Young man, there is no need to feel down

Yesterday, after negotiating the traffic on the A127, I went to the launch of the Mayor of Southend-on-Sea’s Charity Fund. The Mayor’s Charity for 2016-17 is the Southend YMCA.

The Young Men's Christian Association was chosen by Kursaal's Labour councillor, and Southend-on-Sea's first citizen, Judith McMahon.

Aside from the speeches, and the mingling, the cheese was very good.

I was rather hoping for an appearance by the Village People ....

A127, yesterday evening

A127, Southend-bound, queues at Rayleigh Weir las night

Not chaos, but busy enough. This is the school holidays, and traffic was backed up to Rayleigh Weir (from the Progress Road/The Fairway junction). In the end the journey was not so bad, but I am concerned that with road works only just begun, and the roads quieter because of school holidays, we are already see long queues of cars trying to get into Southend-on-Sea.

The A127 is not going to be fun, I fear, for the next four months.

Odd notes

Two meetings yesterday evening. It began with the Public Transport and Buses Working Party, and continued with the Southend Central Local Community Meeting.

Here are some odd notes from those two meetings.

·         Real time bus signs show how far away the next bus is (in minutes).The also show timetable expectation for those buses not yet on route.

·         The current saturation of real time bus stop signs in Southend-on-Sea is 70%.

·         The target is 99.9%.

·         The target date for 99.9% saturation of real time bus stop signs is September 2016.

·         There is a smart phone app called Traveline South East and Anglia. It is free and shows real time bus information for the borough.

·         The last time there was an increase in the number of bus services in Southend-on-Sea was when we had Corporation buses.

·         Essex Police receive an average of 1200 calls a day.

·         Essex Police can only get to about 660 of them.

Those who want their police calls answered, or more buses, may like to contemplate whether voting for privatisation or cuts was such a good idea.

A resident complains about the gas mains repairs in The Fairway

Whilst I think all would agree that replacing and repairing gas mains is a good idea, some are less than content with the planning, communication and disruption.

Here is what one resident thinks:

Whilst I appreciate that these works have to take place,  it's frustrating that no formal notification was sent out to me or my neighbours, meaning aside from the signs which went up along the A127 I was completely unaware of the extent and duration of works, or the proposed detours until the day before when I contacted my local councillors.

We are fairly fortunate that at the moment the children are off school which should make this easier in the mornings at least, but I can already see there being a mass of congestion because of a lack of planning and alternative routes.

Yesterday evening my journey home took around 25 minutes longer than normal and I noted that the traffic at Progress Road was still stacked way back towards Rayleigh at gone 7pm when its normally quite clear at this time.  This morning it seemed that the lights to the right of The Fairway had been adjusted to allow more cars through to aid with congestion, however those immediately to the left had not, meaning the traffic would bunch up more making it impossible to exit or turn into the Fairway safely.

For the second phase of the works, where the main entry to The Fairway is to be closed, the current proposed detour means over a minimum 10 week period, I will be travelling around an extra 300 miles to get into work etc.   I am not on a realistic public transport link to where I work and having walked the proposed route, I am not convinced that the roads in question around the Bellhouse Lane area are suitable for the weight of traffic that will be coming through.

Chris Adley

Wayletts, Old Eastwood Road

Chris is not the only resident to have made their feelings known to me, but they are the first since the roadworks went in.

Potential Freeview interference in Southend-on-Sea and Westcliff-on-Sea

This letter has been forwarded to me. It is from Digital Mobile Spectrum Limited.

Conservative-UKIP coalition turns its back on conservation in Southend

Participating in the debate at Full Council on Thursday evening it was obvious that the Chair of Development Control (a member of the Conservative-UKIP administration) was reluctant to give unequivocal support to the Borough's many conservation areas.

There are many conservation areas in the borough; Milton ward, which I represent, has five alone. These act as a bulwark against inappropriate development. They also ensure that the town's rich architectural heritage is preserved.

There are many rules about what development is permitted in these conservation areas. Strictly upholding these not only ensures the integrity of the conservation area, it also provides clear guidance about what can be done to repair or improve one's property.

The Chair of Development Control appears deaf to the concerns of many  across the Borough who want re-assurance with respect to old and beautiful buildings. That the Chair declined to support conservation is unfortunate. I sought support for conservation rules, he declined to give it.

It is a sad day for Southend-on-Sea when the ruling administration turns its back on conservation. I hope that there is a re-think and hope that there will be a commitment to conservation from those in charge at the Council.