I rarely write publicly or shout out myself, but this site has made it easy, and to be honest, it’s come to that point where enough’s enough.

My beef, like many others is with Tendring District Council and the part they have played in the demise of Clacton since I was born here some 50 years ago.

I appreciate it’s easy to be critical of any large organisation, and I was a Local Government Officer myself for some 15 years where I learned that most staff are professional, genuine and work hard. The problem tends to be the members.

But before I start on them, perhaps people like dear old Ron Coley of Frinton who continually writes to the Gazette to knock the staff (but at least uses his time to provoke discussion) should remember that they put up with some real crap and that a proportion of their ‘inflated’ wages he seems to continually bemoan go directly back to a badly managed state pension scheme which subsidises a good proportion of the population of this area.

Back to our TDC members. They seem to fall into groups; the old boys and girls who now have time to play ‘politics’; the ones with the egos that want ‘status’; local businessmen and women who have an interest because it can help their business and ‘standing’; the ‘professional’ committee member who simply loves his/her voice and to be on all committees (and anything else that pays) because of the ‘trip’ and the expenses; and last, but not least, the well meaning individual who starts off with genuine  intent, but quickly gets gulped up by the ‘system’ and party politics that often bare no resemblance to the needs of the community.

Due to the age profile of the area and time needed, all but the ‘business’ members are likely to be retired.

Problem: Clacton is fast going down the pan and needs serious action by all. TDC must stop sodding about and lead by example.

I recently parked on the seafront to have a wander. It was the first time in years. The state of the town and the wasted money on fruitless ‘improvements’ galvanised me into writing if only to stir up some action.

Clacton desperately needs help. TDCs’ record on this is appalling and they need to change or get out. All of them. If we can’t have some new ideas, then let’s elect new people.

What do I mean? Well let’s have a think about where we are and how we got here.

Currently we are a dying seaside town with services overloaded by the elderly and with no prospects of employment for those who want to support themselves, their family or their community. There seems to be an abundance of Oiks who ‘know their rights’, which of course includes the right to be kept financially by the employed, the right for the world to owe them a living, and the right to kick the shit out of anything that’s vaguely presentable, or anyone who stands up to them.

Our children have no chance of decent employment, and we have few attractions for visitors to generate income and further growth.

Yet Clacton still has a few natural attractions that could and should have been utilised years ago and still can be. Prime examples are the sea, the beaches and some lovely surrounding areas. It used to have a thriving town centre and economy. What happened? Well here goes:

Brooklands.. It should have been torn down when TDC (then Clacton Urban District Council) had the chance in the early 70s. They simply bungled it with their tightness. Instead of offering the going rate for plots, owners were offered a pittance. It put their backs up fuelling their will to fight kick the Council’s arse at the Public Enquiry, who ended up having to supply extra services to an area that had long outlived its’ use by date. Even in the 70s!

Why don’t we revisit Brooklands? Get the payments right, look after the residents, replace it with decent accommodation, put in a marina and/or leisure centre, and start to attract business and get tourists back.

Remember Butlins? Instead of encouraging them to make their camp no 1 in the country, they were stifled into submission by the Council and the League of Moaning Minnies.

Why is it that if anyone has a decent idea, we just give into the ‘Ooh it might make a noise’, ‘Oooh it may attract hooligans’, ‘Ooh it might make rubbish..’ ‘Oooh I came here for peace and quiet, and I might have to endure people having fun!’ brigade? Anyone read the recent Gazette where hundreds of idiots moaned about TDC making it easier for a bit of live music in some areas for 28 days a year?? I have a message for them later.

Instead of a creating or encouraging a thriving business to the Butlins site we ended up with more houses for the “I’m buying a house by the sea-side because I’ve sold mine in London for a vast profit” brigade… another bunch I have a message for later.

By the way, ever wondered how long it would take to get to Kent from here by sea rather than the QE bridge/M25? Would it be viable to have a ferry? How many companies would pay to hold annual conferences, seminars and the like in a purpose built Hotel/Marina/Conference centre looking out over the sea?

Then there’s Clactons’ ‘premier’ Hotel. Words fail me in this case, although cock-up comes to mind on the part of a Local Authority that enforces strict planning control on the one hand to stifle small business (“you can’t put that stall the”, “Ooh, a nasty tattoo parlour in a seaside town? Whatever next?”) yet allows such blatant abuse of a landmark property.

It deteriorates daily. TDC.. Slap an order on the owners to sort it once and for all. Find a way to stick a daily penalty on it. It will galvanise their actions through their wallets.

Blue Sky Thinking? I’ve actually got a bit of paper that apparently makes me clever but I have no idea what the hell that is or what idiot thought it up.

Well Clacton certainly doesn’t have a decent Leisure Centre, although full marks for the public who support it and prove a need. And the plans for the new gym look good. Who is that fool that was having a go at it the other week in the Gazette BTW??

I remember to this day the arguments over having a proper, full sized leisure centre. And what did we get? A paddling pool with no diving or lido facilities, an ill equipped sports hall that leaks when it rains, a feeble attempt at a bar and restaurant, (now closed) and nothing for sports such as squash etc

Meanwhile, the frontline staff are persistently bombarded by the ‘we know our rights’ brigade and their offspring.

There was plenty of open land on the recreation ground and a real chance to do a proper job for the Community. Then TDC happened.

And the ‘Moaning Minnies’. Whatever anyone wants to do in this town, up they pop like a bunch of constipated gannets. The Council sets an unusually high score by them when they should instead give them this message on behalf of the people they represent:

“You live in a seaside area that must have some life in it to survive. You obviously have time on your hands to complain, why don’t you use it to help your community or do us all a favour and move somewhere else or simply shut up and let us get on with it?”

And for those who move in from outside and then complain:

“If you move next door to an Indian Restaurant, don’t complain about the curry smell. Move next to a pub, don’t complain about the noise from people or music. Move next to the sea, beware, there will be leisure activities and visitors, not only that, the sea makes a noise too, especially if it’s windy. Sometimes it’s extra loud, and that’s called a storm.

There’s a Greensward and Promenade along the seafront, sometimes it will be used for entertainment, and leisure activities for the benefit of the people as a whole. If you don’t like it, go out for the day.

If you live or move next to a Holiday Camp, sometimes there’ll be late night entertainment.

You wouldn’t get away with your complaints in Scotland, they have a law called ‘Buyer Beware’

How dare any of you moan about the odd proposal for a rock concert, jazz (which I happen to hate btw), or any other kind of concert for that matter.

When brave people try to put on something with a bit of life or energy, they simply face a pile of bureaucracy and frenzied complaints. Get a life. And what the hell happened to the Radio 1 Road show for ONE DAY a year?

I’d never dream of complaining about the appalling noise, racket, and rubbish caused by the Air Show or Jazz weekend even if I can’t stand it and it causes a few hours of chaos and racket.

Instead of jumping out my skin when the jets go by or moan when I hear that same bloody jazz riff over and over, I get a beer, chill, and think how lucky I am to be alive.

If I really don’t want it, I arrange to go out for the day. You can too you clever things”

Let’s talk pubs and places to eat.

Will someone tell me where I can get a decent drink or meal without having to continually look over my shoulder for a knife wielding psycho, have to queue up, or put up with football screens while I slop down plastic steak or microwave in the bag lamb shank?

What’s more, is there anywhere I can go to catch a decent ‘live’ band?  And I mean ‘live’, not Uncle Colin and his Talking bloody Robots.

A live music pub with a restaurant attached would be ideal. I went to Prezzos the other Wednesday and couldn’t get in on a cold wintry night. See what I mean?

TDC continually give a hard time to anyone who wants to earn an honest living and generate a bit of interest in the area. Anyone who has got a bona-fide business seems to have to deal with more than their fair share of obstacles. (“Sorry Sir, you’ll have to move that display of yours because an electric buggy can’t get by on the pavement”, “Sorry Madam you’ve got the wrong colour pink on your sign which isn’t in keeping with a seaside”, “A Tattoo Parlour in a seaside resort? We can’t have that, whatever next?”

“Park outside your business? We’ll slap a parking ticket on you so we can raise more revenue…” Encourage you to start a little business by relaxing planning, and subsidising the business rates for the first couple of years? Who do you think you are, Tesco?”

I’ll get onto parking later.

I suspect most reasonable people would feel that unless a business isn’t blatantly taking the piss or endangering someone, leave them alone. In fact use the resources you would have used on zealous enforcement to encourage them. Subsidise their rates for the first year. You’ll get your money back ten fold.

Can we have a few stalls on the seafront during the Summer? What about encouraging people to open bars along the lower prom so we can have a walk and a drink along the way on those warm wet Summer evenings. The hottest summer in 2007? Bring it on, we could be ready.

And what about the clubs and pubs who have to surmount endless objections to stay open a little later in order to simply compete with businesses out of the area. Even I used to go out of Clacton years ago to get a late night drink, and nothing’s changed. “Oh dear, we might have to employ an extra policeman”. Says Mr Chief Constable.. “We’d much rather you were tucked up in your beds by 9pm you naughty lot”.

Mr Chief Constable, perhaps you could pay the extra policeman a bit extra so he doesn’t go charging off blue lighting at breakneck speeds along the seafront to get away from Clacton at closing time. You could pass a proportion of the cost to the businesses. You do for football matches.

“Oh deary me” says Mr Chief Constable, “We object on the grounds that there may be people having fun, singing loudly or even dancing, which means we’ll have to pull our Traffic Police and do some real work, like providing a high profile to deter the oiks. If we do that we’d only encourage people to come into the town on a regular basis, and that would never do!!”

By the way, has anyone ever noticed that when you go on a reasonably long trip, say 300+ miles, it’s rare to see Police cars outside of Weeley roundabout? And, when you come back to Clacton they seem to be everywhere?

Why do friends who come to stay routinely mention the Police presence on roundabouts and junctions?

I mentioned driving. I use the ‘by-pass’ regularly. And every day one of our many elderly residents seems to take a dip into the real world outside of Clacton (bless ‘em).

I do appreciate that 45mph is indeed a breakneck speed when you’re used to doing 25mph, but some of us don’t have all the time in the world and have to work for a living.

Every day the white knuckles under the flat cap strain to pull themselves over the steering wheel so they can stare daggers if you dare pass them at 50 or 60. They’re a bloody nightmare. They are frustrating to everyone else on the road and incredibly dangerous. I put them in the same league as someone who’s had a drink. Yet do we do something about them??

Just to end their day on a high when they get home, they have a lovely time writing to the Gazette to complain about ‘young tearaways driving at breakneck speeds of up to 60mph along this lovely new road’.

Lovely? Frankly, if an employer had made the decision to build this road as a single carriageway for staff, they would have been facing charges of Corporate Manslaughter by now. Let’s get it made dual asap, all the way to Suicide Roundabout at Frating.

Back to the improvements to Clacton Town Centre. When are we going to pedestrianise Pier Avenue? Lets double the money and cover it in too. When it rains we can have entertainment for the day trippers and holiday makers. Indeed, we could have it all year ‘round.

Let’s encourage the Charity Shops to move out to the edges of town, discourage the banks and building societies from remaining by increasing their business rates. Then let’s offer reductions to new small businesses. We should target it to happen in the next 10 years.

There should be live street entertainment and decent market stalls every day during the Summer, at weekends the whole year ‘round, and on Public Holidays. Generally shops should be encouraged to stay open later whenever they want, but particularly in the Summer months.

Let’s now pretend it’s all happened and I want to come into town, where do I park?

Did anyone read Harry Shearing of TDCs’ recent comments over the Bread Baskets’ plight on parking in the High Street reported in the Gazette? His comments were appalling, and an insight into just how the Council and its’ minions feel about business in this area.

As ‘Portfolio Holder for Technical Services’, (whatever that is) he demonstrated a complete inability to grasp the importance of business to the area. I’ve no doubt he had something to do with the recruitment and training of his wardens. Any bets that they’re set targets to boost the failing coffers?

I have no connection whatsoever with this business and have never shopped there, but then my family haven’t shopped anywhere in Clacton for at least 10 years, simply because there is no parking. And of course, most good businesses have been driven out anyway.

Well Mr. Shearing… the reason people have to park illegally in this town is because the Council have continually and consistently failed to provide adequate facilities for the needs of a successful town centre for many years.

The one and only attempt resulted in the abysmal Meccano structure in Carnarvon Rd which remains unused to this very day. Do the idiots that proposed and backed it still work there?

Next up of course is the ‘Let’s sell off our sea-front car park assets to developers to build flats and more retirement homes’, and ‘Let’s charge for parking on the seafront, without giving a monkeys for the locals or their opinions’ scandal.

Most people I know are prepared to pay for parking. It’s what happens nowadays. I’d even be prepared to pay outside the town and bus in if there was a decent ‘Park ‘n Ride’. (What about those sea front car parks?) Try Ipswich or Norwich, and see what I mean. TDC should be making an active effort to find and free up land for the purpose.

By the way, talking of land, is it me or are the only plans that get passed for housing retirement flats, bungalows, or for housing associations nowadays?? What about our youngsters?

There should be a policy of providing starter and family homes only, effective immediately for the next 10 years.

Well this wasn’t supposed to turn into quite such a long diatribe, but having read it thru, I’m even more convinced that successive Councillors have some explaining to do, and the existing ones need to get themselves sorted or get themselves out.

As a general comment, all I ever see them do is make petty attempts at point scoring against each other in the Gazette instead of working for the good of the community they allegedly represent. Mr Editor.. can’t you ban them from there, and leave space for the locals?

I have three grown up children, they’ve all moved away with their partners to get a life. I don’t blame any of them, and that’s appalling. I may still yet to retire. Ironic?

We can do something, and a start would be to get a healthy discussion going. If this doesn’t do the trick, we really are buggared.

Using Tendring.NET and the www we can openly discuss the points in this article. Go on, give it a go. You may not share my views. I actually don’t care, because at least I’ll have started something.

Derek Crepitt

Editors Note:  Valid points and concerns are raise in this diatribe we are happy to let everyone comment to Derek at www.tendring.co.uk in the forums or on his blog.