Hospice plan should be resubmitted (From Echo)

Hospice plan should be resubmitted

11:24am Wednesday 8th February 2012 in News

V L Palmer’s years in business may have left him with the rueful recognition that there are a lot of sneaky people out there doing seriously sneaky deals all the time (Jan 20).

But I don’t see the connection between the Salvation Army field along the London Road, between Leigh and Hadleigh, to which he alluded, so familiar a sight to those travelling that way, and a proposed hospice on a small end-wedge of another field by Leigh station.

True, it’s all owned by the Salvation Army, but separated by Hadleigh Castle and the footpath from Leigh, leading to Benfleet Downs and beyond.

And if that Castle Point green belt ever gets built on with housing in the future – as there has long been some fear – it will have nothing to do with Southend Council allowing a one-off hospice at its end.

That’ll be down to national government, appropriate council concurrence and residents’ approval. It’ll never happen.

Moreover, to claim the community is split over this issue is to rather artfully imply there are two equally divided sides here in the Leigh community.

This is just not so.

There is clearly a huge majority signed up via a mammoth petition for this enlightened proposal to be allowed.

Must they now shout into Southend Council’s suspiciously collectively deaf ear in order to make them listen when this proposal is, as surely it must be, resubmitted?

John Haran
Broadway West
Leigh