Shoebury Flood Defences Update

There has been much debate recently about the urgent requirement for improvements to the flood defences at Shoebury Common. Some of the debate has been irresponsible and arguably none more so than this. I have always maintained on this issue that as an elected representative, I have a duty of care and an obligation to protect residents lives and homes.

Residents may be interested in two upcoming events on this issue, where they will have the opportunity to ask questions, view documentation and hear the reasons behind the proposals.

The first event is a drop in session at Thorpe Bay Yacht Club this Wednesday the 27th June from 13:00 - 20:00. The second is a public meeting of the Shoebury Residents Association, which I helped organise on the 11th July at St Andrews Church, Church Road, Shoeburyness starting at 20:00 where officers from Southend Council will be in attendance. These events will give residents the chance to form their own opinions based on the evidence provided.  

The Curse Of Election Promises

To much fanfare, this week Labour launched their Police & Crime Commissioner candidates. Deputy Leader of Thurrock Council, Cllr Val Morris-Cook was the recipient of the Labour nomination for Essex.

At the launch of the Labour campaign, one thing that wasn't lost on me was the pledge to protect neighbourhood policing. This may prove problematic for Cllr Morris-Cook as the elections draw nearer as in 2010 as part of the ruling Labour administration she oversaw the budget which planned to cut Police Community Support Officers until local Conservatives scuppered the plan. I'm sure this point will not be lost on the doorsteps.

On The Move...

As political parties move their campaigning into the digital ans social media age, a few years ago, the West Shoebury and Shoeburyness Conservatives set up a website to keep residents of both wards informed of our local work and campaigns.

As the number of visitors increased, so did the demand for an improved site. The need for change also unfortunately means the need for a new website address. The new Shoebury Conservatives website can now be found at www.shoeburyconservatives.yourcllr.com.

Recycling Sacks

Every so often, I get asked by West Shoebury residents where they can obtain additional pink recycling and white textile sacks due to vast amount of household waste that is recycled by residents.

Every six months 3 rolls of 15 sacks are delivered direct to residents homes. If residents require additional sacks these can be obtained from the Civic Centre, all libraries in the borough, the Cory Environmental Depot in Eastern Avenue, the Tourist Information Centre at the entrance of the pier and the Leigh Town Council offices. Opening times and additional information can be found here.

Alternatively, if residents are unable to get to any of the above locations then please contact me where I will be happy to to deliver additional supplies to your door.

Weekly West Shoebury Review - Delivering on my promises edition

Since the local elections early last month, this has been the busiest week so far. Not only in the ward but also in my portfolio as well. On Tuesday I had a meeting with the Southend Taxi Driver Association. On Wednesday I had a productive meeting along with Cllr Jarvis with the Southend Jet Ski Club discussing the watersports ramp at Shoebury Common Beach and on Thursday chaired the first meeting of the Traffic & Parking Working Party.

It was also a busy week for casework in the ward. I was able to assist a resident in St Andrews Road who had an issue which needed some assistance regarding Southend Cemetary. At the beginning of the week I dealt with a query from a resident in West Road regarding the alleyway which runs behind the length of West Road. I had a walk along the alleyway yesterday and was pleased that following my intervention the alleyway has been cleared of rubbish and dog fouling. The weeds have also been reported and will be removed shortly.

Whilst I am on the issue of dog fouling, you may recall in a previous weekly review that I was looking into having a letter sent to residents in West Road, Richmond Avenue, Ness Road and St Andrews Road to remind the irresponsible dog owners of their obligations regarding dog fouling. I am please to say that these leaflets had started to be delivered along with our latest newsletter.

I also had a meeting with a resident in Lodwick regarding a local issue and with a resident in West Road who had a passport query. Upon looking at diary for next week it appears that another busy week is on the cards but I am looking forward to spending Farthers Day with my family today.

The First Meeting of Real Significance So Far

Although we have had the annual council Meeting to elect he new Mayor, the leader of the council and the short meeting to determine the chairs of all committees, on Thursday, it was the first meeting of the Traffic & Parking Working Party which was the first meeting of the Civic Year at which any meaningful council business was discussed and debated.

Significant transport items relating to Shoeburyness were debated and I am happy to inform residents that the Working Party agreed to advertise for consultation the proposal to introduce parking bays to ease the parking situation for residents who wish to use local shops on Shoebury High Street.

Also the proposal to fill in the underpass at the Renown and create crossings overground to help residents, especially school children, bypass the roundabout. This was an interesting discussion as the underpass does the job in allowing people to cross the road at a busy roundabout, but the reality is very few people use it.

This is for a variety of reasons, but by and large it is because of the of the vandalism and anti-social behaviour. At the annual Debate Shoebury event this issue has been raised for the past three years by the students. Due to the anti-social behaviour and bullying that the students say they face they would rather cross a busy roundabout without any crossing points than use the underpass.

As this issue was accepted by the Working Party as an anti-social behaviour and vandalism issue, the Working Party authorised officers to see if the works could be funded away from the transport capital programme if not then the scheme should be considered for inclusion in the transport capital programme next year.

It was interesting to hear some of the feedback on the meeting by opposition members. I was pleased to hear that Cllr Gilbert described the meeting on his blog as being by and large non political and also the kind words from Shoeburyness Ward Independent Party councillor Mike Assenheim for allowing him to speak at length on this issue were appreciated.

Victory Over Censorship

Later this month, this blog will be celebrating its third anniversary. When I first started blogging, I hoped that this site would help raise awareness of the work that me and my fellow councillors do in West Shoebury as well as engage a new audience in local politics.

My google analytics suggests that currently over the past year that this blog received around 100 hits per day on average which I though was pretty good going. When 9 year old Martha Payne started her blog NeverSeconds last month to highlight what she ate for her school dinners hoping to raise money for her Mary's Meals charity which raises funds for school feeding projects in communities around the world where poverty and hunger prevent children from gaining an education never imagined she would become a worldwide internet sensation and highlight political issues of healthy eating and censorship in the process.

Martha's blog gives a score out of 10 to each meal, a 'health rating' and even the number of hairs found in each meal and got children across the world excited about healthy eating, she attracted images of other children's dinners from Germany, Japan, Finland, Illinois, Spain and America.

Following an article in the Scottish tabloid The Daily Record criticising the poor quality of the food served at her school, on Thursday Martha was told by her headteacher that the local council, Argyll and Bute, had told the school that she would have to stop posting pictures of her school dinners.

Presumably, Argyll and Bute council didn't have a clue as to how much of an internet furore that the censorship of this blog would cause and that a blog of a 9 year old had done more to raise the issue of healthy eating than their own well meaning locally tax payer funded scheme. In the meantime, the hit counter on her blog was rising faster than the national debt and thousands of pounds was being donated to the Mary's Meals charity.

Thanks to the intervention of the leader of Argyll and Bute council, Cllr Roddy McCuish, a statement was issued by the leader condemning the censorship. Thankfully common sense prevailed and a victory over censorship for internet blogging had been won.