The name of Marconi must mean more than nostalgia …..

5.06.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 29th Apr 2008

Guglielmo Marconi

On Saturday 26th April, the statue of Guglielmo Marconi, Chelmsford's founder of broadcasting, duly arrived in "Marconi Plaza" near to the Chelmsford's theatres and bus station redevelopment. That was welcome but Jude Deakin and Graham Pooley, local councillors for this part of Chelmsford - called Marconi Ward - hope it's symbolic of fresh action for Chelmsford's West End.

When the Lib Dems were running the Council up to 2003 they felt there was a sense of purpose which was accompanied by some imaginative forward planning. Plans were in hand to take some pride in this litter-bound end of Duke Street, to breathe some life to the short section of Broomfield Road here. It would spread the benefits of Chelmsford's relative prosperity to the less well off areas to the north and west, where we still see some areas of stark hardship.

However, shops are standing boarded up, like on the corner of Kings Road and North Avenue. "Somehow the revitalising of this neglected side of Chelmsford needs a fresh injection of hope and vision" said Jude Deakin.

Graham agreed, adding "Sometimes all the focus seems to be on flats and more flats, aimed at meeting Government targets and City slickers, rather than meeting the needs of local people. Though some of the plans talk the right talk and look good on paper, they are taking forever to deliver."

After all these years, we may be seeing some more debate about the old Marconi Works site between New Street and the Station, but still its only talk and "negotiation". The message from Marconi's Borough Councillors is clear. Said Graham & Jude: "Marconi needs to be more than a name and a statue symbolising Chelmsford's proud past. We want to see some plans that address the real lives of real people, to add to the sense of pride in our local communities."