I moved to South Woodham Ferrers thirty eight years ago this month. I love it here and have no plans to move, unless the Omaze draw comes through.

Since 1988, The Curlew pub on Gandalfs Ride has been my ‘local’ and in true ‘use it or lose it‘ style, I have frequented it through a dozen or so landlords.

Sometimes, as I wander home, late in the evening, I stop and soak in in the silence.

Occasionally I’ll hear the train pass through the fen, or the last of the Heathrow flights, but often it’s just… silence.

This is a great place to live!

Chelmsford City Council is holding a Full Council meeting this evening (July 17th) and the agenda shows a Motion to Council submitted by Councillor Mike Steel, Member for Broomfield and the Walthams.

It was a non-political Motion, asking that the health authorities work even more closely with the City Council to utilise funds available from developers to provide more, much needed, health facilities.

However the Administration wanted to politicise the Motion, and so Mike has sadly had to withdraw it.

Given that today’s King’s Speech will undoubtedly feature planning as a key item, it is essential that our residents get the much-needed infrastructure that is necessary if new homes are to be built.

Here is our press release.

“Liberal Democrat Leader Cllr Stephen Robinson attempted to wreck Cllr Mike Steel’s Motion to Chelmsford City Council Meeting this evening by adding political statements to Mike’s original wording. Mike is very disappointed at this, as his Motion was entirely non-political and simply trying to get the local Health authorities to work more closely with the City’s excellent planners to increase the health facilities for our residents. Mike is keen to progress what we as City Council can do, here and now, to increase primary care facilities, rather than just revert to the usual political blame game.

Although it is not possible for the City Council to directly dictate the provision of new doctors’ and dentists‘ surgeries, Members can and do ensure that such infrastructure is included in all the major planning applications (for example, at the new Beaulieu development) but Mike’s Motion went beyond that to facilitate and encourage the health service to set up such surgeries.

Cllr Steel has reluctantly withdrawn his Motion to Council to stop political statements spoiling what was a genuine cross-party attempt to improve health facilities in Chelmsford, but will continue to fight for these in his role as both a City and County Councillor.”

So, we find ourselves looking at a new political landscape after a General Election that was, for any Conservative, and by any measure, painful.

It would have been naïve of any Conservative to have expected anything but a defeat; but the extent of Thursday’s losses were perhaps more punishing than any of us had feared.

The extent of those losses were, I suspect, fuelled in part by protest votes garnered by Reform candidates. The Reform candidate for our constituency hailed from Frinton and admitted at our local hustings that she had never visited our town before the election was called.

Nor had ‘our’ Labour candidate for that matter.

It was, however, reassuring to see Sir John Whittingdale returned to parliament, albeit with a much reduced majority. He’s served our constituency – and the nation in his various Cabinet roles – well for many years. I frequently support his local constituents’ surgeries at Club Woodham and many residents speak highly of the support he’s provided them.

Elsewhere, I was saddened to see Vicky Ford lose her Chelmsford seat. Vicky has worked tirelessly for Chelmsford, securing funding for the Army & Navy replacement and the new railway station at Beaulieu.

I wish Marie Goldman well in her new role. Vicky Ford will be a tough act to follow; and it’s fair to say that meetings of  Chelmsford City Council and Essex County Council won’t be the same without her.

It’s now back to ‘business as usual’. I will be attending a meeting of Essex County Council on Tuesday, followed by a Town Council committee meeting that evening.

Local councillors at at all levels, are focussed on the needs of their communities and while, at District and County Council levels, we align ourselves in political groups, we didn’t party during lockdown, we simply got on with the business of running our County.

Now, as anyone who knows me will know, I’ve been a petrolhead since my early teens, and it’s time for the British Grand Prix.

Cllr. Bob Massey

As reported by Mark Francois MP, Essex County Council are proposing to refurbish and repurpose the former Chetwood primary school on Gandalfs Ride as a ‘sixth form’ annex to a new Special Needs school.

The school will cater for up to forty, sixth-form SEN pupils, out of an overall 190 special needs pupils.

The operation of the existing Chetwood Family Hub will be unaffected.