On the 6th December 2017, members of the South East Essex Green Party committee met with representatives from the local branch of the environmental concern group Friends Of the Earth (FoE) to discuss local issues.
With Air Pollution and town planning at the heart of discussions, agreements were made over the need for an improvement in Southend’s public transport, pedestrian, and cycling infrastructures.
Suggestions ranged from having an Ipswich-style network of demarcated cycle lanes on all major roads to the continued proposal of having a Park & Ride system operating outside Southend, near Sadlers Farm.
Further discussions were had regarding the need to ensure a sustainable and pragmatic approach to town centre traffic and car parking provision, and the need to keep a wary eye on the possibility of Priory Cresent (A1159) being made Dual-Carriageway.
Concerns were also raised over the safety of schoolchildren crossing the A127 near Kent Elms and reached that the potential solution could be a stretch of the road being made into a 40MPH limit zone.
“The Green Party have a long history of working with Friends Of the Earth, and we thank them for their time and input.
We look forward to working with them on ongoing campaigns, ensuring that the environmental concerns of locals are substantially addressed.”