Stock By-Election

Sue Dobson - image from Chelmsford City Council

Sue Dobson

While not directly a South Woodham Ferrers post, residents may be aware of the recent, untimely, death of Ian Grundy, who served as City and County Councillor for Stock.

One of the vagaries of the political landscape is that the Stock ‘division’ at Essex County Council is that it encompasses Margaretting, Rettendon, Runwell, Woodham Ferrers and Bicknacre.

There is an accepted tradition that by-elections are not called until after the funeral of the deceased councillor. There’s also a rule that by-elections are not called during the final six months before a major election.

The Reform Party – somewhat disrespectfully – called for by-elections on October 31st, the day before the 6 month rule would have cut in, and three weeks before Ian Grundy’s funeral. The elected County Councillor will serve for just five months before next May’s elections.

The by-election will be held on Thursday December 12th.

And of course, it is we residents who bear the cost of elections, officers to staff the polling stations and count votes.

As to the by-elections, the Conservative candidate for the County Council election is Sue Dobson who has served as a City Councillor for several years, and stepped up as Mayor after the sad passing of Cllr. John Galley. Sue has said that she accepts that she will only serve residents for five months, but that she’s standing in Ian Grundy’s Memory. The candidate for the City Council elections is Gillian Swain, a long-standing Stock Parish Councillor.

The Reform candidate has no record of serving residents on any other public body, has had his past business interests called into question by the Advertising Standards Authority and the Financial Services Authority. He is being supported in his campaign by an Epping Forest Councillor who was expelled from the Conservatives.

 

Clements Green Lane (again)

Clements-Green-Lane
It’s taken longer than anyone would have wanted (tarmac surfaces on concrete roads require specialist equipment) but, after patching the A132 a couple of weeks ago, Essex Highways are now due to resurface Clements Green Lane in a couple of weeks.
Residents should report highways issues through the Essex County Council website here.
If the problems are severe, please notify me through my County Council email here, and I will seek to prioritise them.

ECC’s Holiday, Activity and Food programme

ECC’s Holiday, Activity & Food programmeThis summer, Essex County Council’s international award winning Holiday, Activity and Food programme saw 9,435 children take up 78,652 places at 238 clubs across Essex!

The scheme was introduced by the last Conservative government with additional funding provided by Essex County Council. It makes a massive difference to vulnerable children and those on free school meals; providing them with engaging activities, positive role models and a healthy meal during the school holidays.
Cllr. Louise McKinley wrote to the new Chancellor on the 2nd August outlining the benefits of this vital scheme and asked her to commit the funding for the lifetime of this Parliament.
70 days on, she is still waiting for a response…
Let’s hope it doesn’t end up on the same bonfire of political choices as the Winter Fuel Allowance…

Leadership Hustings

Conservatives Hustings - 1It was great to attend a hustings last week where three of the four candidates for the leadership of the Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly, and Robert Jenrick, presented their visions for the party’s future.

Tom Tugenhat was represented by Jackie Doyle-Price.

Craig Rimmer facilitated, former MP Stephen Metcalfe hosted the evening, and 200 local conservatives attended. We will get to vote after Conservative MPs have whittled the four candidates down to a final two.

Conservatives Hustings - 2

Open Day at Freighter House Recycling Centre

Free family fun at Chelmsford’s Recycling Open Day | City Life
Chelmsford City Council are holding another open day on Saturday 31st August at their recycling centre at Freighter House, Boreham (between the Car Auctions and Maccy Dees).
If you haven’t been, it’s a fascinating place to visit, and you can see what happens to all the cardboard and cans that the City Council collects.
For more information click here.

Clements Green Lane

Clements Green LaneLast month – after many months of ‘badgering’ – I met with the Essex Highways Director and the Deputy Cabinet Member for Highways to discuss the parlous state of Clements Green Lane.

Following that meeting, Essex Highways have advised that Clements Green Lane will be closed overnight (19:00 – 05:00) for 3 nights from 6th November 2024.

“The closure is required for the safety of the public and workforce while Essex County Council undertakes Machine patching, jointing prep and relining.”

Emergency and residents’ access will be maintained, subject to the works being undertaken.
https://one.network/?tm=139746563

Essex Forest Initiative

Essex Forest Initiative

I’m delighted to be able to share that I’m one of the lucky recipients of the Essex Forest Initiative’s (EFI) Councillors’ Tree Giveaway 🌳

Established in 2019, the EFI has been planting trees across Essex, exceeding its targets for the first three years with a whopping 241,560 trees already in the ground.

This initiative is not just about reaching our net-zero goals by 2050, but also about making a positive impact on biodiversity and air quality in our beautiful county.

Last week, I received ten native trees, with stakes and protective sleeves, from my Essex County Council colleague, Cllr. Peter Schweir.

These have been delivered to South Woodham Ferrers Town Council, who will be planting them at our Town’s Garden of Remembrance.

Flooding on Hullbridge Road

A number of residents contacted me recently regarding flooding during heavy rain, on Hullbridge Road, adjacent to the Village Hall.

It’s taken quite a few emails to badger Essex Highways, but one resident emailed me the other day to report that Essex Highways were ‘jetting’ the drains.

Jetting the drains at Hullbridge Road

Let’s hope this solves the problem.

Cllr. Bob Massey.

Potholes (yet again)

I make no apologies for writing about potholes again, they affect any of us who drive and were a topic of contention at the City Council elections last May. Some serving Lib-Dem councillors failed to report potholes for repair and then pointed a finger of blame at the Conservative-controlled County Council.

As I wrote last week, I highlighted the potholes on the B1418 on the ‘S’ bend heading up to Woodham Ferrers to Essex Highways and was pleased to see multiple markings on the road indicating that works were planned.

B1418

Image from Google Street View

I was delighted to see, as I drove to Chelmsford this morning (August 2nd), that the road has been extensively repaired; the potholes at each end of the ‘S’ bend, the numerous smaller holes through the bend, the massive pothole at the junction of Workhouse Lane and even the pothole on the left heading up towards St Mary’s church.

This isn’t – as some have suggested – an attempt to ‘curry favour’ with the electorate; this is a mechanism where residents – through their elected representatives – can identify the potholes that cause them the most grief, and prioritise their repair.

And I’m pleased to be able to report that it seems to work.

There will be another opportunity to prioritise potholes in October; maybe the local Taxpayers Association councillors will deign to take part in the process.

 

 

The truth about Potholes

Understandably, when talking to you, the poor state of our roads, pavements and problems with potholes are a major concern.

Roads and footpaths are the responsibility of Essex County Council, and last year they set up a scheme to enable their Essex County Councillors to report potholes in their areas to target repairs. My fellow Conservative County Councillors have used this on residents’ behalf, although some report fewer than others.

You can report road, footpath and lighting issues using the County Council’s ‘Track-It’ website:

https://www.essexhighways.org/track-it 

As the County Councillor representing South Woodham Ferrers, residents often contact me to report potholes, and I make a point of asking my fellow Town Councillors to identify priority faults.

It really helps if the report includes a reference number from the ‘Track-It’ website, and, ideally, the location of the fault using ‘What 3 Words’ as that provides a specific location.

But that is not enough. A Conservative City Council will do more to tackle the problem.

The Local Election on the 4th May 2023 is about what Chelmsford City Councillors can do for you.

Unlike the Liberal Democrats, who wrongly claim they can, Conservatives cannot promise to mend the roads but they can strongly influence what goes on. Conservative City Councillors will help you report the issues, and they will follow these up.

Essex County Council have rercruited an additional 12 ‘gangs’ to repair potholes, but these can only be properly repaired when it is dry ,and March and April have been among the wettest months ever recorded in Essex.

Cllr Bob Massey
Essex County Council

 

Potholes