Pitsea

Angela Smith MP - Labour & Co-operative

I am proud to represent Basildon and East Thurrock. If you live locally, please do not hesitate to let me know your views. You can click on the map to see what I am doing in your area.

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Pitsea

pitsea

MP slams Pitsea flyover fiasco

Angela Smith is calling on Essex County Council to account for the continued problems at Pitsea flyover. The flyover is now on its fifth phase of work – with another £2 million of our hard-earned money being spent on another set of repairs!

Labour Councillor Keith Bobbin has been leading the demands that Essex County Council sort out the problems, saying “it’s been five years and it still isn’t fixed. It’s been a complete fiasco from the beginning.”

Angela Smith MP has now called for the Audit Commission to be brought in, saying, “it’s been an absolute shambles. How much money has been wasted in not solving the problem?”

Angela blasts council on Wat Tyler Country Park

Angela Smith has slammed the controversial decision to turf out the tenants of the Craft Units at Wat Tyler Country Park

Basildon Council has served notice on the tenants to vacate their premises by New Year's Eve in order to demolish the existing buildings. The current businesses sell a range of locally produced items like jewellery and ceramics and provide services such as artistic photography.

Angela said "It seems that the council are going back on their decision to rehome these businesses and it now seems doubtful if new units will ever be built. In their short history these units have provided an outlet for those promoting arts and crafts in Basildon and I am worried that the council appear to be showing little interest in supporting local arts.

"I urge the council to reconsider their decision to serve these notices. Thousands of people visit this park every year and a thriving local craft presence adds to their enjoyment. The Council should be actively encouraging creative local businesses, not knocking them down and taking away people's livelihoods."

Save Sure Start!

The Sure Start childrens' centre in Pitsea will be under threat if the Tories win the next election.

The Conservatives have committed themselves to slashing public sector spending and the Sure Start centres are one of the areas that they are refusing to promise to protect.

Since its inception the centre in Pitsea has been hugely effective in providing help to get young parents back to work and providing first rate childcare and advice.

Angela said, "Sure Start has done so much to help single parents get back to work, provide training opportunities and decent childcare and to provide help, support and encouragement to people in Pitsea. We cannot afford to let the Tories take a knife to this vital service."

Hundreds of lorries heading your way

The Tories at County hall have rejected Labour's pleas on behalf of local residents to rethink plans to build a new waste site at Courtauld Road Labour County Councillors made their case to the council but the Conservatives are pressing ahead with their schemes, which will bring hundreds of lorries to already busy roads in Pitsea.

Labour County Councillors made their case to the council but the Conservatives are pressing ahead with their schemes, which will bring hundreds of lorries to already busy roads in Pitsea.

Angela said, “We’ve taken our fair share of the county’s rubbish over the years and any new sites should be built elsewhere in Essex. I was criticised by one of the companies concerned for speaking out against the likely problems this will cause, but I will continue to speak out on this issue.”

Big party for Bunty

Local resident Bunty Murtagh was given a rousing send-off on her retirement from running the Neighbourhood Watch on the Chestnuts estate in Pitsea.More

Chalvedon School visits Parliament

Students from the school Angela Smith attended, Chalvedon, visited Parliament to hear about her work as an MP. More

Treehugging in Northlands Park

Angela Smith supported the work of Essex arts and heritage organisations in Northlands Park, Pitsea at an Arts U Need event.

Angela joined school pupils from Felmores amongst others, 'hugging a tree'. Angela joked she had 'never thought of herself as a tree hugger' but said there was a 'serious message that we all need to look after our local parks so they can be enjoyed by all.'

'Northlands Park is a great local amenity and deserves to continue to be well used and well maintained."