LOCAL ISSUES

decrease in business rate income. That is a significant amount of money, which in turn has resulted in the Labourled Council being forced to make cuts to some of the key public services. We also see the impact through the dereliction of our city's high street and the additional 5,000 people in Southend who have found themselves out of employment.

Do these attacks effect our economy?

Some of them are obvious, COVID, and the cost of living crisis caused by the war in Ukraine are just two International crises that have seen damaging effects locally as well. Others however, are far more subtle. The dramatic increases in Parking charges over the last four years have scared off many people from coming to Southend choosing instead to go to other seaside resorts such as Clacton or Canvey due to their cheaper parking options. The yearon-year high increases in Council Tax and charges mean less money in people's pockets, and the publicly subsidised businesses scattered throughout the city undermine competition and hurt our local businesses, which simply cannot compete with a publicly subsidised competition. This is all before we look at the lack of investment in our High Street, in community safety and in our core infrastructure which at times does not make Southend an attractive place to visit or do business.

We should help businesses

However, as I said at the beginning of this article I don't want to bash our economy. We have so much to offer here in Southend. An international airport, 2 train lines into London, gigabit broadband, a thriving cultural scene, and of course our wonderful seafront.

So what can we do to take advantage of these assets? Firstly, I think a holistic review is needed. Often in Southend Council, we see work being done in silos, the highways department talks to itself, the planning department talks to itself, and the economic recovery department talks to itself. Not since 2010 has there been a holistic, step back and look at the big picture, review of Southend and its economy. This means that decisions are being made based on guesses and piecemeal solutions. This has created problems far beyond economic ones and it is something that must be resolved.

On top of this we need to start selling Southend, not just as a place to visit but as a place to do business, thrive, and of course, succeed. But of course, none of this matters until Southend Council is able to understand that businesses are not the enemy, but rather part of the solution. We can't keep treating businesses and residents as cash cows, the loss of £2m in business rates is a tribute to that.

Instead, we should help businesses thrive because when they do jobs are created, investment in our city comes pouring in and through business rate retention our public services have more money to thrive.

I don't pretend to be a great economist, but i know that the current trajectory isn't sustainable long term. As always I am interested in hearing your views and ideas by email at cllrnelson@southend.gov.uk.