Stop Airport Extension Now (SAEN) has been granted to the right to an oral hearing of its case against the expansion of Southend Airport. Last week, the High Court refused to hear an appeal from SAEN in which the group claimed Southend Council was wrong to grant planning permission for the new runway at...
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Last Thursday, the Council’s meeting was dominated by the recent cuts from central Government, which left Southend Borough Council with £1.4 million less funding than planned at the start of the financial year. Here, Executive Councillor for Transport and Planning Mark Flewitt (Con) gives Councilbust.com his view of what might be this year’s most...
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Following the furore over the Cuckoo Corner and City Beach redevelopments, Mark Flewitt, the new executive councillor for Transport and Planning, is handling some of the most contentious issues facing the local authority. Here, Cllr Flewitt discusses the transport and planning issues Southend has, and the villification of his predecessor, Cllr Anna Waite. “You...
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Following Southend Council’s cabinet reshuffle, the pressure group Saxon King In Priory Park (SKIPP) has made demands on Cllr Anna Waite’s successor. Cllr Mark Flewitt (left), formerly the executive councillor for Adult Social Care, Health and Housing, is now in charge of Transport and Planning. Cllr Waite became unpopular with pressure groups, particularly SKIPP,...
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By Rachel Charman Southend Borough Council’s Private Sector Housing Team brought the prosecution against a landlord who neglected his tenants for almost a year. Mr John Squires, of South Crescent, Southend, left his tenants with no heating, hot water or downstairs lighting for ten months. Southend Magistrates fined Mr Squires £2,000, and ordered him...
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By Rachel Charman Southend Borough Council has increased efforts to raise the standard of houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) in the borough. The Council is extending its inspection programme for HMOs to cover properties not previously identified in a bid to better protect vulnerable occupiers and in turn prevent anti-social behaviour. HMOs of three...
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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,...
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By Rachel Charman Two Southend councillors from different parties have attacked Southend Borough Council over the issue of housing. Independent Cllr Martin Terry told the Echo: “We have a massive shortage of affordable family homes, but we have seen about 4,700 properties built, of which 98 per cent are one and two-bed flats. “They...
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