“Earlier in the year it was announced that Exmouth seafront, where the café is situated, would be undergoing an £18m redevelopment. It is still unclear how long the Harbour View Café will continue trading.
Dawn said for 18 months the existing traders were excited about the redevelopment, until it became increasingly clear they wouldn’t be a part of it.
“I was absolutely gutted when I realised we were surplus to requirements,” she said.
“We suddenly realised that our time might be running out down there and for myself, I’ve spent my whole working life down there, I still don’t know what I’ll do next. I feel lost at the thought of losing it. We’re living on a day by day, hand to mouth situation until we know more. We say to our customers we are still here. The doors are still open at the moment. Whilst we are still here there is hope.”
East Devon Watch 
Care Homes, Police Stations, Tourist Offices, our one Major Slipway Temporary Closed, all because of a lack of Money.
The Retail units in the Exmouth Bowl Stand Empty, because of the lack of interest or perhaps high rents.
Businesses which have been serving the public in Queens Drive for years are closing. The Inventive Railway Carriage gone.
Harbour View needs updating, but it is a sound building with creative imaginative design money could be saved.
The whole length of sea front needs some intensive small improvements in making the sea front more tourist friendly.
Even the old Queens Drive Edwardian Lamp-posts are rusting away, and are part of the Sea Front Heritage we are losing.
But it is wrong for Council Members to say that like the Dock Area where there are many Apartments already, it maybe necessary to build residential properties on the Splash Zone.
I am one of the original residents who still lives on the Quay Development, and can see that bad over- planning has it’s defects.
We have in the last few years had more people buying the latest high value apartments who we never see, and our own Quay Side Residents Association do not have an accurate account of those living here, as many properties are unoccupied
This unfortunately has not helped us, and has alienated our relations with the community around us, which has not been helped by Exmouths main Slipway being closed for so long, and Pier-Head apartment block, still yet to be built.
Empty properties are no financial benefit to Exmouth, when Sea Side properties are largely investments, and too expensive as holiday lets.
If it has to have hotel accommodation in Queens Drive, in encouraging more tourism on the splash, our councilors should realize that all proposals in consultations so far, have emphasised an integrated area, mainly focused around play and leisure.
The Masterplan we were told was a plan that they could translate into plans that could be delivered and afforded.
If this cannot be achieved, then it should, like many other things we go without in Exmouth, put it’s loss down to necessity.
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