IntroductionAs we face another year of the Government’s austerityagenda, and as local government budgets continue to comeunder enormous pressure from demographic changes, thereare two big challenges for the public sector. To worktogether and generate savings from pooled budgets, and toshift spending away from expensive treatment of social andphysical ills towards cost-effective prevention measures. Wedo not believe that the current administration has enoughenergy and drive or energy to take forward any newthinking in this area.

Southend-on-Sea is in many respects a wonderful place to live and work, but we all know that italso has a number of serious issues that require action.

Hunger and homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction, street begging, are all growing problemsthat are blighting parts of the town. We must not ignore them. We need robust enforcement todeal with people acting anti-socially, but we also need to be much better at treating theunderlying problems of homelessness, poverty and poor mental health. The issues of poverty,poor housing, poor health and unemployment are intrinsically linked and must be tackledtogether.

Many parts of our town suffer from neglect. Bad landlords whose overcrowded and poor qualityhousing causes nuisance, landowners who leave property in a state of decay and dereliction, anddevelopers who fail to show social responsibility to those around them. Only Labour will take onthese vested interests and put local residents first.

The Conservative-led council has focused on pursuing prestige projects – with mixed results.Whilst some regeneration has been positive for the town, often projects have not met the needsand wishes of local people. The botched redesign of Victoria Circus is a case in point.

They key issue in terms of the economic regeneration of Southend is the derelict and emptybuildings in Victoria Avenue, which are discouraging investment in our central business districtand distorting the commercial property market. Having failed to deal with this problem for adecade, what confidence can we have that the Conservatives will sort it out now? We wouldinitiate action on day one of taking control of the council.

My colleagues and I are setting out measured proposals that will lead to a more prosperouseconomy, a stronger community and a better environment.

Councillor Ian GilbertLeader of the Labour GroupSouthend Borough Council

Councillor Ian Gilbert - Labour Group Leader

ProsperityTake immediate action on Victoria Avenue, using compulsorypurchase powers if necessary, with clear intention to deal withother problem areas in turn. Derelict buildings such as Heathand Carby houses are not only eye-sores, they are attractingcrime and discouraging local investment.

Invest in innovative art & craft based industries to grow newgeneration of tourist experience alongside current attractions.We need to harnes our favourable location and vibrant culturalscene to help regenerate our town.

Prioritise adult education, to make sure that Southend people are equipped to take advantage ofnew jobs being created. Figures show that Southend lag behind other towns in terms of skillsand qualifications of the workforce, which is a problem for potential employers. This requireslong-term investment.

Aim to set up a partnership with business to take over the marketing and promotion ofSouthend. In times of austerity, the council is unable to put large amounts of money intopromoting our town, we need a strong partnership to promote investment.

Support Southend Airport as part of a strategy to encourage inward investment in the town. Theairport has the potential to be of great benefit to our town, but we need to make sure that localpeople feel the benefit of economic activity.

Explore with our out town’s sports clubs whether the location of sports clubs at Garon Park and

CommunityRe-introduce neighbourhood wardens to town centre areas and other areas of deprivation. Areasblighted by poor housing, crime and anti-social behaviour will need additional investment. It ispossible to use some of the millions of pounds in council reserves to kick-start this project.

Build social housing on available brownfield sites. We are all aware that Southend has a housingcrisis, with many people living in cramped accommodation and suffering from ever-increasingprivate sector rents. There are derelict sites in the town which should be put to use.

Use council-owned land to provide a community facility in the centre of town. Under theConservatives the town centre area is losing community facilities, with Warrior Square Pool lost,Queensway House pulled down and Focus closing. We believe our voluntary groups and youthactivities need space to meet, and as the council owns land, this should be affordable.

Establish community panels for key services and explore whether cooperative methods ofservice delivery may be appropriate. To make our services better and stronger in the long term,we should involve local people far more in how they are run. This isn’t about getting volunteersin to save money, this is about giving people a real say in how local services are delivered. Notevery decision needs to be made in the Civic Centre.

Implement best practice from ‘good neighbour’ initiatives, to combat loneliness and isolationamongst vulnerable / older people, and consequentially reduce pressure on acute services.

Look for co-location of services, for example with the NHS and police. Getpermanent Health Centres in St Luke's and Shoeburyness to address thesignificant health needs of those populations. Ensure our branch librariesstay open and are able to function as community hubs.

Reorganise into a multi-disciplinary team to support vulnerable people inhousing, health (particularly mental health) and skills/employabilityissues. Prioritise mental health and substance addiction.

EnvironmentMaintain a policy of zero tolerance of rubbish and fly-tipping. Thecouncil will set an example and make it easier for people to do the rightthing by restoring the provision of black sacks.

Review planning policies, with the aim of encouraging the preservationof Southend’s traditional aesthetic, and discourage more tall buildingsin High Street area. Whilst some new developments have added toSouthend’s appeal, in many places we should have looked to promotemore traditional design that fits with out town’s heritage.

Use all available powers to to preserve the character of our HighStreets and prevent exploitation by payday lenders, high-stakesgambling and late-night off-licenses / takeaways that are a magnet foranti-social behaviour.

Consider reintroducing cumulative impact licensing policy for central Southend and considerwhether similar is needed in Leigh. Southend is saturated with pubs and clubs, and residentsliving near the centre of town are paying the price. These problems are building in Leigh.

Explore possibility of park and ride schemes working to reduce wear and tear on our roads,easing congestion. Look at ways in which we can ensure a more comprehensive bus service.

Protect green spaces where possible, and pursue a bee-friendly planting policy. We want to seenative trees planted, rather than palm trees which are ill-suited to Southend.

Robustly challenge any proposals from the Police & Crime Commissioner to further reduce Policenumbers in Southend.

Printed by SLCI and promoted by Martin Berry on behalf of Labour Candidates in the Southend Borough Council elections, all of 268 Sutton Road, Southend on Sea. SS2 5ET.

Belfairs - Laura Martin

Blenheim Park - Dean Trotter

Chalkwell - Lars Davidsson

Eastwood Park - Jessica Phillips

Kursaal - Charles Willis

Leigh - Matt Zarb-Cousin

Milton - Cheryl Nevin

Prittlewell - David Carrington

Shoeburyness -Maggie Kelly

Southchurch - Sean Jones

St Laurence - Reg Copley

St Luke's - Gray Sergeant

Thorpe - Ian Pope

Victoria - Margaret Borton

West Leigh - Jane Norman

West Shoebury - Matt Dent

Westborough - Kevin Robinson and Mike Royston

Labour’s candidates for Southend

For more information or to helpLabour’s campaign contact:

Make a difference: join Labour today. Go to www.labour.org.uk/join or call 0845 092 2299

01702 619868

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