ONE of the biggest challenges for departing Southend Council chief executive Rob Tinlin has been funding cuts.

Nevertheless, the council has been able to deliver major projects like the refurbished City Beach area of the seafront.

Mr Tinlin said: “The 2011 census lost us 17,000 of the population and cost us £6million in grants every year so I’ve always been chasing our tail to find reductions in budget over the years.

“I’ve got a team that are phenomenally good at raising money. Last week we got £23million for the airport business park. Of £103million, it was the single biggest amount awarded.

“We got something like a quarter of the money that went to the Thames Gateway area in its final year and that money paid for Progress Road junction, improvements to Cuckoo Corner, the replacement of the Victoria roundabout and City Beach. We had 15 months to deliver £25million worth of projects, every one of which required us to keep the traffic flowing through the middle of it, but we delivered on time.

“I’ve been here 12 years and had to bridge savings gaps every year - one year something like £12.5million. I’ve probably taken more than £120million out of the budget in 12 years and we’ve never stopped any services. “

There are no signs financial pressures are waning. The Government is expected to allow councils to keep 100 per cent of business rates by 2020 but it will not cover the cuts in other funding - particularly public health.

Mr Tinlin said: “I think we’ve still got several years of austerity to go. After this year’s budget there’s a funding gap of at least £25million we’ve got to find over the next three years. The Government has said by 2020 they will have got rid of the main government grant and we will rely for all of our money on council tax and business rates.

“The biggest challenge we face is adult social care. More and more people are turning up at hospital with more things wrong with them. They stay in hospital longer and it’s more challenging to get them back home. The trick is to try and look after them so they don’t end up going to hospital, but local government reductions in funding is coming out of social care as it is out of everything else.”

Mr Tinlin also fears the Government is not considering infrastructure when demanding councils build more homes. He said: “If we get all this housing without the money to do the road systems and schools and everything else the risk is we will grind to a standstill. The A127 was the first dual carriageway in the country in the 1920s. It’s basically the same as it was then. Something has got to give.”

Mr Tinlin believes the solution to pressures on local authorities could be closer cooperation with each other.

He said: “We are one of the smallest unitary councils in England and that means we’ve got less flexibility because money is always really tight. I think we are almost too small to be a unitary these days because of that. My view is the national government at some stage is going to have to bite the bullet and say we are going to restructure English local government. Essex is too big to be a unitary authority in my view and could readily be subdivided.”

Councillors pay tribute to Mr Tinlin

IN his time as Southend Council’s chief executive Rob Tinlin has earned the respect of a long line of councillors.

John Lamb, the current leader of the council, said: “I know that councillors, staff and our partners will all be very sorry to see him go.  He is very well respected across all levels of the organisation, and deservedly so.

“I will personally miss his wise counsel and experience, but I will also his great warmth and humour. I know that he will be moving back to Scotland, but I do hope he stays in touch with us and comes back to visit Southend regularly in the future.
“Rob is very focused, resilient and delivers, but is also charismatic and has a personable approach with everyone. It is these characteristics that have ensured the council and the borough have thrived in recent years and so many great things have been delivered.”

Former council leader Ron Woodley is also sorry to see Mr Tinlin go. He said: “I have found Rob to be very attentive to detail and have nothing but praise for him and what he wants for the town. Rob has been good for the town and will be sorely missed.”d could readily be subdivided.”