A LOBBY group has rubbished Southend Council’s plans to set up a fundraising trust for its £40million seafront museum.

Seven years after first announcing its plan for a £40million museum built into the cliffs in Western Esplanade, the authority is setting up a fundraising drive this autumn.

Council officers say they hope to have a “significant” amount of funding for the project in their coffers by 2020, but admitted earlier this year, they have so far failed to attract any funding.

However, they hope publicity from new research into the Saxon tomb discovery in Southend, due to be published next year, will aid the fundraising drive, as they look to secure EU, Government, and lottery funding, as well as from the public.

But the members of Saxon King in Priory Park group said the authority was “having a laugh”.

In a joint statement, Sheena Walker, Patsy Link, and Mark Sharp said: “They have tried for years to get funding from every source across Europe and now they are turning to the cash - strapped public who have already expressed their hostility to this idea.

“Now our council is showing the typical arrogance of the political elite by ignoring the feelings and the reality of the situation.

“There is no huge pot of money for this white elephant scheme and no one wants it apart from those few individuals in their Civic Centre ivory tower.”

In 2008, the then Tory-led council decided to pursue the museum project, and despite a change of administration in 2014, the new council still wants to press ahead.

Many of the council officers who worked up the initial plans are still present at the authority.

The campaign group has previously criticised the council for not entertaining their plans for a smaller-scale museum in Priory Crescent, close to where the Saxon relics were discovered.

However, they have never formally presented their proposals to any of the previous Southend Councils, or the present one.