Has Southend Council completely lost the plot - or in the case of the allotments at Manners Way - dozens of them?

The scheme to construct either a cleansing depot or a waste transfer station in the middle of a high-class residential area and a retail park, which is possibly the busiest in the whole of the Southend area, is just madness.

I believe Southend Council has made the wrong choice.

Many people will be deprived of the chance of growing their own organic fruit and vegetables.

With the increase in passenger figures at Southend Airport which have just been announced, and numbers projected to soar even further, traffic chaos is bound to ensue with all the extra lorries.

Property in the surrounding area are bound to be devalued.

Smells from dust carts and the site itself will affect people for miles around.

An unsightly monstrosity will be built.

If the council is serious about supporting the expansion of the airport, a prime piece of land for either parking or park and ride, will be lost forever.

This could be relevant considering the planning problems concerning the Southend Road airport parking.

Tenants from the airport retail park will be greatly affected.

I can't believe no one from the retail park has raised objections as this construction will be less than 50 yards from McDonald's fast-food outlet. There must be more suitable sites available.

It is possible that tenants of the retail park may not want to stay as KeyMed threatened to pull out of Southend when faced with the expansion of the Stock Road waste site.

Visitors to Southend, on the Victoria Line, will be given a first impression of a waste transfer station minutes from Southend town centre.

I feel it is about time the local councillors galvanised themselves into action before it is too late - or else the next time you are eating your "big Mac and chips" you could be doing so with the aroma of rotting cabbage wafting around you.

John Dickens
Eastwoodbury Crescent
Southend