Southend councillor brands residents 'nimbys'

Ron Woodley, deputy leader of the council, presented a controversial scheme to cabinet on Wednesday, which seeks to introduce 20mph speed limits in certain roads on Thorpe Bay and Leigh.

The plans, funded with a £500,000 Department for Transport grant, also include the use of speed humps, speed pillows and build outs onto the carriageway to reduce speeding at certain junctions.

Despite a report on the pilot scheme referring to the installation of raised tables, speed cushions and speed humps to “act as a physical calming measure forcing drivers to slow down on the approach and whilst going over a speed bump”, Mr Woodley dismissed some Thorpe Bay residents’ concerns using the “not in my back yard” acronym.

He said: “When we’re talking about raised tables we’re talking about three inches off the carriageway with slopes. It’s about making people aware they are approaching a junction. When we are talking about speed pillows we are not talking about bumps.

“I want to make people safe using our roads and our footways and the people that object to this are small minded nimbys and don’t want to do anything that upsets the status quo.”

Mr Woodley, who recently announced he is going to resign his cabinet post over “bullying” by Conservatives, added: “We know about accidents that happen in Thorpe. A few years ago we had a child killed and one severely disabled. In one junction alone there’s been 18 accidents in four years. We’ve had a garden wall knocked down three times and cars have ended up in the grounds of a local church.”

Tony Cox, leader of the Conservative group, said: “This is a tactic used by Ron Woodley and the Independents when someone disagrees with them. This is the kind of insulting language we have come to hear from them. It’s quite disturbing that if you disagree with them you are a small minded nimby, racist or a bully.”

Thorpe Bay resident, Kathering Holland, said: "As a lifelong resident of the Thorpe Ward, I was disgusted to hear, Cllr Ron Woodley calling his own constituents, "small minded nimbys" if they did not agree with his latest proposal to implement speed bumps/pillows and road narrowing on the Burges Estate.

"This is a proposal that has been put forward without any statistical evidence to support these measures or consultation with the residents who live there. This proposal is being pushed through using underhand, deceitful and bullying tactics."

Cabinet agreed the report on the pilot schemes.

Accident black spot - Parkanaur Avenue junction