An Overdue Holiday Beckons

AS OUR CHILDREN return to school (and I can look forward to eating my hotel meals in peace) the Canvey Beat will be entering a quiet period. I will pick-up my new Nikon body from Jessops, later this week, and then venture forth into the English countryside in pursuit of photographic experimentation - and some autumnal stock.

I will leave you with the words of Tom Jea, to ponder over, as his just reward for being the most frequent Canvey Beat visitor this month (and all in the past eight days); but whether we will be reading more from YourLocalTownTalk’s editor is open to question.

Tom’s childish attempts to ensure only his name appears in this Blog’s Recent Comments widget, by making multiple, identical posts, has, on two occasions, led to his comments being treated as spam by Blogger. Both times I have rescued them from this site’s trash bin in order to ensure he can still use his Blogger account and continue making contributions.

If you are reading this, Tom – and I suspect you are – Blogger does not like spammers. That is probably why you had so much trouble trying to use your account here (until I accepted all your posts). However, I have no intention of accepting your spam again – so please limit yourself to single, relevant comments like everyone else.

In Order To Aid The Discussion

TOM JEA is currently defending his actions in distributing his Concord pool flyer during this year’s local election campaign, in the readers’ forum.

For those who have not seen it - or trashed their copy - both sides of the offending leaflet are reproduced here. (Click on the inset to see a larger version).

... (30/08/2010) - Tom Jea has apparently taken exception to the original flyer image I posted here. Unknown to me at the time, it contained a blue cast from the method used to produce it. The new image, now placed here, is (with the assistance of Photoshop) a more faithful reproduction of the original.

Town Council To Vote On Concord Pool – Monday 13th September

CANVEY’S CONCORD POOL ISSUE is finally coming to a head. On Monday, 13 September, Canvey Island Town Council will vote on whether to take-over responsibility for the paddling pool from Castle Point Borough Council (CPBC).

What a fiasco this matter has been. Dave Blackwell, at the beginning of this year, could not believe his luck when CPBC’s Tory Cabinet voted to close the pool, citing funding and safety grounds. Immediately he went on the political offensive, using his position as Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to ‘call the decision in.’ He arranged press interviews; accused the Borough Council of being anti-Canvey; and, with Bob Spink’s help, began building the local issue which the Canvey Island Independent Party, and Bob Spink, so badly needed for their election campaigns in May.

The Scrutiny Committee assembled under the public’s gaze; but Blackwell made himself scarce. Despite his vocal criticism in the press, the matter was not to interfere with his holiday (and it was not possible to pend the issue until he got back). Dave did not want to be around when, surprisingly, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee backed the Cabinet’s decision in record time amid protests from the public gallery.

Blackwell and Spink rubbed their hands together in glee. It was the very result they were waiting for – and the only decision the committee could have taken, given the known facts. No one, outside the inner CIIP circle of the Town Council (TC), was then aware that the TC was sitting on over £291,000 of unallocated resident funds – and was perfectly able to provide a solution to CPBC’s financial problems if they had wished to.

This whole matter could have easily been solved by Blackwell in January: by simply offering to assist CPBC, from residents’ funds, in the constrained financial situation that it found itself.

The reason he made no such offer; and the reason he made himself scarce at the committee meeting is clear. He could not be seen agreeing with the Cabinet’s decision if he was to pursue his own political agenda of using the Canvey pool issue to embarrass Castle Point Borough Council and effect a means of winning CIIP seats at the local election. (Helping his close friend Spink to retain his Parliamentary seat at the same time.)

The scene was set for another island protest, stoked into flames by Tom Jea’s campaign coverage and Lea Swann’s frequent appearances in the Echo.

Jea even ensured a leaflet, advertising his protest site, accompanied CIIP and Spink leaflets on their way to residents’ doormats at the outset of May’s election campaigns. It is still not clear who actually paid for those flyers.

But this issue may yet bite Blackwell back. The £291,000 of residents' funds, which the TC was sitting on at the beginning of the year, has now been spent on Canvey Lake and Town Council Administration. If the TC is to find the money to take-on the island’s old paddling pool, it can only come from next year’s annual precept.

And that means a rise in Council Tax for you, me, and everyone else on this island.

The calculation, which CIIP Town Council members will be making on the 13th, is just how much they can push residents’ contributions to – without creating a new public protest, which, this time, is directed against them.

... (28/08/2010) - In this post's comment section, Tom Jea announces that the Town Council meeting will now take place on Wednesday, 1st September; but there is no mention of this change on the Town Council's Website.

... (28/08/2010) - In Order To Aid The Discussion

... (02/09/2010) - CITC Press Release (Concord Pool)

Adding Another Dimension

READERS of my personal Blog will know that, in order to earn some money, I freelance as a photojournalist. Last year I finally went digital and, for the last 12 months, I’ve been playing around with the medium; but now that I am comfortable with my new kit, I thought it about time I started using it to enhance the Canvey Beat’s coverage.

This, like the Canvey Beat itself, is a bit of an experiment; but, in order to provide readers with copies of the shots I take, I have handed the task of actually printing and despatching all images to PhotoBox.

There is only one photo that you can obtain at the moment, which has been covered on my personal Blog. It is actually a cheat that pushes the digital photographic medium (and PhotoBox) to its limits.

I used to do things like this in my old darkroom; but pushing a 35mm negative to A2, while ‘hiding the joins,’ would have been impossible.

If you click on the inset image you can see the photo at its original size in your browser - and you are free to ‘pinch’ this particular version if you like.

As a conversation piece it works brilliantly - but I would spin it like that, wouldn’t I?..

The Canvey Beat Is Under No Obligation To Promote Political Spin

PERHAPS IN PREPARATION for Tuesday’s full moon, Tom Jea took up the Canvey Island Independent Party’s cudgel this week to begin howling about the ‘bad misinformation’ disseminated on this Blog. Tom tried to confine himself to the Concord pool issue (where his Website’s heart lies) but he could not help beginning his statement by promoting the same lie, which Colin Letchford used, to encourage residents to sign the latter’s ‘Elected Mayor’ petition.

The ‘Cabinet Leader,’ Jea says, is ‘voted in by fellow cabinet members.’

The statement is totally untrue.

Readers of the old Canvey Beat will remember that I once directed Jea’s attention to Castle Point Borough Council’s Constitution; but it seems he still has not read it.

Jea’s comments come just as the Town Council announced its own intention to set-up a Friends of Canvey Lake residents’ fund on the same lines as those recent financial implements created by Letchford and Swann – and close on the heels of Dave Blackwell’s attempt to cast aspersions on this Blog’s posts under the guise of an ‘Ian Day’ alias.

It seems that Blackwell and his friends are gearing-up for the long campaign to retain their Borough and Town Council seats and, as in the last local election, one of their ambitions is to discredit the Canvey Beat.

Of course, Dave Blackwell is understandably angry. Unlike the local media, the Canvey Beat does not provide space for his curious views. But neither does it provide prime space to any other local politician’s personal interpretation of the facts.

This is just a part-time Blog. It is not an online newspaper. Its main purpose has always been to highlight inaccurate political statements, which seek to deceive residents, and cut through political spin.

It can be argued that the Canvey Beat has a duty to put both sides of an argument; but it inevitably does. All its articles contain links to the sources upon which they are based, and readers can draw their own conclusions as to whether they agree with its editorial or not. They are also free to leave comments in the reader’s forum, or provide an email for publishing, if they wish.

Hypertext linking is the modern way of ensuring readers obtain a full picture - without running the risk of being accused of taking a quote out of context.

But Dave likes to see his name in print, accompanied by a quote that an overworked junior reporter does not have the time to query. When that fails, he resorts to commenting in a suitable readers’ forum, cloaked in an alias, to get his message across – or has one of his friends do it for him. (He can hardly use his own name lest it be proved he is lying).

Spin, it appears, comes as naturally to Tom Jea as it does to Blackwell - but residents can well do without it.

Town Council Announces Public Meeting To Bring Out The Begging Bowl

IN ITS SUMMER NEWSLETTER, Canvey Island Town Council (CITC) has announced a forthcoming public meeting (but it is not the Annual Public Meeting that residents have been denied). Instead, in the first sign that CITC is admitting to being completely out of its depth, the meeting will pass around the begging bowl to prevent the Town Council from sinking under its self-imposed Canvey Lake burden.

’We have earmarked reserves in the Council’s budget [of £50,000],’ the Town Council reports, ‘specifically set aside for this task, but the total cost of restoring the lake to something approaching its former glory will be enormous and the work will have to be spread over a number of years.’

The Town Council will have spent around £180,000 on the project by the end of this year.

’It has been suggested,’ the Newsletter continues, ‘that a “Friends of Canvey Lake” group should be formed. A public meeting will be arranged to discuss this, but in the meantime, anyone interested should contact the Town Council office by telephone or e-mail, or please call in during opening hours.’

The Town Council’s precarious financial position has already been reported on this Blog, and it is clear why CITC should now wish to follow Colin Letchford’s and Lea Swann’s leads to form a 'Friends of Canvey Lake’ fund. Out of every pound contributed by residents each year, 29p will have been spent on the lake’s regeneration (but that figure palls into insignificance when one realises that around 54p of every pound is spent on Town Hall administration). That leaves just 17% (around £47,000 a year) of the Town Council’s annual precept to be spent on other projects; but none of that is available when it plans to spend £100,000 on community events to increase its election year PR coverage.

The Town Council is virtually bankrupt and the ‘Friends of Canvey Lake’ plan seems to be a desperate attempt to avoid raising residents’ annual contributions from their council tax.

Islanders will ask themselves why the Town Council pressurised Castle Point Borough Council (CPBC) into releasing their responsibilities for Canvey Lake when the TC was not in a financial position to undertake its restoration and maintenance. Furthermore, why did the Town Council not ensure they obtained sufficient grant backing for its renovation project in order to preserve resident funds?

Instead of taking-over the lake, why did the Town Council not encourage CPBC to live-up to its own responsibilities for the asset – and perhaps offer to assist financially in the lake’s improvements?

As time goes on, it is becoming increasingly obvious that the TC should abandon its Canvey Lake ambitions and return the community asset to CPBC control.

Islanders cannot afford the Canvey Island Independent Party’s political and financial incompetence any longer.

… (16/08/2010, Methane, Mud and Memories) – Canvey Town Council, Unlucky Or Awful

Doing A Blackwell

REGULAR READERS will have noticed that I made a complete ass of myself on two separate occasions reporting flash warnings from the Met office promising local torrential downpours. In both cases we had a little rain; but the predicted thunder and lightning, accompanied by metaphorical cats and dogs, never materialised.

Canvey, it transpires, does not have its own weather station (perhaps the Town Council can look into that). It seems that Shoeburyness is the nearest and one has the choice of reporting Met Office predictions for either Southend or Basildon.

Yesterday, I again attempted to provide islanders with some warning of the stormy weather flashed to me by my Met Office feed. We did, then, obtain the predicted downpour; but, when the weather brightened-up, this Blog was left with the old forecast as its lead – and I therefore deleted it.

Now weather forecasts are an important aspect of my life. I rely upon them to tell me when conditions are right for taking those lucrative stock photos – and I also need them to accurately predict when I can get away with not washing my car. Accurate rain forecasts, I have found, can save considerable expense in unnecessary, or ill-timed, valeting fees.

In an attempt to bring visitors these valuable savings, and ensure that all islanders are informed when the island needs to be evacuated, I have now placed a Met Office weather widget in this Blog’s right hand column. If nothing else, it is amusing to see how the five-day forecast often changes by the hour.

But there is a serious aspect to these predictions. Although the Met Office sometimes gets its predictions wrong, more often than not they are right. (I just appear to have had a particularly bad run on my published selection). Moreover, the gadget now placed in these pages is particularly powerful.

The key is not to rely too much on the description of the five-day forecasts; but to use the maps intelligently. They provide a snapshot of the rainclouds over England and Wales; barometric pressure and temperature – which are all regularly updated. In addition, a ‘Weather Warning’ icon appears in the gadget’s top right corner when conditions begin to change for the worse, and you need only click upon it to reveal the detailed information.

In particular, the gadget allows me to do a Blackwell.

I can now place the blame for my own dead trees upon the contractor I employed to plant them…

Town Council Goes Ahead With £10,000 Citizenship Awards

THE FRONT PAGE of this week’s Yellow Advertiser is devoted to announcing Canvey Island Town Council’s new Citizenship Awards.

First announced to islanders in June on this Blog, the Town Council will contribute £10,000 towards the event, due to take place at 7.30pm, in The Paddocks, on Friday, November 12th. The amount is two-thirds more than that apparently spent on the island’s Armed Forces' Day Celebrations costing £6,000 – so it promises to be an extravaganza.

There are six categories of award.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is being sponsored by the Yellow Advertiser and rewards a person who has, in the course of their paid duties or voluntary work, provided exceptional service and demonstrated a lifelong dedication.

The Citizen of the Year Award will go to an inspirational resident who lives or works on Canvey.

A Young Citizen of the Year Award is to be provided for an under-21 who has made a significant contribution, achieved educational success, or overcome personal difficulties. This award still seeks a sponsor.

There is also to be an Educational Award; a Sports and Culture Award; and the inevitable Chairman’s Award (to be presented to someone for a specific single action of bravery, courage – or who has overcome exceptional difficulties).

Residents will receive a nomination form, presumably along with their voting paper for Town Centre pedestrianisation, in the summer edition of the Town Council’s newsletter (shortly coming to a doormat near you).

Jeff Rickards’ smiling face belies the fact that this is money the Town Council can ill afford to spend. But perhaps he is relieved that the £35,000 Summer Fun package has apparently been cancelled…

Rebecca Obtains Cameron’s Backing

OUR LOCAL MP, Rebecca Harris, has cause to celebrate this evening. David Cameron, the Prime Minister, has agreed to consider plans to move Britain’s clocks forward by an hour to give the country permanent summertime.

In June, Ms Harris presented her Daylight Savings Bill to the House of Commons, which is intended to provide for an analysis of the costs and benefits of moving the clocks forward to provide more light in the evenings (and less in the mornings).

Rebecca needs government support if her Private Member’s Bill is ever to become Law.

The English tourism industry says that the change in time zone would boost tourism; and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents estimates that lighter evenings could save hundreds of lives a year by reducing the number of evening traffic accidents.

Some environmental groups are also in favour, arguing that it would mean less use of electric lights and reduce Britain’s carbon emissions.

However, the move is strongly resisted in Scotland, where it would mean that, in winter, the sun would not rise until almost 10am.

Mr Cameron was challenged to support the bill after delivering a speech in London promising to boost British tourism. He signalled that he was willing to consider the switch.

’We certainly will look at it,’ the Prime Minister said. ‘The argument will be won when people across the country feel comfortable with the change.’

He added: ‘It's up to those who want to make the change to make the argument to try to convince people right across the country that it's a good thing. People who like taking part in sporting activity and would like longer days are already quite easy to sway. That's the key to winning this argument.’

Rebecca’s Bill is due to face a decisive Commons vote in December; but it already has the backing of many MPs including Zac Goldsmith, the millionaire Conservative environmentalist, and Frank Field, the former Labour Welfare minister.

Rebecca has said: ‘I believe there is so much potential to improve people's quality of lives, and bring health benefits for everyone (children, the elderly, and people returning from work) that I think the government should examine the matter properly.’

Neville Jumps On His Bike

THE Canvey Island Independent Party’s promise, to keep residents informed of local matters on their Blog, appears to have been interpreted by their jovial councillor, Neville Watson, as providing a personal platform for his own spirited musings.

In what is now fast becoming Neville’s personal column, this month’s update from the CIIP’s father figure is devoted to his latest visit to London.

Neville writes: ‘… On driving to London, I noticed that the roads were totally clear with no struggle to the capital, I thought I must have been on another planet!

’But no, upon arrival the roads were empty. I wondered if the Mayor’s new hire bike project was taking the traffic off of the road?’

As if responding to his teacher’s request to provide a short essay on what he did over the weekend, Neville treats readers to recalling his conversation with a gentleman whom he almost ran over while riding one of the Mayor’s new bicycles, and how he managed to place his tubular companion in the back of a taxi-cab. This is compelling stuff from the CIIP’s PR man, who is normally content to witter on about Tory conspiracies, secret meetings, and justified resident protests.

Neville, it appears, has his own thoughts about a promising local issue, which his party could exploit in the forthcoming election campaign in May. While his party leader, Dave Blackwell, casts around for an issue with which to beat the Tories over the head, Neville seems content to just offer his latest idea for his readers to contemplate.

No prizes for guessing what that bright idea is, however. After congratulating London’s Mayor with a, ‘Well done Boris,’ for ‘Giving people a lot of fun out there,’ Neville suggests:-

‘I do wonder if a similar scheme could be as successful in Castle Point?’

So far, CIIP Blog readers have left no comments to assist father Neville in his musings…

Public Exclusion Back On The Town Council’s Agenda

THIS IS NOT PROVING to be a good week for the Canvey Island Independent Party (CIIP). Cynical Observer again unmasked Dave Blackwell as the contentious author of a comment, on this Blog, posted under the name of Ian Day – and, the very next day, the Echo had the audacity to blame the untimely death of newly planted Canvey trees on the CIIP led Town Council.

Echo readers were, justifiably, gob-smacked. PJR, from Basildon, said in the column’s comment section: ‘Is this the Echo publishing a story that is negative towards Canvey town council? Wow, I may just book that skiing trip to Hades after all!’

Sarah Calkin, it appears, had taken time out to attend the latest Town Council’s Environment and Open Spaces Committee meeting, held on 2nd August. But she makes no mention of being excluded, along with the public, when, according to the published agenda, the TC again resorted to a Section One resolution when it was to ‘consider and agree quotes for the fencing at Waterside allotments.’

Section Ones enable public bodies to exclude members of the public, and the press, from public meetings when ‘publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest by reason of the confidential nature of the business to be
transacted.’

It seems that Section Ones, apparently dropped last year, are now firmly back on the agenda (just when the Town Council also deems fit not to publish minutes of their meetings on their Website for resident inspection – or publish their annual accounts).

One wonders why the Town Council applies a Section One to such discussions when tenders are being opened and they then have no commercial sensitivity; when the details of such tenders must, in any case, be recorded in the minutes; and when any related payments to contractors employed must be made available to anyone requesting to see the TC’s books.

Are councillors unwilling to let the public and their representatives see how many tenders were received, and from whom? And are they also unwilling for the public to know which councillors supported each tender?

Dave Blackwell is only too willing to point his political finger at Castle Point Borough Council (CPBC) over its executive’s awarding of contracts; but it just so happens that he appears totally unwilling to use his privileged position to shed light on current allegations that a CPBC officer is presently under investigation concerning matters relating to council maintenance and repairs.

Is this Blackwell supporting Castle Point Borough Council’s position that: ‘The Council does not issue public statements on internal personnel matters?’ Or is it because Blackwell is unwilling to raise the issue because the spotlight might then fall upon Canvey Island Town Council?

That Blackwell has not publicised and spun this issue to accuse the Castle Point Tory majority of incompetence or corruption is entirely out of character.

The Town Council’s re-introduction of blanket Section Ones does nothing to relieve public suspicions – particularly when the TC cannot point to any of its lucrative contracts being awarded to island businesses. The only thing that appears certain, at this time, is that Blackwell and his CIIP are unwilling to incorporate the topic of local contract awarding in its political agenda. And this at a time when they are desperate to manufacture an issue upon which to fight next May’s local elections.

Meanwhile, it appears that Dave Blackwell is content to pass the blame on to King & Co Ltd, the TC’s Braintree contractor, for the death of the Tewkes Creek trees. In Sarah Calkin’s article he is reported as saying: ‘We employed the same contractors to plant the second lot as the first lot. They obviously didn’t realise the soil was different in the area where they planted the second lot.

‘When we look at the condition of the soil we will see if they are planted in rubble. We may have recourse to complain to the contractor.’

Well, maybe Dave can get a refund. After all, Sarah’s article puts the cost of the trees’ planting at ‘about £4,500.’

If only that were true, huh Dave?

According to the Town Council’s own accounts, free resident and child labour was supplemented by hiring King & Co’s services to the tune of £6,305.17. (£700 to hire machines and operatives; £5,255.17 for tree planting; and £350 to apply herbicide).

Wouldn’t it be interesting to know just how much a local contractor might have charged for similar work (and if they might just also have been aware of the local soil conditions)?..

Peter and Mary Unavailable For Comment

UNCHARACTERISTICALLY, Peter and Mary have avoided my emails and calls this morning as I attempted to obtain their thoughts on the Daily Telegraph’s latest article.

Headlined: ‘Bounty hunters to cut benefit fraud by £1bn,’ it seems that Holly Watt, Rosa Prince and Robert Winnett have compiled the one piece that our two benefit system cheats had been dreading.

’Private agencies are to be paid by the Government to reduce benefit fraud,’ the Telegraph announced.

’Finance experts will identify welfare cheats by trawling through their records, household bills and credit card applications.’

And the authors also revealed that the agencies would get a ‘bounty payment’ for each fraudster they identify.

Peter reverted to drawing upon the old Saxon language on the one occasion he answered his mobile phone to me today. Roughly translated, he spoke on his and Mary’s behalf to decline any further interviews - and hope that nothing untoward would ever blight my further attempts at journalism.

He said nothing of my housewarming invitation being in the post.

Warnings Issued Over Unofficial ‘Press Card’

(Press Gazette) – UNITED KINGDOM Press Card Authority chairman Mike Granatt has expressed concerns about a “press pass” being sold by a citizen journalism website.

Granatt said that his organisation, which oversees the voluntary press card scheme run by the news industry, is to make contact with police forces and other organisations across the country to alert them to the unofficial card.

Despite having a similar appearance to the industry-approved card carried by members of the UK press (inset), Granatt said the pass issued by Demotix had not been sanctioned by the industry.

Currently, 17 national news industry employers, trade unions and professional associations act as "gatekeepers" by issuing official journalist credentials across the UK.

These organisations include the BBC, Sky, ITN, the National Association of Press Agencies, the Newspaper Society and the NUJ and BAJ.

Granatt said: "The National Press Card is the card of professional journalists within the UK.

"All the major media organisations, associations and trades unions are part of the scheme…We have worked hard over many years to establish the National Press Card as the ID for professional journalists.

"It is designed to assure the police and others that the holder is a professional news-gatherer, working full-time to serve the public.

"Our concern is that the police and third parties might be misled by the Demotix card."

Canvey’s Dream Team Have Their Own Vision For Canvey’s Town Centre

IN HIS latest column devoted to recording quotations from Canvey Island’s Top Cat, Dave Blackwell, Max Orbach reports the Canvey Island Independent Party (CIIP) leader’s further opposition to Canvey Town Centre plans.

This time, it is about the number of residential flats to be created in order to support Town Centre businesses. And, again, the mischievous Blackwell bases his concerns on the Borough Council’s Core Strategy that was derived under the duress of the last Labour government - and which now lies in tatters.

Blackwell, it appears, has no confidence in the Borough Council’s Planning Committee being able to forestall unwanted developer plans while that strategy is under review – despite his own membership of that body, and their recent rejection of Barrett’s plans in Thundersley.

Blackwell is reported as saying: ‘No one on Canvey knows about the real number of flats planned for the town centre,’ which begs the question: why is he raising the issue if he, also, is clueless?

Well, Blackwell obviously has his reasons. He is still casting around for an issue that can save his party the next local elections due in May, and, since Canvey Town Centre’s regeneration project is set to attract a great deal of press coverage during the intervening period, Blackwell and his chum Neville Watson are keen to latch onto it as a means of securing badly needed publicity. Unfortunately, the disruptive nature of their particular form of party politics prevents CIIP councillors from adding anything constructive to the local debate.

Despite evidence that pedestrianising High Streets has them morph into virtual no-go areas at night – attracting vandals, rapists and drug-dealers – the Town Council is intent upon ignoring the wishes of some 4,000 informed residents whom have taken the trouble to visit the town’s Canvey Comes Alive shop, and Website, to make their wishes known. Instead, driven by John Anderson (the Town Council’s leader) they intend to spend more residents’ money providing all islanders with a ‘postal vote,’ carefully phrased, to support the idea of paving the High Street over.

The fact that the majority receiving an invitation to ‘vote’ do not use the Town Centre for their weekly shop is, apparently, irrelevant.

And now, Blackwell and Watson are set on ensuring that the new Town Centre facilities lack the very customers which local businesses need to survive, grow, and flourish. They are against providing sufficient new flats to which elderly islanders can move to and access local services easier. And they are against any well-heeled, new blood, bringing their scarce resources into the Town and supporting local businesses.

’Canvey for Canvey, people,’ is Blackwell’s continuing cry.

What that means is: no progress; no support for elderly residents; no new homes for our children; no secure future for local businesses – and a new Town Centre that attracts the dregs of society as dusk falls, and residents fear to venture onto their streets.

Blackwell’s posing and twittering would be laughable – if the issue were not so serious. But, then, residents get what they vote for. In this case a dream team in which CIIP councillors live firmly in an imagined past.

The 21st Century, it seems, is a complete anathema to Blackwell’s bumbling luddites.

Canvey’s Triffids

ISLANDERS’ ATTENTION this week has been focused upon the perennial problem of weeds. The Echo devoted a column (fast becoming a habit) to Dave Blackwell, Canvey Island Independent Party leader, posing for the newspaper’s photographer amongst long grass and the offending triffids as they encroached upon the driveway to an island garage.

It appears that this year’s variety of stringy green invaders are too dangerous for residents to approach – let alone engage in mortal combat. Even the mercenary army, Pinnacle, is refusing to engage them in battle without further danger money for their soldiers.

The aliens are reported to be marching upon the area around the garages in Little Gypps Road; the pavements in Rainbow Road, Dovervelt Road and Larrup Avenue. Even the town centre is under attack.

Blackwell has appealed for reinforcements from Essex County Council; but his messenger, Brian Wood, has been unable to get through. Furthermore, it is understood that Castle Point Borough Council has been forced to withdraw its troops from defending council housing estates against the advancing enemy.

Colin MacLean, of the Methane, Mud and Memories battalion, sent a scouting party out to Maurice Road in an attempt to discover the enemy’s strength; but was forced to return without any prisoners. Heckled as a coward by armchair generals, it is not clear if Colin is now in any mood to make a further attempt.

The latest drone’s photograph (inset), taken during Canvey’s monsoon period earlier this week, shows that the second echelon of the triffid’s army is content to camp in Maurice Road while it is delivered supplies from the air.

While residents wait in trepidation, the enemy gathers in size and strength…

‘No Worries. It Won’t Apply To Us!’

PETER AND MARY were disturbed to find that David Cameron, the Prime Minister, was considering social housing today. In a Daily Telegraph article, the PM is reported as saying that: ‘Council house tenants should no longer be given the right to keep their properties for life.’

Mary was first to raise the obvious question: ‘What’s he mean? Does he mean we won’t be able to buy our property?’ (Interestingly, Mary already assumes that the three-bedroom council property, just granted to her and her two children, now forms part of her, and her boyfriend Peter’s, personal assets).

Cameron was addressing the situation where council tenants are currently awarded an indefinite ‘secure tenancy’ if they successfully complete a 12-month trial period. They can then only be evicted through the courts if they fail to pay their rent; cause serious problems for their neighbours; or under what are termed: ‘exceptional circumstances.’ If they die, their secure tenancy can be passed on to their child or partner.

Peter had been re-reading the article in earnest. ‘No,’ he finally said. ‘Cameron isn’t talking about us.

’He’s just talking about those bastards clogging-up the system and holding onto properties that are too big for them. If anything it works in our favour.

’If we have another kid, there may be an opportunity for you to get your hands on a four-bedroom property – and then we could really make a killing!’

’Are you sure?’ I asked, pointing-out another quotation. ‘Look at this.’

David Cameron had gone on to say: ‘There is a question mark about whether, in future, should we be asking, actually, when you are given a council home, is it for a fixed period, because maybe in five or 10 years you will be doing a different job and be better paid and you won’t need that home, you will be able to go into the private sector.’

For the first time since the coalition government took office, Peter and Mary actually looked worried. But it was not for long.

’Yeah,’ said Peter. ‘Maybe you are right; but it won’t effect us. It says here:-

‘”The Prime Minister said that any changes would not, however, apply to people already in social housing. The Conservatives pledged in their general election manifesto to protect the rights of existing tenants.”’

Only Mary continued to have doubts. ‘Better keep hold of that, Peter.’ she said, pointing to the newspaper, ‘Just in case we need to refer to it.’

While Mary made the tea, I was asking myself why Cameron, having finally confronted the issue of council tenant income, was still unwilling to confront Thatcher’s legacy of the Right To Buy. Surely income was a common factor.

’You’re gonna write this up, aren’t you?’ asked Peter. ‘I love the pieces you do on us.’

‘Oh, yes,’ I said.

Are You Trying To Tell Us Something, Dave?

THERE IS a definite air of backroom conspiracy emanating from the Canvey Island Independent Party (CIIP) this week – and the intriguing hiatus appears to have its origin in Dave Blackwell’s last public appearance in the Echo.

Readers will remember that, on his last outing, Dave was pointing his finger at Castle Point Borough Council and accusing them of not using local contractors for local building work; but his criticisms back-fired on him when this Blog revealed that Canvey Island Town Council, originally led by Blackwell, could not claim to have employed any local island firms for their contract work either.

The loss of Bob Spink as Castle Point’s MP appears to have fatally wounded Blackwell’s party. Although still an active supporter and confidant, Spink’s political acumen and influence is no longer immediately at the party’s finger-tips, and, left to its own devices, the CIIP is belatedly struggling to find an issue on which to fight the next local and Town Council (TC) elections. It also needs an issue which can be used to turn attention away from the CIIP’s bumbling incompetence administering the TC.

In June, it appeared that the CIIP was intending to ‘buy’ May’s TC elections out of their £86,000 events budget for this year; but it seems that the reality of the TC’s financial position has led to them cancelling their ‘Summer Fun’ package. An anonymous reader, of this Blog, informed visitors that the events collated in the two PDF brochures, published on the TC’s Website, had ‘nothing to do’ with the Town Council.

‘Canvey Town Council have had absolutely nothing to do with the production of this leaflet,’ that reader informed us. ‘It is a collaboration between Canvey & Benfleet Extended Schools with contributions from other organisations so that all children in Castle Point have a comprehensive guide as to what is happening in the Borough in one place. Canvey Town Council have just uploaded it onto their site. It is delivered through schools to all pupils and is not posted to residents addresses and is of no cost to Canvey Island residents.’

Canvey Island Town Council make no mention of that on their Website; nor do they congratulate the collaborators whom have joined forces to provide Castle Point’s Youth with such badly needed resources during the summer holidays. It seems that town councillors would rather have residents assume that they played a vital role in organising those events – just as they appear to wish visitors to believe that the Annual Town Council Meeting (ATM), for residents, took place.

It did, and has, not.

The minutes on the Town Council’s Website for 24th May, mischievously labelled: ‘Annual Council Mtg,’ concern the usual annual appointments of a chairman and committee members following the local elections.

The last ATM was actually held on 27 April 2009 and the next is planned for 9th May 2011. Residents are not to be permitted the opportunity of hearing the Chairman’s Annual Report, or questioning councillors, in this the TC’s election year. And it seems that residents are not to be permitted to read TC minutes this year either. (Meeting agendas are available on the TC’s Website; but not a single minute has been published so far this year).

So what is this air of conspiracy surrounding Blackwell and his CIIP colleagues? The Canvey pool issue has run its course; the claims regarding new island housing have been shown to be just political lies; and the CIIP has found no traction in its complaints regarding the Adizone or Bumble Bee park.

Are we to see the revival of that old Spink chestnut, attempted by that once MP together with the political activist Luke Akehurst, during the general election campaign, accusing the local Tory party of corruption?

Is there something going-on at Castle Point Borough Council that Blackwell, as chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, is aware of, which could be spun to further his political agenda?

If there is, then Blackwell is uncharacteristically keeping it close to his chest. Perhaps he has been cautioned by Spink not to reveal his cards, just yet. That would be the course of following political expediency at the expense of the public interest – if the public interest were, in fact, involved.

Responsible politicians would, of course, use their privileged position in the council chamber to ensure the public interest was served; but perhaps there is a reason why Blackwell has chosen to keep quiet.

Or perhaps he is just saving his powder for the next full council meeting at which all will be revealed.

One can but hope…

‘Sarah’s Law’ Comes To Essex

THE HOME OFFICE SCHEME that allows parents to check with the police if someone with regular access to their children has a history of child sex offences is being extended to Essex.

’Sarah’s Law,’ which was proposed after the murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne by a convicted sex offender 10 years ago, is being rolled-out to eight more forces and will be expanded to the whole of England and Wales by next spring. The scheme was piloted in four areas in England from September 2008.

Home Secretary, Theresa May, said the expansion of the scheme was an ‘important step forward for child protection’ which would also help police manage known sex offenders more effectively.

‘Being able to make these checks reassures parents and the community and, more importantly, keeps children safer,’ May said.

The Home Office said more than 60 children had been protected from abuse during the pilot scheme. Nearly 600 inquiries to the four forces involved in the pilot led to 315 applications for information and 21 disclosures about registered child sex offenders. A further 43 cases led to other actions, including referrals to children's social care, and 11 general disclosures regarding protection issues linked to violent offending, they said.

Chief Constable Paul West, of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), said the new arrangements were a ‘major development.’

’They empower members of the public to initiate action aimed at protecting children and will help to increase public confidence in the police and other responsible authorities as part of their role in monitoring sex offenders,’ he said.

’Some of the cases that have arisen during the pilots have included extended family members and neighbours who have raised concerns.

’Their interventions have undoubtedly resulted in children being protected from potential abuse.’

Diana Sutton, of the NSPCC, said it was good the pilot schemes had helped protect some children; but urged the government to ‘tread cautiously’ as it expanded the initiative.

‘We remain concerned about the risk of vigilante action and sex offenders going underground. All new local schemes need close management and proper resourcing to avoid this,’ Sutton said.