Political Viewpoint by Leigh LibDem Coun Peter Wexham - A fishy tale of dredging, marinas, e-scooters and consultations
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A NEW marina? The leader of Leigh Town Council should support Leigh above all else. So why is he one of the key movers behind plans for a new marina at Gunners Park in Shoeburyness? One Southend Conservative Councillor thinks it’s such a mad idea he wrote to the papers to say so. He’s not alone.
Building a marina is costly. It needs multiple businesses, hotels and luxury apartments to help pay for it. But it needs much more than that, so the people behind the scheme, including the Town Council leader, also hope the Government will throw tens of millions of pounds – our money – their way to help build this new marina.
Many of us remember other marina plans over the past 50 years; they’ve all failed. This new plan could kill off Leigh’s fishing port, with the Leigh boats going to the marina, nearer the Maplin Sands cockle beds.
If the working boats leave the old town, Leigh would just become a twee little village full of pubs & restaurants. This dodgy plan would take the heart out of Leigh and the local fishing industry – it amounts to deliberate undermining of investment in Leigh and all its continued waterside activities. We can’t let that happen.
Are e-scooters on the way? Anyone who walks through Leigh will probably say “e-scooters are already here!” Some of you may already have had one swerve round you on the pavement. Others will ask “where can I get one?”
The short answer is that right now, electric scooters are only legal on private land or when they’ve been rented under a special scheme. The Government thinks they could make a contribution to ‘green’ transport, so it has authorised trials of rented e-scooters in around 35 towns and cities – the latest is Basildon, with 50 e-scooters up for hire.
All the e-scooters in those trials have a maximum speed of 15.5mph – and they can only be used on certain roads, in cycle lanes, but not on pavements.
What about users? You need a full or provisional driving licence (though you don’t need L-plates, and a helmet is optional). You must not tow anything behind an e-scooter or carry passengers (and don’t use one when under the influence, obviously).
Remember – if you currently use an e-scooter in Leigh or anywhere across Southend, it’s not legal (especially on pavements). Don’t pick up a fine, penalty points or find you can’t get insurance by jumping the gun.
Consulting on Conservation Areas. Leigh is blessed with 4 of the Borough’s 14 Conservation Areas – Leigh, Leigh Cliff, Leigh Old Town and Chapmanslord in West Leigh; they’re a big part of what makes our town so special.
Now the Council has carried out “appraisals” of each Conservation Area and is asking for your views. Go to yoursay.southend.gov.uk and search for Conservation Area Appraisals. The consultation period has just been extended to January 21 to give residents time to take part.
Dredging – an essential correction! In the last issue of Leigh Times, the article on p18 was about dredging in the channel in the shipping lanes and not Leigh Port as the headline says. I mentioned the siltation that may occur each side of Theobalds Wharf because the floating dock will have the effect of pushing the creek to the south.
Dredging is always a key issue here, not just for the fishing industry, which has seen fish and cockle stocks affected by deep water channel dredging for container ships going further up river, hitting bio-diversity.
There’s a knock-on impact on wildlife and the local environment – you can see the changes when walking along the coast. That’s why I continue to monitor the foreshore and have worked with others for so many years to ensure essential funding and the best outcome for us all – residents, fishermen and visitors alike.
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