Plans for an ambitious project that will pedestrianise and reshape Tindal Square (at the top of the High Street) were signed off by Chelmsford City Councillors at the recent Cabinet meeting.
The redesign, proposed jointly by the Chelmsford City and Essex County Councils, will see the pedestrianised High Street extended all the way to the doors of Shire Hall, restoring the Georgian-era layout of the city centre. The historic square will feature seating, new trees and be available as a space for public performances.
Cllr Carole Mulroney, Southend-on-Sea Liberal Democrats Council Leader, along with previous Southend West Liberal Democrats parliamentary candidates, Nina Stimson and Paul Collins, have reached out the national Party to inform them of our strong view that we should not contest the forthcoming by election that will be held after the tragic killing of Sir David Amess MP on October 15th.
The Liberal Democrats in Southend are devastated to hear the news today that our local MP, Sir David Amess has been violently attacked, while doing his job and has died as a result. This is a terrible day for our borough.
We utterly condemn any kind of violence being inflicted upon elected officials.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and those who worked alongside him.
There is no reference to road repairs in Essex County Council's new strategic plan. The Lib Dem Group on Essex CC drew attention to this omission at the Full Council meeting today, 12th October.
The new Council Leader tabled a plan with 20 strategic objectives and a list of 74 performance measures. Lib Dem Cllr. Stephen Robinson (Chelmsford North) pointed out that not one of them refers to road repairs, despite 72% of the population saying it was their key concern for the Council in a survey earlier this year.
Accommodation to stop ex-offenders from living on the streets when they are released from prison has been secured for Chelmsford. The Lib Dem-led City Council and two other agencies working in Chelmsford have secured £100,000 for this work.
Prisoners who are released without homes to go to after serving their time can end up sleeping in public places, spiralling quickly into difficulties and - in some cases - falling back into offending.
The UK has suffered one of the worst outcomes of comparable countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Report calls for the public inquiry into the UK Government's handling of the pandemic to release its interim findings before the next general election.
The form of Brexit pursued by the UK government - which introduced stringent immigration policies and took Britain out the EU market for goods and energy, making it much harder for British companies to hire European workers and much more costly for them to do business with the country's single biggest trading partner.
Climate change will have a huge impact on all our lives in the years ahead. If we are to stand any chance of limiting the impact, local Councils must have all powers necessary to act.
That's the call made by Liberal Democrat Council Leaders, including Chelmsford's Stephen Robinson, in a letter to the Prime Minister. The Lib Dems have called on the PM to allow local government to be mentioned in any declaration agreed at the international climate summit - COP 26 - in November.
The Council is now consulting on the latest version of Southend's Local Plan - REFINING THE OPTIONS. Although housing is one of the most crucial elements of the Plan, it also covers the need for jobs, a healthy environment, better transport and social provision.
