NEWS: Snow chaos in Southend area
Trains running back to Southend on the National Express East Anglia line were subject to delays of up to 90 minutes late on Thursday night, as snow brought chaos across the area.
There have also been complaints that there was no visible sign of gritting on roads in and around the borough. Ian Sanders from Leigh on Sea wrote on Twitter (@iansanders) that it had "taken us an hour from Southend seafront to Leigh! No gritters in sight".
David D aka @kursaal69 on Twitter said "Well I won my bet from yesterday, the gritters have not been out in Southend and I expect it will be a few days before they are".
While @SuaveRepublique on Twitter said "Just smashed the hire van into a lamppost in the snow. No gritting in southend at all."
There were massive delays in and around the area up to around midnight as cars struggled with blizzards and icy conditions not seen since the last proper cold snap in February.
One strange and oddly unique weather system even delivered a bout of thunder and lightning mixed with heavy snow flurries around 10pm. It's dubbed "Thundersnow" - and you can find out more about it here. A number of short power cuts were also reported throughout the evening in certain parts of Westcliff.
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Snow pics courtesy top to bottom (from Twitter):
10 Jo Curtis, Leigh on Sea
WIN: Gifts for Southend area kids
If you know of a child, aged between 5-14, who would appreciate a wrapped present, then get in touch with us here at Longpier.com
In each of the two parcels will be a remote controlled helicopter and a selection of small items such as balloons etc. The parcels are worth around £40 each.
To be entered into the draw to help brighten a life this Christmas, all you have to do is tell us who you're nominating, their location and why they deserve the special present this year.
Send your entries to longpier@gmail.com by 0001 on 22nd December. We'll then contact the winners and arrange delivery before the big day itself (probably 24th).
Good luck and here's to making a difference in YOUR local area.
FESTIVE: WIN FREE Graze boxes
Here at Longpier.com, we're feeling festive and what better way to start the Christmas and New Year period than with a giveaway.
FESTIVE: "Last train" info for Southend area
There's good news for New Year's Eve revellers who are planning on heading back to the Southend area after a night out in London. c2c's last train departs at the very respectable time of 0210 on New Year's Day.
And if you're planning a trip over the next couple of weeks, here's a handy guide to those last trains you really cannot miss.
For full information on train services over the festive period then click:
HERE FOR c2c
HERE FOR National Express East Anglia
Tragic deaths of Rochford couple
A man from Rochford is thought to have committed suicide after shooting his wife who was suffering from multiple sclerosis.
The couple, named locally as Bill and Pam Edgar from Shopland Road were found dead yesterday (14th Dec).
Police discovered the body of 81-year-old Mrs Edgar at her home address after being called by a neighbour.
A short time later, retired farmer Mr Edgar, 78, was found dead in a deep water lake on nearby private land.
Essex Police said:
"At this time detectives are not treating his death as suspicious and are not looking for anyone else in connection with the woman's death. However, they are undertaking a full investigation."
Reports said Mr Edgar threw himself into water after taking a dinghy out into the middle of the lake.
Friends told reporters that the couple could not bear to be apart after learning Mrs Edgar did not have long to live.
Stuart Cordell, chairman of the South East Essex Branch of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, paid tribute to the pensioners.
"They were an absolutely lovely couple who will be missed," he said.
"Whenever they did anything to help the branch, they wouldn't want to publicise what they had done.
"Their deaths will come as a huge shock to members of the branch."
It is understood Mrs Edgar, a wheelchair user, had suffered from multiple sclerosis for several years and her condition had deteriorated recently.
EXPOSURE exhibition at Southend's TAP
A brand new exhibition of works from twelve artists is being shown at Southend's TAP gallery on North Road in Southend.
The 'EXPOSURE' selection is being curated by Michaela Freeman - who's part of arts group Idea13 and CoExist.
Here's some info about the artists and their work - the exhibition ends on December 20th.
Millie Burton’s Home Improvements consist of a seemingly still film and photographs of unwanted and discarded everyday objects, inspired by a quote by Jonathan Chapman, ‘waste is a symptom of expired empathy, a kind of failed relationship that leads to the dumping of one by the other’.
Revisiting her former homes is Adela Bernatikova, and through the use of double exposure, she combines the past and the present, inspecting her emotions and memories.The Susan Truseler’s series In The Woods uses objects from her family home as props, and presents the forest as alluring, mystical, but sinister at the same time. Further into the realm of the imaginary, Ruth Naylor collects and recreates dreams, hanging them on tree branches, because a tree is ‘a dream within itself, beautiful and mysterious’. Lyndsay Martin’s Edge of Love is a personal body of work based around the emotions following a breakdown of a relationship.
Victoria J Dean’s Travelling Landscapes series is a ‘poetic depiction of our perceptions of places’ we pass by in transit. Kate Peters’ pictures from the States are frozen temporary constellations in urban environments, ‘suspended narratives where reality has created its own fiction’. Also playing with the trespass between the reality and fiction line is Tina Hage who deploys contemporary photojournalistic and topical imagery from newspapers and the internet to re-enact found crowd scenes.
Other Madonnas by Ruby Wallis each depict a pair of mother and daughter, the tensions and complexity of their relationship. Lucia Pizzani, on the other hand, uses her own body to relate it to an enclosed space, deconstructing it with a mirrored image to the point where it becomes almost abstract.
Theo Tagholm’s video The Persistence of Vision is made with camera stills which gives it a dreamy quality whilst Nora Razian’s piece is about the process of photography itself, not demystifying it, quite the opposite. Tim Skinner’s first public screening of his latest film 12:5 is accompanied by his earlier photographs of sound-disturbed water.
Southend student scoops £4k prize
A design student studying at the University of Essex in Southend, is celebrating after picking up a £4,000 grant.
The company's bursary scheme was set up in 1996 to help support the children of Fiat Group employees. Toni's Dad Justin works at the Basildon New Holland plant - home for so many years of course, to Ford tractors.
On receiving her bursary in a swanky do at Pall Mall in London, Toni - from Canvey - told longpier.com:
"I hope to put some of the money towards paying for a place on a book-binding course, and possibly getting a computer upgrade – my current one is too slow to run decent graphic design software."
"With a master's degree suffixed to my name, a mortgage to pay for, and a dog to keep me company. If I was to push the boat out, I'd actually like to see myself working for Penguin books."
Richard Lambert, Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry gave the keynote speech before handing the students their awards. He said:
"With so much competition for jobs, further education has become essential for young people to pursue. The commitment and support Fiat Group offers its employees offspring is something that all large businesses should look to follow."
You can check out Toni's website here and her blog here
EXCLUSIVE: Launch of 'Longpier Lectures'
Colette Bailey - METAL
Phill Jupitus - comedian/actor
Helen Mirren - actress
Philip Miller - businessman
Ian Sanders - author
Nigel Havens - businessman
Terry Alderton - comedian
Nigel Holdcroft - Southend Leader
The Horrors - band
Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly - band
Dave Brown - Mighty Boosh member
Phil Cornwell - impressionist
Rachel Riley - presenter
Dominic Littlewood - presenter
Steve Tilson - football manager
James Bourne - musician
Lee Mead - actor
LEAVE YOUR THOUGHTS BELOW
Westcliff man jailed over unpaid taxes
A man from Westcliff, who failed to pay outstanding business rates and council tax, has been jailed for 90 days.
Farid Harrasy, who owed the council almost £6,100, appeared before magistrates in the town after he defaulted on a suspended committal order imposed in February this year.
He was jailed over business rates due on a shop he rented in London Road, Southend, and council tax on a previous address in Westcliff-on-Sea.
Mr Harrasy, from Argyll Road, Westcliff, who had been given previous opportunities to pay, also had outstanding court fines for which he received a further term of imprisonment.
Cllr Andrew Moring, from the council's Corporate Support Services, said he hoped the court’s punishment would act as a deterrent to defaulters, telling Longpier.com
“The court’s decision sends out a strong message to business rates and council tax defaulters.
“The council will always try to assist those having genuine difficulty in making payment.
“But for those who seek to avoid payment or consistently fail to keep to payment arrangements imprisonment remains a real possibility.”
The council's urging anyone struggling to meet their business rates or council tax commitments to contact them on 01702-215001 to seek advice and guidance.
Southend "good" despite poverty concerns
How well would you rate Southend Council in providing value-for-money services such as recycling, crime reduction, affordable housing and the upkeep of the local environment?
Well, according to a comprehensive assessment, Southend is doing a good job in comparison with other English councils.
It is ‘performing well’, according to the Audit Commission’s 2009 ‘Oneplace’ report, receiving a score of 3 out of 4.
But it has to do more to reduce the fear of crime and reduce the number of children living in poverty - which is much higher than the national average. The report also suggests further work should go into helping young people in the area, between the ages of 11-16, with special needs. Provision at present means this group do not achieve as well as they should. The report also notes that mortality rates differ by up to eight years in different parts of the borough.
The assessment is the most wide-ranging and thorough that councils are subjected to annually, and is based on the opinion of inspectors and feedback from local residents.
The report also praised the work of Southend Together - the council’s strategic partnership with local police, fire service, NHS bodies and the business, voluntary and community sectors.
Southend and its partners were singled out for praise by Oneplace for:
• having more childminders, nurseries, primary schools and sixth forms with a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ OFSTED rating than the rest of England
• the ambitious long-term plans to regenerate the town, including the Victoria Gateway and City Beach schemes
• achieving a steady reduction in crime over the last six years with a five per cent reduction in the last year alone
• the council’s ability to access £58m of Decent Homes funding through its partner agency South Essex Homes
• obtaining five green flags for the town’s parks and open spaces – two more than it had two years ago
• continuing to improve its household waste recycling rate to 40 per cent, up from 28 per cent in 2006 and
• a diverse and imaginative events programme - including the internationally renowned Air Festival - and pioneering arts project in association with Metal at Chalkwell Park.
Ian Davidson, Oneplace spokesperson for Southend-on-Sea, says:
“Crime rates are relatively low and Southend is doing better than most similar areas in reducing crime but more needs to be done to reduce the fear of crime. But the number of children living in poverty is high and children and young people with special educational needs achieve poorly between the ages of 11 and 16.
Partners are working together to improve the health of people in Southend but life expectancy varies by up to eight years between different areas of the borough.”
But overall, leader of the council, Nigel Holdcroft was happy with the findings:
“This assessment is great news as it reflects our determination to create a better
Southend by delivering excellent public services to everyone in the borough. This will spur us on even further towards our goal of providing essential services that matter to our residents and businesses in the most cost-effective manner possible.”
Based on the study, what would you score Southend out of four?
Are you surprised by the mortality findings?
Are you proud to live in a borough that compares favourably with others?
OFSTED praises Southend's system
The latest borough-wide assessment takes account of all the council’s services for children and young people including child-minding, nurseries, schools, colleges, Connexions, aspects of public health, children’s social care and youth offending.
OFSTED singled out Southend for particular praise for reducing the teenage pregnancy rate in the borough and its examination results for 16-year-olds.
Paul Greenhalgh, Southend Council’s Corporate Director of Children and Learning, gave a somewhat generic statement to longpier.com:
“I am delighted that our good performance in last year’s assessment of children’s services has continued this year. This shows how well our children and young people achieve.”
But just seven days ago, Cecil Jones College - in the town - was slammed by an OFSTED report which rated the school as "inadequate for its overall effectiveness and capacity to change for the better". The National Union of Teachers and staff at the school criticised the findings and raised concerns about certain aspects of the inspection.
DISCUSS SOUTHEND
What's your experience of being a young person in Southend?
Do you feel you're getting the right education? Or do you feel there is room for improvement in services and provisions?
Maybe you're a parent - what's your view?
Finding long lost friends from Southend
Longpier.com and Sarfend.co.uk have launched a fantastic new forum and information portal for finding long lost relatives and friends in Southend and surrounding areas.
The forum aims to help track down people from Southend, perhaps as part of family tree research, or to reconnect with friends, family or former work colleagues, who are just unavailable through the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Bebo or MySpace.
The "Tracing Down Southenders" section of the site is one of the busiest on "Discuss Southend" - a joint initiative by this site and Pete Sipple from Sarfend.co.uk.
If you haven't yet registered, then click here, sign up and get searching.
Southend Sea-Life boss demands answers
The boss of Southend's Sea-Life Adventure is demanding answers from a massive shipping company as to whether a new 'Superport' will go ahead.
Philip Miller - who also owns Adventure Island and Southend Radio - wants answers from DP World. The company wants to build a massive container port near the Coryton oil refinery (nr Stanford-le-Hope), but the future of the project has been thrown into doubt due to the troubled economic situation in the United Arab Emirates. DP World relies on funding from its parent company Dubai World - which is in £3bn worth of debt.
A massive dredging operation, designed to make the Estuary deeper in readiness for the huge container ships that will use the new port, had been due to get underway late this, or early next, year. Experts say that could spell disaster for marine life and the local fishing economy.
Mr. Miller told longpier.com“This has been like a sword of Damocles hanging over our heads for months now - waiting for the dredging to start and then the constant delays. Now it’s going to be dragged out even more due with what’s happening in Dubai. It’s grossly unfair to keep those of us whose livelihoods could be ruined by this project, without any information.”
“The tanks in Sea-Life Adventure are filled with water pumped directly from the neighbouring Estuary. If the water quality is too badly affected once this dredging starts, it could literally end up killing all our fish and the other animals we keep. There is also a possibility that the dredging will affect the beaches, meaning they cannot be used – which could have a catastrophic effect on tourism for Southend. The local fishing industry will be ruined as well.” he said.
“I shudder to think what would have happened if they’d started the work and this financial crisis had occurred halfway through – would they have just abandoned it, and left an ecological disaster in the Thames Estuary? This has gone on for far too long now, and I am calling on DP World to make a decision once and for all.”
Xavier Woodward - spokesman for DP World - said the port remains "under review", while a number of financing options were considered.
Back in November, DP World officials told the Thurrock Gazette dredging activity had already been safely carried out in the Thames Estuary in the past and a full Environmental Impact Assessment was carried out as part of the public inquiry into London Gateway in 2003.
£52,000 coming Southend's way
Picture courtesy: DBullock on Flickr
Southend Airport plans split opinion
The planned expansion of Southend Airport is continuing to split opinion in the local area. Residents have until 10th December to submit comments on the owners' application to extend the runway and thereby facilitate more flights in and out of the airport.
Within the past couple of weeks, longpier.com has received a number of separate press releases on behalf of influential businesses, urging the public to back the plans. Charged with showing the positive elements of the scheme, new PR firm Brera London has been incredibly active in sending media statements on behalf of estate agents, ex police chiefs, hotels and big employers.
The Roslin Hotel is the latest business to throw its weight behind the plans. Jacqui Harris, Sales and Marketing Manager said
“Of course, the development of Southend Airport will be fantastic for allowing local people to travel abroad on holiday or business more easily than before, and in return especially important for those of us involved in the leisure and tourism industry here in South Essex. The airport will bring much needed new visitors and revenue. The town’s economy is heavily interwoven with tourism and a fully functioning passenger airport will provide a major boost to that relationship.”
The various groups who object may be less media savvy perhaps, but they're certainly not the silent majority. On 17th November, Leigh Town Council voted to object the airport's plans, as the proposed flight path would - they claim - result in more noise over that part of the borough. Only yesterday (3rd Dec) a senior governor at Blenheim Primary School in Leigh said the facility may have to close if plans were approved, claiming the noise above would be too persistent to teach. The group SEAN - Stop Airport Expansion Now - is gaining support every day, and is actively campaigning against the plans via its up-to-date website and regular meetings. Reacting to the Roslin Hotel's comments, chairperson for SEAN, Kiti Theobald, told the Echo:
“The Roslin is a beautiful hotel, it’s really lovely, but it’s got nothing to do with the airport. If the owners of the hotel lived under the flightpath, they might think differently.”
The Eddie Stobart transport group bought Southend Airport back in November 2008 for £21m. Plans to expand the runway, build a new train station, a new control tower and a hotel were soon drawn up. Local residents were sent a Joint Area Action Plan consultation document in the post and Southend and Rochford councils asked for feedback.
Back in October, Longpier.com revealed the objectors had scored a partial victory, when the number of planned night flights were severely reduced by the council.
What do you think?
Is the airport expansion a positive move for the area?
Or will it have a negative and lasting impact on the people of Southend?
Leave your comments below or head on over to the all new Sarfend/Longpier forum right here.
