London Southend Airport has agreed to support the Southend Airshow and Military Festival, which is due to take place in September 2014.  

The airport will be supporting the festival in a wide range of ways including air traffic control and overnight storage of aircraft. London Southend Airport joins BTMK, Goldwyn’s Chartered Accountants, Billericay IT Solutions and Candi Entertainment as local businesses which are all offering a range of services free of charge or heavily discounted.

David Lister Operations Director of London Southend Airport said “London Southend Airport is pleased to be able to play a supporting role in bringing back the annual airshow to the town. The Southend Airshow is a hugely popular attraction, drawing large groups of visitors to our corner of Essex over many years. We are very happy to assist in what ways we are able alongside our day to day operations in getting this much loved event flying once again.”

Festival organiser John Delany said “I am delighted with the involvement and support from London Southend Airport to see the Airshow continue. London Southend Airport (Rochford Aerodrome back then) was home to 37 Squadron "A" Flight in WWI so with 2014 being the 100th anniversary of WWI it is very fitting they should be so involved with our event in 2014 to commemorate it.“

Co-organiser Thomas Curtis added “We are looking forward to bringing both Southend Airshow & Military Festival and Southend-On-Sea to an international audience, and London Southend Airport is key to that plan. We could not be more pleased to have the airport on board and providing a range of discounts that will save the event thousands of pounds. ”

London Southend Airport has beaten all other UK airport to be named best in Britain in the latest Which? airport passenger survey.

The Essex terminal topped the poll with a customer score of 84% and a maximum five star rating in five of the ten categories assessed. This left other London airports such as City (78%), Heathrow (Terminal 5, 66%), Gatwick (North, 56%)  Stansted (50%) and Luton (43%) further down the table.

In June 2013, 11,537 Which? members were asked to complete an online survey about their experiences of flying from a UK airport in the past year. The customer scores are based on a combination of overall satisfaction and how likely people are to recommend the airport to a friend.

Categories surveyed included speed of check-in, airport security, passport control, information and navigation, airport design (all of which London Southend scored the maximum five stars in), plus airport environment, food outlets, shops, toilets, facilities.

London Southend Airport Operations Director David Lister said “This is wonderful news and testament to all the hard work that the team here at London Southend has put in. We think ourunique promises to passengers – that they should wait no more than 4-minutes to go through security and that, on arrival with hand baggage, they are on the rail station platform within 15 minutes of leaving the aircraft with a fast and frequent service to the heart of London - is what has been a big part of our success over the last year and the factor which is driving more and more passengers to choose London's newest airport. That is why we are currently extending the terminal to ensure that we continue to deliver these high standards of customer service as the airport grows, and we are also working closely with all our partners to offer more variety of destinations for business and leisure travellers.”

Which? Executive Director, Richard Lloyd, said“Our research shows a jumbo jet-sized gap in the performance of UK airports with smaller terminals generally performing better.  It is clear some of our major airports have some work to do if they are to keep more of their passengers satisfied."

From the Echo: August 14, 2013

A HOME, leisure and garden store is being planned for the former B&Q site in Southend.

The boss of the Range, which sells furniture, furnishings, home ware and garden products, is keen to create another superstore on the derelict area in Short Street.

Politicians and business leaders have welcomed the application, and the 100-plus jobs it would bring, after Tesco scrapped its plans for a £50million superstore there.

Founder Chris Dawson said: “Southend is the perfect location for us as a company.

“We are very much looking forward to the new store opening and it will be great to show our Southend customers the great quality and value products we offer.”

Dawn Jeakings, manager of the Royals Shopping Centre, said: “It’s very good news and we are looking forward to having another addition to the town. It will increase footfall, too.

"I’m the other end of the High Street, but if it increases footfall by five to ten per cent it’s a good thing.”

From the Echo: August 8th, 2013

Southend had the second highest number of property sales in Essex in the last financial year, with an average price of £212,000.

More than 2,500 homes in Southend were bought and sold, according to data published by the Taxpayers’ Alliance, proving the area has a buoyant housing market.

John Matthews, 60, of Windsor Way, Rayleigh, was amazed when he sold his late father’s three-bedroom semidetached house in Keith Way, Prittlewell, just two months after putting it on the market.

He accepted the first offer, which was just below the asking price of £190,000.

Mr Matthews said: “I was surprised how quickly the house sold. But I was also surprised how much interest we had with viewings.

“We decided to leave the house as it was and the family who bought it were happy, because they got a bit of a bargain in return for doing it up themselves.

“I think a lot of it is down to luck and if the right people are looking at the right time, but I know the property market, in Southend especially, is really strong at the moment.

“It’s good for everyone that house sales are booming, especially after we’ve faced a poor economy for the past few years.”

From the Echo: August 8th, 2013

BUSINESSES are toasting a £6million shot in the arm thanks to Southend’s new £27million library.

The building, called the Forum, will replace the dilapidated library in Victoria Avenue as well as hosting new classrooms for South Essex College and research facilities for the University of Essex.

Contractor Wates Construction chose ten Essex suppliers to make sure the county’s businesses benefited from the cash coming into the area.

Peter Wilson is the director of P & J Decorators in Westcliff – one of the businesses chosen to work on the project.

He said: “It has been really rewarding to lend our services to the development of the Forum and be part of a project that is set to play such an important part in the local community.

“We’ve really enjoyed working with Wates on site and contributing to the construction of this impressive building. We’re really grateful to have had the opportunity to be part of their supply chain in Southend.”

Steel fabricators JJ Donovan & Sons, based in Wickford, and Sealtite Sealants, in Stanford-le- Hope, have also been working on the landmark building.

Professor Brian Cox will open the new facility with a lecture on September 30. Work started on the building in February 2012.

Peter Whitmore, from Wates Construction, which is building the Forum, said: “As part of our continued commitment to working with local suppliers, we have immersed ourselves in the community in Southend to ensure this flagship project benefits businesses based in the area.

“The resulting figures reinforce the importance of investing in construction as a means of stimulating economic growth – enabling contractors like us to pass this investment through a locally based supply chain, thereby boosting employment and benefiting the local economy.”

From the Echo: August 7, 2013

ONE of Shoebury's oldest buildings is set for a £1.4million transformation by a leading pub chain.

JD Wetherspoon has applied to refurbish and reopen the 250- year-old Parsons Barn pub, in Frobisher Way.

It closed last November and has been the subject of repeated vandalism ever since.

The new owner hopes to have the work completed and the beer flowing again by next February, creating 45 jobs.

Wetherspoon chief executive John Hutson said: “We appreciate this is a well-known building in the town, which has fallen into disrepair since its closure.

“We are looking forward to restoring the building and opening a new pub, which we are confident will be a great addition to the Shoebury community.”