MR Flewitt, like the new Mayor, Mr Norman, critisises those who have expressed concern about development decisions taken by the council (YA Letters, Jun 8).

Mr Norman accuses all, by insinuation, of being a bunch of whingers. Well, if they take poor decisions, they should not be surprised if people complain.

Take the example of all the complaints about the seafront cycle lane. Councillors pretended all was well despite all the protests; but now it is being given a new coloured surface to make it clearer to pedestrians and motorists.

How long will it be until Mr Flewitt has to apologies to the parents of a child killed on the Golden Mile due to the removal of all pedestrian crossings?

Let us also look at the new Southend swimming pool in Garon Park. We all complained that building a pool on the outskirts of town would mean only those with cars could get there.

Sure enough, virtually everyone arrives by car. The same will happen with the football stadium (if it is ever built). And don’t even get me started on the airport. The price of aviation fuel is going up so quickly we can forget about any long-term business and employment there.

If councillors don’t want to be criticised, they should try listening to local residents!

Vicky Page, Southend

I WOULD like to say how good it is to have one’s say in matters concerning our own environmental problems.
All the residents of North Crescent have had to put up with vandalism, damage to properties, cars jumped on, the riding of motorbikes in St Laurence Park, having to call the fire brigade and police for anti-social behaviour, in summer – late night parties, shouting and screaming at midnight and nearly all these events took place around the swing park.
With the coming of the new road Stobarts are building, the residents of North Crescent were informed that the swing park would be moving 50 yards nearer to the rear of the properties.
The land on which St Laurence is situated was left to the residents of St Laurence.
Therefore, I wrote to the Town Clerk explaining that I thought this was totally unfair and if anything, requested the swing park to be moved further away, if any moving was to be carried out.
The cabinet of councillors had a meeting and the outcome was they had listened to me and agreed to move the swing park further away.
To that, I take my hat off to them all and say ‘well done Southend councillors’ and on behalf of North Crescent residents, thank you very much.
While writing this letter, another feather should be put in Southend Council’s hat and that is the subject of refuse.
Southend must have the best and most efficient refuse collection in the country.
The residents put out black bags for household waste, pink bags for recycling and small blue boxes for waste food.
On collection days, the refuse lads are so polite and helpful and swift and efficient, they come and go with no trouble at all.
On Radio Essex the other day, the lady presenter (I do not know her name) was moaning about refuse collection in her area. The trouble was ‘wheelie bins’ and so many of them.
If there was a competition who would clear refuse the quickest, Southend would be about three days in front.
If you watch what a refuse collector at, say, Rayleigh or Rochford Council have to do, they wheel the bin to the back of the dustcart, sometimes wait while they hook bins on a hoist and then wait until it comes down and then have to wheel them back to the resident’s drive.
The time this operation must take, plus looking down a turning as they go along, all unsightly bins. The money this must cost!
Many people might not agree with me, however, I would just like to give a big thank you to Southend Council for not wasting money on wheelie bins.

Terry Christmas, Southend

SOUTHEND Airport has beat off competition to win a prestigious award.

The European Regions Airline Association handed bosses the Airport Achievement Award 2010 for progress made over 12 months.

Judges were impressed with the ‘professional execution’ in the airport’s achievement in getting planning permission for the runway extension without a public enquiry before it is built in 2011. [Essentially, they are being rewarded for successfully subverting the democratic process.]

The airport was also congratulated at the Catalynya Congress Centre, in Barcelona, for ‘seizing the window of opportunity provided by the London 2012 Olympics’. [Southend Airport is not an official Olympics transport provider and there is no indication that they will become one. Furthermore, it is unlikely in the extreme that they would be able to have the runway extension finished in time for the Olympics, which is now less than two years away.]

Alastair WElch, airport managing director, said: “We are delighted to win this award, which is a testament to all the hard work that has been put in by the entire team at Southend Airport in making the plans for our development a reality.

“It’s an exciting time for the airport right now as we are now beginning to see all the developments we have been planning and working towards finally starting to happen.”

International airports had been shortlisted for the recognition which recognises those who play a positive role in intra-European air transport operations.

Southend Airport is expected to be complete in 2012, along with a new railway station and control tower.

Roadworks required to enable the diversion of Eastwoodbury Lane will begin in autumn while planning permission has been granted for a nearby 126-bedroom hotel.

It is hoped more than two million passengers will use the site per year by 2020. [There is no realistic prospect of this though, given that by then the oil price is likely to make flying prohibitively expensive for all but a very limited number of people.]