Airshow or No Airshow? (Southend Liberal Democrats)

Southend Liberal Democrats <info@southendlibdems.co.uk>

Airshow or No Airshow?

October 29, 2008 2:15 PM

Red Arrows "Just where do the Tories stand on Southend's Airshow?" asked Cllr Graham Longley leader of the LibDem group on the Council.

Following the announcement of the Westcliff Casino pulling it's funding out of the Airshow on Tuesday, John Lamb, deputy council leader of the Council is quoted in the Southend Echo as saying "the Airshow will continue" and "if a new sponsor could not be found the Council will find the £60,000 needed to help it carry on"

Yet just 24hrs later he is yet again quoted in the Echo on Wednesday saying "the withdrawal of the Casino funding for the Airshow presented an opportunity to re-invent the towns programme" What does that mean, Airshow or No Airshow?

So asks Cllr Longley does he support the Airshow or not. The Airshow has been a beacon, held high by the Tories since being introduced by former Leader of the council Norman Clarke, and any talk of moving, changing, dropping or altering the show has been met with fierce resistance.

Now the deputy leader begins to ask all the questions previously asked by the Liberal Democrats and other parties on the Council over a number of years.

"It is clear" said Cllr Longley, "that the airshow has been looking tired for a number of years, you can only look at the same plane so many times without getting bored. The organisation of it took up a huge amount of officers time and was probably not as rewarding as it should have been, particularly when it was wet."

"Maybe it is time that the Airshow became just one of a number of events in the town rather than it's only major event and a scaled down Airshow with a re-emergent Water Festival would bring greater rewards. As a seaside town Southend has never really used it's water base for serious events. The time has come to use our natural assets to greater effect."

Officers proposals for a number of Festivals spread through out the year is one to be welcomed and perhaps the deputy leader of the Council will come off the fence and give his support to a range of festivals instead of putting all his eggs in one Airshow basket.