Jaywick: Spending on roads is "a waste of money" (From Clacton and Frinton Gazette)

Jaywick: Spending on roads is "a waste of money"

2:41pm Wednesday 2nd September 2009

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CAMPAIGNERS hopes for better roads have been dashed after the coastal regenartion leader branded them “a bit of a waste of money”.

Lord Hanningfield, who is leading coastal regeneration, said: “Jaywick has had quite a lot of investment, but perhaps it has not been the right kind of investment.

“We have spent something like £7 million over seven years just tarting it up a bit and perhaps we should be spending in future on the longer term.

“What is the point in spending £7 million on potholes? It could be spent on houses.”

In a recent interview, Mr Hanningfield also said that the road were so narrow and poorly made there there was no realistic hope to getting them into a good condition and protecting them from flooding.

But he said “We are doing little bits here and there”, on the roads.

Jaywick resident Mary Puddick, who has campaigned for a programme of improvements to unmade roads in the seaside town, was among those disappointed after an Essex leader said he did not plan to invest in sorting out the towns roads.

Mrs Puddick, who helped lead the former Jaywick Sands Freeholders’ Association (JSFA), which owned many of the roads said Mr Hanningfield's attitude was “disgusting”.

She said: “It is their moral duty to at least make it so people can walk along properly.

“If [Lord Hanningfield] wanted to do it there are ways, but he just doesn't want to – that is what people feel.”

The JSFA broke up in March this year, hoping that the move would force Essex County Council to take action on around 28 unmade roads in the Brooklands area.

But they have said there is no cash to deal with the road improvements.

Mrs Puddick claimed that members of the Jaywick Strategic Leadership Group, which is leading a regeneration programme in the town, had asked representatives from JSFA for the organisation's money.

They hoped that cash, which is currently held in a trust, could be used to help pay for road improvements.

But they were turned down by the JSFA, which said it was inappropriate for the fund to be used for the works.

Michael Page, a spokesman for Essex County Council, could not confirm details of the meeting with the JSFA.

He said: “The Jaywick Strategic Leadership Group is committed to working with the local community to regenerate the area.

“We have been talking to local groups about how we can improve private roads, but it is too early to go into any further details at this stage.”

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