Smoke and Mirrors

A new report on the campaign to see The Three Cups Hotel re-opened has appeared in the View From newspaper. Click this link to read it.

Reading this article, I can't help wondering what's going on. Why is the mayor of Lyme Regis talking about a hotel business not being viable after all that was revealed at the public meeting on 5th June about lack of hotel space in her town?

And why are the town councillors going to meet the owners of the hotel behind closed doors?

If anyone has any suggestions, please post them as comments below.

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Local, National and International Coverage

The protest march on 20th June has really started something. Click through for some very interesting links.

There is coverage in the local press. See "Lyme schoolboy fights on to save Three Cups Hotel" and "Over 1,000 people sign protest petition", in The View From Lyme Regis of 24/06/2009.

And in The Times On-Line: "Boy fights to save J.R.R. Tolkien hotel, the Three Cups, in Lyme Regis".

And further afield: "A Boy’s Fight To Save J.R.R. Tolkien Hotel" in OneIndia on-line.

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Protest March Photos

Click on "Read the full post" to see two photographs which show the excellent turnout and evident enthusiasm.

Below: The march along The Parade


Below: The queue to sign the petition

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Public Protest March - 20th June

Help to re-open The Three Cups Hotel. Come to the public protest march in Lyme Regis on Saturday 20th June. Meet on Marine Parade near the amusement arcade at 11:45. Come in costume as someone (or something) from The Lord of The Rings because Tolkien stayed at The Three Cups Hotel.

This is the march which was publicised in The Bridport & Lyme Regis News on 11th June. Many thanks to Leon Howe for organising this event. I'm sorry I will not be able to be there myself but I wish those taking part every success. If the people of Lyme Regis turn out in great numbers to make a public show of their determination to see The Three Cups re-opened, then the march will have succeeded. It will only remain for the elected district councillors to take note of the wishes of the people who they serve and act in their interests.

Leon Howe has asked that marchers appear as characters from Tolkien's books. May I suggest that anyone with suitable attire to represent the following people should do so because they are also associated with The Three Cups Hotel: Jane Austen, G.K. Chesterton, Lord Tennyson, Jeremy Irons and Meryl Streep (as seen in The French Lieutenant's Woman film).

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A Vote for Change?

So far the Conservative led West Dorset District Council has taken no action on compulsory purchase of The Three Cups. Things may be about to change according to a report in the Bridport and Lyme Regis News today.

The Liberal Democrat councillors on West Dorset District Council have submitted a motion for presentation to the Council meeting on 16th July calling on them to begin the process of compulsory purchase for The Three Cups Hotel in Lyme Regis and the Old Swan pub in Toller Porcorum. This will be a wonderful opportunity for West Dorset District Council to respond to the wishes of their voters and support this motion.

The people who attended the meeting in Lyme Regis about The Three Cups on 5th June gave an indication of the strength of feeling for preserving the building in its historic role as a hotel to serve the tourist business of the town: 235 to nil in favour of compulsory purchase. It may not have been a scientifically chosen sample of all residents of Lyme but it is a result which democratically elected local politicians should not ignore.

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Coverage, Coverage, Coverage

They say a hotel needs location, location, location. We know that The Three Cups has got that in the centre of Lyme Regis. In its current sad derelict and decaying state, it has been lacking publicity. Thankfully, that is now being received in plenty due the hard work of The Three Cups Action group and the local press.

The Bridport and Lyme Regis News has a second article about The Three Cups on their website this week. Click here to read about "Anger over plans to revamp Lyme hotel". This, along with their previous article and the coverage in the "View From Lyme Regis", should get the message across to West Dorset District Council: the people of Lyme Regis want The Three Cups re-opened as a hotel. The current owners, Palmers, won't do it. So, West Dorset District councillors should serve the people who elected them and use the powers they have to issue a compulsory purchase order.

The council seems to keep saying that compulsory purchase would cost money, set a bad precedent and it could only be done as a last resort. The campaigners keep responding that the hotel could be sold on at a profit, it would set a good precedent and the last resort has been reached. The people of Lyme Regis don't want to wait any longer because it is costing the economy of their area at least £1,500 every day as long as it remains closed. I hope that the council gets the message.

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Optimism for the Future

I think everyone who was at the meeting in Lyme Regis on 5th June regarding the future of The Three Cups will be feeling optimistic about seeing the hotel open for business. I am even more optimistic for the future of Lyme Regis to see someone as young Leon Howe joining the campaign to save the heritage of his town.

If you read the report in The Lyme Regis News, you will learn about his contribution to the meeting and his commitment to the action group formed then.

Whenever Marcus Dixon of the Lyme Regis Development Trust speaks about the future of The Three Cups Hotel, he pleads for the employment needs of the young people of the town to be taken into account. Obviously, to open The Three Cups again as a hotel would be the best way to bring more tourist business to the area and create jobs. I would say that young people like Leon Howe who are prepared to speak out for what they believe to be right and best for their community deserve a better future. Everyone who can help the campaign should be inspired by Leon to do as much as they can to Save The Three Cups - AS A HOTEL.

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Report on Meeting of 5/6/09

I was going to write my own report on the meeting of The Three Cups Action Group on 5th June but I don't think I can improve on the account provided by the The View From Lyme Regis. Click here to read their on-line report.

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