The views of young people in Southend will be taken into account when the borough's quality of life plan is drawn up.

A special evening is being held on Tuesday February 8 where young people aged 11 to 19 will be involved in various workshops and talks to organisations with an interest in the environment and community projects.

The aim of the event is to make sure that young people have a direct input into Southend's quality of life plan as well as offering practical ways for young people to make a difference.

Emma Ramet, environmental initiatives officer at Southend Council, said: "We've been gathering comments and views to develop a quality of life plan for Southend.

"So far only a handful of young people have been involved in the process and as they make up 29 per cent of Southend's population, it is vital they have a say.

"I really hope that lots of young people will come and meet the varied organisations that will be taking part in the evening and to give us their views on what we should be doing to make Southend a good place to live in."

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.