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Road scheme could cost council £3.5m
4:03pm Wednesday 9th April 2008
Comments (17)SOUTHEND Council could be faced with a £3.5 million bill if the controversial Priory Crescent road-widening scheme goes ahead, campaigners claim.
Protesters at Camp Bling, set up to oppose the road scheme, believe the council will have to pay £1.5million to evict them from their site in Priory Crescent.
The campaigners say the council will also need to make a £2million contribution from its own coffers towards the cost of the £11.5million scheme.
Parklife campaigner Patsy Link said: "The true cost to local taxpayers for building this road is being withheld. We have established that the total bill could be as much as £3.5million, and demand the Conservative leader explains exactly how such a sum of money will be procured from council funds for this purpose."
Tory council leader Nigel Holdcroft would not comment on the costs saying nothing was yet decided and the council was still waiting to hear from the Depart-ment for Transport whether the scheme would be funded.
Miss Link added: "We demand that the Conservative leader explains exactly how such a sum of money will be procured from council funds for this purpose."
Under the latest scheme, the dual carriageway in Priory Crescent would only extend from Cuckoo Corner to the Lookers garage site, and will not affect the former burial ground of the Saxon king - where Camp Bling protesters have set up.
The area occupied by Camp Bling would become a memorial garden to the Saxon king.
Lib Dem group leader Graham Longley said: "I think there would not be any problem if the council made the right decision and dropped this road scheme, there would not be any problem with Camp Bling.
As this is what they have been campaigning for, then as I understand it, they would leave the site and assist in clearing it up as well.
"By insisting on going on with this road, which nobody wants, the council is now facing another unnecessary problem."
The Priory Crescent widening scheme has already been drastically cut back from the original plans, which involved a new bridge over the Liverpool Street to Southend Victoria rail lime.
Although these were approved by an inspector following a public inquiry, the money to carry out the work has not been forthcoming from the Government.
Your Say YourEcho
Pete, Canvey Island says...
10:12pm Wed 9 Apr 08
These smelly putrid soap dodgers will soon be off!
Luke Warm, Westcliff says...
10:54pm Wed 9 Apr 08
Al, Southend-on-Sea says...
9:20am Thu 10 Apr 08
Dan, North Leigh says...
9:27am Thu 10 Apr 08
sheena walker, shoeburyness says...
9:28am Thu 10 Apr 08
Jaq - "got a job thanks", Camp Bling says...
10:59am Thu 10 Apr 08
We have had the recent revision to the plan, that cuts costs but this makes the scheme even more unworkable, from talking to local people we know that the time has come to cancel this unpopular scheme in full, the public know it, most councillors can see that now, its time Nigel Holdcroft and the Tory administration saw it too.
The objective of Camp Bling has always been to see this road scheme cancelled in full, when this happens we will take down our low impact dwellings, clear the site and we will go home.
Cancel it now, It is the only sane way forward.
piano hinges, says...
11:25am Thu 10 Apr 08
Yes it's very easy to label people as soap-dodgers and benefit scroungers when you have no idea what you're talking about. That's why they call you names, because they haven't a clue what else to say.
Keep fighting.
Ian Gilbert, Westcliff-on-Sea says...
11:33am Thu 10 Apr 08
I dont want to see this get into a debate about the rights and wrongs of the Camp Bling protest the road just doesnt make economic or environmental sense. Even the councils own consultants thought that the journey time saving would only amount to 3 minutes, and that seems to be pushing it to me. Had the council asked the government for money for more modest and sensible traffic improvements, they would have got it and they might have been completed by now. As it is, Southend taxpayers could be left to foot a large bill without any benefits.
Im glad that the Lib Dems have finally come round to our way of thinking. Having lived in Southend for around seven years, I wasnt around when the original plans were drawn up, but I know that it has been opposed by the local Labour Party since 2001 at least.
People have the chance to express their views on this on May 1. A vote for the Conservatives is a vote for this road going ahead, but if the Conservatives lose control these plans will be history.
Ian Gilbert
Labour Candidate for Victoria Ward
Andrew, Shoeburyness says...
12:31pm Thu 10 Apr 08
A vote for the Tories will see more environmental destruction in Southend, more of our heritage and history bulldozed. THE SAME WILL HAPPEN with a vote for Liebour, or have people forgotten that the 'Thames Gateway project' is Liebour's child? That the south east being concreted over from London to Shoebury is John Prescott's baby?
Vote for a local independent, they know the Southend area and have the interests of the people of Southend foremost, without taking orders from any central party machine.
Andrew, Shoeburyness says...
12:46pm Thu 10 Apr 08
Liebour want to concrete over the Southeast from London to Shoebury. It was Liebour who changed planning law to allow anyone to knock down any single dwelling building/house and build a block of flats in its place.
That is why a developer can buy an historic building, like say the old cinema building in Ness Raod, Shoeburyness, and propose demolishing it in favour of building shop units and flats. Even though all the ugly industrial units that were built on whats left of Gunners Park ARE STILL EMPTY two years after construction.
Votes for Tory, Liebour or the Libs are wasted, because they put the wishes of their central offices before the wishes of their constituents.
It is much wiser to vote for a local independent who has no central party machine to take orders from and who will put the needs of local people first.
Tony H, Southend says...
12:53pm Thu 10 Apr 08
It shouldn't take a consultant to tell them to stop the while mad scheme and stop costs draining the Southend taxpayer.
As it seems they won't listen I'll be helping to vote them out in May.
Paul, Southend on Sea says...
1:47pm Thu 10 Apr 08
Andrew wrote:I have to disagree with that. Local politics work differently to national politics.
No offence Ian, but NONE of the big three parties have done anything to stop Southend being flattened for flats after flats after flats. A vote for any of you is wasted.
A vote for the Tories will see more environmental destruction in Southend, more of our heritage and history bulldozed. THE SAME WILL HAPPEN with a vote for Liebour, or have people forgotten that the 'Thames Gateway project' is Liebour's child? That the south east being concreted over from London to Shoebury is John Prescott's baby?
Vote for a local independent, they know the Southend area and have the interests of the people of Southend foremost, without taking orders from any central party machine.
Planning decisions locally are made by the development control committee which comprises 11 (ish) councillors, or at full council meetings.
The conservatives have a massive majority in Southend and are proportionally respresented on committees.
So even if all labour, lib dem & independants voted one way, and the tories the other way (whether at committee or full council), there simply aren't enough votes to overcome what has usually been pre-discussed behind closed doors.
To reduce the power that the conservatives exert over Southend, vote wisely in the local elections.
Meanwhile nationally, get labour out, as it's their decisions which limit the funding the local authority receive.
Ian Gilbert, Westcliff-on-Sea says...
3:00pm Thu 10 Apr 08
Andrew wrote:I didnt want to get into a long debate, but Ive got to respond to that.
A vote for Liebour is also a vote for this scheme going ahead. Or have you forgotten that the Thames Gateway Project is Liebour's baby?
Liebour want to concrete over the Southeast from London to Shoebury. It was Liebour who changed planning law to allow anyone to knock down any single dwelling building/house and build a block of flats in its place.
That is why a developer can buy an historic building, like say the old cinema building in Ness Raod, Shoeburyness, and propose demolishing it in favour of building shop units and flats. Even though all the ugly industrial units that were built on whats left of Gunners Park ARE STILL EMPTY two years after construction.
Votes for Tory, Liebour or the Libs are wasted, because they put the wishes of their central offices before the wishes of their constituents.
It is much wiser to vote for a local independent who has no central party machine to take orders from and who will put the needs of local people first.
Firstly, if you want to stop the Priory Crescent scheme youd be extremely daft to vote for an Independent councillor who SUPPORTS the plan just for the sake of voting independent. There is just no logic to that at all.
Secondly Priory Crescent has absolutely nothing to do with Renaissance Southend, it was proposed long before Renaissance Southend existed. In any case Renaissance Southend has to work with aims and objectives which were approved by Southend Council and has no planning powers of its own.
Thirdly, Southend Council is actually AHEAD of government targets on flat building (a fact pointed out by one of your independents, Councillor Woodley) so its not true to say that there is pressure coming from the government to build more flats at this time.
Lastly, you really are under a misapprehension over how political parties work. I honestly cannot think of one single local issue on which a Labour councillor has come under any pressure from head office. I suspect that the same is true of the parties as well, though obviously I dont know for sure. All local policy is determined locally, with the interests of Southend people in mind.
Andrew, Shoeburyness says...
5:35pm Thu 10 Apr 08
But like all Liebour politicians you have not read what I wrote.
I worked in industry, Ford at Dagenham, from the day I left school in 1978. I always voted Labour because thats what working people did. Now we have Nu-Liebour who have abandoned the low paid, abandoned the working man, and who live only to privatise everything they can.
As far as I am concerned, Liebour, the Tories and the Libs can go to hell. Over the last ten years all three have consistently ignored the electorate.
All you people are interested in is keeping your corrupt snouts buried deep in the trough.
Joan Richards, Shoeburyness says...
5:50pm Fri 11 Apr 08
As to the rest of your comments, since Labour came in to power in 1997 the 'working man' has seen the introduction of the minimum wage, equal working rights for part time as well as full time workers, increased benefits and pensions and better school conditions to name but a few.
The Labour Party may not be perfect, it is run by human beings and not angels, but we are trying to do something to help our neighbours. If we are not doing it the way you would like I apologize but your reason for complaint could very easily be somebody else's compliment, we all have to take the rough with the smooth.
Joan Richards
Labour Candidate for West Shoebury Ward
Andrew, Shoeburyness says...
8:28pm Fri 11 Apr 08
rampant privatisation.
No protection for British jobs, hence companies can move abroad at will and dump our workers on the scrapheap. I know this first hand as I and every other Dagenham PTA Ford worker saw our jobs go to Germany, while Liebour did diddly squat about it.
Southend is plagued with homes being torn down and replaced with blocks of flats. That is a direct result of Liebour's relaxation of planning law.
Most working people now have to face lower pay and poorer working conditions because of Liebour's open door immigration policy. Migrants are happy to work for less pay and in worse conditions than those of us who fought for decades for a decent wage and conditions. We have been completely undermined by this.
Liebour put the wants of the EU before the wants of the British.
Liebour refuse to give England the same devolved rights enjoyed by the rest of the UK.
Liebour have installed unelected, unacountable 'regional assemblies' that repeatedly over-ride the decisions of elected councils. Those assemblies were installed against the wishes of the electorate, purely because Liebour's EU masters demanded it.
Liebour sold the British people down the river when they signed the Lisbon Treaty.
Liebour LIED in their election manifesto when they promised an EU referendum.
If you think I am going to believe for one second that local Liebour, Tories or Libs will ignore the orders from their central offices then you are very much mistaken.
If you also think people are not going to vote on national issues in these local elections then you are deluding yourself. You only have Gordon McStalin and the rest of the snouts-in-the-trough pigs in Westminster to blame for that.
The people of Britain, and especially the people of England, are itching to give Liebour a broken nose, they have been denied a general election to do that in, so they will use the local elections.
DO NOT VOTE for the 'big three' parties, they do NOT have anyone's interests at heart but their own.
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Andrew, Shoeburyness says...
6:08pm Wed 9 Apr 08
Any driver who uses Priory Crescent could tell them, the hold ups are NOT CAUSED BY THE WIDTH OF THE ROAD! The hold ups are caused by the roundabouts at each end of that road!