Land North of London Road

So ‘Pave over the Countryside’ are back with their application for ‘reserved matters’ – Chris Black explains more in his blog here

Sanctuary Housing Turns Property Developer?

Today I've received an invite. This is an invite to view the plans for the old HMP Bullwood Hall site, which has been acquired by Sanctuary Housing. However I am confused..... Sanctuary Housing describes itself as "Providing good quality, affordable housing is at the heart of what we do."

So when I've received this invitation I was more than a little surprised unless affordable & social housing is now being described as 'exclusive'

Just a note before you go rushing along though - the invite address is incorrect. They are having to reissue the invites. If you want to attend let me know and once I receive the correct address I'll let you know!

Just a quick note….

Have been out with my fellow ward councillor this evening making sure residents who don’t have access to the internet or social media, are kept informed of what’s going on in our area. It’s good to work with  another councillor who is as equally as passionate about representing the people who elected us.

A Load of Old Bollards

Anyone that lives near Tesco’s Express on London Road will recognise this familiar sight…

Well folks after 6 months of nagging I’ve only gone and done it……

Yes today, the contractor has been along to erect bollards around this piece of land. Why? Numerous complaints from residents of mud being dragged on to the road, illegal parking on this land making it dangerous and impossible to pull out of Vernon Avenue and the unsightly mess that has been made – all contributed to the reasoning for getting these temporary bollards installed.

The wrangling with Tesco’s and Essex County Council continues, but I will continue to persevere with getting Tesco’s to get this woefully inadequate car park redesigned.

One small victory for a District Councillor…..

Holy Hustings!

If tonight’s hustings audience was representative of Rayleigh & Wickford then I don’t think Mark Francois would retain his seat….

however, I fear this will not be the case. It would appear the audience was not on side and Mr Francois was only being supported by his over protective, front row, con club members. Like proud parents at the Christmas production, the Tory sheep lined the front rows of the Holy Trinty church for the hustings. However this had little impact of the mood of the evening which showed strong support for our Lib Dem candidate, Ron Tindall & the Labour candidate. The Green Party candidate although at times showed some inexperience held his own too.

It has to be said that some Tory party members (district councillors) felt that they held some authority on the evening with outbursts from the audience on how the debate should be run. This were quite unwelcomed.

The evening started with a question about defence. Policing and Nuclear deterrent were thrown into the mix, some may have thought that this was Labours Achilles heel, but Mark Daniels (Lab) handled it well. Ron Tindall (Lib Dem) handled the question better with a good take on Theresa Mays inability to make a decision in a timely manner!

The next question tackled the issue of social care. A hot topic to be discussed. Mark Francois, regurgitated the party line with Ron Tindall (Lib Dem) quickly pulling the Tory policy apart due to the fact that there is no cap on what the Tories will steal from you.

more to follow…….