Councilbust

As the furore over MPs’ expenses rages on, the expenses claimed by local councillors has also come under scrutiny.

Councillors, unless they are leaders or deputy leaders of the council, are not paid a salary, whereas MPs are.

In Southend, just under half of councillors claimed no expenses at all for both 2007-08 and 2008-09. These are councillors Aylen, Carlile, Cushion, Flewitt, Habermel, Holdcroft, Luty, and Price (Conservative); Grimwade, Longley and Roast (Liberal Democrat); Borton, Dandridge, Garne George, Norman, Robinson and Royston (Labour); and Assenheim, Terry, Velmurugan, Weaver and Woodley (independent).

Of those councillors who did claim expenses in the financial year 2007-08, those who claimed the most were Cllr Foster (Con), with £2,802.28; Cllr Lamb (Con) with £2,085.04; and Cllr Garston (Con) with £1,154.28.

In 2008-09, the top two claimants – the only two to claim £1,000 or more – were Cllr Lamb, with £2,242.00, and Cllr Hadley (Con), with £1,270.40.

Conservative MP for Southend West David Amess has paid back part of the expenses he has claimed.

Mr Amess’ expenses were published online last week. Since then, he has attracted criticism for claiming the maximum allowance for food when Parliament was not sitting, and for payments to consultancies without adequate invoicing information.

Mr Amess has paid back £106 out of his total claims. This is thought to be due to an over-claim of council tax.

Mr Amess previously said that the Conservative Party Scrutiny Committee and the Fees Office had said that the was not required to pay any money back at all.

Labour Councillor for Victoria Ian Gilbert has spoken to CouncilBust.com about his concerns over housing in the Victoria ward.

In the full council meeting last week, councillors discussed the changes Tesco have made to their proposed building plan on the site near Southend Victoria Station.

The supermarket chain originally said it would build affordable housing as well as a new store on the old B&Q site, but has since withdrawn its housing offer, claiming it is unaffordable in the current economic climate.

As other councillors expressed frustration at Tesco’s apparent decision, Cllr Gilbert voiced his concerns over building affordable housing in the area at all.

Today, Cllr Gilbert told CouncilBust.com: “I do regret that the affordable family housing, which was at one point suggested as part of this development, is not being included.

“However, the tower block which was proposed for the front corner of the development would have drawn objections from nearby residents, and I remain of the opinion that high-rise living is not good answer to our shortage of affordable housing.

“Parking in the Milton Street area is a nightmare, and residents fear that it will get even worse when the existing car parking is closed, so I’m raising this issue at every opportunity.”

At the full council meeting last week, several local councillors expressed their disappointment and frustration with Tesco’s plans to drop affordable housing from its building plan in central Southend.

The supermarket chain originally planned to build a new store on the B&Q site near Victoria Plaza, as well as new low-cost homes.

Company staff now say, however, that the economic downturn has made it impossible for them to go ahead with the housing plan.

As of yet, Tesco has not submitted a planning application to the council, but speculation is rife about whether the company will stick to its original proposal.

Ron Woodley, Independent Councillor for Thorpe, suggested boycott action to put pressure on Tesco, saying at the council meeting:

“We should urge people not to shop at Tesco unless we have the affordable housing we were promised.”

Liberal Democrat Councillor Jim Clinkscales expressed his belief that Tesco’s new plans should not be allowed. He said:

“Tesco needs the High Street and we should tell it we will not accept this unless there is affordable housing.”

Cllr Andrew Moring, who is responsible for support services at the council, said that the council were unable to reject Tesco’s proposals as the site is already earmarked as shopping space.

Ian Gilbert, Labour Councillor for Victoria, disagreed with the other councillors, saying:

“While it is always regrettable to lose affordable housing, we do not want high rise development in Victoria Ward.

“With this scheme there were serious concerns about car parking among local people and these still remain, whether or not affordable housing is included.”