Baroque - Another new bar. Discussion

I'd be interested in comments on the prospect of another Bar opening next month.

You may have noticed the rapid transformation of the old car showroom at the bottom of West Street into "Baroque" a bar/club that surely will be targeting the younger generation who have have, up to now, generally headed straight into Southend or Leigh for their entertainment.

They plan to open before christmas and are interviewing for new staff on Thursday, 24th November.

Will the Bar enrich Rochford's night economy? Provide an alternative from the existing pubs? Or do you think it may spread Rochford's already strained spending power too thinly? Or if you have any other comments, it would be good to get a healthy debate going.

Southend Airport progress

Aerial photos taken a couple of months ago showing clearly the quick progress being made.

courtesy of "wannabe pilot" from aviation forum

Rochford's stylish new venue

We popped in to Rochford's newest drinking and eating venue last night and were very impressed. A modern, stylish bar with pleasant, smiling staff, and a restaurant area to the rear and on the first floor. The menu, with a daily specials board, offered a truly lip smacking range of European dishes covering all tastes.

The Owners explained that tea and coffee will always be readily available, a lunch menu will complement the evening menu, in all ensuring a busy destination throughout the day.

This really raises the "bar" for the Rochford area, and will definitely be a shot in the arm for the local economy. Whilst it's a venue in itself, I can also see the local Indian and Chinese Restaurants benefiting as visitors will choose "The Grey Goose" as the perfect Rendezvous point.

Their website (click on the title of this post to link) includes details of their lunch and dinner menu.

Rochford Square - traffic flow measures

Essex County Council has authorised a swap in exit and entry points to the Square to improve traffic flow in West Street. The measure will be accompanied by a beefing up of the "No Stopping Zones". Presumably, the aim is to reduce the frequent queuing of traffic, waiting for a parking space in the Square. Currently traffic is often blocked or restricted, in particular buses entering the Square, sometimes to such an extent that traffic flow along South/North and East Streets is affected.

Wasn't this the previous arrangement for entering and leaving the Square?

Anything that helps the situation must be welcome I guess, but if the present arrangement had simply been enforced, surely we wouldn't need any changes?

Coombes Farm 2

Iceni's fresh attempt to concrete over Coombes Farm prompted a great show of familiar faces last night as the "new" plans were displayed at the College in Rocheway.

Posters were handed out asking why, if Councillors, Planning Inspectors, and Residents had all said "No" to previous attempts to build, Iceni were trying again.

Cynically presented as a different scheme and even re-named "Land South of Stambridge Road", representatives from Iceni were left with no illusion about the undiminished strength of feeling against any plans to build.

The Council has ruled out any development at Coombes Farm for at least the next 15 years in their local development plan (its "core strategy"). These plans have now been endorsed by a Government Planning Inspector, so Iceni would have to mount a successful Judicial Review to overturn the core strategy to stand any chance of success. I don't however doubt for a moment that they will try, given their past threats of legal action at every stage of the planning process.

This Blog will detail all aspects of the residents campaign to save Coombes Farm.

Once a planning application is submitted it is likely a residents meeting will be arranged to establish a common approach to fighting the proposals. This time, it would be great to get even more people involved including some of our younger residents.

The Concreting Over of Rochford

I'm very worried about how Rochford will look in just a few years time as Developers line up with immediate plans for well over 1000 houses in the area, many of which will be on green belt.

The Government has failed to allay fears that new planning legislation will retain protection for the Green Belt, as it contains an overriding "presumption in favour of growth".

It's increasingly obvious that this is the Government's plan to stimulate growth. Build. Build. Build. Who can afford to buy all these homes, and what mortage funding will be available appears to be a question that will be addressed at a later date.

Within Rochford area the following schemes look likely to go before Planning Commitee within the next few months;

Hall Road - 600 houses
Rectory Road/Thorpe Road, Hawkwell - 175 houses
Stambridge Mill - 100 homes
Brays Lane - 100 houses (already agreed provisionally)
Coombes Farm (Stambridge Rd) - 260 houses

All these sites, except Stambridge Mill, are green belt designated.

The Council is an invidious position. Central Government forces Local Councils to produce Local Development Plans that demonstrate that a supposed future demand for housing can be met.

Rochford has extremely limited land left for development, and has been forced to surrender some green belt to comply with Government demands. Of course, Developers also prefer green belt as it provides a blank canvas and avoids expensive demolition and redevelopment costs.

Yet, if the Council doesn't produce a plan, it leaves itself open to Developers taking control of the planning agenda. With deep pockets for top ranking Barristers, costs which Local Authorities can ill afford to match, Developers can often successfully use the Legal System to get the outcome they want, a new housing estate of ticky tacky houses on land which was often previously cherished by the neighbourhood.

I learn today that the Council's Core Strategy (its Local Development Plan) has finally been approved by the Government and will formally be adopted by the Council in December.

This should help to defend against development schemes not forming part of the Council's plans, however most of the schemes listed above ARE included in the Development Plan.

I wish I could conclude this post on a positive note, but right now I can't help but think of a future where Southend and Rochford increasingly merge into one urbanised mass.

East Community Forum 18th October

I attended the first re-formatted Community Forum this week, an opportunity for Residents to learn more about what is happening in their area and meet their Councillors. There was also representation from local PCTs (primary care trusts) and the Police. Whilst the theme of the evening was "budgets" and the Leader of the Council, Terry Cutmore, invited questions from the audience on any aspects of the Council's spending plans, he also made it clear that questions on any subject were welcome.

In their previous incarnation, the Community Forums were arranged formally, such that the Councillors sat behind a row of tables, and questions ideally needed to be submitted prior to the meeting.

Whilst "special guest" attendees from the PCTs, and the Police, joined the Leader and Chief Executive of the Council at the top table, the local District and Parish Councillors sat with the residents. More importantly, questions could be raised at the meeting, and the intention was to answer them, as far as possible, there and then.

Funnily enough, no questions were raised about the Council's budgets. I guess, unsurprisingly, no one has studied the budgets in detail or no one present was affected by the consequences of some of the cut backs. Maybe when the West Community Forum takes place, residents from Great Wakering may have a thing or two to say about the closure of the Sports Centre for example.

Policing, however, was a popular subject.

Questions were raised about anti social behaviour in Hockley, in particular the nuisance caused by members of one family. It was interesting to note that the Police appeared to be well aware of the situation and visited the family daily to "harrass" them, at the same time gathering evidence. The Hockley Councillor advised that an eviction order was imminent.

Parking issues also caused the temperature in the room to rise significantly, in particular selfish parking where pavements are partially blocked. The Police advised that they generally only got involved if the offender's parking was dangerous, the vehicle potentially blocking ambulance access or parking on a blind corner. Otherwise, it is usually a Council matter.

In Rochford, concerns were raised by the imminent departure of a popular PC, Stuart Goldsack, who has helped reduce incidents of anti social behaviour in the Square by positively engaging with the youngsters responsible. We were told that Stuart's replacement has already been appointed by a volunteer for the role, and we were assured he was of a similar calibre.

Moving away from Policing, Tracey Chapman, Essex County Council Head of Transport, responded to a question on pot holes. She explained that they are graded according to severity, the most serious gaining the most urgent attention whilst those causing the least problems may be left until their condition deteriorated to the next grade level.

Representatives from the PCTs had a fairly quiet night. Questions were raised about Southend Hospital's new electronic "check in" system and we were assured that improvements had already taken place plus more staff had been made available to offer help.

I asked about an increase in noise and pollution from Purdeys Industrial Estate. Litter covers the footpath from Watts Lane to Stambridge Mill, apparently straying over from Purdeys. The noise levels seem to have increased recently, from a number of sources. The Council's paid Chief Excutive, Paul Warren, said he would investigate.

No questions were asked about the Council's plans for the future - its core strategy, improvements (or changes depending on how you see it) to the Square, Southend Airport, etc. Still, there will be an opportunity at the next Forum in the New Year.

Finally, news of the forum was delivered to every household in the District through the "Rochford Matters" newspaper. Further, it has been highlighted on the Council's website. I found it to be a very interesting event, and something I understand the Council is not required to hold.

So sad then that only approx 12 residents turned up on the night.

Do we not care about our District?