“People want to keep a family village feel to how we live here.”
Nichola Payne is a relative newcomer to Burnham having moved three years ago from southeast London with her two young children.
Nichola is the chief officer for Burnham Town Council - a parish council with nearly 10,000 constituents – and she holds the roles of town clerk, finance officer, and planning officer.
She works full-time in the council in Chapel Road, which she says is less common for parish councils.
Nichola says the town council does not hold many assets but it does own the town’s clock tower, the war memorial, the free Providence car park, a couple of bus stops, and had a few parcels of land.
Nichola said a focus on the council is a tourism boost, saying: “We’re just refurbishing the telephone box, and that’s going to be a tourist information hub.
“I’ve got an interactive screen to get in there once it is refurbished. We’re making that a kind of tourist area so when people do come down to the bottom of the town, they could go into the telephone book, press and interact and find out all the historical bits and pieces about Burnham and go off on this trails or whatever it is.”
It will be linked to next year’s September Heritage Days with further hopes for the town's Grade II listed clock tower to have a mini museum to reflect its history as a former school town.
Nichola said the town council has been through a bit of turbulence, including from the pandemic, saying: “We’re just trying to liven up the town.”
The council has also decided to embark on a community allotment project which would be wholly sustainable with all the town’s cuttings and debris going to the allotments.
A role would be created for adult with learning difficulties with the aim to help them with their mental health.
Regarding the future of the council with the government’s local government reorganization, Nichola said: “I think in terms of Burnham, we've got to start looking at what Maldon have as an asset and what potentially we could take on as a community led asset.”
This includes ensuring Burnham retains its free parking, with Nichola saying the next 12 months is to find out what assets the town council may take.
A key focus is strengthening the community spirit for the newcomers in Burnham who she says have changed the town dramatically.
Housing developments are a controversial issue in the Maldon district with Burnham being no exception – evidenced in the new collective BAND (Burnham Against New Development).
Nichola, with her experience as a planning officers, said in her personal view, the focus should be infrastructure first citing Beaulieu Park in Mid Essex as a good model to follow.
This is because residents in Burnham are having an issue with only 66 and 75 percent of children getting into Burnham’s two primary schools in 2025.
Nichola said Burnham County Primary School is looking to extend but parents rejected this in a survey.
She said: “They want that small town feel, that village feel. To then go from you know two classes to three classes… before you know it isn’t not a junior school, not a primary school – it’s something much bigger.”
READ MORE: Burnham Primary School gets Outstanding Ofsted report
For Nichola, the family friendly nature of Burnham was central to her moving from London.
There is a kite festival, the thriving and historic independent Rio Cinema, and the sporty Riverside Park which Nichola wants to promote as an event space more.
This has inspired Nichola to create a new website with events for the town council and to secure advertising with Greater Anglia for adverts to promote Burnham in a limited number of stations for now.
She said: “I think people within Wickford don't actually realise it just a short, you know, four or five stops away and you're in Burnham.
“We’ve got lots to do and there’s still that town feel.”
Taxpayer money is a major concern for the council, meaning there will not be flashy big projects, with Nichola saying the council’s role is to enable grant funds.
Nichola says some residents in Burnham are affected by the cost-of-living crisis but on a whole it is an average area with very little crime.
She strives to keep in Christmas and festivities in Burnham.
This is because Nichola knows herself as single parent that not everyone has £10 or £15 spare for Christmas events – an ethos shared by the town which has many volunteers.
Regarding the town’s family-friendly Christmas grotto, Nichola added: “We've kept that free because I think it's important that every family no matter where you are in your financial struggles, that you can come down, you can see Santa.”
Nichola Payne, chief officer of Burnham Town Council, says with two smaller children her ideal day in Burnham is Saturday during the daytime.
She said: “A summer's day in in Burnham on Saturday is a lovely place to be. We've got new pontoon now, which has been reinstalled.
“The kids crabbing, my kids love the crabbing down there.”
Nichola herself would be walking the dog and going to different coffee shops, which she rotates around to spread her custom.
A favourite pub of hers is The Ship which on a Saturday has sunshine, tables, and chairs outside with Nichola adding: “It's got a very Riviera feel to that, with everybody kind of drinking outside and the food outside.
“Same with the quayside with the Quarter Deck.”
“All the eateries around here do really well. You can't really have a bad place to eat in a small town like this, because it just doesn't last.
She also recommends the Queen’s pub, tucked away a little bit, for live music and The Vic for more lovely entertainment including their DJ on the last Saturday of the month.
Nichola also loves Tuesdays in Burnham due to the market.
She says though it is the smallest it has been, there is still a fish man, a pie man, fruit and veg.
Nichola, who told me Monday was the new Sunday with businesses being closed in Burnham, said visitors should definitely visit the family friendly town on Tuesdays.
One of her goals now is to help push the market for 2026.
Just around the corner from the Town Council on Station Road is the Oyster Smack Inn, which on the outside is a grand and traditional looking building.
It is remarkably busy, with a few Burnham families eating there.
Co-owner Trevor Howell, 46, takes a moment of his time to speak to me about his experience of working at the Shack since 2005.
When he started there were seven rooms, and now there is 10, a growth he is content with and does not want to push.
When asked the impact of the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis on the restaurant and rooms, Trevor said: “Trade is up and down, it can be rocky but it is busy still.
“We are not too seasonal, summer is busier but then Christmas is coming so we are having Christmas Day, Christmas Eve is always busy as well.”
Residents mainly eat at the restaurant, but the rooms are quickly filled up with wedding guests with Trevor saying the area is popular for weddings.
Trevor said if Bradwell power station – about 13 miles away – was recommissioned this would be brilliant for the trade.
Trevor now lives in Chelmsford, having previously lived in Burnham, and said his favourite thing to do is walking by the river and the marina.
Regarding the economy he added: “There’s still people in London who travel for work who now work for home. It’s if that power station comes back."
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