WHAT a waste of council tax payers’ money on the cliffs museum.

The council removed trees on the cliff against professional advice and it collapsed in 2002.

They tried to dump London clay on Shoebury Common, disguised as a flood defence that is not required until 2025 and to support a developer building 172 houses on a Grade 3 flood plain.

In 2010, AEW was instructed to prepare a design for this museum, and said it would cost £35m, then changed their minds to £40m.

In 2013 it sold Beecroft Art Gallery to support this white elephant and changed its name to “The Thames Estuary Experience”, thinking this would encourage entrepreneurs.

They then said they would build the 200-space car park anyway, also on a flood plain and then the revenue would pay for the museum. Despite huge opposition,

in July 2017 the council instructed another architect (Hawkins Brown) at £1.3m to only be told what everyone else was saying locally, that this idea is not fit for purpose and it would cost at least £55m, which is what local group SKIPP have been saying for more than ten years.

After less than a year, these incompetent councillors are now expecting us to believe that “things have changed and so have the town’s priorities, so why not now build it down the High Street”.

Councillors who told me they were going to build this monstrosity three years ago are now saying “this news is unpleasant, but a necessary wake up call”.

I think the residents of Southend deserve a huge apology from these councillors for wasting our money and not listening to common sense.

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PETER LOVETT

Shoebury