Basildon puts its aspirations on display
I was intrigued – no, gobsmacked – to read on the Daily Mail’s website today that a Hollywood-style sign has been erected on a grassy roadside knoll in… Essex.
In a move that has been met by locals with a degree of derision Basildon Council decided to put up the 5ft letters spelling out the town’s name in an attempt to put it on the map.
Now I make no bones about being an Essex girl, but who needs to be reminded they’re in Basildon? Especially given the cost of the sign was met by a whopping £90,000 from the Thames Gateway programme – a fund earmarked for vital regeneration of East London, South Essex and North Kent.
The residents of Basildon would surely have been better served had this money been spent a little less frivolously, especially with times as hard as they are.
Have you got any other examples of ill-conceived purchases?
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I concur with those residents’ views. Nevertheless, as the Council spent significantly already, it have to invest more on promoting tourism there. Revenue generated from related trades might offset it. Otherwise, such a sophisticated signage is nothing but unworthy cause.