loan on the same month I gave notice on my premises. I've now cleared the premises and don't have a business anymore. Thanks to them. Six years of my life wasted because of their egos.

thanks very much for reading my dyslexic post. Forgive any errors that might be here. That's another thing that I need them to address is there lack of support regarding my neuro-divergency. By the way, I'm not playing that card here but as both of these four mentioned are very keen on supposedly treating people fairly. I will bring it up.

best regards thank you very much for your support in advance

James

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