Not in our name...

In West Shoebury, some of the ward is covered by Burges Estate a company which has it origins from a man called John Burges and he is known to be John Burges of Parkanaur, Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland which is why there are some Irish sounding roads in West Shoebury ward.

Following the death of Alfred Burges in 1984, the interest of the estate to the Burges family ended and any covenants on the Burges Estate were purchased by the Lintott Family and renamed Thorpe Estates Ltd. 

The majority of the Burges Estate falls within Thorpe ward and a Residents Association the Burges Estate Residents Association (BERA) was formed to be a voice for the residents in Thorpe ward covered by the Burges Estate.

I was interested to read in the last BERA newsletter that BERA were going to start spreading their wing to cover West Shoebury and Southchurch wards.

Their newsletter makes interesting reading as it claims that BERA helps to prevent the councillors becoming complacent in the areas that they represent - Thorpe ward at present.

This is interesting as West Shoebury residents may wish to know before they part with their fiver for membership that the Chairman of BERA Ron Woodley and its Treasurer Mike Stafford are Independent Party councillors for Thorpe Ward. You couldn't make it up!

Many Thorpe ward residents have held the belief for some time that BERA are the fundraising and campaigning arm of the Independent Party. One Thorpe ward resident quipped to me over the weekend that BERA are the Independent Party's guerrilla wing.

If there are still any lingering doubts that BERA are the recruiting wing of the Independent Party then these are quashed as the newsletter reveals that West Shoebury spokesman for BERA is James Moyies the UKIP West Shoebury candidate for the past two local elections.

Back in April this year, I exposed the close relationship between the Indepedent Party and UKIP on this blog but I wonder how much groveling James had to do to Ron to gain this position especially when in 2010 James Moyies claimed that he had no credability.