Oracle on-Sea December 2018

February 2018 December 2018

Your all-seeing local

OR CLE

Leigh, Chalkwell, Thorpe Bay, Southchurch, Westcliff & the Garrison Southend Conservation & Shoeburyness Area

WIN! A pair of tickets for Fastlove George Michael tribute at Cliffs

COUNCIL! Our vibrant High Street LOCAL ISSUES! Development of Southend Seafront

LIFE SHOULDN’T BE PAINFUL!

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December 2018

ORACLE

WELCOME

Oracle continues to focus on Southend’s problems in and around the High Street and Seafront, keeping the issue in the public eye. I would like to remind all residents to please think of the local businesses in Southend who rely on our trade to survive, especially during this Christmas period. We all know the expense of parking is a problem, but these businesses still need our support.

The Council have issued a statement stating that every Thursday, from 4pm and all-day Sunday there will be free parking in 10 of the council run car parks across Southend’s town centre, until the end of December.

Paul Thompson, ex Chair of Southend Seafront Traders Association and former director of Southend BID, shares his knowledge of the Seaway Car Park and his thoughts on how the loss of this carpark could affect the town.

For this month’s competition, for all those George Michael fans, win a pair of tickets to see ‘Fastlove’ A Tribute to George Michael on Thursday, 17 January at the Cliffs Pavilion. This is a spellbinding experience you don’t want to miss. You’ll be getting up (to get down) to all your favourite songs: Careless Whisper, Freedom, Faith, Father Figure, Outside, Jesus To A Child and many more. For more details www.thecliffspavilion.co.uk To enter the Oracle/Fastlove competition please either email info@oraclepublications.co.uk or visit the competition page on Oracle’s website and leave your name and contact details. Alternatively, for those of you who would prefer, we still accept competition entries by post to Oracle’s office address, please see below for address details.

Merry Christmas to you all and thank you for your continued support.

Emma Wynne-Morgan Publisher

01702 393838

Oracle House, 11 Clarence Road, Southend-on-Sea, Essex SS1 1AN www.oraclepublications.co.uk info@oraclepublications.co.uk Oracle Publications and Creative Media @oracle_essex Printed by Printwize Ltd, Witham CM8 3BN – 01376 500900

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ARC HITECTURAL I R O N M O N G E RY

DOOR FURNITURE

LOCKS AND SECURITY CABINET FITTINGS

SWITCHES AND SOCKETS

CONTENTS

FRONT DOOR FURNITURE

Development of Southend Seafront 9/10 Local Issues by Paul Thompson

Our vibrant High Street

16

Council by Cllr. Martin Terry

Look a million dollars this Christmas 22 Salon advice by Craig Smith

WINDOW FITTINGS

NUMBERS AND SIGNS HINGES

TEL: 01702 716171 www. GROVEFITTINGS .co.uk EMAIL: lee@grovefittings.co.uk

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Stop Doorstep Crime

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Council news

Grove Fittings October 2013.indd 1

24/09/2013 16:27

Garlic-infused slow-roast pork shoulder with roasted apples.

28 Recipe by Judy Barden

Discovering organic vegan wine Health by Genesis Ali

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Brainbox 38 What’s On 40 Useful Number’s 44 Advertiser Directory 46

All rights reserved. No part of Oracle Publications UK

Ltdrights mayreserved. be reproduced usedPublications in any form bymay anybe All No part oforOracle UKor Ltd means either wholly orform in part prior permission reproduced or used in any or bywithout any means either wholly or in of the publisher.

Oracle Publications UK Ltd is editorially part without prior permission of the publisher. Oracle Publications UK Ltd is editoriallyand autonomous and the opinions expressed are not of those autonomous the opinions expressed are not those of the publisher unless stated. the publisher unlessexpressly expressly stated.

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December 2018

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December 2018

LOCAL ISSUES

Development of Southend Seafront

In 2002 I switched from my city job to running a business on Southend Seafront.

My family had previously run businesses on the seafront in the late 70’s so the concept was not entirely new to me. Almost 17 years on, I’m still running my business. During this time I have chaired the Seafront Traders Association and had a stint as a Director of the Southend BID. I feel passionately about the Seafront and believe it makes a considerable contribution to Southend’s economy. The council’s proposed restaurant/ cinema development on Seaway car park represents a critical threat to tourism in Southend, so when invited by the Oracle to write an article for them I felt compelled to lay out the truth about this development.

Located behind the Seafront, the strategic importance of Seaway car park’s 661 spaces is vital to the town’s tourism economy. The A127 and A13 converge at Victoria Circus, following Queensway through the underpass takes visitors directly to the entrance of Seaway where they can park easily and conveniently.

Today 85% of Southend’s tourists arrive by car. As residents, you know when the sun is out there is a major shortage of car parking spaces around the Seafront area. The lack of parking capacity creates major congestion as cars circle round and around hunting for non existent spaces. Seaway is full by 1pm on busy days, the traffic queues up, the roundabout grinds to a halt and congestion builds across the whole town and down the A127 past Basildon.

December 2018

Resultant pollution and increased journey times are detrimental to the town’s economy.

Local residents avoid the Seafront and High St when it’s hot for fear of getting stuck in traffic.

Visitors choose not to return as it can take hours to get into the town and find a parking space. More parking spaces are desperately needed to cater for population growth and to allow tourism and our economy to grow.

Development on Seaway

A viable development on Seaway must satisfy the seafront’s parking needs (661 spaces), as well as ‘consuming its own smoke’ in terms of providing spaces needed for the demand created by the development itself. In short, anything less than 1000 spaces would cause congestion and gridlock on sunny days damaging the town and it’s economy.

The development comprises a 1370 seat multi screen cinema, 10 restaurants, an 80 bedroom hotel, bowling alley and an amusement centre. In fact the make up and mix of leisure and restaurants is very similar to that in the Festival Leisure Park at Basildon. Festival Leisure has over 2000 parking spaces. (And no Seafront) SBC agreed to and signed a contract with the developer to include a minimum of only 480 spaces in the development, resulting devastatingly in a loss of 181 spaces. Call it commercial naivety or plain stupidity but that was what was agreed and it falls far short of the 1000 spaces needed.

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The High St will not escape the ill effects of the development. The seafront drives footfall to the shops so anything that hurts the seafront will in turn affect High St footfall. The ‘restaurant

quarter’ and Odeon at the north of the town will also suffer. The sector is struggling nationally, the likes of Prezzo, Jamie Oliver, Strada and Gourmet Burger all in trouble.

Demand is simply not there for more eateries in the town. Restaurants will close, some will relocate to the new development. Can the Odeon survive? Jobs will go, businesses close and SBC will lose out on rates, as charity shops fill the voids. Frankie & Benny’s is the first to close from the top of the town, having signed up to Seaway. Squatters and other non desirables have already moved in!

Seaway car park The town’s largest car park, Seaway, is a significant revenue generator and asset which in theory is owned by the residents of Southend. Thus I believe the financial terms of this deal should be in the public domain. SBC thinks otherwise, having kept these details hidden from all but a handful of officers and councillors. Why? Instead of putting the site out to tender on the open market, SBC sold the Seaway lease privately to an out of town developer for the premium of £1. Three years on SBC bought the Gas Works site (half the size of Seaway) to replace the car parking that would be lost to the Seaway development for £9.5mn!

Under the agreement SBC’s rent will be £282k p/a for the Seaway site (comprising the car park, the Rossi factory and the neighbouring house in Herbert Grove). However the car park took £607k this year, the Rossi factory and house have a market rent value of £67k and 13kp/a. This puts the site’s current gross revenue at £687k p/a. The tax payer will be considerably out of pocket if the development comes to fruition.

SBC’s claim they are seeking a ‘more stable’ income from rent and rates as opposed to

parking revenue pales into insignificance as revenue from Seaway has increased by a staggering 75% in the last 7 years. Last time I looked commercial rents have plummeted and the chancellor had just cut retail business rates by a third. SBC’s claims fail to account for the displacement of jobs and rates as businesses close in the top of the town due to the new development.

In November 2014 the then new leader of the council, cllr Ron Woodley was advised by senior council officers to sign this agreement.

The 4 year deal was signed, with an expiry date of 10th Dec 2018. Turnstone Estates has failed to achieve planning permission for the development within this timeframe, and thus SBC can walk away from this deal after 10Dec18.

I met Ron Woodley for a coffee last week, he agreed that after the 10th Dec deadline, SBC should put the whole development under full review.

Why not ask your local councillors if they also support SBC going back to the drawing board on the Seaway development?

by Paul Thompson PaulTho32949139 Oracle welcomes thoughts from all sides as balance is very important. Write your letter in the comment section located under the relevant article on our website. oraclepublications.co.uk #SaveSouthend

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December 2018

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December 2018

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COUNCIL

Our vibrant High Street At the heart of a thriving town like Southendon-Sea you need a vibrant high street.

Businesses and experts representing the retail sector say the primary barrier to footfall is excessive parking charges, yet the current administration raised them, and during this year’s budget cycle, a proposal changing rates was pushed through on a named vote, deleting the 1, 3 and 5-hour bands. These changes were objected to at Scrutiny Committee, as the opposition knew that these proposals would cause serious problems to the businesses in the high street, as residents would have to pay for 2 hours to pop to the bank or optician for example, but the administration responded that they were not putting up charges. It was further exacerbated by listing this change as “budget saving” when it was actually a £700,000 revenue generating item.

Budget amendments This decision contrasted with the budget amendment to reduce parking charges and look at affordable borough-wide permit schemes, enabling residents to park cheaply in our car parks. We also recognise the need for free short stay click and collect bays, as they are a strategic part of contemporary shopping.

There was also a budget amendment to have police support officers patrol the high street and deter rough sleepers and beggars, which was also voted down. Unfortunately, due to this, we lost at least six months of not having those officers patrolling the high street.

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Therefore, our high street has problems with rough sleepers and aggressive beggars, which is unnerving for many and frankly undesirable for any town centre. We know that London Boroughs send “difficult” residents to Southend, as it has been publicised in the media. We have challenged Officers and the Administration to deal with the source of the problem, but this has fallen on deaf ears.

Landlords There are poor-quality landlords taking in people with many problems who end up wandering around the high street, adding to the problems.

The Opposition attempted to obtain a landlords licensing scheme to control this situation, but it was rejected by the current administration.

High streets are suffering with an annual decline of around 5% due to online shopping, so it is not helpful when a Council is incapable of strategic thinking making it a difficult situation for retailers and the high street.

by Cllr Martin Terry Independent Councillor for Thorpe Ward

Oracle welcomes thoughts from all sides as balance is very important. Write your letter in the comment section located

under the relevant article on our website. oraclepublications.co.uk #SaveSouthend

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December 2018

Get ready for winter As the leaves begin to fall, before we know it, winter will be upon us.

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BEAUTY

Look a million dollars this Christmas

When the Christmas lights go on in Southend High Street, you know that the festive season is upon us - and not only that, with it comes a round of social engagements that keep going through to the New Year.

Naturally, the hectic social calendar is simply a series of great excuses to dress up and wear glamorous make-up. Whether you’re celebrating with friends, getting ready for the office party or, let’s be honest here, trying to outdo your brother’s missus at a family do, here are my hair and beauty tips for looking a million dollars this Christmas…

Look amazing this Christmas December is definitely the ideal time to use charcoal eyeliner or some sparkly eyeshadow for some genuine glitz and glamour. The key is to blend - use a softer colour in the corner of your eye and add the darker shades as you work your way out.

Don’t neglect your hair. The constant switching between the cold outside to warm, hated or air-conditioned indoor environments can dry your hair out. So, make sure you use moisturising conditioner and, at least once a week, apply a deep-condition hair mask for extra shine.

The cold of Winter has a remarkable effect on your summer tan. Maintain that natural glow by applying a gradual fake tan to slowly build the colour for a natural finish. This will give you a sun-kissed look on the dancefloor and in the obligatory group photos at parties.

Talking of photos. If you’re a bit of a coffee fiend and can’t help but have a cheeky peppermint mocha or gingerbread latte every morning, make sure you use whitening toothpaste to keep the stains at bay.

A rather delicious way to avoid chapped winter lips is to exfoliate them with a simple mix of honey and brown sugar. Rub the mixture on your lips for a natural way to keep your lips soft and Christmas kissable.

Choosing a hairstyle Now, when it comes to choosing a hairstyle to rock your festive shindig, each season has its own trends and, in some cases, a mind-boggling number of different, on-trend looks. Here at Grateful Heads, we think you can’t really go wrong with tumbling tousled curls. Heated rollers are an easy way of achieving this classic look, and they can be worn while you wrap your Christmas presents for easy multitasking!

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December 2018

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COUNCIL

Stop Doorstep Crime Most of us will know a victim of doorstep crime. We may even have fallen victim ourselves. Rogue traders are criminals. They appear to be professional tradespeople, using glossy leaflets, websites and well presented vehicles to portray a legitimate business but these are used to con people.

Often the addresses on the leaflets are bogus and their phone numbers are unobtainable.

and often unfinished. The victim will probably have no way of contacting the trader to return to complete the work or to be able to seek redress. Rogue traders present an increasing threat to our communities, often leaving victims severely distressed and hugely out of pocket.

Doorstep rogue traders will target the elderly and vulnerable, worrying them about work they say is needed to their property. Often they will point out a minor problem and convince the resident that the issue needs to be addressed urgently. The most common type of services they offer are driveaway cleaning, tree maintenance and general property repairs.

Remember, it is your doorstep, do not let these people bully their way into your home.

If you’re not sure who’s at your door you don’t have to open it, genuine callers will make an appointment to come back at a later date or will be happy to wait while you check that they are who they say they are.

How it works These tradesmen can be extremely persuasive and determined, cajoling their victim into agreeing to unnecessary work at hugely inflated prices without providing any guarantees or legally required documentation.

They will seemingly offer big discounts for cash and will demand payment in advance, often coercing and accompanying the victim to the nearest cash point.

What can be done

If you are considering employing a tradesman, search from a reputable source such as the Buy with Confidence scheme which is the only approved scheme operated by Trading Standards. They can be contacted either by calling 03454 040506 or by visiting www. buywithconfidence.org.uk You can report doorstep crime by calling Trading Standards via Citizens Advice on 03454 040506 or if you feel threatened, call the Police on 101.

The work is normally of a very poor standard 24

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FOOD

Garlic-infused slow-roast Pork Shoulder with roasted Apples

This cut of pork takes quite a long time to cook but well worth it and the roasted apples make a nice change from apple sauce. Use the lovely juices to make your gravy and put the crackling under the grill to puff up.

Enjoy!

Cover the whole thing loosely with foil and cook for 3-3 ½ hours. About 30 minutes before the pork is ready, make a shallow cut around the waist of each apple and tuck them round the pork. Remove the foil and continue roasting for about 30 minutes or until tender.

Ingredients:

Remove the tin from the oven and transfer the pork and apples to a carving dish. Remove the skin from the pork, cut into strips and place on a baking tray (put the grill on to high). Cover the pork with foil and leave to rest.

11 tbsp sea salt flakes ½ tbsp garlic granules 2 x 1.2kg boneless pork shoulder joints 1 onion, sliced 3 bay leaves 1 head of garlic, halved horizontally 300ml chicken stock 8 small dessert apples (cox’s) 1 heaped tbsp plain flour Preheat the oven to 200/fan 180/gas 6. Mix the salt, garlic granules and ½ tbsp of ground black pepper in a bowl and rub all over the pork joints. Scatter the onion and bay leaves in a large roasting tin and place the joints on top.

Add the halved garlic, cut side down and pour the stock round the meat.

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Strain the juices from the pan pressing as much soft onion and garlic through as you can. Skim off the fat and use back in the roasting tin with.

Place on the hob add the flour and heat until smooth. Gradually blend in the strained juices, bring to the boil and simmer until thickened.

Put the skin under the grill and watch for 3-4 minutes to make the crackling.

Slice the meat and serve with the roasted apples, crackling and sauce.

Serves 8

by t Next month: Smoked Haddock and wild mushroom tray bake

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December 2018

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HEALTH

Discovering organic vegan wine You might think all wine is vegan as it’s made from grapes. Well it may surprise you to learn that is not always the case. The process is a bit more complicated than that. As we all know wine is essentially fermented grape juice. Yeasts, either natural or cultured, convert the grape juice sugars into alcohol.

earth, and bentonite and kaolin clays as “fining” agents or produce unfiltered and unfined (“raw”) wines.

Now we have defined what vegan organic wine is, lets talk about the benefits of drinking it as opposed to the average bottle of wine.

Defining Organic

1. Less harmful chemicals –no use of artificial and synthetic chemicals, herbicides or pesticides

So, lets define ‘organic’ in terms of wine. Organic wines are made without herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers and genetically modified seeds.

Organic wines also typically avoid the use of added sulphur in bottling. The benefit of this is a reduced risk of getting a blotchy complexion or more severe reaction. This may be caused by an allergy to preservatives.

2. Higher levels of Resveratrol – an antioxidant found to be anti-ageing, promote heart health, protect the brain

Defining Vegan Let’s move on to defining ‘vegan’ in terms of wine. The reason that all wines are not vegan or even vegetarian-friendly has to do with how the wine is clarified and a process called ‘fining’. Traditionally, some wineries will use animal proteins such as casein (a milk protein), albumin (egg whites), gelatine (animal protein) and isinglass (fish bladder protein) to remove impurities and sediment from wines. Vegan wineries instead use charcoal, diatomaceous

34

3. Lower levels of sulphites – less likely to cause allergic reaction 4. Less impact on the environment – not using artificial chemicals or animal by-products means less harm to the ecosystem 5. Above all, tastes better If you would like to learn more about organic vegan alcohol, then pop into the store for a tasting session. We also stock organic vegan beer, vodka and gin. If you don’t drink alcohol, that’s fine come try our non-alcoholic gin.

by Genesis Ali Nutritionist at V Health Thorpe Bay

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December 2018

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December 2018

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WHAT’S ON ADVENTURE WONDERLAND

DATE Everyday from 1st-24th December TIME Varied times VENUE Adventure Island, Southend-on-Sea, SS1 1EE To obtain the best value please allow for a four hour stay, although many guests stay for the whole day.

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CAROLS FOR CHRISTMAS DATE 8th December 2018 TIME 13:00 - 17:00 VENUE Royals Shopping Centre, Southend High Street Local choirs performing inside the Royals throughout December.

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FATHER CHRISTMAS AT PRITTLEWELL PRIORY DATE

8th December 2018

TIME 10:00 - 16:00

Don’t miss your opportunity to meet Father Christmas at Prittlewell Priory on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th December! For one weekend only, Father Christmas will be in the magical setting of Prittlewell Priory to greet our younger visitors, but don’t forget to book in advance.

SOUTHCHURCH VILLAGE FRIENDS WI WINTER WONDERS DATE 10th December 2018 TIME 19:30 VENUE The Methodist Church Hall, The Broadway, Thorpe Bay Christmas Crafts.

WI GREAT WAKERING EVENING MEETING DATE 17th December 2018 TIME 20:00 VENUE St Nicholas Church, Gt Wakering, SS3 0AH Carol Service at St Nicholas Church, Gt Wakering and afterwards at The Memorial Hall for mince pies etc.

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MUSIC IN THE PARK DATE 23rd December 2018 TIME 14:00 - 15:00 VENUE Priory Park, Victoria Avenue, Southend Bandstand

MUSIC IN THE PARK TIME 14:00 - 15:00 DATE 1st January 2019 VENUE Priory Park, Victoria Avenue, Southend Bandstand

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December 2018

Your recycling and waste collection day will change over Christmas and New Year.

Revised Christmas and New Year Collection Days Normal collection day

Revised collection day

Tuesday 25th December

Thursday 27th December

Wednesday 26th December

Friday 28th December

Thursday 27th December

Saturday 29th December

Friday 28th December

Monday 31st December

Tuesday 1st January

Wednesday 2nd January

Wednesday 2nd January

Thursday 3rd January

Thursday 3rd January

Friday 4th January

Friday 4th January

Saturday 5th January

Remember!

Please put the right thing in the right bag, box or bin!

Between the 7th and 19th January 2019, we’ll collect your real Christmas trees for recycling. Please place alongside your other recycling on your collection day. Remember to remove all decorations and tinsel.

For more information on what to do with cards, wrapping paper and additional recycling please visit our website southend.gov.uk/recycling Thank you!

Please put everything out by 7am. Collections continue until 6pm.

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