For immediate release

In the run-up to last Thursday’s hastily-convened “special” council meetings, which approved the building of a new road between Eastwoodbury Lane and Nestuda Way, local residents contacted Councillors asking them to oppose the road.

However, it came to light after the meeting that Cllr Christopher Walker (Con, Eastwood Park) hadn’t even bothered to open some of the emails he’d received on the subject and deleted them after lunch on Friday.

Mrs D. Davies, a local resident, had sent Cllr Walker an email on Tuesday afternoon calling for the meetings to be postponed, adding a Message Disposition Notification request to the message so that she would be informed when he read it. However, what she received instead was an email informing her that he had deleted the message without even bothering to open it[1].

Mrs Davies said: “I was appalled when I received the message. This man was elected by the residents of Eastwood Park to represent the interests of the people of the town on the Council. He was paid nearly £9,000 of council tax payers’ money in allowances last year and he can’t even be bothered to read an email from a resident. It’s absolutely disgusting.”

Despite the fact that the Council has now given the go-ahead for work to start on the road, two Judical Reviews of the underlying planning permission are still to be heard by the High Court.

ENDS.

Notes to editors

1. The email Mrs Davies received confirming deletion is reproduced here:
   From: "CllrWalker"
   Sent: Friday, November 05, 2010 2:34 PM
   Subject: Not read: Unhealthy Rush To Hold/Decide Important Matters. [Virus Control Checked]

   Your message

   To: sbc@saen.org.uk
   Cc:
   Subject: Unhealthy Rush To Hold/Decide Important Matters. [Virus
   Control Checked]
   Sent: Tue, 2 Nov 2010 15:40:51 -0000

   was deleted without being read on Fri, 5 Nov 2010 14:34:29 -0000
Final-Recipient: RFC822; CllrWalker@southend.gov.uk
Disposition: automatic-action/MDN-sent-automatically; deleted
X-MSExch-Correlation-Key: UI3lETaJ3kG9IHTrvunMiw==

For further information:

• Contact Denis Walker, Press Officer SAEN (Stop Airport Extension Now) – press@saen.org.uk
• Visit the SAEN website – http://saen.org.uk/

For immediate release

Southend Borough Council this afternoon approved building of a new link road between Eastwoodbury Lane and Nestuda Way. This road will represent the start of work on the plan to extend the runway at Southend Airport approved, it is believed unlawfully, by the Council’s Development Control Committee in January.

Two Judicial Reviews of that decision are pending with the High Court and one of the conditions of the airport starting this work is that the Council is indemnified against all costs arising from the decision to allow the construction of the road.

The report voted through by the Council specifically allowed for the new road to be removed if either Judicial Review of the planning application is successful, but the Leader of the Council, Cllr Holdcroft said that this would be undesirable.

SAEN[1] spokesman Denis Walker said “Not only had these meetings been called with the absolute minimum of notice, it was apparent that the chair of each was keen to get through business incredibly quickly. Because the meetings were held back to back, councillors had no opportunity to reflect on the information presented to them. Indeed, Cllr Longley had to ask for a five minute recess at the beginning of the Economic and Environment Scrutiny Committee meeting so that the Lib Dem members could discuss their position.”

It was revealed during the meetings that further to the £5.2million the airport had already received from the Council for a variety of projects including the station and control tower, an additional £2million of council tax payers’ money would be paid for the building of this link road, which is only being built to enable the runway extension to proceed.

Mr Walker commented: “It’s unbelievable that the Council is prepared to hand over this sort of money to the Airport when they are in the middle of a funding crisis. When our Council Tax bills go up next year, we will know why.

“I talked to Cllr Holdcroft after the meetings, and he freely admitted that the £2million could have been spent elsewhere – for example on resurfacing existing roads. Moments earlier, another local resident had been asking Cllr Holdcroft about the resurfacing of her road, which Council engineers agreed was in a state of disrepair, but that the necessary money was not available.

“One has to wonder who the Council is actually representing here – the people of the town, who when consulted have been overwhelmingly opposed to the expansion of the airport, or business interests.”

ENDS.

Notes to Editors

1. “Stop Airport Extension Now” (SAEN) was formed to campaign against the runway extension at Southend Airport. The group is not opposed to the Airport itself, which has co-existed with the residents of Southend for many years. SAEN is against the runway extension, which would lead to a massive increase in flights and destroy the lives of the people living, working or going to school anywhere near the flightpath.

For further information:

• Contact Denis Walker, Press Officer SAEN (Stop Airport Extension Now) – press@saen.org.uk
• Visit the SAEN website – http://saen.org.uk/

For immediate release

Southend Council has finally answered a Freedom of Information request made in September by a SAEN[1] member. It shows the extent to which the Council has subsidised Southend Airport since the lease was sold to Regional Airport Ltd. in 1994.

In that time, the Council has received £1.3m in rent from the Airport, but has spent over £5.2m on a wide variety of projects at the Airport. These range from paying for legal fees to contributions of over £1m each for development of the new station and Air Traffic Control Tower. [2]

The fund from which these payments were made is known as the “Airport Development Fund” and this was set up when the Council sold the Airport land on which the Warners Bridge retail park now stands.

The Council claims this investment has benefitted taxpayers by “contributing to the economic well-being of the town”. However, to date it has resulted in a net loss to the Council of approximately £4m.

The losses are in fact even greater, as a clause in the Airport Lease makes provision for Southend Council to receive a share of profits if the lease is sold on. However, RAL easily avoided this by selling the London Southend Airport Company to Stobart rather than the lease.

Had the Council used these assets as a source of income, they would not now be facing the prospect of such savage cuts to the town’s services.

ENDS.

Notes to Editors

1. “Stop Airport Extension Now” (SAEN) was formed to campaign against the runway extension at Southend Airport. The group is not opposed to the Airport itself, which has co-existed with the residents of Southend for many years. SAEN is against the runway extension, which would lead to a massive increase in flights and destroy the lives of the people living, working or going to school anywhere near the flightpath.
2. A copy of the FoI request and response is available at http://www.saen.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/sbc-finance.pdf

For further information:

• Contact Denis Walker, Press Officer SAEN (Stop Airport Extension Now) – press@saen.org.uk
• Visit the SAEN website – http://saen.org.uk/

For immediate release

Following inaccurate reports in the local press on Friday, SAEN[1] has learned that Southend Borough Council has, at short notice, arranged three “Special” meetings on Thursday 4th November, from 4:30pm. They are to be of the Full Council, the Cabinet and the Economic and Environmental Scrutiny Committee.

There is one item on the agenda of each meeting – the “New Link Road between Eastwoodbury Lane and Nestuda Way”. This road forms part of the plan to extend the runway at Southend Airport, approved, it is believed unlawfully, by Southend Council in January. That decision is now the subject of two Judicial Reviews lodged with the High Court which are awaiting permission to be heard.

The report to be considered by these meetings makes it clear that the agenda item is “A Part 1 Public Agenda Item”, meaning that no confidential matters will be discussed and members of the public are welcome to attend. However, there would normally be the opportunity for the public to ask questions at the beginning of the meeting, but because questions need to be submitted five working days in advance, we are unable to do this.

SAEN is calling upon the Council to delay these meetings to allow proper public scrutiny.

Denis Walker, SAEN spokesman said: “Ever since consultation started on this scheme in the summer of 2008, the Council has done as little as they thought they could get away with. They then ignore the results when they show a clear majority are opposed.

“A major plan of this sort should always go to a Public Inquiry, but we were denied even this. It seems the Council and Airport are now determined to push ahead with the plan even while it is being considered by the courts. This is a clear Abuse of Process and it’s time the Council started acting in the interests of the people of the town instead of big business.”

ENDS.

Notes to Editors

1. “Stop Airport Extension Now” (SAEN) was formed to campaign against the runway extension at Southend Airport. The group is not opposed to the Airport itself, which has co-existed with the residents of Southend for many years. SAEN is against the runway extension, which would lead to a massive increase in flights and destroy the lives of the people living, working or going to school anywhere near the flightpath.

For further information:

• Contact Denis Walker, Press Officer SAEN (Stop Airport Extension Now) – press@saen.org.uk
• Visit the SAEN website – http://saen.org.uk/

For Immediate Release

SAEN[1] has today learned that easyJet is ‘unlikely to fly to and from’ Southend Airport.

David McLaren, an easyJet employee, made the statement on the customer feedback website Get Satisfaction[2] in response to a customer suggestion made in July for them to operate services between Southend and Berlin.

In the statement, Mr McLaren says:

“As easyJet already service 3 London airports, which are more centrally located than Southend airport, it is unlikely that we will fly to and from this airport once the modernisation is finished. Also, easyJet does already fly from Berlin to both London, Gatwick and London, Luton a number of times daily.”

Evidence that Southend will be unable to attract passenger operators has been mounting for some time, particularly with the news in April that Stobart was contemplating setting up its own airline. SAEN has long argued that Southend Airport is unsuitable as a passenger airport of the scale proposed by Stobart due to its relatively inaccessible location and proximity to population centres.

This could be a sign that SAEN’s previous assertion that Stobart’s real aim for Southend Airport was primarily freight-oriented. However, SAEN maintains that the best use of the airport is for plane maintenance and repair and flying clubs as these uses provide jobs while not putting an undue burden on the local road network.

ENDS.

Notes to Editors

1. Stop Airport Extension Now Ltd. (SAEN) was formed to campaign against the runway extension at Southend Airport. The group is not opposed to the Airport itself, which has co-existed with the residents of Southend for many years. SAEN is against the runway extension, which would lead to a massive increase in flights and destroy the lives of the people living, working or going to school anywhere near the flightpath. Stop Airport Extension Now Ltd is a Member Based Company Limited by Financial Guarantee.
2. The statement is available at: http://getsatisfaction.com/easyjet/topics/london_southend_airport_potential

For further information:

• Contact Denis Walker, Press Officer for Stop Airport Extension Now
• Visit the SAEN website – http://saen.org.uk/

A wet and windy day on Saturday 8th May certainly did not dampen the spirits of the many who braved the elements to join in the fun of the SAEN[1] Shop Window Quiz around the one-way system in Leigh.

Contestants had to locate the quiz questions in the windows of the shops around the Leigh Broadway one-way system before handing their answers in at the SAEN stall. Prizewinners were drawn from the hat, having got all twelve answers right. The prizewinners were:

1st Prize	Niall and Rory Windass	Remote Controlled Car
2nd Prize	Oliver Hales	Darth Vader 3D Jigsaw
3rd Prize	Mrs A Pear	Soft Toy
4th Prize	Henry Snell	Model Aeroplane

The organisers – the anti airport runway extension group, SAEN – were delighted with the increase in membership and the many donations to the campaign’s legal fighting fund. SAEN is in the early stages of a judicial challenge to Southend Council’s decision to grant planning permission to extend the runway at Southend Airport.

SAEN spokesman, Denis Walker, said “It just goes to show that the weather aside the public were prepared to stop to express their views and concerns. Not one person spoke up in favour of the airport plans, but many still did not understand the implications.”

Well done to the winners and thank you, Leigh!

ENDS.

Notes to Editors

1. “Stop Airport Extension Now” (SAEN) was formed to campaign against the runway extension at Southend Airport. The group is not opposed to the Airport itself, which has co-existed with the residents of Southend for many years. SAEN is against the runway extension, which would lead to a massive increase in flights and destroy the lives of the people living, working or going to school anywhere near the flightpath.

2. A range of high quality RAW format images of the prizegiving are available for download from http://www.saen.org.uk/swq201005_prizes/