From the Echo

BUILDING work on a new 22,000-seater Southend United stadium is expected to
start in May with a developer appointed within two weeks, it has been revealed.

Blues chairman Ron Martin says he and supermarket giant Sainsbury’s have whittled a shortlist of four developers down to two, with a decision imminent on who will build the long-awaited replacement for Roots Hall, plus a new retail park.

Mr Martin said he would receive final bids from both companies this week, and will then announce the successful developer or developers.

 He said: “Both have been asked to cost development of the new stadium, the supermarket and the replacement of St Mary’s Court. It could be one of them does all the building or we use a combination of the two companies. The club board and Sainsbury’s will make the decision before we announce it in the next fortnight. We have been through three stages of tender.”

He said building the stadium and new homes would take a year, before work on the supermarket begins.

The new stadium has been in the pipeline since the late Nineties and Blues fans aren’t getting their hopes up until they see bulldozers on the Fossetts Farm site.

Ken Jarvis, who runs www.shrimperzone.com, a fans’ forum, said: “We have heard the start date so many times before, and would all truly love to see the diggers turn up on the day.

 “That is what 90 per cent of the fans want, but I don’t think we will really believe it until we see them arrive with Ron and his beautifully coiffeured hair with a hard hat on. It is more promising that we are now hearing about a developer being selected, because that is something we have not had until now.”

The club is in partnership with Sainsbury’s, who will build a new store on the Roots Hall site, the purchase of which will part fund the development.

Mr Martin said funding was in place for the first phase of the project, which includes building three sides of the stadium, retail park access, the supermarket and replacement homes for council flats at St Mary’s Court. These face demolition to make way for the Sainsbury’s store at Roots Hall.

There are still a series of legal agreements to be signed between Sainsbury’s, the club, and Southend Council, including over a £3.5million
contribution to the authority to boost town centre shops, to offset the expected impact of the new retail park.

Mr Martin added: “These will all be signed on the same day. We are in a position to do it, but it will not happen before the developer
is selected. We cannot afford to delay beyond May. If we do there will be inflation back in the construction market.”

He said the development should wipe the club’s debt and long-term financial problems, but bank borrowing may be needed for phase two, including the fourth stand.

A council spokesman said: “The planning agreement is now in an agreed form and all signatories are anticipating it will be completed very shortly. Certainly, the council is in a position to complete."
 
The developer is currently negotiating with prospective occupiers of the retail park which forms part of the development.

The timing of the sale of the council’s freehold interest is linked to the implementation of the developments of both the Fossetts Farm and Roots Hall sites.

It is understood a deal for the club and Sainsbury’s to buy the nearby Prospects College site is also nearing completion. This is needed to allow access to the new supermarket.

From the Echo

MORE than 150 homes and a new multi-million pound hospice are set for prime land at the heart of Southend now a charity and a developer have finally reached a deal.

After eight months of talks, Havens Hospices has signed a deal with housebuilder Bellway Homes for a joint development on the former Ekco factory site, in  Priory Crescent.

Plans for the 16-bedroom hospice, between 150 and 180 homes and an office block will be submitted to Southend Council later this year.

A joint statement said: “Bellway Homes and Havens Hospices have entered into an agreement, subject to contract, to progress plans for an adult hospice to form part of the development of the former Ekco site.

“We are delighted to be working together and will now begin to progress plans for the development of the site before submitting an application to Southend Council later in the year.”

The deal means Havens Hospices’ original controversial plan for a £15million facility on green belt land off Belton Way West, Leigh, has been dropped – to the delight of campaigners.

Mike King, chairman of Save Our Greenbelt, said: “It’s excellent news. Put the flags up, it is absolutely magnificent.”

Caroline Parker, chairman of Leigh Town Council, which opposed the Belton Way West Plan, said: “We are absolutely delighted with this outcome.”

The Echo revealed last month the new adult hospice, which would create an additional 90 paid and voluntary roles, would have significantly larger day care and treatment facilities than the current Fair Havens hospice, in Second Avenue, Chalkwell.

Bellway Homes, which the Echo understands is planning no affordable housing for the 20- acre former Prittlebrook Industrial Estate site, will build a small office block facing Priory Crescent, to appease councillors’ concerns over the loss of employment land.

Council leader Nigel Holdcroft said: “Obviously this is excellent news. Fair Havens does a great job but is hampered by the physical restrictions imposed by its current premises so I am delighted that their search for a new location has been successful.”

YEARS OF SEARCHING

Havens Hospices has been trying for years to find a site for a new adult 16-bed hospice.

Fair Havens hospice, in Second Avenue, Chalkwell, is not fit for purpose as it does not have a lift, yet most of its bedrooms are upstairs and there is a need for more beds.

In 2011, the charity looked at 212 sites across Southend, Rochford and Castle Point, including the Ekco site.

Plans were first submitted in autumn 2011 for a hospice with offices on Belton Hills, Belton Way West, Leigh.

Many voiced their opposition to the idea of building on a green belt site although a petition in support of the application attracted 17,000 names.

Southend Council planning officers recommended it for refusal and it was withdrawn in December 2011.

In March 2012, Havens registered its interest in the Ekco site, but that was dropped after owners Aviva spoke with others.

Re-drafted plans for Belton Hills were submitted in August 2012, but they were rejected by councillors in October 2012.

Havens appealed against the refusal in November 2012 and a date for an eight-day hearing was set for last June. The charity and council sought a last-minute deferral to give the hospice four months to talk with Bellway Homes and Havens dropped its appeal.

The Echo revealed last month the parties were hopeful of a deal – despite still being £400,000 apart in their valuation of Havens Hospices’ contribution for the land sale.

It is believed Bellway has been in negotiations with Aviva to buy the Ekco site.

From ITV News

Organisers hope the Southend Airshow and Military Festival will go ahead this year following the announcement of a headline sponsor.

Toomey Motor Group have been announced as the headline sponsor, and organisers are now hopefully that the show will go ahead on September 6 and 7 this year.

The event was cancelled by Southend Borough Council in 2013 following budget cuts.

From the Echo

A BAR which has had a £1.5million revamp will create more than 20 new jobs in Southend town centre.

East Coast Social will be opening in the former Yates and La Tasca site in London Road next month. Businessmen Alan Dugard and Aaron Curtis spent months looking for the right venue in Southend.

It will have a British theme, offering traditional food and decorations, including a red telephone box centrepiece. It will offer what it says is a unique experience of food, including steaks cooked over hot rocks at the table.

The pair, whose Bedfordshire-based Interguide company owns three other venues, said they believe Southend is a town with “massive potential”.

Mr Curtis said: “It was by chance that we found the place. Just before Christmas we were looking at a couple of sites around Southend and popped into Nandos for a bite to eat and happened to see this across the road.”

They bought the building soon afterwards and have been refurbishing it since January 8, investing about £1.5million overall.

Other venues owned by the company include the Penthouse Nightclub in Leicester Square, London, and the Electric Social in Brixton.

Mr Curtis said: “There’s economic optimism across the UK and Southend has a great history. Hopefully us doing this will give some confidence to other people there too.”

An application for a licence to open on Friday and Saturday nights until 2am is in the pipeline.

The bar will open with a special preview party on Saturday, March 15.

Mr Curtis added: “We’re recruiting about 20 to 25 staff all from the local area, and are hoping to interview some people next week.”

Staff already recruited include Southend DJ Johnny Kango, who is the venue’s marketing manager.

For more about the venue, follow @eastcoastsoc on Twitter or search for it on Facebook.

From the Southend Standard

PENGUINS, seals and crocodiles could soon be coming to Southend seafront, as Sealife Adventure plans to double in size.

The major family attraction, on Eastern Esplanade, wants to build an extension half the size of a football pitch over an informal staff car park and former crazy golf course to the east, to house the new creatures.

Owner the Stockvale Group, which also operates seafront attractions Adventure Island, Sands restaurant and the Three Shells kiosk, hope the exotic additions will boost last year’s 156,000 visitor numbers by a third.

Paul Thompson, chairman of Southend Seafront Traders’ Association, said: “It sounds fantastic. Continued investment from a private entrepreneur can only be good. It will increase the attraction for visitors to come to Southend."

The extension, which would contain five pools, is part of a major revamp of the 21-year-old centre, which also includes masking its pitched roofs with a new rainbow-coloured covering.

There would be a penguin pool, seal pool, crocodile enclosure, large fish tank and another enclosure for creatures as yet unspecified.

Containers for meerkats and leafcutter ants and a research room for Essex University students are also included in the plans.

The Stockvale Group believes the extension could increase the number of jobs from 30 to 50, including some highly-skilled conservation jobs, and attract more visitors out of season.

Emma Cooney, Southend Council’s acting group manager for economy and tourism, said: “From an economic viewpoint, the proposed extension would present a range of opportunities for both the borough and its residents.

“Any positive initiatives aimed at generating additional visitors throughout the year and the associated benefits such activity provides has got to be good for the town.”

From the Southend Standard

SOUTH Essex house prices are now at their most expensive since 2007, fuelled by a shortage of properties for sale.

Analysis by online property listings site Rightmove suggests sellers have pushed up prices by an astonishing 3.3 per cent this month alone. The national average price for a house now stands at more than £250,000, an increase of more than 6.9 per cent on February 2013 – the fastest annual growth rate since 2007.

In south Essex, estate agents say they are struggling to cope with demand, with some properties selling within hours and waiting lists cropping up for homes on the most popular new developments.

Ian Hunt, co-owner of Southend agent Hunt and Roche, said: “The demand is so high, it is the busiest we have been since 2007. There is a real lack of properties. Six months ago it was a buyers’ market, now it’s a sellers’ one.

“Overnight, it has gone ballistic. First-time buyers who were contemplating buying are now getting more active, because they don’t want to miss the boat.”

Rightmove figures also show a slight decrease in the number of properties coming to market, with sellers looking for a quick sale to make the most of their stronger position.

From Travel Weekly: February 14, 2014

Southend has seen the largest growth of any European airport with a 57.1% rise in passenger numbers from 2012 to 2013.

Figures show that the Essex airport handled 617,556 passengers in 2012 and 969,950 last year, giving it the largest percentage increase. In second place was Diyarbakir in Turkey with a 38.7% rise.

The next best performing London airport in a survey of more than 300 European airports was London City in 46th place with a 12% increase.

The study was compiled by industry website Airline Network News & Analysis and comes in the week that a £10 million extension to the Southend airport terminal was completed and became operational.

Five additional aircraft stands have also been completed to help increase the airport’s capacity.

The entire project will enable 300 new jobs arising from the increase in Southend-based aircraft over time, resulting in additional operational and service roles.

The airport’s operations director David Lister said: “We are working closely with all our current partners – as well as speaking to potential new ones – in order to offer an even wider variety of destinations for business and leisure travellers, all year round.”

EasyJet UK commercial manager Hugh Aitken added: “Since we launched flights at the airport in 2012, we have almost doubled the number of easyJet destinations available, providing easy and affordable services to just under one million passengers to and from the airport.”

“The ease and convenience of the customer experience is at the heart of the airport’s design and easyJet’s aims for all whether flying for work or leisure. It’s terrific news and we look forward to continuing the partnership in the coming year.”

SOUTHEND’S town centre market has proved so successful, it is to double in size – just four months after it opened.

A butcher, a cheese specialist and more clothing stalls are set to join the High Street market every Thursday as it expands to offer 32 pitches late next month.

Market organiser Trevor Day, from Hockley, who also sells toiletries and household goods on a stall there, said: “We hope it has brought more people into the town."

Southend Council reintroduced the open-air market last October and is aiming to add seven stalls to the current 16 at the start of March, with a full 32 trading by the end of the month.

Several traders have already applied to take stalls and the council, which licences the pitches and inspects and regulates them, says it is checking their references and considering the type of goods it wants to see on sale.

Traders will have to meet strict criteria, with food stalls expected to meet exceptional food hygiene standards.

Marzia Abel, the council’s town centre manager, said: “We certainly want to ensure as wide a variety of stalls as possible. While we have a good selection of stalls at the moment, we will be looking to broaden the offer to include a butcher, a cheese specialist, and to extend the fashion offer for all ages.

“There is a set criteria, which encourages quality, rather than cheap goods, but does not allow hot or cooked food stalls, or coffee vendors, as there are plenty of town centre businesses covering these things.”

The new market replaced the one which closed in York Road in 2009, with stalls lining the High Street to the north of the railway bridge towards the Victoria Shopping Centre. It trades from 8am until 2pm.

Independent councillor Mike Assenheim lobbied hard for the return of the market, but wanted to see it in the Victoria Plaza end of London Road.

Stalls may soon come close to that part of the town centre when the market is enlarged.

Deputy council leader John Lamb said: “A market has always been an important element of Southend life. We’re keen to see it expand. The High Street traders are happy with that and it offers residents and visitors alike a different outlook on the town.

“Southend’s market is a success because it’s what good markets are all about – good quality goods and people getting a good deal.

“It’s a win-win for everyone really – for the market traders because people are visiting more, for the surrounding retailers, because it has a positive knock-on effect on their businesses, and local shoppers, because they get a wider range of produce to buy.”

Retailers have backed market expansion plans, but have warned they want standards to be strictly maintained by the council.

The market appears to have attracted more customers into the High Street on Thursdays without stealing customers from the nearby shops.

Dawn Jeakings, chairman of Southend Business Improvement District, which represents town centre businesses, said: “The businesses are happy with the market in its present form. Anything which increases trade into the town has to be a good thing.

“I agree the quality of produce has to be there. A butcher and a cheese specialist would be perfect.”

However, Ms Jeakins, who is manager of the Royals Shopping Centre, at the opposite end of the the High Street, said the council would need to keep a careful eye on the standard of the stalls and make sure facilities for market traders were up to scratch.

She explained: “Long term, the infrastructure needs looking at properly. If it grows the traders will need proper drainage and other facilities. Also uniform awnings for the stalls might be needed.”

The first Southend Business Partnership Briefing of 2014 will be held at the Genting Club in Westcliff on Thursday 20th March 2014, 8.30am to 10.00am. 

The latest  news in Southend will be presented by Rob Tinlin, Chief Executive, Southend Borough Council and a keynote speaker will be announced soon.

As always there will be a great opportunity for you to pose your questions to the panel of local business and council representatives. The morning’s event will be chaired and facilitated by Murray Foster, Chairman of Southend Business Partnership.

The Business Briefing will start promptly at 8.30am in the main dining area, with registration at 7.30 am to allow time for networking.

There is restricted parking outside the club in the members bay and these will be allocated on a first come first served basis. As you are attending the business briefing these parking facilities are available for you to use. Register to attend for free at Business Briefing.

From the Echo

BUILDERS could start work on a multi-million pound development of shops, restaurants and a 13-storey block of flats on a prime Southend seafront site next year.

Developer the Inner London Group hopes to submit long-awaited full plans for the Marine Plaza development on a derelict site opposite the Kursaal by the end of this year.

Work to replace derelict former play area Funland, the Foresters Arms pub and a temporary car park with 290 flats and 3,000sq m of commercial space could start within six months of permission being granted.

Seafront traders and senior councillors have welcomed the scheme, which they hope will boost seafront regeneration.

Inner London Group director George Fentiman said: “It may be this size of development will push forward the rest of the seafront. It’s a fantastic development and a fantastic scheme.”

The developer has been holding talks with council planners for more than two years. It has now formally asked the council what information it should include in a report on the environmental impact of the development, required with the planning application due to the size of the 2.7-acre site.

As well as a 13-storey block of flats, the developer wants to build shops, restaurants, cafes, bars, a takeaway, offices and an amusement arcade. The site is at the corner of Marine Parade and Southchurch Avenue.

The Inner London Group paid £2.25million for the site in 2010.

The Echo understands the firm is still negotiating with an elderly lady over buying the last of a row of four terraced houses at the north-eastern corner of the plot in Southchurch Avenue, but it is confident a deal will be reached.

A separate stumbling block presented by the Happidrome amusement arcade at the southwestern corner has been avoided, by no longer including it in the redevelopment plans.

Mr Fentiman said: “We are ready to build. If we had planning permission a year ago, we would be building now. We hope to put the application in this year and work could start within six months. It will be in 2015.”