May 15, 2002

PROTEST: Here to stay - the campaigners at their treasured Priory Park remind the council of their determination to stop destruction of part of the park

The voice that won't fade away

Many groups still oppose Southend Council/s project to alleviate traffic problems round Priory Park.

Various pressure groups linked hands last Wednesday along the proposed road route in a show of opposition.

Parklife campaigner Shaun Qureshi said the event was to make people's voices heard again.

He added: "We want to prove once again that we are not the noisy minority.

"The council would like to see the issue quietly fade away, but we will not let it."

The public display of opposition comes hot on the heels of seven candidates standing on the Priory Park issue in the local elections.

IN several cases the campaigners finished ahead of at least one of the established parties, and in two cases running very close behind the winning candidates.

Peter Walker, chairman of the Priory Park Preservation Society (PPPS), said the best result came in St Laurence ward, where Adrian Sinclair-McCall was only 135 votes behind the Tory candidate.

He added: "The airport was the key issue here and it is quite clear that our good showing was linked to the fact that people do not want to see the runway extended and the church moved."

Despite the Tories being returned to power, the PPPS claim the local party cannot say it has the mandate to go ahead with the road widening scheme.