Southend Central Area Action Plan (SCAAP) - Revised Proposed Submission 2016

Object

Representation ID: 2709

Received: 13/12/2016

Respondent: East Anglia Pubs Co

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? No

5. The document does not comply with the council's Statement of Community Involvement.
A -The invitations sent out to businesses in Southend to visit the consultation public workshops contained incorrect dates for the meetings. As a result I missed the 2 sessions that were for businesses and was not able to have my say.
"Have your say on future development of Southend's town centre and central seafront ''
Please see 2 attached letters showing the workshops on 21 st Jan 10am to 1230pm, and 6 pm to 830 pm.
The actual workshops for businesses were on 20th Jan 3pm to 4pm and 21st jan 8am to 9am.
B - This submission form downloadable from the council's website is in a pdf format which can't be edited. Thus many businesses/ residents have not been able to email their representations to the council.
Responses can also be made using the Representation Form and emailed to ldf@southend.gov.uk.
C - The on line submission process is very difficult to navigate. It is time consuming and not at all user friendly, and does not allow for attachments to be submitted. Due to this many businesses/ residents wanting to submit an online representation would simply give up.

Object

Representation ID: 2710

Received: 13/12/2016

Respondent: East Anglia Pubs Co

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

UNSOUND Positively Prepared
The SCAAP document does not recognise the need for more parking spaces in the central area and fails to implement a policy to increase parking capacity particularly in the south central area (seafront). This is despite the Local Transport Plan3 stating demand for parking in the central area will increase by 25% in the next 4 years.

If adopted the transport section of the SCAAP will result in increased congestion and journey times.

Object

Representation ID: 2711

Received: 13/12/2016

Respondent: East Anglia Pubs Co

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Justified
I object to the use of the Car Parking Study produced by Steer Davies Gleave as it is flawed and based on Car parking surveys carried out in bad weather and on inaccurate, unreliable data from the council's VMS system. The parking report and surveys have underestimated the parking stock, particularly in the central area to the south of railway, and thus has underestimated the demand for spaces from visitors to the seafront. The surveys have been predominantly focused on the High Street thus the parking situation & demand to the south of the railway line has been misrepresented even though the southern area has been identified as the area which experiences the greatest pressure on its parking supply. The report relies on over 99% of data from the VMS system which is inaccurate and unreliable.

The SCAAP document and its Car Parking Survey fails to recognise that on many busy days the current car park network can't cope with demand

Object

Representation ID: 2712

Received: 13/12/2016

Respondent: East Anglia Pubs Co

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Effective
The opportunity sites identified within the SCAAP would represent major developments which are not deliverable in 4 years.

Object

Representation ID: 2713

Received: 13/12/2016

Respondent: East Anglia Pubs Co

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Consistent with National Policy
Policy DS5, by failing to deliver sufficient parking capacity, and by introducing sustainable transport measures will create congestion and have a major negative impact on my business. Customer by car will not be able to access and park in the central area and thus will not be able to or will make the choice not to visit the central area. The NPPF is clear that policies should contribute to building a strong responsive and competitive economy. The provision of infrastructure is vital to this and the plan should proactively meet the development demands of business. This plan will deter from economic growth as it does not allow for the growth in visitor numbers by car.

The government recognises that different policies and measures will be required in different communities and opportunities to maximise sustainable transport solutions will vary. Due to large numbers of visitors coming to Southend by car and due to its geographical location and access routes measures such as bus lanes and cycle routes only add to congestion. The public transport system is not of a high quality and is unsuitable for families wishing to visit Southend from outside the area.