Opposition Budget Plans

LEADERS of all opposition groups at Southend Council have announced their proposed enhancements to the budget for 2024/25 that is due to be considered at the council’s annual budget setting meeting on February 22.

Labour Leader Coun Daniel Cowan, Liberal Democrat Leader Coun Paul Collins, Independent Group Leader Coun Martin Terry, and Residents First Group Leader Coun Ron Woodley, have confirmed that after extensive talks and cross-group working that they have come up with a range of changes to the budget that will enhance the budget as proposed by the current Conservative minority administration.

Speaking together, the group leaders have said: “We are delighted with the outcome of collaboration and the serious, fully-costed enhancements we are proposing.

“From the outset, we all agreed that the budget failed to deliver on the needs and priorities of our city and that we must work together to produce a better alternative – we have done that.

“Our proposals will save as much of the award-winning Dementia Community Support Team that we know so many residents rely on.  This was our first priority and we’re pleased to have found a better way to do this.

“Our proposals will also make parking cheaper for local residents in 3 out of 4 parking zones and we want to expand the Southend Pass to provide as much low-cost parking as possible for local people.

“We are serious about the environment and have put forward costed plans to improve our tree management, to stop cut grass being left in gullies, and investment in our cycle network.  Southend has a thriving cultural scene and tourism economy, so we are proposing to invest in bringing more people to Southend to create new jobs and generate more income for our city.

“We are proposing to scale back increases in bereavement services to support grieving families using our cremation and burial services.

“We’re also investing in the security of the city and the council by hiring new Community Support Officers to tackle antisocial behaviour, new Civil Enforcement officers to enforce dangerous parking around schools, to secure future talent through the Graduate Scheme and secure the council against future cyber threats in a growing digital economy.

“Finally, we are investing 62.5% more than the administration is proposing in fixing our roads and pavements. This is a serious budget amendment that has the full support of our groups and we believe this will put Southend on a strong platform moving forward to meet the needs of our residents and the demands on our services.”

The full budget amendments are:

• Dementia Community Support Team – Retain 4x FTE Dementia Navigators and 1x PT Community Builder to ensure this vital service can continue to support local families coping with dementia.
• Reduce parking charges in Zone 1b, Zone 2, Zone 3 by an average of 11.14% across the various charging tariffs to make parking as cheap as possible for local people.
• Hire three new Community Support Officers to tackle antisocial behaviour.
• Hire three new Civil Enforcement Officers to tackle dangerous parking around schools.
• Put £2.5m extra investment into fixing pavements and roads.
• Invest £100,000 in bringing more events to Southend and the Pier such as El Galleon.
• Reduce the increase in cremation fees from 15% to 10%.
• Reduce the increase in burial fees from 20% to 10%.
• Invest £100,000 in a new tree nursery management plan to grow and plant more trees in Southend and introduce a ‘cut and collect’ policy to stop gullies being filled with grass after mowing.
• Retain the graduate programme.
• Invest £100,000 in improving the council’s cyber security.
• Reintroduce parking charges in Zone 1a after 6pm for visitors. Southend Pass owners will be exempted from parking charges after 6pm, increasing the value of a Southend Pass and the discounts and savings it provides to local people.

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