Latest news from Southend Rising

Belfairs Swim Centre re-opens after makeover

25/8/2015

The newly refurbished Belfairs Swim Centre has just re-opened to give residents and visitors an even better swimming experience.

Major improvements have been made to the changing rooms thanks to a grant from Sport England, and the Council has funded other works including changes to the reception area, new lighting and the replacement of pool plant equipment.

People of all ages are welcome to come along and enjoy swimming in this popular community facility in Belfairs Swim Centre, Fairview Gardens, Leigh SS9 3PE.

Belfairs Swim Centre, managed by Fusion on behalf of the Council, offers a varied pool timetable including public swimming, aqua fitness, pool parties, club swimming and much more.

Executive Councillor for Enterprise, Tourism and Economic Development, Councillor Graham Longley said: “We are very pleased that Belfairs Swim Centre is now back in action again. We needed to carry out these extensive refurbishment works to make the Centre as inviting as possible for residents and visitors.

“We are committed to investing in our leisure and sports facilities to encourage as many people as possible to take part in sport and physical activity. Together with our new leisure services provider, Fusion, we aim to offer a top class service.”

For more details about Belfairs Swim Centre, please call 01702 712155 or visit www.fusion-lifestyle.com/belfairs-swim-centre

Southend joins other councils and over 300 businesses to wage war on litter louts

24/8/2015

Southend Council has joined forces with other councils and more than 300 business outlets in the region to wage war on litter louts with a follow-up to last year’s highly successful Love Essex campaign.

Local businesses across Essex, Suffolk and Kent are all joining forces with the same objective: to combat litter and put pressure on offenders to change their anti-social behaviour. The businesses include Britvic, Chelmsford Star Co-operative, Coca-Cola, Costa, Domino’s, Helping Hands, Highways England, Keep Britain Tidy, KFC, McDonald’s, RP2 Global, Smith Anderson, Tesco and Wrigley.

With local authority budgets depleting every year, the demand and pressure on services such as street cleaning rises. Fast food packaging is again a key focus of the campaign. Local authority partnership the Cleaner Essex Group is determined to tackle the problem and knows that the joined-up approach has been tried, tested, and most crucially has brought results.

This year’s campaign reminds people to bin their litter responsibly, or risk a fine for littering from £75.

Following the success of the Essex-wide 2014 ‘Littering… it’s not pretty’ campaign, the partnership is growing in size and strength, with partners campaigning together under the banners of Love Essex, Love Suffolk and Love Kent. Until the end of September posters and fast food packaging will carry labels encouraging different target audiences to bin their litter.

Cllr Martin Terry, Executive Member for Public Protection, Waste and Transport, said: “Keeping Southend clean and tidy costs around £2m a year and our residents and businesses are paying for it. There will always be a cost to street cleansing and to empty litter bins, however if people did the right thing, some of this money could be saved and spent on other important things."

He added: “This is too high a price for the majority to pay when it’s the minority who spoil it. Binning your litter is a pretty quick thing to do and makes our local environment a better place for everyone.”

Allison Ogden-Newton, recently appointed Chief Executive of environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, said: “It is fantastic to see the Love Essex campaign going from strength to strength and the model being adopted by other counties. Campaigns like this, which see local authorities, charities, businesses and communities working together, are the best way to tackle the problem of litter that blights our streets, parks and beaches.”

Winter flights to Switzerland now on sale from Southend Airport

20/8/2015

Tickets go on sale today for winter flights to Switzerland with SkyWork Airlines from London Southend Airport.

Flights will leave Southend four times a week (Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday) at 12.20pm (arriving in Bern at 4pm), with the return flight taking off from Bern at 12pm (arriving back in Essex at 12.50pm).

The new lunchtime take off and arrival time for winter (from 25 October) is being introduced to allow a more relaxed travelling experience for leisure passengers enjoying a trip to the capital city of Switzerland and beyond.

Jon Horne, Interim Managing Director at Southend Airport, said “The SkyWork Airlines flights have been very popular with our passengers since they started from London Southend in October 2014, and I am sure they will continue to be so. Bern Airport is just 10 km from the city centre and easily accessible by train or by car, so it's an ideal starting point for trips into the Swiss mountains.”

Tickets are on sale now at www.flyskywork.com

Work to begin on Kent Elms pedestrian crossing

17/8/2015

Preparatory work is to start on a long-awaited pedestrian crossing at a busy junction on the A127.

Over the coming weeks utilities and council contractors will be seen surveying pipes, cables and drains under the Kent Elms junction of the A127, ahead of construction later in the year.

Communities north and south of this part of the A127 are only currently connected by a stepped footbridge, meaning that pushchair-users and people with mobility problems struggle to safely cross.

This is particularly difficult for those south of the A127 who wish to use the Kent Elms Medical Centre or library to the North.

Cllr Graham Longley, Deputy Leader of Southend Council, said: “I’m delighted that work is now starting on this much-needed surface-level pedestrian crossing.

“For too long now, the A127 has acted as a physical barrier for disabled people and parents of young children. The stepped bridge does not comply with current disability discrimination laws, it is considered by many as an eyesore and it currently prevents this junction of the A127 from being widened in the future.

“This work will at last connect Eastwood and Blenhiem communities and means people will be able to safely cross a busy highway to access vital services.

“As with any highways project, some disruption to motorists and neighbours is inevitable. However, we aim to keep this to a minimum by considering the timing of any road works and the techniques used.”

Work will start in earnest in September on installing the new crossing and should complete in December. Temporary lane closures will be put in place to facilitate the surveys and later construction activity and motorists will be able to find out more by going to www.bettersouthend.com

Further consultation will soon start with local businesses, residents and the local community on proposals to upgrade the Kent Elms junction to support the predicted growth associated with London Southend Airport and the Joint Area Action Plan (JAAP) proposals developed by Southend, Rochford and Essex County Council.

Southend house prices increase by 10% in one year

12/8/2015

House prices in Southend soared by another 10% last year as demand continues to outstrip supply.

The ongoing boom means that Southend remains in the top 10 areas for house price growth across the whole of the UK, according to analysis by Hometrack.

The average price across Southend in June 2015 was £173,699, with a detached property costing £361,688, a semi-detached costing £226,535, a terraced house costing £169,446 and flats going for an average of £120,388.

Property experts say the upward trend will continue as home buyers are priced out of London.

Richard Donnell, Research and Insight Director at Hometrack, said growth was “coming out of the cheapest parts of London and in the commuter areas”.

He said that lack of affordability in London was causing homebuyers to look at markets just outside the M25 area, where employment and earnings are growing and “there’s value for money in housing”.

He added that affordable and accessible markets like Southend will continue to increase.

Luton saw the greatest house price growth (13.1%), followed by Oxford (12.3%) and Milton Keynes (11.4%).

Prices across the whole of London rose by 10.1%, but prices in prime central London only increased by 1.6%, placing it in the bottom three of the house price index.

Changes to taxation, including stamp duty changes affecting the most expensive properties, are blamed for the slowdown in prime areas.

New homes coming to Shoebury

7/8/2015

Nearly 50 new homes are to be built in Shoebury thanks to a development partnership involving Southend Council andPublic Sector Plc (PSP).

The former Hinguar School and Saxon Lodge sites will be regenerated to provide 13 converted apartments in the Old School building, 18 houses to the rear of the site and 15 new apartments in two blocks on the Saxon Lodge site, nine of which will be affordable homes in partnership with a housing association.

This will be the first joint development project between the council and PSP, which follows official completion of the legal arrangements with the chosen developer, Tern Developments Ltd.

The project gained planning permission in April 2015 and will see the careful preservation and conversion of the locally-listed Hinguar School building, which originally opened in 1886. Hinguar School was rebuilt on a new site as part of the Garrison redevelopment in 2012.

Hoardings are set to go up shortly and work will start on both sites in September 2015, with the first properties ready for occupation by autumn 2016.

Cllr Ron Woodley, Leader of the Council, said: “I am delighted that this redevelopment will shortly get underway following the official completion of contracts between the various partners. The project will really showcase the flexibility of the Council’s development partnership with PSP which has enabled the Council to protect the heritage of the old school whilst bringing forward a sensitive and attractive new development on both sites.

“We will see much needed new housing including a mix of houses and flats, including affordable housing and the sensitive conversion of the old Hinguar buildings will offer something really special to the local area.”

Southend secures £13.3m funding for LED street lamps

4/8/2015

Southend Council has accelerated its project to replace all street lights in the borough with environmentally-friendly LED lamps after receiving a £13.3 million cash boost.

The council started replacing the borough’s 14,000 street lanterns last November. Now the £13.5m project will be delivered faster thanks to £5.1m funding from the Department for Transport and a further £8.2m bespoke financial arrangement with the Green Investment Bank.

The project has also been extended to include all illuminated street furniture, such as lit signs, and replacing or refurbishing ageing street lighting columns. A new central management system (CMS) will also allow the council to remotely manage its lanterns across the borough.

The new low-energy streetlights will more than pay for themselves within their lifetime through energy savings while generating carbon savings for the borough.

Cllr Martin Terry, Executive Member for Public Protection, Waste & Transport, said: “Bringing this popular project forward is a win-win situation. The sooner we replace every lamp in the borough, the sooner we can save money, reduce carbon omissions and provide residents and motorists with brighter, cleaner light.

“Unlike many other authorities in the country, this council was determined not to plunge our borough into darkness as a means of making much-needed savings. Instead we listened to the voice of local residents and opted to invest in green technology as a means of saving money in the longer term. We’ve chosen a pioneering solution that shields residents from an increased fear of crime and poorer road safety that are often associated with turning the street lights out.

“We’re proud to be the first local authority in England to use the Green Investment Bank in this way, securing a favourable financial arrangement that will speed up this ambitious, innovative and hugely important project.”

Gregor Paterson-Jones, managing director of Energy Efficiency at the Green Investment Bank, added: “LEDs can last more than six times longer than standard bulbs. As well as delivering practical cost savings, switching all of the UK’s streetlights could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 475,000 tonnes every year. That’s the equivalent of taking over 200,000 cars off the road. This bespoke financial arrangement is specifically designed to help spread costs. Councils that make similar investments could benefit from immediate cost savings that help alleviate budgetary pressures.”

LEDs can provide 100,000 hours of light, compared with just 15,000 hours for standard bulbs.

15 jobs available as part of new leisure contract

4/8/2015

A sport and leisure charity are recruiting for 15 new roles across Southend.

Fusion Lifestyle, which was recently awarded a contract by Southend Council to run four leisure centres across the borough, is inviting people to a recruitment day at Southend Leisure and Tennis Centre between 8am and 5pm on August 11th.

The 15 job opportunities will be as lifeguards and members of the fitness and management teams.

Ian Cooper, Regional Business Manager for Fusion Lifestyle, said: “I look forward to welcoming new members of the team employed via our recruitment day to this fantastic contract in Southend-on-Sea. Initially we have invested £400k in upgrading the leisure centre’s gym and fitness equipment.

“We are also reviewing the leisure centre’s programme of events and activities with a view to expanding our offering, particularly to cater for families. The new team members will help us in delivering sports, fitness and leisure activities for all of the community.”

Later this month, Fusion Lifestyle will reopen Belfairs Swim Centre after major refurbishment works to improve the facility.

Applicants who cannot attend the recruitment event should visit www.fusion-lifestyle.com/Jobs for more information.