The many reasons cliff museum plan Is flawed

1:41pm Tuesday 26th June 2012 in Letters

There are many reasons Skipp thinks the Council’s plan to build a seven-storey business conference centre on the cliffs is flawed.

The Council’s proposal breaks the connection between the Saxon King’s burial chamber and his grave goods.

National Trust’s management told us:“Break the connection between the burial chamber and the artefacts and you risk losing the majority of the overseas tourists.” Sutton Hoo gets 30,000 overseas visitors per year. They come to see where the treasures were found”

The cliffs site represents a major flood risk, the council’s own flood risk analysis clearly shows the building will not survive until the end of its designed life.

Two flood risk assessments have been carried out, on behalf of the council. The first during the options appraisal process, was, in our opinion, manipulated by assessing the risk as an average across the entire elevation of the site, not on the risk at the lowest elevation.

A second assessment is frankly shocking: Annual flood risk first two floors 2020 – 0.5 per cent Annual flood risk first two floors 2055 5 per cent Annual flood risk first three floors 2115 – 100 per cent.

It’s not a museum, it’s a business conference centre: Have no doubt the museum aspect of this building is incidental to its main purpose.

The grave goods of King Saebert are the excuse the council is using in a desperate attempt to raise funds to build its desired conference centre.

It’s vast expense is completely unrealistic: Southend Council has for years claimed the proposed building would cost £35m, this is not true and it knows it. The projected cost of this proposal is £50m and this doesn’t include any contingency for inflation.

It’s based on an outdated concept. Their museum concept involves glass cases and a sterile, soulless environment.

It would result in damaging the character of the Clifftown Conservation area for ever. Furthermore, if it gets away with this it will use it as an excuse, it will call it a planning precedent, to allow further development in the conservation area.

Patsy Link, Sheena Walker and Mark Sharp
Skipp Committee

Comments (3)

6:47pm Tue 26 Jun 12

Mslightfoot says...

It is shocking to all of us now, 'in the know', how much money, officers time and outside consultancies have been used in furthering this inappropriate, over-priced, pipe dream, these visionaries in the town planning section of our Council appear to have no affection for the town and certainly no soul. The cliffs area is clearly a conservation area and the question has to be asked, why would the officers in the Council want to destroy such a beautiful open air, public space amenity that is well used and well loved by the local people of Southend, or is this hateful idea the idea of our elected officials who appear to have forgotten who they are representing. In talking to people in the High Street, they were shocked that the Council want to replace an area that holds many memories, with a conference centre with parking. The museum part of the build, as SKIPP say, actually represents about 15% of the overall build and is already out of date. We have been waiting for ten years for the cliff slippage to be repaired; the Council should get on with their job and fix the cliffs and restore this beautiful part of the town to its former glory, because glory is, in this instance, the right word. Would they be saying that about the conference centre in years to come, I think not.
It is shocking to all of us now, 'in the know', how much money, officers time and outside consultancies have been used in furthering this inappropriate, over-priced, pipe dream, these visionaries in the town planning section of our Council appear to have no affection for the town and certainly no soul. The cliffs area is clearly a conservation area and the question has to be asked, why would the officers in the Council want to destroy such a beautiful open air, public space amenity that is well used and well loved by the local people of Southend, or is this hateful idea the idea of our elected officials who appear to have forgotten who they are representing. In talking to people in the High Street, they were shocked that the Council want to replace an area that holds many memories, with a conference centre with parking. The museum part of the build, as SKIPP say, actually represents about 15% of the overall build and is already out of date. We have been waiting for ten years for the cliff slippage to be repaired; the Council should get on with their job and fix the cliffs and restore this beautiful part of the town to its former glory, because glory is, in this instance, the right word. Would they be saying that about the conference centre in years to come, I think not. Mslightfoot

9:49pm Mon 9 Jul 12

Nebs says...

A conference centre would help bring money into the town. That there would be some interesting exhibits in the attached museum is an added bonus.
A conference centre would help bring money into the town. That there would be some interesting exhibits in the attached museum is an added bonus. Nebs

7:22am Thu 12 Jul 12

Mslightfoot says...

Nebs wrote:
A conference centre would help bring money into the town. That there would be some interesting exhibits in the attached museum is an added bonus.
Really, because if that was indeed the case and there were people, businesses even, in such dire need of premises so that they could hold conferences, a brief wander along Victoria Avenue would I believe open their eyes to then endless possibilities; Victoria Avenue, home currently to drug addicts, vermin and birds, oh and Southend Council. As for 'interesting exhibits, it will indeed be interesting watching visitors to the conference centre trying to park - especially if you think back to the parking fiasco when the hospital located the entrance and exit to their car park along Prittlewell Chase - the seafront will grind to a halt, it's almost there now with the 'shared' space for pedestrians, cyclists and traffic - what a hoot.
[quote][p][bold]Nebs[/bold] wrote: A conference centre would help bring money into the town. That there would be some interesting exhibits in the attached museum is an added bonus.[/p][/quote]Really, because if that was indeed the case and there were people, businesses even, in such dire need of premises so that they could hold conferences, a brief wander along Victoria Avenue would I believe open their eyes to then endless possibilities; Victoria Avenue, home currently to drug addicts, vermin and birds, oh and Southend Council. As for 'interesting exhibits, it will indeed be interesting watching visitors to the conference centre trying to park - especially if you think back to the parking fiasco when the hospital located the entrance and exit to their car park along Prittlewell Chase - the seafront will grind to a halt, it's almost there now with the 'shared' space for pedestrians, cyclists and traffic - what a hoot. Mslightfoot

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