Browsing: Local Issues

Local resident Peter Lovett questions Southend Council’s promises surrounding a 10,000-home development on Green Belt land. Citing a long list of broken commitments—from scrapped flood defences to stalled infrastructure projects—he warns residents not to be swayed by “bold” plans that history suggests will never be delivered.

The New Towns Taskforce is the group the government will listen to when it comes to large-scale developments like the one proposed on our Green Belt.

For many years, I’ve consistently campaigned against any suggestion, no matter how vague or informal, that Southend’s Green Belt land…

Waterwatch UK is calling on the local community, including residents and business owners, to take action by joining our community meetings and becoming part of the solution. Together, we can hold polluters accountable and push for tangible outcomes.

Over many decades the Salvation Army have been trying to obtain planning permission to build on this land with limited success. They offered up the farmland for development to Castle Point Borough Council (CPBC) once more under the latest Local Plan.

Oracle Publications is thrilled to announce a return to its roots, relaunching as two separate magazines from the March editions…

As the Cabinet member for Climate, Environment, and Waste on Southend-on-Sea City Council, I believe I have one of the most important jobs in preserving the green and natural side of our city.

Residents of Southend-on-Sea are fortunate to enjoy a seven-mile, continuous, walkable waterfront stretching from Leigh-on-Sea Town Beach to Shoeburyness East…

In November 2013, the manhole at the northern end of Thorpe Hall Avenue was blown off its bolts by pressure from the sewage outfall pipe. Gardens, garages, and houses were flooded with sewage. For ten years, nothing of note happened until 13 November 2023, when it blew again, resulting in chaos captured in the photos below.

In the last edition of the Oracle, concerns were raised regarding plans by UK house building company Bellway to build on the floodplain in Shoebury. Local residents have questioned how planning decisions, such as this one in Shoebury and the conversion of the old HMRC building on Victoria Avenue, get approved despite opposition.