Southend: Airshow Campaign Support "Incredible"

A campaigner trying to save the Southend Airshow says the support it has had has been "incredible".

The borough's council is planning to scrap it on an annual basis in order to save £150,000 a year. 

After the announcement last month, a Facebook group "Save Southend Airshow" was set and has so far gained more than 13,000 'likes'. 

Tom Curtis is one of those behind it. He has been telling Heart there has been response from around the world: "We've had been people from Australia commenting on the page, we've had people from Cornwall and Cambridge. 

"It's a fantastic showcase for the town and for Southend Council to even consider cancelling it is a huge mistake." 

Mr Curtis says many people commenting on the page cannot believe it might be scrapped: "They simply cannot understand why, to save £150,000, they (Southend Borough Council) are willing to forgo £10 million in revenue and stopping in excess of 300,000 people coming from the town. It does not make sense." 

He also says people who have backed the campaign and visit Southend for the airshow stay after it has finished: "We've had multiple comments on the Facebook page saying that we come to Southend, we stay in southend for two or more days, we eat in the restaurants, we look at the shops. 

"They don't just come to watch the planes, it's a fantastic way of attracting people to the town to spend money". 

When the 2013/14 budget proposal was announced, council Leader Nigel Holdcroft said: "We are now into the third year of the austerity measures and these financial decisions are becoming harder and harder to make. 

"Over the past two years we have delivered a raft of economies and made targeted efficiency savings to ensure we can balance our books. 

"We have also done a lot of work in re-negotiating terms with our contractors and suppliers which have enabled us to avoid having to physically cut services. 

"But the economic situation has worsened across Europe and Government is telling us that it is going to take the country longer than had previously been thought to put things back on an even keel. 

"We no longer have any leeway and we have to make real cuts to services in order to balance our books - and that involves making some very hard choices. 

"Some of the savings we are proposing won't be popular with residents but I would ask them to bear in mind that this crisis was not of our making. 

A final decision on the future of the airshow will be made at a full council meeting next Thursday (February 28).