Yet another Accolade for Southend

The Low Carbon Business Programme – paid for by the European Regional Development Fund and involving nine partners across Thames Gateway including Southend-on-Sea Borough Council – has been named Britain’s top New Energy Champion of the Year.

This innovative programme helps small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) reduce their carbon footprint thereby making them more competitive.

The scheme has so far assisted 92 such businesses in Southend, and given them the funds to hire a total of 60 apprentices.

This scheme is yet another example of how the Conservative led Council is using all options to improve Southend. It follows on from other EU funding grants such as the match funding for North Road Chapel renovations, the recently announced EU funding to improve local homes, the improved access to the Victorias are but a few examples.

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Rogue Landlords Take Note!

 A private landlord has been fined for failing to repair his property and leaving his tenants to suffer damp, draughty and hazardous conditions for two years!

If we are ever to turn around our housing in the borough the council really must take action such as this each and every time it comes to light. It is also essential that when a resident moves from the private scetor into the council sector that the property from whence they came is inspected. This is because one of the main critria for getting  council property is overcrowding and poor conditions and if the council does follow up on this then the next private tenant may be in a similar position.  For more details on the case please see below-

Terry Frost, of Cotswold Road, Westcliff, had denied failing to comply with an Improvement Notice issued under the Housing Act 2004, but he was found guilty when he appeared at Southend Magistrates’ Court on Monday 26th September. Frost was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £1,500 costs plus a £15 victim surcharge.

Conservative  Councillor for Adult Social Care, Health and Housing, Lesley Salter, said:

“We have many good landlords in the borough and we are trying to encourage those who don’t presently meet the standards we require to manage their properties more effectively.

“We will not hesitate to take enforcement action against any landlord who shows a cavalier attitude towards their legal responsibilities.”

The court heard how Southend Council had tried repeatedly to deal with the matter informally before finally serving the Improvement Notice in December 2010. This listed a series of repairs required to bring the property up to the appropriate standard and allowed several months for the works to be completed. They included renewing defective windows, refurbishing the kitchen, improving security, work to minimise dampness and tackling a mouse infestation.

The Council was forced to prosecute after a re-inspection of the property revealed most of the repairs were still outstanding, even though the Notice period had expired. In addition to being fined Frost remains responsible for ensuring that all the works required are completed.

Southend Wins Auditing Award

 CIPFA praises innovation in cross sector working 

The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) has given Southend-on-Sea borough council a national award for innovation in internal audit.

The council’s internal audit services team won this year’s Cliff Nicholson Award for Innovation and Excellence in Public Service Audit for ‘ground breaking’ audit work, including a cross-partner review of the local safeguarding children board.

Linda Everard, head of internal audit at Southend-on-Sea borough council said:  ‘We are proud to be recognised by CIPFA for working with our public sector partners to help the Southend local strategic partnership assess whether services, which rely on cross sector working, are delivering real outcomes to the public and specifically local children.’

May 2011  read more

Would you like to be a Conservative Councillor?

RSECA- Rochford and Southend East Conservative Association, have opened the councillor candidate list. Our wards will be selecting candidates for the 2012 elections over the next few
months and if you would like to be considered, then we would like to hear from
you.

If you would like to be a councillor, would like to know more about
becoming a councillor or what is involved in being a councillor please contact
us at office@rseca.net  or phone 01702 600460 as soon as possible.

Southend East's Conservative Team

Today the list of Conservative candidates in Rochford and Southend East has been announced. As usual we will be fielding a full team of Candidates for the local elections in May. I am especially enthused by the dedication and talent of this year’s team.

Each Candidate has been carefully considered by the association and the respective ward committee to ensure they are absolutely right for their ward. I can honestly say each of them deserve to win and I know that such a strong team will put up an incredible fight.

Kursaal Ward

In Kursaal ward we have selected Neil Austin, a proud father of four. Neil has been working tirelessly in Kursaal where he lives. His understanding of the need for regeneration makes him an ideal candidate and obvious choice for Kursaal voters who want to see their area improve. His main competition will be from Labour’s Ms McMahon who was voted out at the last election but managed to get reselected under an all women shortlist.

Thorpe Ward

In Thorpe Peter Melville will be a fresh face, full of enthusiasm and determination. He clearly wants to listen and represent Thorpe residents. I know that he will be running a strong campaign.

St Luke’s Ward

I am seeking re-election in St Luke’s this year, and (without being too immodest!) hope my record of achievement for the ward and passion for Southend will be recognised by residents. As usual I shall run as positive a campaign as possible.

Southchurch  Ward

Cllr Ann Holland is up for re-election in Southchurch. Cllr Holland is currently Mayor and extremely experienced on council, with a particularly sterling reputation for her work with the fire authorities.

Victoria Ward

Ray Davy, known by many for his work at Southend United and the Roots Hall Market, is a stalwart and extremely hard working person, if elected he would bring real hope for Victoria. He would be tenacious in speaking up for residents and in getting improvements for them.

Milton

Cllr Jonathon Garston is standing for re-election. Jonathon is an exceptional ward councillor and thoroughly deserves to get back in.

Shoebury

Verina Weaver is a hard working and experienced Cllr, who will fully represent Shoebury, she has experience of planning and speaking out at Council. She will be a fine replacement for Pat Rayner who is resigning after doing a grand job for Shoebury residents for the last 10 years.

West Shoebury

Cllr Derek Jarvis is also standing for re-election, but in west Shoebury. Derek is a senior councillor and has represented his ward for a long time.

Between us the candidates have well over a lifetime worth of council experience, and have in recent years done a tremendous amount of positive work in the town and for our residents.

Shame on You

Last night the Council discussed the terms of the airport lease. Following the meeting as I was leaving a woman came up to me and said in my face- Shame on you.

Is it shameful to restrict the number of night flights?

Is it shameful to control the noise emissions of the planes?

Is it shameful to ensure the direction of landing and takeoff  is, as much as possible, over the least populated areas?

Is it shameful to cap the total number of flights?

Is it shameful to require a second instrument landing facility?

Is it shameful to restrict the amount of cargo?

Is it shameful to want to provide more jobs for Southend and Rochford residents?

No I don’t think so- the shameful thing is that SAEN still persist in objecting to all of the above and post inaccurate personal comments on their website ! Madame, whoever you were- Shame on you.

The full list of conditions being imposed v the existing can be seen here –Conditions proposed v existing

A Fitting and Lasting Tribute

I have kept my word and now I have requested that the Saxon burial site be registered as an ANCIENT MONUMENT.

This will provide the best protection possible for this important burial site. It should not be built upon or disturbed further but should now revert to a pleasant tranquil place that reflects the heritage of the burial site of a Saxon King or Prince and I have already asked the officers to do what is necessary to secure Ancient Monument status for the site, which will give it the same protection as Priory Park.

It’s now sometime since we sat down with Parklife to find a way forward to the Priory Crescent issues that suited everyone. Out of that meeting came an agreement, they would leave the Camp Bling site, we would improve Cuckoo Corner without going into the park and we would landscape the Saxon burial site. That work is now completing and I have kept to my word indeed I believe we have gone further to honour the spirit of the agreement and to respect both the site and the wishes of residents.

It must, by now, be clear to anyone who has travelled along Priory Crescent that the works at Cuckoo Corner have not gone into the park and that extensive planting has taken place with lines of Horse Chestnuts in the park and over the next few days the completion of the landscaping at Cuckoo will see more shrubs and trees in place. A new gate, designed to reflect the Priory, has been installed to improve pedestrian access to the park and access is further improved by safe road crossings.

I met again with Parklife a few months ago to discuss the plans for the Saxon burial site. I had promised a natural feel to landscaping that would respect the importance of the site. Parklife liked the proposed plans, indeed they said they were pleasantly surprised by them.  Work started on site a few weeks ago and is now taking shape, many new trees and bulbs are being planted, they are natural British species, the slope of the site is being softened at the northern end and all along the back against the railway fence natural hedging is being established to form a backdrop and a low wooden rail will go along the road side edge. The site itself will be tastefully identified and a simple memorial will be placed there. Yesterday I visited the site again with my colleague Cllr Jarvis who has responsibility for our parks and we were both very pleased with the progress and how it was coming along.

It will take a few years to fully establish but it will be fitting and lasting tribute to the Saxon Prince.

Prada on Sea

Has a certain ring to it! More importantly the SKIPP use of this phrase emphasises how little they understand of aspirations. Southend gets circa 6m day visitors a year that puts us into the higher league tables, but others that attract high numbers actually get more back per visitor than Southend. Brighton and Bournemouth for example achieve a far far higher spend per visitor than Southend. So I ask- is there anything wrong in Southend aspiring to get a bit closer to their income from tourists? Is there anything wrong inSouthend Residents  aspiring to wear a Prada dress?

Surely in a town with over 7 miles of beaches we can afford to have some variation of style- something for everyone, the ‘quaint’ fishing village of Old Leigh, relaxing beaches and walks along the prom or through the gardens in Westcliff, the noisier more contemporary feel of the new central area of Marine Parade, the slightly more commercial seaside bits of Southchurch with give way to the wide greens and beaches of Thorpe Bay. Scattered along the coast are watersport facilities, seaside bars and cafes, paddling pools etc. Then on around the bend into Shoebury where the now emerging Gunners Park is the splendid back drop and through to East Beach with its far wilder, more natural aspects.

East Beach

Yes, there is a place, indeed there are many places, for candy floss and toffee apples, bucket and spades and sand castle building, yes there is space for amusement arcades and pubs, there is space aplenty for fish and chip shops and icecream stalls, indeed there is space within the current built areas for virtually everything any one could want. So why not aspire to improve the public realm, to assist business by smartening up a bit, to seek to attract a wider range of visitors and to provide them with reasons to spend money here.- Improved hotels- we’ve got some and more are likely to come, seaside cafes and bars and maybe a couple of new or refurbished ones somewhere, a magnificent water fountain feature to keep the kids happy when the tide is out (and probably when its in too) new  illuminated lighted masts with state of the art digital lighting effects, trees to wander through and areas to sit in, Adventure Island- it does a sterling job, a new Pier Pavillion( its coming this year) 

Artists impression of the new Pier Pavillion

an arts programme to attract and entertain visitors is on the way, the Cliffs Pavillion too offers a really full range of entertainment. Oh and lets not forget the proposed new Museum which will shore up the cliffs, provide a major new carpark and offer a truly inspiring museum complete with all the educational facilities one would need, a restaurant with a view to die for and some much needed indoor entertainment to draw in tourists from across the country and to keep them happy when the sun is shy ! Extending our offer, creating opportunity, investing in our assest working to promote our Town and improve its economics-  If all of this is PRADA on SEA then I say bring it on!

Southend Deserves it!

Visit the Echo and sign up to show your support. Achieving City Status would Southend a real boost. Read what our residents have to say about it

M & S for Fossetts?

Marks and Spencers have indicated that they are considering a flagship store  for the Southend United Stadium Centre at Fossetts Farm. ( Today’s Echo)

 Just so long as they keep their High Street Store going this would be really good knews, a decent store to compliment Waitrose and the other stores at Fossetts would provide more jobs and opportunities, not least in St Luke’s where unemployment is high. It would boost Southend’s image in the area and be a good anchor for the new stadium complex.

The stadium will also provide training and recreational sport facilities which is again much needed in St Luke’s where many youngsters have little to do with their leisure time.

Care must be taken to prevent parking problems on match days but this was dealt with in the planning consent as was the use of the car park and money for road improvements. As a St Luke’s ward Cllr I shall be keeping a very careful eye on these issues as they can be dealt with if we all work together.