6.6 Do you have any other issues/comments

Can the River Thames assist here but tidal movements are an issue - hovercraft?!

Question 6.6: Southend is largely urbanised and has only a small proportion of its area as open countryside; however, that countryside area should be preserved and access to it enhanced. Southend appears to have no Definitive Map available nor does it have a Local Access Forum or a Rights of Way Improvement Plan (not that I have been able to find online); therefore, a significant issue is the apparent disinterest of the Council for the rights of way network within the borough.

A sustainable transport system not only should cater for ‘utility’ journeys but also for recreation and leisure – especially with the established link between good recreational opportunities for communities and the health and wellbeing of its residents. We therefore suggest that as a matter of urgency the Council considers the rights of way network and aims to enhance this so that it is accessible to as many user groups as possible – walking and cycling are already catered for within the proposals, but the needs of equestrians appear not to have been considered. For a Plan to be considered sound, the Inspector will need to see that it does not discriminate against any user groups (as demonstrated by previous hearings, for example where the Inspector required Maldon’s Local Plan to be amended so that its policies included equestrians), as soundness is a legal requirement of the Plan, any iteration of it should therefore not show any discriminatory aspects.

Roads are busy now before more housing & jobs. Being bounded by sea to South & East, Southend & South Essex generally needs massive central Government support to keep people & commerce moving.
The new Thames crossing should be a big help

Good more local health care face as on North/Valkyrie Rd in east of town will curt need for movement

The bus service is very good. There are a lot of people who use it, especially older people with a bus pass. The bus pass allows many citizens to travel into Southend for shopping or having tea and cake. Though they may not spend a lot over all they do add to the people in the high street and helps keep them active and social.

RDC would encourage Southend to continue to positively engage with RDC and other partners to explore the infrastructure improvements needed to support future growth, including as part of the South Essex JSP, as well as opportunities to alleviate existing known infrastructure issues. RDC would support the continued preparation of evidence to consider the capacity of infrastructure to support potential growth, and to scope the level of improvements needed to support this growth. Where strategic-scale growth opportunities are to be explored, such as is suggested in the South East Essex Growth Locations Assessment, RDC would support a detailed programme of further work to consider what highway improvements and sustainable transport solutions would be needed to make this potential new community wholly sustainable. RDC would also support continued work to consider how the regionally important A127 and other linkages between the two authority areas can be improved, in light of known congestion issues.
Southend should work in partnership with neighbouring authorities and infrastructure providers to maximise opportunities to improve and provide new sustainable transport connections, including to Rochford District, to help support existing and future communities. RDC would support exploration of opportunities to improve strategic cycling and pedestrian connections, and opportunities for improvements to bus services. RDC would also support exploration of opportunities to improve and enhance the existing Liverpool Street-Southend Victoria line which provides connectivity between Rochford District and Southend Borough.

The provision of extra parking will simply be a circular, self sustaining disaster for Southend. Extra car parking generates extra cars on roads that cannot manage already. Extra roads will simply encourage more cars for the increased traffic. Additional ways such as park and ride should be considered in association with neighbouring councils and public transport should be improved.

One specific aspect is that car parking ratios for new development in the town centre should be lowered with consideration being given to limited areas being car fee zones. EU cities have shown that these rapidly become the most sought after and valuable areas to live in

No

Thurrock Council would want to work with Southend (and ECC) on developing the A13 route corridor strategy and a overall consistent approach to transport modelling to inform the development of the evidence base South Essex JSP, the emerging South Essex Infrastructure Development Plan and both the Southend and Thurrock local plans. Thurrock Council encourages Southend Council to engage on this matter as part of meeting the requirements of the Duty To Cooperate.

I would like to suggest a circular Tram System. It starts at the airport, then follows the current rail line towards Southend Victoria, then follows Queensway and A1160 to the Kursaal, then it runs along the seafront it follows Chalkwell Avenue then turns east along the c2c line to Westcliff station then along the centre of Hamlet Court Road along the A13 then back to the Airport. Also not associate to the Tram idea, West Road and Progress Road could be made one way - I expect you will need funding from Central Government, but my opinion is that it will be granted on an air pollution basis.

Simple really infrastructure.
New house building estates no facilities ie. Doctors, stop using existing facilities. Example Chelmsford Beaulue Estate has nursery school, primary school, secondary school, Doctors, chemist, few shops on the same estate. Better road layout to improve better traffic flow and stop/reduce pollution for those that live on the arterial routes into Southend. Stop trying to put all traffic on one road into Southend Town Centre and Seafront.

the text and slides attached, introduces the Metrotidal Lower Thames Orbital and forms the Metrotidal Limited submission and response to the Southend Local Plan consultations, to support the aims and objectives of the local plan while offering an alternative approach to deliverability with a view to generating greater benefits. Deliverability is likely to extend beyond the local plan period, so the proposals raise a question of safeguarding to enable delivery as part of the long term objectives of the Southend 2050 plan.
Set out below are some initial responses to the 12No. Local Plan section headings of the consultations:-
Our Vision
Metrotidal Limited supports the key messages in Box 1 of the Southend 2050 plan.
Spatial Strategy
1.4 – Metrotidal Limited supports Option 3, i.e. Option 2 + working with neighbouring authorities. The Metrotidal proposal would mitigate any local loss of greenbelt and greenfield land by providing much improved access to greenbelt and greenfield land on the routes of the rail orbital and Sustrans cycle networks across the Lower Thames and Medway estuaries. Furthermore, the new connectivity supports an integrated and co-ordinated approach to existing and new housing developments across the Lower Thames Estuary while providing the resilience of alternative routes across the estuary and into Central London.
Housing
2.1(b), 2.3, 2.4, 2.7. The Metrotidal proposal supports both increased housing supply at public transport and town centre locations including land released by redevelopment of the Southend Victoria terminus as well as the potential of the “Sector D “ Fossets Farm, Garon Park and Bournes Green Chase area, with access from Southend Airport Station.
Securing a Thriving Local Economy
3.7 The Metrotidal proposal creates an orbital line for the Lower Thames Estuary, bringing together new markets and opportunities for Southend in terms of outward connectivity and inward investment. The Medway Towns are currently up to 2-hours away but at a distance of only 20km. The Metrotidal Lower Thames Orbital brings South Essex and North Kent within a 30 minute journey, creating a single economy larger than Manchester.
Promoting Southend as a Major Resort
4. The Metrotidal proposal supports Southend as an exemplar coastal tourism destination within the UK. The sea defence system becomes itself a major tourist attraction. The proposals include a high-quality marina development with a cruise liner terminal and Thames Clipper ferry landings all served by a Thames Estuary Station, enhancing Southend as a gateway for national and international tourism. The marina, cruise liner terminal and ferry landings complement the original development of the pier as a tourist gateway to Southend. The integrated transport connections, including the rail links to Southend Airport, Ebbsfleet and Central London, provide an attractive tourist offer and radically improve access to the Southend conurbation.
Providing for Vibrant and Attractive Town Centres
5.6 The Metrotidal proposal supports the regeneration of the town centre for the 21st century with a new Southend Central underground station linking the existing lines while releasing the Southend Victoria terminus site for redevelopment.
Providing for a Sustainable Transport System
6.6 The Metrotidal proposals promote green-growth across the Lower Thames estuary by including a floating solar array and wind turbines to generate renewable energy for the railway orbital and tunnel M+E systems along with an efficient data storage and distribution system.
Facilitating Good Design and Healthy Living
7.5 The Metrotidal Lower Thames Orbital provides ready access to the wide open spaces of the Thames and Medway estuaries.
Providing Community Services and Infrastructure
8.4 The Metrotidal proposals contribute to improved broadband infrastructure and connectivity.

Enhancing our Natural Environment
9.3 As noted above The Metrotidal Lower Thames Orbital provides ready access to the wide open spaces of the Thames and Medway estuaries.
Planning for Climate Change
10.1 The Metrotidal proposal protects the full length of the Thames tideway upstream with a system that is only 8km long.
Ensuring that the Local Plan is Delivered
12.5 The Metrotidal proposal for integrated infrastructure enables overall costs to be reduced while increasing the net economic benefits. Municipal Railway Bonds and other innovative funding initiatives replace conventional public/private sector funding sources to restore the co-ordination of railway and land development that had contributed to the growth of Southend in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Section 1: Vision and strategy for the future
Southend needs to “Up its Game” if it is to prosper and grow in the future. It has assets which need to be further exploited and grown so that it can accommodate future population growth painlessly to the benefit of all of its people and businesses. It is unlikely that more of the same will work in the coming years. As there is no single group that can achieve this result, Southend council need to be leaders of this process. To achieve an optimum result, the council needs dynamic partnership with its people and businesses. Further, all its assets, people and location need to be exploited to achieve the best possible result. When unforeseen problems occur, as they undoubtedly will, they must be dealt with rapidly and in the short and long term interests of its entire people.
I suggest our objectives for the future should be:
Southend to be: prosperous, healthy, well educated in appropriate skills for the future, accessible from the rest of the UK and Europe, a major tourist destination, a safe environment for all, reduced atmospheric pollution and with no flooding risk from the sea and rainfall.
Southend has some excellent assets. It is a seaside location with about 7 miles of coastline. In addition to “bucket and spade tourism”, we need our beaches to be well advertised be fully exploited. Considering other tourism, the Cliffs Pavilion provides shows and concerts. Southend yacht clubs and Kite surfing are popular. Southend has a plethora of restaurants and entertainment.
Unfortunately it lacks world class road access and parking, although, uniquely for a town of its size, it has two main line railways, historically very popular with tourists. One section of the foreshore is out of bounds to residents and others as it is believed there is unexploded ordnance under the beach. The Ministry of Defence seems to be unwilling to confirm the level of risk or remove unexploded ordnance. This problem needs to be dealt with.
To achieve sustained success, for residents and visitors, our road access to the rest of the UK needs to be significantly improved. Southend, like many other towns and cities, is overwhelmed by road traffic. For the future, it is essential to discourage the use of cars and to ensure cars are replaced by minimum polluting alternatives giving a high public service. Currently, car and coach parking need to be sufficient to match current and future tourism until satisfactory alternative arrangements are available. Should high value businesses coupled with entrepreneurship be attracted to Southend, it seems likely that Southend could be very successful. Currently we have only one major business of this calibre
In addition to needing easy access from the UK and Europe, we need to improve our local public transport and create a bus station on the lines of the Preston (Lancashire) bus station, and Harrogate and Bath bus stations. A link is necessary between the pier and the local airport. A tramway, though expensive, running down the High Street will be beneficial for tourism and trade. The council and the rail and bus companies need to work together to encourage people to visit Southend from Leigh to Shoeburyness and to make East beach a premier destination.

Considering Shoebury (the wards of West Shoebury and Shoeburyness) national surveys indicate that Shoebury has a relatively low standard of health and income. Shoebury for years has been the poor relation of the rest of the borough. This needs to be changed. A raised standard of life, health, education and aspiration is essential for the future Shoebury to prosper in the future. Businesses tend to stay away from Shoebury because of access problems. Adequate high speed roads are needed to make Shoebury an attractive location. The ideal solution is a new motorway to the M25 which will potentially benefit the whole of Southend and the communities to the north of Southend, for example, Great Wakering.

As our major land asset is our beaches, we have the longest pleasure pier in the world and lots of eating places. We need to implement a plan to make Southend the best destination for tourists in South East England. We are close to a large population centre in east London.

New home delivery:
We understand that central government needs Southend to accommodate a further 80,000 houses.
Whilst Option 1 seems to be the ideal one, there is insufficient space within the current boundaries of Southend to match government’s requirement.
Option 3 seems to be the only one that could work. This is likely to change Southend, and to be unacceptable for current residents. It is unlikely that Essex County Council will agree make land available to Southend for 80,000 homes without the UK government compelling them to do so.
Employers are hesitant to locate in Southend because of its poor road links. This is likely to mean that Southend is likely to be a magnet for people with low incomes living in “affordable homes” should Southend be able to provide them.

The current infrastructure is challenged whenever there is very heavy rain and high tides. Additional homes will need more land that will be increasingly susceptible to flooding without significant raising of sea walls. The risk of flooding will be increased by isostatic readjustment.
It seems that Southend council will be in a trap if the UK Government insists on a further 80,000 homes in the current borders of Southend and will not be able to meet its current aspirations for its current people nor its future.

Section 1: Vision and strategy for the future
Southend needs to “Up its Game” if it is to prosper and grow in the future. It has assets which need to be further exploited and grown so that it can accommodate future population growth painlessly to the benefit of all of its people and businesses. It is unlikely that more of the same will work in the coming years. As there is no single group that can achieve this result, Southend council need to be leaders of this process. To achieve an optimum result, the council needs dynamic partnership with its people and businesses. Further, all its assets, people and location need to be exploited to achieve the best possible result. When unforeseen problems occur, as they undoubtedly will, they must be dealt with rapidly and in the short and long term interests of its entire people.
I suggest our objectives for the future should be:
Southend to be: prosperous, healthy, well educated in appropriate skills for the future, accessible from the rest of the UK and Europe, a major tourist destination, a safe environment for all, reduced atmospheric pollution and with no flooding risk from the sea and rainfall.
Southend has some excellent assets. It is a seaside location with about 7 miles of coastline. In addition to “bucket and spade tourism”, we need our beaches to be well advertised be fully exploited. Considering other tourism, the Cliffs Pavilion provides shows and concerts. Southend yacht clubs and Kite surfing are popular. Southend has a plethora of restaurants and entertainment.
Unfortunately it lacks world class road access and parking, although, uniquely for a town of its size, it has two main line railways, historically very popular with tourists. One section of the foreshore is out of bounds to residents and others as it is believed there is unexploded ordnance under the beach. The Ministry of Defence seems to be unwilling to confirm the level of risk or remove unexploded ordnance. This problem needs to be dealt with.
To achieve sustained success, for residents and visitors, our road access to the rest of the UK needs to be significantly improved. Southend, like many other towns and cities, is overwhelmed by road traffic. For the future, it is essential to discourage the use of cars and to ensure cars are replaced by minimum polluting alternatives giving a high public service. Currently, car and coach parking need to be sufficient to match current and future tourism until satisfactory alternative arrangements are available. Should high value businesses coupled with entrepreneurship be attracted to Southend, it seems likely that Southend could be very successful. Currently we have only one major business of this calibre
In addition to needing easy access from the UK and Europe, we need to improve our local public transport and create a bus station on the lines of the Preston (Lancashire) bus station, and Harrogate and Bath bus stations. A link is necessary between the pier and the local airport. A tramway, though expensive, running down the High Street will be beneficial for tourism and trade. The council and the rail and bus companies need to work together to encourage people to visit Southend from Leigh to Shoeburyness and to make East beach a premier destination.

Considering Shoebury (the wards of West Shoebury and Shoeburyness) national surveys indicate that Shoebury has a relatively low standard of health and income. Shoebury for years has been the poor relation of the rest of the borough. This needs to be changed. A raised standard of life, health, education and aspiration is essential for the future Shoebury to prosper in the future. Businesses tend to stay away from Shoebury because of access problems. Adequate high speed roads are needed to make Shoebury an attractive location. The ideal solution is a new motorway to the M25 which will potentially benefit the whole of Southend and the communities to the north of Southend, for example, Great Wakering.

As our major land asset is our beaches, we have the longest pleasure pier in the world and lots of eating places. We need to implement a plan to make Southend the best destination for tourists in South East England. We are close to a large population centre in east London.

New home delivery:
We understand that central government needs Southend to accommodate a further 80,000 houses.
Whilst Option 1 seems to be the ideal one, there is insufficient space within the current boundaries of Southend to match government’s requirement.
Option 3 seems to be the only one that could work. This is likely to change Southend, and to be unacceptable for current residents. It is unlikely that Essex County Council will agree make land available to Southend for 80,000 homes without the UK government compelling them to do so.
Employers are hesitant to locate in Southend because of its poor road links. This is likely to mean that Southend is likely to be a magnet for people with low incomes living in “affordable homes” should Southend be able to provide them.

The current infrastructure is challenged whenever there is very heavy rain and high tides. Additional homes will need more land that will be increasingly susceptible to flooding without significant raising of sea walls. The risk of flooding will be increased by isostatic readjustment.
It seems that Southend council will be in a trap if the UK Government insists on a further 80,000 homes in the current borders of Southend and will not be able to meet its current aspirations for its current people nor its future.

Section 1: Vision and strategy for the future
Southend needs to “Up its Game” if it is to prosper and grow in the future. It has assets which need to be further exploited and grown so that it can accommodate future population growth painlessly to the benefit of all of its people and businesses. It is unlikely that more of the same will work in the coming years. As there is no single group that can achieve this result, Southend council need to be leaders of this process. To achieve an optimum result, the council needs dynamic partnership with its people and businesses. Further, all its assets, people and location need to be exploited to achieve the best possible result. When unforeseen problems occur, as they undoubtedly will, they must be dealt with rapidly and in the short and long term interests of its entire people.
I suggest our objectives for the future should be:
Southend to be: prosperous, healthy, well educated in appropriate skills for the future, accessible from the rest of the UK and Europe, a major tourist destination, a safe environment for all, reduced atmospheric pollution and with no flooding risk from the sea and rainfall.
Southend has some excellent assets. It is a seaside location with about 7 miles of coastline. In addition to “bucket and spade tourism”, we need our beaches to be well advertised be fully exploited. Considering other tourism, the Cliffs Pavilion provides shows and concerts. Southend yacht clubs and Kite surfing are popular. Southend has a plethora of restaurants and entertainment.
Unfortunately it lacks world class road access and parking, although, uniquely for a town of its size, it has two main line railways, historically very popular with tourists. One section of the foreshore is out of bounds to residents and others as it is believed there is unexploded ordnance under the beach. The Ministry of Defence seems to be unwilling to confirm the level of risk or remove unexploded ordnance. This problem needs to be dealt with.
To achieve sustained success, for residents and visitors, our road access to the rest of the UK needs to be significantly improved. Southend, like many other towns and cities, is overwhelmed by road traffic. For the future, it is essential to discourage the use of cars and to ensure cars are replaced by minimum polluting alternatives giving a high public service. Currently, car and coach parking need to be sufficient to match current and future tourism until satisfactory alternative arrangements are available. Should high value businesses coupled with entrepreneurship be attracted to Southend, it seems likely that Southend could be very successful. Currently we have only one major business of this calibre
In addition to needing easy access from the UK and Europe, we need to improve our local public transport and create a bus station on the lines of the Preston (Lancashire) bus station, and Harrogate and Bath bus stations. A link is necessary between the pier and the local airport. A tramway, though expensive, running down the High Street will be beneficial for tourism and trade. The council and the rail and bus companies need to work together to encourage people to visit Southend from Leigh to Shoeburyness and to make East beach a premier destination.

Considering Shoebury (the wards of West Shoebury and Shoeburyness) national surveys indicate that Shoebury has a relatively low standard of health and income. Shoebury for years has been the poor relation of the rest of the borough. This needs to be changed. A raised standard of life, health, education and aspiration is essential for the future Shoebury to prosper in the future. Businesses tend to stay away from Shoebury because of access problems. Adequate high speed roads are needed to make Shoebury an attractive location. The ideal solution is a new motorway to the M25 which will potentially benefit the whole of Southend and the communities to the north of Southend, for example, Great Wakering.

As our major land asset is our beaches, we have the longest pleasure pier in the world and lots of eating places. We need to implement a plan to make Southend the best destination for tourists in South East England. We are close to a large population centre in east London.

New home delivery:
We understand that central government needs Southend to accommodate a further 80,000 houses.
Whilst Option 1 seems to be the ideal one, there is insufficient space within the current boundaries of Southend to match government’s requirement.
Option 3 seems to be the only one that could work. This is likely to change Southend, and to be unacceptable for current residents. It is unlikely that Essex County Council will agree make land available to Southend for 80,000 homes without the UK government compelling them to do so.
Employers are hesitant to locate in Southend because of its poor road links. This is likely to mean that Southend is likely to be a magnet for people with low incomes living in “affordable homes” should Southend be able to provide them.

The current infrastructure is challenged whenever there is very heavy rain and high tides. Additional homes will need more land that will be increasingly susceptible to flooding without significant raising of sea walls. The risk of flooding will be increased by isostatic readjustment.
It seems that Southend council will be in a trap if the UK Government insists on a further 80,000 homes in the current borders of Southend and will not be able to meet its current aspirations for its current people nor its future.

Firstly I do not believe that the Councillors in Southend have produced these documents, they appear to be similar to a previous town centre plan where the consultancy firm involved had public consultations, one of which I attended. They had a fixed agenda and the way the meeting was targeted any local concerns were conveniently ignored so that their conclusion was the one put forward. So having confidence in this latest effort is very low.

Firstly your maps show quite clearly how much open space there is left in the Borough, and constructing 24,000 houses on that land will wipe out that space. So if the intention is to keep that land open then the only way to construct so many homes is to fill in the few brown field spaces and go upwards in tower blocks of flats. The obvious questions that are referred to in the documentation are about infrastructure and high value employment so they can be afforded.

The maps also show quite clearly that the only way to travel out of the town is to the West there are rivers and water on the other sides, there is currently a pollution issue with those Westerly going roads, if there is not high value employment locally and the homes are built to the East / Northeast of the town centre then it is obvious that the density of traffic on those existing roads will increase as people travel to their places of work.

Having reviewed the ONS statistics on population density, Southend is the highest in the South Essex region already. From personal experience, I live in one of those areas most highly populated. Over various Council administrations through many years I have seen the impact of the decisions they have taken by allowing the family home conversions to flats. It is not pleasant and the area continues to deteriorate, concentrating more housing into the existing built up areas will not provide a good life style. By building on green field sites will reduce the potential carbon capturing abilities of those areas. Just cramming more people into the borough will not provide a life style that I feel most people want.

A question, are those 24,000 homes for the dependants of the existing residents into the future or are they to encourage more people to move into the area? I do not want more people to come to live in Southend, I would like the council to get the basics right for the existing residents with maintenance of the existing road network / footpaths and other infrastructure needs. They over many years have just been left to deteriorate, the effect being that some residents believe that the authorities do not care about them. The consequences being that pavement parking destroying footpaths and rubbish just being left where it is dropped. (Some new paving slabs were put in place a month ago along my street, they are now just as cracked as the ones that they replaced.) If there is an environment to respect then perhaps there will be a happier population.

One look at the local free papers and the housing for sale pages will show you how costly it is to buy a property in Southend. The adverts are for “Luxury apartments”, even the councils promotional material refers to Luxury, the homeless folks of Southend do not have employment that pays them enough to afford those properties, that means more people make their way to Southend who can afford them. They do not come here for work, so the commuter traffic be that trains or the road networks get even more saturated.

I understand that being able to own your own home or renting is a complex issue and the human nature of greed is one of the principle causes of why the whole country has these issues. Yes I am a NIMBY as far as the whole of Southend goes. There is no desire for the density of the local population to increase by encouraging new settlers, there is however a desire for the existing local issues to be resolved and those that abuse what is already there to be reminded forcefully of their role in returning the town to a pleasant place for the rest of the inhabitants.

Another question about the 24,000 homes, is this just an arbitrarily manufactured number by central government or some locally created quantity? Why shouldn’t other areas of Essex have their population densities brought up to the same level as Southend on Sea before there is a need to uplift the figures for Southend? I have included the figures so you can see the difference, assuming that you have not already looked.
A statement in amongst the documents talks about over reliance of the High Street and retail outlets here, this is another misnomer as since the mid 1990’s the variety and number of retail enterprises in the High street has reduced to just a couple of main stream shops, they cannot support the whole town financially. This has been impacted even more by the use of online buying. A by-product of which is the large volumes of delivery vans making use of the existing road network (creating more pollution).

Just thinking about the whole concept of a Town Plan and that civil servants would take over if we did not come up with our own plan brings into question who demanded this in the first place. Probably those self-same civil servants. It does of course provide high value business for the consultancy firms involved in manufacturing the plans who probably don’t actually live in the area and experience the existing issues and will not experience the consequences if those plans are adopted.

Perhaps I should just lie back and ignore the whole thing, especially as I won’t be alive in 2050, I just want someone to listen and take notice, the congestion is awful and will only get worse with more people moving into the town.

The plan should not be about homes and housing it should be about initially getting the town back to an environment that is pleasant to live in, encouraging businesses to create local Southend based employment that pays well and an education system that provides the skills and knowledge to the youth of the town so they can progress into those local businesses. The consequences of that would be no need to bring new people into the town and the local population would be able to afford to buy their own homes locally.
The offices in Victoria Avenue was at one time an opportunity for good employment it was created primarily because there were few prospects in Southend. Those mainly Government employers then decided that they needed to move those jobs elsewhere, the consequences being that once again Southend lost valuable employment opportunities. Those offices are being converted to Flats, initially for sale to the public, it now seems that investors have bought them and are renting them out at locally unaffordable rents. This has not resolved the issue of having a home of your own, developers creating 24,000 homes will only exacerbate the issue where investors will buy them to rent out, again excluding those from the low wage economy that is the majority of Southend.

I like many of the comments I have just seen on the Facebook post from the Council also believe that any views like mine will be put into the pot that says does not like change so let’s ignore them. Once again please get the basics right in the first place and then see what is needed for Southend on Sea not for the rest of the South East of the country.
Greed, Envy, Self Interest and Selfishness will prevail. How about considering the needs of the local residents first, Southend is now full thank you very much.
I do hope that I hear that you are listening to some of what I’ve said.

In some instances (not always in this Borough) primary school provision is made for new developments but little, if any ,provision for secondary education, often resulting in children & young people having to travel long distances. This can cause financial pressures on parents / carers in terms of public transport and can also contribute to increased use of car journeys doing the school run. Transport routes around those new developments are also key in helping education be accessible.
Quality of buildings – environmental measures in terms of rain water harvesting, low energy costs (consider fuel poverty), cooling of homes etc
Cycle paths. Well maintained and attractive paths / trails to encourage people to walk more and explore the local area & environment
Air Quality & reliance on combustion engine – what are the alternatives? Availability of electric vehicle charging points around the borough
Is there anywhere suitable for a decent park & ride scheme to reduce congestion and traffic fumes in the borough?
Signage to parks / open spaces / more outdoor fitness equipment along the seafront, on the beach - make the use of that equipment part of our culture (seems to work in various European destinations)
Consideration could be given to offsite provision if it meant amalgamating small provision into a larger space to create greater capacity and more benefit to communities. Thought would need to be given to access routes to off-site provision and also what the implications for the original development and its residents would be if those locations did not have any open space or play areas at all.
Yes – this should be a given and will encourage more people to be attracted to moving to / staying in the borough or doing business here.

.