April 2021 Update

Welcome to the April 2021 Update, lots to share this month. Don’t forget that you can get the latest news first by joining our mailing list here.

PARKING RESTRICTIONS

Most of the signs are up, just the ones on the green adjacent to Hamptons to go up in the next week. This will come as huge relief to many local residents, who have suffered for years at the hands of inconsiderate drivers. This is the subject of our latest video (watch it here)

Club website

After a 14 month wait, Hamptons website has finally been updated. At first glance it looks great, but it does contain a number of errors and the grammar and punctuation is poor. However, progress is progress regardless of how unprofessional it looks. You can see for yourself here.

The cafe looks wonderful and the food delicious (look on the page titled Catering). However on closer inspection it’s clear that the images used are just stock images from a site called Unsplash, and not a real representation of how the cafe or food will look. Maybe the website should make that clear ! Those of you that have been following the campaign from the start will remember that the cafe has been “coming soon” since February 2020.

We should also point out that the number listed for the “in house caterers” is associated with Roamers, who were served with a notice to quit last year. The number has been disconnected.

There are a number of glaring omissions on the updated website. No mention of the sale in 2020, or who owns and operates the club, no mention of the use for prayer on Fridays, no mention of any of the dance groups and no mention of the much publicised Food Bank. Strange that.

One final point, it looks like the Main Hall has been renamed the Marconi Hall. We do hope that the club has sought permission from the Marconi family to do that.

FOOD Bank

After we revealed that the Hamptons Food Bank is no longer associated with the Chelmsford Food Bank, a local resident asked the key question to one of the Hamptons directors on Facebook. The response was “It’s none of your business why we no longer partner”. How very open and transparent.

The same director has also been seen on one of the community hub pages complaining about the lack of donations to the Hamptons Food Bank last week.

Bizarrely with donations drying up, Hamptons is now advertising a second charity appeal to send “clothes, food and shoes to Yemen”. No wonder people are confused and reluctant to donate.

Our formal complaint against the council

Having allowed the council the required two stages to resolve our complaint, we are gathering our evidence together to submit to the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO). There is a substantial amount. We expect to be ready by early next week. The LGO is independent and impartial, and we are certain they will find in our favour. It will be a significant landmark in our campaign.

GOING FORWARD

We remain unconvinced about the long term sustainability of the business, and that the plans for “The biggest mosque in Essex” are never really off the table. As the Covid restrictions lift, we may learn more.

Quite how the owners hope to make a profit and clear their spiralling debts is a mystery to us.

We are delighted that the Friday Tea Dance is returning, does this mean that Friday Prayers have been abandoned ? We note that another of the regular dance bookings has found an alternative location to work from.

Our survey of local residents and members (in December 2020) clearly indicated that there is no confidence in the current owners ability to run a sports and leisure facility (see below).

Without a licenced bar (or even a cafe) it’s hard to see that the venue hire and Racquets membership will generate enough revenue to keep the club afloat. Despite what appears to be a chance in diection from the owners, it may be too little too late.

KBO