THE seaside resort of Frinton on Sea is famous for its genteel, civilised reputation - and local people want to keep it that way.That's the message of a new report compiled by councillors, who believe that the town must not become like its noisier, more rowdy neighbours, Clacton and Walton.

By Roddy Ashworth

THE seaside resort of Frinton on Sea is famous for its genteel, civilised reputation - and local people want to keep it that way.

That's the message of a new report compiled by councillors, who believe that the town must not become like its noisier, more rowdy neighbours, Clacton and Walton.

The report - which has taken more than a year to compile - has been sent to Tendring District Council in the hope it will be adopted as part of the area's Local Plan, a blueprint for developers and potential planning applicants.

In it, councillors highlight forecourt traders and amusement arcades as some of the unpalatable potential incursions into the seafront area of the resort.

The move comes after a series of high-profile tussles in recent years, including battles against the illicit sale of ice creams near the town's celebrated greensward and the playing of funky house music in the hallowed Connaught Avenue, a street once dubbed the Bond Street of East Anglia.

Town councillor Roy Caddick, at one time involved in the spirited but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to block the opening of a pub within the resort's gates, said: "This has become important because we are now into a new century and people are more keen on history.

"There are one or two places in the world we need to keep as they were, so people can remember what life was like in the good old days.

"We have had so many spats and troubles in recent years which occupy hours of council officers' time.

"We thought it was time to put a stop to all these chancers who come in. They only want to make money out of us. We thought that through the local plan we could bring all that to an end."

Mr Caddick said he believed the town needed more "pure" shops in Connaught Avenue, with fewer estate agents, food and drink outlets and bookmakers.

He added that the "Avenues", an area of the town made up of spacious houses in spacious grounds, should not be allowed fall victim to developers wanting to demolish existing properties and cram the remaining plots with smaller flats.

"We want to preserve and conserve the area as it is for Essex.

"There are a few nice parts of the Tendring district we feel must be protected from current trends," he said.