Please find below comments on the public consultation on the Central Area Action Plan, submitted on behalf of the local Labour Party.

Option box 3
1) Objective 4 should be strengthened to include a specific reference to preserving the mature trees that we still have left in the central area. Planting saplings cannot make up for the loss of mature trees for many, many years, even assuming the trees survive to maturity.

The council has alienated significant sections of the community by removing mature trees, and further destruction of healthy trees will damage public approval for any regeneration plans.

2) The Action Plan should include particular reference to facilities for young people. Opportunities for outdoor recreation, eg a skateboard park, should be encouraged, and the administration's previous commitment to a recreational pool in the centre of Southend should be restated.

Option Box 5
Clearly the economic situation and the financial cutbacks cast doubt on whether large scale physical regeneration projects are viable. Local residents are deeply sceptical of such plans. Given these constraints, it may be that change of a more evolutionary character is the best that we can achieve.

Option Box 16
Development of the gateway neighbourhoods should focus on the needs of existing communities. These communities have had to bear the brunt of the problems associated with living close to an urban centre, including overcrowding, noise and anti-social behaviour. The needs of the people living their now should be put first.

Option Box 8
Should Sainsbury's relocate, option 8(a) is favourable, given the scarcity of public green space in the area, though option 8(b) would have considerable benefits if practical.

Option Box 18
Refurbishment of existing buildings should always be the first option for both economic and environmental reasons.

Option Box 19
The energy needs of new developments should be supplied by renewables to the maximum practical extent. We should support micro-generation.

Option Box 21
See above regarding trees. Development South of the sea wall should not be permitted.

Option Box 24
We should definitely use all powers to ensure that the maximum number of larger family homes are built in any gateway development.

Option Box 25
We support higher percentage of affordable housing in all developments, and a lower threshold. We also believe that a proportion of new developments should be not just affordable, but social-rented.