Southend/Westcliff, Essex

Seaside town: pop. 170,000
Timeline: Started March ’08

Transition Westcliff began in 2008 and shifted to becoming
Southend in Transiton this year mainly because they wanted to
involve everyone in the locality. They began by showing a series
of environmental screenings (End of Suburbia, Transition Towns
and Power of Community), connecting with other groups like
Friends of the Earth, building up contacts and grounding
themselves in the subjects of peak oil and climate change.

SIT are assisted by three “drivers” in the area: local incentives
for Southend to become a Cycling Town, a Cultural Capital for
2016 and strong links with the growing University and College.
Southend in Transition also work in partnership with several
local groups, an interconnectedness which is reflected in their
website and their monthly newsletter. They have a mailing list of
300 plus, 50 facebook members and the website enjoys over
1000 visitors per month. They have also made a YouTube video.
Last month they ran a permaculture course with their resident
permaculture author and teacher, Graham Burnett, in partnership
with Milton Community Partnership and SpiralSeed, and showed
the peak oil marathon film What a Way to Go – Life at the End of Empire.

Like many other groups they have a Transition Drinks once a
month and have sub groups in development e.g. Food, Transport,
Heart and Soul. “Last year we focused on events to get people
involved,” said key member, Kamil Pachalko. “2010 will be our
year of projects.”

Website:
www.transitionwestcliff.org.uk
Contact Person:
Kamil Pachalko
Tel: 07707 676 308
Email: kamilpac@googlemail.com