 |
|
|
The Trees
The trees are coming
into leaf
being said;
and spread,
kind of grief.
born again
they die too.
looking new
of grain.
castles thresh
every May.
seem to say,
afresh.
by Philip Larkin
|
|
www.savepriorypark.org |
|
|
|
The Trees
The trees are coming
into leaf
being said;
and spread,
kind of grief.
born again
they die too.
looking new
of grain.
castles thresh
every May.
seem to say,
afresh.
by Philip Larkin
|
Act NOW!
Action Request
Those still following the ongoing 'Save Priory Park' campaign, can once again help in the fight to stop the F5 dual carriageway scheme, planned for the A127/A1159 Priory Crescent, Southend on Sea, Essex.
Despite compulsory purchase and side roads orders being granted by Secretary of State Alistair Darling, after the local public inquiry held last year, funding is still not available to start work on the road.
Latest available figures, show costs for the 870 metre stretch of new carriageway having now reached a staggering
£20.5m (upper SBC estimate). This is the equivalent cost per mile, to a brand new stretch of motorway, with all of the associated destruction that it will bring to one of the most sensitive parts of our town.
The local authority is still seeking the £17m shortfall from central Government.
Sign
the Park Petition!
Please write at the earliest convenience to show your opposition and to request cancellation of all funding to:
Rosie
Winterton MP
Minister of State for Transport,
Department for Transport,
Great Minster House,
76 Marsham Street,
London,
SW1P 4DR.
rosie.winterton@dft.gsi.gov.uk
or
wintertonr@parliament.uk
0207 219 0925 (Westminster
office)
01302 326297 (Doncaster
office)
Or alternatively click here to download the printable petition.
Lessons learnt during the 90's showed that the key element in successfully stopping a scheme was a visible, and determined ongoing campaign run by local people. The people of Southend have truly been amazing throughout-we therefore hope that you will support us with this request.
Shaun Qureshi
Campaigner-Parklife
Distribute the park
flyer!
Click for the Front Sheet
Click for the Rear Sheet
"Resources" Handout
Click for the Word Document
Make your views known
Please
make your views on the Priory Crescent road widening known to the following:
Evening Echo (Letters to the Editor)
Echo Newspapers
Newspaper House
Chester Hall Lane
Basildon
Essex
SS14 3BL
(or) echo.letters@nqe.com
Yellow Advertiser (Letters to the Editor)
Acorn House
Great Oaks
Basildon
Essex
SS14 1AH
(or) letters@yellowad.co.uk
Your local Councillor (details via this link)
http://www.southend.gov.uk/democracy/councillors.asp?display=all
Your local MP:
David Amess - Southend West (details via this link)
http://www.epolitix.com/EN/MPWebsites/David+Amess
James Duddridge - Rochford and Southend
East (details via this link)
http://www.jamesduddridge.com/index.asp?textpage=home&mainpage=home
Parklife Correspondence
Letter to the
Southend-On-Sea local newspapers : 23rd August 2007
Rejection can be hard to take.
Let there be no confusion over the current status of the six year campaign against the controversial Priory Crescent road widening:
Camp Bling, Parklife, and Priory Park Preservation Society all agreed
unanimously to REJECT the latest Southend Borough Council proposal in June, with
public announcements made within days to this effect, thus making quite clear
the stance of all involved.
The response from the public has been exactly the same: subsequent public
engagement and local community outreach work, plus comments in local press have
highlighted that opposition to the road widening continues to grow. We have been
warned 'not to trust them,' - wise words indeed.
It has also been commented upon on more than one occasion that even motorists
are against the scheme. The 'half a road' now being proposed does nothing to
alleviate this situation, even with the distinct possibility that 'phase 2'
could be built at a later date, when 'phase 1' is proven not to work.
None other than ex Executive Councillor for Transportation Roger Weaver (the man
behind the original proposal) appears to have joined the voices calling for it
to be scrapped (Echo 22nd June) - yet both his latest incarnation Anna Waite,
and Council leader Nigel Holdcroft remain defiantly against public opinion,
despite the potential cost to all involved.
Let us restate the current position just to be completely clear: the protest
site, campaign groups, and the clear majority of the general public are
resolutely against the scheme in any way, shape, or form. No one is moving,
changing position, leaving, or willing to let the road be built.
If it is assumed that the implementation is simply reliant on Government (or
local taxpayers) money, plus the eviction of a few protestors from the burial
site, then that self same assumption is very wrong. A lot of people have
significant buy-in to this issue as should well be known. They will not sit
quietly if the time comes.
The case for the Priory Crescent road widening ('scheme F5' or otherwise) makes
no sense at all. Anna Waite and Nigel Holdcroft be warned - if you do not
listen, then you have no right to impose this mess of a road upon us.
The ball (as they say) therefore, is very firmly in your court.
Shaun Qureshi
Campaigner - Parklife
Letter to the Southend-On-Sea local newspapers : 24th January 2007
Decision time.
A decision on the Priory Crescent (scheme F5) road widening is long overdue.
The Department for Transport must decide and make public its choice to either reject or grant funding of up to £25million to construct the road.
Southend Borough Council still has the option to cancel.
Meanwhile, the people of Southend have been busy in order to help the decision making process:
Last Tuesday evening, dozens of them, representing a broad cross section of the local community (from families with young children, to the elderly and disabled), held a demonstration and direct action, both at and inside Prittlewell Priory.
At the (officially) invite only event taking place inside, local Councillors and dignitaries celebrated receiving the coveted ‘British Archaeological Awards Developer-Funded Award 2006,’ for the discovery of the East Saxon king’s burial in late 2003.
That’s the same burial they intend to place beneath 10 feet of tarmac for the road scheme.
Across Priory Park at Camp Bling, protestors (again including many local residents) continue to join and help put the finishing touches to the camp, and to make plans for any potential eviction by the local authority.
A watchful eye is also being kept from further afield, from other protest sites and campaign groups, and the (very) many other active individuals who maintain a keen interest in the latest developments.
Considering all this, it now seems quite reasonable to expect that hundreds will mobilise, if necessary, to help defend and support Camp Bling, the Saxon king’s burial, and the trees and green spaces on the route of the proposed scheme.
Maybe a whole new grass roots movement will be inspired.
The facts and analyses - as has so often been stated - do not add up in favour, and with every day that passes, the opposition continues to build, both in numbers and strength of feeling.
It’s time to say ‘bye bye road F5’ – that’s not a hard decision.
Shaun Qureshi
Campaigner – Parklife
Camp Bling
Southend
Letter to the Southend-On-Sea local newspapers : 6th October 2006
Southend Borough Council (SBC) leader Murray Foster stated in the Southend Evening Echo on Tuesday 26th September that, in his view, there are a clear majority who want to see the controversial Priory Crescent F5 road widening scheme get the go ahead.
However, when pressed to substantiate this claim, he could only base this upon ‘people I have talked to,’ rather than any official survey conducted by his authority.
May I remind Cllr Foster that nearly 20,000 petition signatures and letters from people against the scheme were received by his authority, by the end of the official public consultation period, as of 31st January 2002. In addition to this, a survey of all homes conducted by SBC at the time showed just 16 (sixteen) people in favour.
Now times may change, costs may go up (from £3.5m to possibly £25m), and protest sites may appear, but even a recent poll by the Evening Echo showed that 69% of the 345 people responding online (including motorists once again) were still opposed.
So clearly the majority are against, this seems in little doubt Mr Foster.
The well worn phrases that, ‘I am disappointed they (Bling) still feel the need to be there,’ and that there has been a, ‘clear democratic process,’ appear once again. Well we must be talking abut different issues, because the thousands upon thousands of children, families, shoppers, motorists and pensioners that we have met fail to agree.
And now it would seem that Cllr Foster is prepared to spend millions of pounds of local taxpayer’s money to evict Camp Bling, in order to build a road they do not want.
What will it take for their voices to be heard?
Shaun Qureshi
Campaigner – Parklife
Camp Bling
Priory Crescent
Southend on Sea
SS2 6JZ
Letter to the Evening Echo, Southend On Sea
The Editors comment in the Southend Evening Echo on Monday 15th May does a disservice to each and every resident of our town and beyond, who has opposed the controversial Priory Crescent road widening, ever since the idea was first put forward.
The article is written in very emotive and colourful language, clearly with the intention of turning away support from those of us who have lived at the Camp Bling protest site, over the past eight months, and throughout the winter period.
During the course of the campaign, Parklife and Camp Bling have often been portrayed as irrelevant, or in this case read ‘harmless and quite colourful eccentrics.’ Now that the go ahead could be halted by the impracticalities of clearing our protest site, the tone has changed and we must stand for ‘mob rule.’
May I remind the Editor and also Southend Borough Council that over 20,000 signatures were collected in opposition to the scheme by the end of the official public consultation period, with just 16 (sixteen) letters of approval forthcoming from local people at the time.
As recently as last Saturday Parklife met with the town’s shoppers to collect letters of opposition. Even after five years of petitioning, over three hundred people shared their concerns with us in a few hours. I personally met two in favour of the widening that same afternoon.
So the rule of our ‘mob’ is simple - to stop the desecration of the most significant archaeological burial site found in living memory, destruction of 111 trees, concreting of 3000m2 of public open space, and equally to represent everyone who has been ignored by and excluded from the ‘exhaustive and completely democratic process.’
If the scheme is cancelled based upon the public opposition and information highlighted above, we will clear and leave the burial as stated from the outset on Friday 23rd September, when the camp was begun.
This is about people power-for the people of Southend, and this time we won’t be ignored.
Shaun Qureshi
Campaigner-Parklife
Camp Bling
1 King’s Burial
Priory Crescent
Southend
[Up]