Comment
New Local Plan
Representation ID: 3402
Received: 15/03/2019
Respondent: Milton Conservation Society
Yes, massively missing. The messages are simply aspirations that could be written about any town. This is not what Southend is.
For too long marketeers and planners have wanted to define Southend, give it a clear label. This seems to us misplaced and constricting. Southend is many things, many different things, so rather than an out moded definition of what the town is we would suggest an approach which social media has given us - that of tagging. This would allow the town to be defined in multiple, flexible ways, the ways that people already define our town and will define it in future. These should be both ordinary and special, exactly what a town is. These would tap into the history, geography and social place that the town is. They are short, evocative, unpretentious and meaningful - in short, authentic. In this way they link to the tangible and intangible heritage we speak about elsewhere.
For example Southend is (in no particular order):
a walk on the pier
a plate of cockles
sunset over the estuary
sand castles and mud pies
fairground shrieks and laughter
keeping fit on the promenade
an ice cream on the front
seeing a band at the Cliffs
a Saxon hoard unearthed
a hassle free airport
sunken ships and a lost port
estuary birds flocking
the ebb and flow of the Thames
breakfast at the archway cafes
the dress circle at the Palace
Many other tags could be written and this idea allows the town to continue to be defined by its people, not a time limited marketing strap line.
Southend needs a new type of definition, messages that are not those of any town but of our town
Yes, massively missing. The messages are simply aspirations that could be written about any town. This is not what Southend is.
For too long marketeers and planners have wanted to define Southend, give it a clear label. This seems to us misplaced and constricting. Southend is many things, many different things, so rather than an out moded definition of what the town is we would suggest an approach which social media has given us - that of tagging. This would allow the town to be defined in multiple, flexible ways, the ways that people already define our town and will define it in future. These should be both ordinary and special, exactly what a town is. These would tap into the history, geography and social place that the town is. They are short, evocative, unpretentious and meaningful - in short, authentic. In this way they link to the tangible and intangible heritage we speak about elsewhere.
For example Southend is (in no particular order):
a walk on the pier
a plate of cockles
sunset over the estuary
sand castles and mud pies
fairground shrieks and laughter
keeping fit on the promenade
an ice cream on the front
seeing a band at the Cliffs
a Saxon hoard unearthed
a hassle free airport
sunken ships and a lost port
estuary birds flocking
the ebb and flow of the Thames
breakfast at the archway cafes
the dress circle at the Palace
Many other tags could be written and this idea allows the town to continue to be defined by its people, not a time limited marketing strap line.