Councilbust

By Rachel Charman

Southend West Conservative MP David Amess has called on the Government to investigate the dominance of supermarket chains and their effect on small businesses.

Mr Amess, who is chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Small Shops Group, said:

“The Government should judge if it’s having an adverse effect, and if they agree there should be some balance they should intervene.

“At the moment if a local authority knocks back a supermarket chain, it simply throws more cash at the application, pulls in the best lawyers and wins on appeal.”

Mr Amess’ comments came after a report was released by CACI, a consultancy specialising in locations.

This report claims that 42% of UK towns are within a 10 minute drive of five or more supermarkets, and in some cases, more than one of those five is owned by the same retailer.

In Southend and Westcliff, there are five Tesco or Tesco Metro stores, on Prince Avenue, London Road, Hamlet Court Road, High Street, and at the Kursaal.

James Harrod, editor of Longpier.com argues that it’s now time to sell off the area’s biggest asset to a private company.

I don’t write many opinion pieces but there is one subject that really upsets me.  The future of our famous “pleasure” pier; the longest in the world.  Of course my website was named after this iconic Victorian structure.  The thing is there’s not that much “pleasure” to be had on it, is there?

I’ll state at this point I’m of no political persuasion.  I have no affiliation to any party and do not intend this piece to attack current or previous administrations.  But. simply put, not enough has been done collectively over the years.  Of course, the pier’s had its fair share of bad luck; huge fires, damage from ships, and nature taking its toll.   Despite all this though, we still have an unique attraction and I fear we’re losing sight of restoring the pier to its former glory.

We should cherish it. It’s only a matter of time before Dubai or Shanghai decides to build a longer pier and Southend’s biggest selling point will have gone.

It’s for these reasons that I suggest the council should sell the pier to a private firm.  Of course, any sale should include conditions; no alterations to the length, significant development at the pier head to benefit all sections of the local community and proper maintenance and security 24/7.  The pier is Grade II listed, so a specialist firm would need to deal with the sale.

The current council has applied for numerous government grants to help develop the pier.  Every time however, they’ve been unsuccessful.  The most recent attempt was last year, when it ran a £6,000 competition.  Architects around the world submitted plans. A Swedish firm won and put together impressive designs, adopted by the powers that be at the Civic Centre.  The council was willing to put £1m of taxpayers money to the project, but £4m needed to come from a government grant.  Ultimately, officials (and us) were disappointed.  The money went elsewhere, including a significant amount to the regeneration of Margate.

It’s likely the council would argue it could never afford £5m of taxpayers money, especially in these tough times.  If that’s the case, fine.  Sell the pier, reinvest the money into local services and let someone else be responsible for taking it into its next phase.  It’s been a huge weight around the neck of councillors for years – time for that to be lifted.   Only this week there were rumours of another council bid for government cash.  Forget it, move on and reap the rewards of someone else’s efforts.

Here at Councilbust.com, we are delighted to welcome James Harrod, editor of Longpier.com, to our the team of contributors.

Longpier.com provides Southenders with news and sports for Southend, complete with video and audio coverage.

As part of this working partnership, you can also read exclusive political analysis from Councilbust.com editor Rachel Charman at Longpier.com.

By Rachel Charman

Southend West Conservative MP David Amess yesterday challenged the Department for Business, Education and Skills over the availability of loans for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

In a Parliamentary debate, Mr Amess asked Ian Lucas, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Business and Regulatory Reform: “What recent estimate he has made of trends in availability to small and medium-sized enterprises of bank lending.”

Mr Lucas replied: “The majority of small and medium-sized enterprises applying for finance continue to receive the finance that they require.

“For businesses with a turnover of less than £1 million, the proportion of applications that banks approved increased in the second half of 2009, and the average monthly approval rates for those businesses in the fourth quarter of 2009 were about 67 per cent for loans and 72 per cent for overdrafts.”

Mr Amess pressed the issue further, saying: “In the real world, many small and medium-sized businesses in Southend West are still suffering in the current economic climate, and their situation is not being helped by the negative attitude of banks towards lending.

“A survey by the Federation of Small Businesses showed that only 1 per cent of money is being got from Government finance, so will they now accept my party’s proposal for a national guarantee scheme?

Mr Lucas said: “With respect to the hon. Gentleman, I live in the real world too-in Wrexham-and I have small businesses in my constituency as well.

“We all know that we have had an extremely difficult 18 months and the most substantial global recession in living memory, but we are improving access to credit for businesses.

“We do not want a return to the up-and-down approach-and the instability that came with it-taken by the Conservative party when I ran a small business.”

By Rachel Charman

Southend Borough Council has been rated in the top three English local authorities in improving the lives of people with Austism.

The National Autistic Society awarded Southend two green lights on its Local Authority Progress Table as part of its ‘I Exist’ campaign.

In an effort to build on this success, the Council is reviewing the services it provides for people with Autism with a view to improving services further.

The council already plans to create a register of people with autism and Asperger’s syndrome in order to better assess needs and tailor services to residents.

Cllr Mark Flewitt, who is responsible for Adult Social Care, Health and Housing, said:

“Autism is a serious, lifelong condition. Without the right support it can have a profound, sometimes devastating effect on individuals and families.

“Most feel isolated and unable to access the required support and are often completely dependent on their families.

“I’m delighted Southend has been recognised for its good work but we’re not going to be complacent and are determined to provide even better services.”

A spokesman for the National Autistic Society said:

“It is fantastic to see the work that Southend is undertaking.

“The decision to upgrade the Council’s progress table ranking to green was made in light of the commitment it has shown to addressing the needs of those with autism.”

Ahead of the excitement of the general election, Councilbust.com is creating a series of podcasts featuring interviews with the prospective Parliamentary candidates for Southend’s seats.

This week, Councilbust.com editor Rachel Charman interviews Julian Ware-Lane (Castlepoint, Lab), Kevin Bonavia (Rochford and Southend East, Lab), and Peter Welch (Southend West, Lib Dem) to talk political apathy, youth involvement, change and the biggest issues facing Southend today.

Click here to listen!

By Rachel Charman

The chief executive of Southend Borough Council Rob Tinlin anticipates that there will be around 300 job cuts at the council in the next five years.

Mr Tinlin told BBC News today that due to public spending cuts, Southend Council’s central government grant will fall by 8% in real terms after 2011.

Mr Tinlin said that this means the council will “have to start taking some difficult decisions, because we can’t squeeze everything out of continuing efficiencies.”

Mr Tinlin went on to predict that Essex councils will work together to reduce costs.

He said: “Some of what we need to do is to start working far more closely with our neighbouring authorities so that we deliver joint services.

“You get the same bin lorries doing runs for us, Rochford, Castle Point, Basildon, Southend.

“Or we deliver our telephone services or our revenues and benefits services jointly with other local authorities.”

In order to combat the cut in central government funding, Southend Borough Council aims to put in place a transformation programme.

Head of Finance and Resources at the council Martin Hone explained this programme.

He said: “It’s a further investment in new technology and a further investment in staff flexibility; what we refer to as new ways of working.

“If we area able to deliver all our plans… we will be able to take a further £15m out of our budget in efficiencies… [whilst] at the same time improving the quality of the services we deliver.

“We’ve not budgeted for next year any money for redundancy costs, but we have budgeted for retraining staff.

“So we’re managing vacancies, we’re looking at how, if we need to reduce staff in one area, we can put them into a talent pool to retrain them to do something else.”

By Rachel Charman

Rochford and Southend East Conservative MP James Duddridge yesterday enquired into illegal drugs sold in Southend by people of Somalian origin.

Mr Duddridge yesterday addressed his question to the Secretary of State for the Home Department Alan Johnson.

He wrote: “to ask what assessment he has made of the trends in levels of illegal drugs sold by Somali nationals in Southend and England and Wales.”

Mr Duddridge received a response from Alan Campbell, Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Home Office, who wrote:

“A formal assessment into the trends in the sales of illegal drugs by Somali nationals has not been made.

“Drug offences are not separately identifiable by nationality.

“The illegal supply of drugs is a serious matter.

“Trafficking in controlled drugs of all classes needs to be tackled robustly in order to reduce the harm drugs cause to communities and organised criminality associated with their supply.

“The Government’s strategy is to bear down on all points in the drugs supply chain in order to disrupt criminal gangs, stifle drug supply and reduce the harm caused to communities in the UK.

“Increasing quantities of drugs are being seized and organised crime groups and dealers disrupted.

“The latest figure published show that in 2008-09, there were a record 241,090 drug seizures by police and UK Border Agency (including HMRC) in England and Wales, up six per cent from the 228,131 seizures the previous year.

“These figures include 3,988 drug seizures made by Essex police in 2008-09, an increase of 45 per cent. on seizures made in 2007-08 (2,747).”

Last week, police in Southend investigated Malvern Tower, Coleman Street, where they believe Somalian criminal gangs are selling crack cocaine and heroin.

According to the Southend Standard, 15 officers with two sniffer dogs were looking for drugs hidden in communal areas.

Officers believe that gang members have been forcing their way into residents’ homes and using the flats as bases for their activities.

Inspector Lee Norris of Southend Police told the Southend Standard:

“Southend has an underlying issue of drug dealing by Somali gangs.

“We seek to disrupt and dispel the dealing.

“Class A drug dealing is believed to be taking place in and around the Quantock, Pennine, Chiltern and Malvern flats.

“We believe the Somalis forcibly occupy a flat and sell class A drugs from that flat for a short time, before moving on.

“The communal areas are believed to be used to store the drugs.

“Issues in the tower blocks are regularly identified at neighbourhood action panel meetings and when we knock on doors.”

By Rachel Charman

Labour’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidates Julian Ware-Lane (Castlepoint) and Kevin Bonavia (Southend East) have commented on the death of Michael Foot.

Mr Foot, the Labour leader who lost the 1983 general election against Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative party, died today aged 96.

Mr Foot’s political career spanned almost five decades. He was a Labour MP from 1945 to 1955, and then from 1960 to 1992. He was also leader of the opposition from 1980 until 1983.

Mr Ware-Lane said “This is a moment of personal sadness; progressive politics has lost a great champion.

“Michael Foot was a large figure in my early political education. I liked his style, where policies more than personalities mattered. He was a principled man.

“Rest in peace seems more than appropriate for a man of peace, although one should remember the courage of this man who volunteered in the Second World War, despite being unwell and therefore rejected for service.”

Mr Bonavia said:

“Michael Foot was a great parliamentarian; passionate in his determination to fight poverty but also courteous and good humoured whenever he encountered opposition.

“He might be most famous as Leader of the Labour Party when it faced its most difficult period since the War, but he should be remembered for much more than that.

“He was also a fine historian and a lifelong active supporter of Plymouth Argyle.

“I recall my only encounter with him a few years ago, when he spoke at an event to commemorate the life of one of his (and my) heroes, Nye Bevan, the founder of our NHS.

“He was both moving and very funny.

“A decent man and a true example to anyone who wants to make a difference through politics.”

By Rachel Charman

Conservative councillor Anna Waite, who is responsible for transport in Southend, has received a threat of violence from an unidentified member of the public.

Cllr Waite received an anonymous letter from a member of the public who opposes to the redevelopment of Cuckoo Corner, challenging her to a ‘duel to the death’.

Cllr Waite told the Echo that she has given the letter to the police.

She also said: “It’s intimidation. I deeply resentthe personal attacks.

“I find it very unpleasant and worrying.”

The Saxon King in Priory Park (SKIPP) committee, which has set up ‘Camp Cuckoo’ in protest on the site which is to be redeveloped, have denied any involvement in the threats towards Cllr Waite.

In a statement, SKIPP spokespeople said:

“The residents of Camp Cuckoo strongly refute any connection with the individual member of the public who has allegedly issued threats of violence towards a councillor connected with Cuckoo Corner Road Scheme.

“No person on site or directly connected with the Camp has engaged in any such actions.

“Like all right minded people we deplore violence, and would instantly eject any individual from the Camp if they acted, or threatened to act, in a violent manner.

“Residents and committed supporters of the camp are undergoing Non Violent Direct Action Training (NVDA) to ensure that all actions taken during the campaign although active are still peaceful in nature.”