A CELEBRITY chef is opening a new restaurant on Southend seafront.

Mark Baumann, who runs Baumann’s Brasserie in Coggershall, has signed the lease of the former Tiffin’s Indian restaurant on Eastern Esplanade and plans to open the first of three Bourgee Luxe Lounge restaurants in July.

The chef said Southend was the “next big place to be” and Bourgee will specialise in fine dining, steak and lobster.

Business partner James Welling said the new restaurant takes its name from the word “bourgeois”, adding the restaurant would be a “coup” for Southend and breathe new life into the seafront.

He said: “This is particularly exciting for Southend – for the town and for local businesses – but we’re also looking at venues number two and three in Essex as well, with a second restaurant coming to Billericay.

“It’s very encouraging in that it’s not only us, but others coming with significant investment and we’ve very consciously chosen this town.

“We’ve got some really interesting people on the project financially and in terms of recruitment – it’s going to be a real coup for Southend.”

Mr Baumann detailed some of his reasons for choosing Southend in a blog in the Stir It Up catering magazine.

He said: “Southend has had a massive amount of investment put into it and I believe it’s going to be the next big place to be in the next year or so.”

Mr Welling added the council had been “unbelievably supportive” and South Essex College has also pitched in on recruitment –with student Jack Pearce being one of the first to be employed at the restaurant.

Derek Jarvis, councillor for leisure, said the restaurant would be a very welcomed addition to Southend.

He said: “That area of town is always changing and on the move and, with developments like the new Sealife Centre, it’s an area which will be constantly improving. It could add a whole new dimension to the area."

From the Echo

A SEAFRONT pub has reopened under new management.

Smithy’s has reopened after being taken over by a group of investors and refurbished. Former landlord John Woodhouse, who was a popular figure in Southend and also ran the Foresters Arms, died last October, but his business partner Sharon Davies continued to run the pub.

The pub is now being managed by Tracey and Chris White, a couple from Shoebury, who want to maintain a family feel to the venue.

Mrs White said: “It’s been going well so far, we’ve had locals coming back and they are quite liking what we are doing. We had no advertising before we opened but we wanted to be ready for the Easter bank holiday.

“We repainted and it smells a bit sweeter now, but we want to keep it as a traditional, family-friendly pub. I put roast potatoes out on the bar last Sunday and people seemed to like those.”

From the Echo

FLIGHTS from Southend to Maastricht in the Netherlands will start this summer.

Airline Flybe will today unveil flights from Southend Airport to Maastricht Aachen Airport, starting in July.

The new destination, the airport’s 15th, is a replacement for Cologne, which Flybe dropped earlier this month, after competitor Ryanair announced it would fly to the German city from Stansted.

Flybe intends to carry up to 25,000 passengers in the first year of the route’s operation, rising to 80,000 passengers in three years.

Tickets for the route, which will operate every day except Saturday from July 10, will go on sale today.

Stobart Air, which has invested more than £120million in the airport since buying it in 2008, hopes to double the number of passengers using it, to more than two million in two years.

From the Echo

TRADERS have reported a bumper Easter bank holiday as thousands of people flocked to the seafront as an annual biker event rolled into town.

Huge crowds turned out on Southend seafront today as glorious sunshine beamed down for the 16th annual Southend Shakedown.

The fundraiser sees hundreds of bikers converge on Western Esplanade and the Golden Mile to raise money, this year for the NSPCC charity.

A steady stream of bikers flooded into the town throught the day while mass crowds walked along the seafront.

Paul Thompson, who runs Pebbles One Cafe in Marine Parade and is the chairman of the Southend Sea Front Traders’ Association, said: “It’s been a very busy bank holiday. There were thousands of bikers here and a lot of families and it’s been a really good day.”

Derek Jarvis, Southend Council’s cabinet member for tourism, said: “From a visitor point of view to see so many people here enjoying the seafront, I can’t think that’s anything but a good thing for the town.”

From the Echo

SOUTHEND has seen an above average increase in disposable household income according to new figures.

Households have over £2,000 more to spend than in 2007 – the tenth biggest increase in the country – according to a league table compiled by accountants UHY Hacker Young.

The list, put together using data from the Office of National Statistics, shows that after bills and taxes, the average Southend household has an annual disposable income of £16,347.

John Lamb, deputy leader of Southend Council, said it was good news for the town.

He said: “It shows that our economy has held up, and that while people have suffered some austerity measures, things are improving. It will help the economy as well when people spend that income in the town’s shops, for whatever their needs are.”

Aberdeen has seen the largest increase in spending money with an average household in the city having nearly £18,000 to spend a year.

A drop in mortgage costs due to record low interest rates is largely responsible for the national increase in spare cash, despite wages lagging behind inflation for years.
 
Mr Lamb added: “We have played our part in the improvement, keeping council tax low while other outgoings have increased quite considerably. We still have areas of depravation, but we are trying to help wherever we can.”

Trish Carpenter, manager at Southend Citizens Advice Bureau, said: “If the economy is picking up that is great and will give people more capacity to cope with debt, but it is not an instant win for people we see. If recruitment increases and there are more jobs around, then that would help.”

From the Echo

GREATER Anglia bosses are investing more than £20million into train services across Essex after agreeing a two year extension to their franchise.

Department for Transport officials confirmed today that Abellio Greater Anglia, which took control of the Great Eastern Main Line in February 2012, will keep the franchise until at least October 2016.

The current deal was due to expire in July and Greater Anglia chiefs are promising improvements worth £20m along the line which runs through Colchester, Braintree, Chelmsford, Southend, Billericay and Brentwood.

Among proposals are new carriages, introduction of online compensation service for season ticket holders and improvements to train performance.

Managing director Jamie Burles said: "I am delighted that we have agreed a very positive new contract with the Department for Transport, which will deliver real improvements for customers across our franchise network.

"We have taken a very customer and community-focused approach to the development of this new deal, ensuring that there are tangible benefits for passengers and stakeholders, despite this being a short franchise period, as well as paving the way for further upgrades as part of the longer franchise that will follow from October 2016."

From the Echo

FORMER Southend MP Sir Teddy Taylor opened the first Discovering Business in Southend exhibition.

The exhibition, at the University of Essex’s campus in Southend, was organised by Networking on Sea, Essex Chambers of Commerce and the university.

It attracted hundreds of businesses, giving exhibitors the chance to network with each other as well as build contacts and relationships with other businesses there to see what was going on in Southend.

Denise Rossiter, chief executive of Essex Chambers of Commerce, said: “The event was intended to get attendees discovering the diversity of businesses in the Southend area and highlighting opportunities for entrepreneurs in south Essex. It did what it said on the tin and we received a lot of positive feedback from attendees and exhibitors alike. All in all, it was a great success.”

Dave Goody, Networking on Sea organiser, said: “The business community of Southend and the surrounding area supported this event wholeheartedly, putting many hours of effort and expertise into making it an unmissable event, one that will be eagerly looked forward to in the future.”

Phil Brown, Southend United manager, was host for a prize draw on the day with Ben Payne from Illuminate Design winning a signed Southend United football.

Danielle Jones, from Rickard Keen, won two return flights to Barcelona sponsored by easyJet.

Southend Airport now expects to carry two million passengers by 2015 - five years earlier than originally planned.
Passenger numbers were 970,000 in 2013 and are predicted to be 1.3 million this year.

Its original target was to get 2 million passengers passing through by 2020, but the airport handled nearly a million passengers in 2013 and a bigger departure lounge, more check-in desks, revamped baggage reclaim facilities, a new arrivals area and five more plane stands have been built.

The new £10m extension to the airport terminal was formally opened yesterday by the Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin.

Mr McLoughlin said “I am very pleased to have the opportunity to see the redevelopment at London Southend Airport first hand. The growth the airport is seeing is fantastic news for the regional economy and passengers alike. This new terminal extension means better facilities for travellers and a boost for the UK’s transport infrastructure.”

Rochford and Southend East MP, James Duddridge accompanied the Secretary on his visit to officially open the £10 million terminal extension, and commented: “I am delighted the Secretary of State for Transport was able to officially open the terminal extension at London Southend Airport.  We have a proud record of welcoming Government Ministers to Southend to commemorate and celebrate the exciting delivery of each stage of the airport’s extension programme. Patrick’s visit comes at a time when the airport is increasing the choice of British and European destinations it offers, seeing ever-increasing traveller numbers and is fast becoming a major player in the aviation industry.”

Southend Airport is Europe’s fastest growing airport, with a 57.1% rise in passenger numbers in 2013 (Airline Network News and Analysis). It was also recently recognised as the Best Airport in Britain in Which? airport passenger survey.

Airport Operations Director David Lister said: “It is great to have the last phase of airport regeneration officially open. At London Southend we pride ourselves in our simply easier experience with short walking distances, friendly staff and targets of less than 4-minutes waiting time for security and 15 minutes from plane to train for passengers with hand luggage only. We are convinced it is those high standards of service that are responsible for London Southend becoming so popular over the past 12 months, and  we have extended the terminal to ensure that standards are not compromised as passenger numbers grow over time. With the terminal extension now open and new Flybe flights just announced, 2014 is already shaping up to be another great year for London Southend Airport.”

The Environment Agency has hailed the success of a ten month project that has improved the quality of bathing water in Southend ahead of the summer season.

Bathing water quality in Southend was affected by pollution from several sources. One of the main causes was over 130 properties not properly connected to the foul water drainage system, including a new block of 40 flats.

Southend is now one of the Environment Agency's top five bathing water locations in the South East.

From the Echo

A MULTI-MILLION pound revamp of Southend seafront could start next week.

Plans for a £1million artificial lagoon at Three Shells Beach, a giant indoor play area in Adventure Island and a scheme to double the size of Sealife Adventure are all set for the green light on Wednesday.

Planning officers have recommended Southend Council approve the schemes, all put forward by the Stockvale Group, which owns Adventure Island and Sealife Adventure, as they meet its ambition to attract tourists out of season.

Paul Thompson, chairman of Southend Seafront Traders’ Association, said: “The schemes will help attract a lot more visitors. They are exciting developments and will bring people in.”

Derek Jarvis, Southend councillor for culture and tourism, said: “The seafront is our main tourist attraction, which generates millions of visitors every year and provides a major boost to the economy. We also value and encourage any investment into the town which offers new job opportunities for local people, and significant financial and regeneration benefits for Southend.”

Stockvale, which also owns the Three Shells Beach Cafe and restaurant Sands, has offered £100,000 towards the tree-lined tidal pool, which would stretch 125ft out into the sea, with the Government offering £850,000.

The firm has offered to move the 400ft long wall that would create the pool 50ft away from the Alexandra Yacht Club jetty after the 140-year-old club and the 60 sea cadets who use the launch raised concerns the steel, rock and boulder structure would prevent craft landing.

But the club says the wall will still prevent members going out in some tides. An extension half the size of a football pitch over an informal staff car park and former crazy golf course next to Sealife Adventre would house penguins, seals, crocodiles and meerkats.

It would boost last year’s 156,000 visitor numbers by a third and create 20 jobs.

The 43ft high indoor play area, on the vacant site next to the pier entrance previously occupied by the Blackbeard pirate ship ride, would contain fairground rides for toddlers and older children, a parents’ enclosure and food outlets.

It would stay open through the winter, when Adventure Island is closed, and create 100 full-time jobs.

Southend’s world famous pier has been shortlisted from almost 1,000 claims to fame in the national tourist board’s Hall of Fame campaign.

Now Southend Council is urging local people, businesses and visitors to vote for the iconic attraction which could see it being part of a landmark exhibition to mark St George’s Day.

The search to establish England’s Hall of Fame began in February when VisitEngland asked the public to submit their suggestions on what England has brought to the world and what makes the country such a diverse and fascinating place to visit and explore. From Harry Potter to James Bond, the mini skirt to the tuxedo, The Beatles to punk music and the Magna Carta to the World Wide Web, the Hall of Fame app has received almost 1,000 submissions.

The public submitted their hometown or favourite holiday spot’s greatest claim to fame under the following categories: The Great, The Good and the Notorious; Inventions & Discoveries; Food & Drink; History & Heritage; Culture & Entertainment and Sport & Leisure. A panel of experts have spent weeks trawling through these claims to fame to select the top 60 (10 per category) in time for English Tourism Week (29th March – 6th April). Now the Hall of Fame app is set to re-open on 2nd April asking the public to vote for England’s ultimate claim to fame. 

The top 60 claims can be viewed at www.englandshalloffame.com, and the public have until 13th April to vote for their favourite. The People’s Choice will go on display, alongside 18 of the best claims to fame (a bronze, silver and gold per category) in a one-off exhibition on London’s Southbank. Launching on St George’s Day (23rd April) and running until 30th April, VisitEngland’s Hall of Fame exhibition at the Southbank’s Observation Point will celebrate what England has brought to the world and what makes the country such a diverse and fascinating place to visit and explore. 

Southend’s famous pier, the longest pleasure pier in the world comes under the sport and leisure category and is competing with the birthplace of cricket, rugby and tennis, the boat race and the world’s first helter skelter.

Cllr Derek Jarvis, executive councillor for culture and tourism, says: “We have always known that the world famous pier is our jewel in the crown and this just goes to prove it.  I think that it is absolutely fantastic that we have made it into the final sixty and alongside some other fantastic and traditional English places and events. However, I would urge local people and our visitors who love the pier so dearly to vote it as their favourite and see it crowned as number one!”

Some examples of the shortlist are below:

History & Heritage
From Capability Brown to the world's first national public museum to the Magna Carta

The Great, the Good and the Notorious
From Andrew Lloyd Webber to Dracula!

Food & Drink
From Earl Grey Tea and the sandwich to – love it or hate it – Marmite

Inventions & Discoveries
From Brunel's engineering masterpieces to the discovery of DNA to gravity!

Sport & Leisure
From the world longest pleasure pier to the Grand National

Culture & Entertainment
Shakespeare, Downton Abbey, Glastonbury… what gets your vote?

View the full shortlist at www.englandshalloffame.com, and on VisitEngland’s Facebook page from 2nd April.

60 new jobs are being created at Southend Airport as Flybe annouces six new routes from the south Essex terminal.

From June and July we will be able to travel to  Rennes (France), Groningen (the Netherlands), Münster Osnabrück (Germany), Cologne Bonn (Germany), Caen Normandie (France) and Antwerp (Belgium).

The move will lead to 700,000 extra passengers passing through the terminal in the next three years.

Southend Airport is Europe's fastest growing airport, with a 57.1% rise in passenger numbers in 2013.

It was also recently recognised as the Best Airport in Britain in Which? airport passenger survey.

Detailing the six new routes, Simon Fagan, Chief Operating Officer, Stobart Air, said: "We are delighted to announce these six new London Southend routes, all of which go on sale today on www.flybe.com .

"Each of these new routes will resonate with both business and leisure passengers. Prices are competitive, schedules are convenient, and the airports are efficient.

Southend Airport Managing Director, Roger Clements, said: "This is fantastic news and perfect timing as we celebrate the completion of our terminal extension.

"We are convinced it is our unique, high standard of customer service that is responsible for London Southend becoming so popular over the past 12 months, and we are delighted to now be able to offer an even wider variety of destinations for business and leisure travellers, all year round. It is also fantastic that new jobs are being created, which is another economic boost we are bringing to the local area."