Word of mouth about the simply easier, super fast service, a wide range of much loved sunny leisure and fun city break destinations and the Which? award for Best Airport in the UK have all combined to give London Southend Airport its busiest ever summer.

230,000 passengers travelled through the Essex terminal between 1 July and 31 August 2013 – that’s a 29.9% increase on the 177,000 that used the airport in summer 2012, and the busiest summer since formal records began in 1967.

The busiest day of the summer period was 4 August, which saw 4,100 travellers jetting off.

The favourite destination in this July to August period was Amsterdam, followed by the hugely popular Spanish destinations of Alicante and Barcelona – in fact more than 400,000 easyJet passengers have been flown between London Southend and Spain since April 2012.

This bustling summer now takes the total passengers to have used London’s newest airport since the new terminal opened in March 2013 to 1.25 million.

London Southend Airport Operations Director David Lister said“Our exclusive 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 up to eight trains per hour to the heart of London in just 53 minutes is what is driving more and more passengers to choose us over other airports. And once they experience our unique offer they keep coming back – and tell their friends, family and colleagues. That is why we are extending the terminal to ensure that we continue to deliver these high standards of customer service as the airport grows. We are also working closely with all our partners to offer an even wider variety of destinations for business and leisure travellers, at a reasonable cost all year round.”

From the Echo: September 16th, 2013

THE demolition of derelict office blocks blighting a gateway to Southend could finally move one step forward this autumn.

Southend Council wants to take planning and financial powers from the Government to kick-start the redevelopment of Victoria Avenue.

The authority hopes to gain the powers to help developers access cash to get projects moving and speed up the planning process in key areas under the Government’s City Deal scheme.

Council leader Nigel Holdcroft said: “The City Deal is specifically intended to enable the council to unlock the site in a way that would enable us to regenerate at no cost to central Government, but until we are able to finalise the deal there is nothing we can do.

“Obviously, we are continuing to do everything we can to make early progress.”

Planning and regeneration officers have been putting together a wish list of powers to claw back from Whitehall since Southend was announced as one of 20 local authorities to be included in the scheme in February.

The authority hopes to start negotiating with the Government in November.

The Echo can reveal one key request is the power to help private firms borrow public money for developments at low interest rates in a bid to make big projects more viable.

This could be done through the Public Works Loan Board, which normally lends local authorities money from the Bank of England for huge building or infrastructure projects.

Officers are also looking at ways to streamline the planning process to cut costs for developers and provide definite answers quickly. In theory, applications should take no more than two months, but, in practice, big schemes often take much longer to be signed off.

The council also hopes to speed up response times from public bodies construction firms have to work with, from the police to English Heritage.

Victoria Avenue, which is the main route into Southend, has been in decline since its Sixties heyday and at least four of the huge office blocks stand empty.

Demolition of the 14-storey former tax office Portcullis House was finished earlier this year and a carpark opened there last month.

Runwood Homes got the green light to convert Victoria House into 36 luxury flats above a small supermarket last November, but work is yet to start.

Mr Holdcroft said the key was getting firms to work together on a comprehensive plan for the street, as one empty building blights other developments.

He said: “At present there are some developments, such as the demolition of Portcullis House.

However, myargument hasbeen that, until we can get the owners working together, any piecemeal development is at risk of being prejudiced by the state of some of the other buildings.

“Other than try to encourage the owners to engage, there is not a great deal that the council can do at present, which is why we are eager to make progress on the City Deal.

From the Echo: September 10th, 2013

DEVELOPERS say a seafront hotel set for approval would be a “shot in the arm”
for Southend, clearing a derelict eyesore and creating 65 jobs.

Esplanade House, which has blighted Southend seafront for more than five
years, will be torn down, if councillors give plans for a 64-bed Premier Inn on
the neighbouring former gasworks site the green light as expected on
Wednesday.

John Bates, head of acquisitions for Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants,
which owns Premier Inn, said: “Southend has been on our target list for a while
and I am pleased to hear council planners have backed our proposals for the
town. Our proposed hotel will be a shot in the arm for Southend.

“It will bring new life to a derelict site, create 65 new jobs with a FTSE
100 company and will help to bring more leisure and business visitors to the
town.

“The new hotel is a vote of confidence in Southend and I hope local
councillors back our proposed investment and help us to become a key part of the
local business community.”

The Robert Leonard Group, which owns the site, has a contractual agreement
with Premier Inn to demolish the ghost block Esplanade House if the hotel is
approved.

The new Premier Inn, the second on the seafront after one at Halfway House,
would be completed by the end of next year.

Southend Council’s development control committee will also decide whether
to give the developer three more years to start work on its long-dormant plans
for a separate hotel, restaurant, shops, 216 flats and 50 affordable homes on
the Esplanade House site.

Outline approval for a 64-bed budget hotel, four blocks of flats and
affordable homes on the Esplanade site ran out last month and would need to be
extended before any development – including the Premier Inn – takes place.

If the deadline is extended, a housebuilder is waiting in the wings to
build the affordable homes next year.

From the Southend Standard: September 9th, 2013

Business has been booming across Southend and Leigh with seafront traders making the most of the extra tourists in what has been the 14th hottest summer in Essex since 1910.

Restaurants, pubs, cafes and ice cream parlours have all reported bumper takings due to the hot weather.

Derek Jarvis, Southend councillor for culture and tourism, revealed the town had received a whopping 64,000 visitors to the pier last month alone.

Mr Jarvis said: “People are coming out to Southend and enjoying themselves, and the number of visitors to the town looks as though it is increasing. A good measurement of this is the number of visitors on the pier, which is increasing month on month.

“Last year was a good year because the pavilion at the end of the pier opened, but even so, figures have increased this year, with 24,000 visitors in May, 48,000 in July, and 64,000 in August.

“Southend has become a destination of choice, with many people choosing to stay longer. It would seem our efforts to make it an attractive place to come and stay are paying off.”

Julia Prewer, co-owner of the Las Vegas Grill, on Marine Parade, said the past few months had been good for the restaurant trade.

She added: “It’s been a very successful summer for us and our seafront location certainly helps with that.

“It’s been the best summer we’ve had for six or seven years, weather-wise, and it’s probably been our busiest summer too, which was particularly well received after the long hard winter.

“Previous summers have started late and ended early, so it’s quite rare for the weather to have lasted as long as it has.”

Southend-based Rossi Ice Cream had to draft in more staff to produce ice cream throughout the night, such was the demand.

Just under two million scoops of ice cream were produced by the company and sold through Rossi outlets from April to August.

Rossi director Colin Gray said: “It’s been a splendid year for the brand, especially after the past six years which, due to the weather, have been a bit lean.

“July was our biggest month over the past seven years and we’ve had sensational sales.

When you look at last July, the rain was torrential – this July,we’ve had a heatwave.

“It’s a great opportunity for tourists and people buying ice cream in our other retail outlets.

“Aside from the recent flooding, the weather has been consistent throughout the summer, which is good for the tourist industry, good for local businesses, and good for ice cream.”

Business owners in Leigh say they have enjoyed a bumper summer with more visitors than in past years.

Sara Williams, owner of Sara’s Tea Garden, in Old Leigh, said: “It’s been an amazing summer.

The sun brings everybody out and Old Leigh has become a lot more popular in recent years.

“It’s been our best summer ever – we’re very popular anyway, but this year especially has been fantastic, with a lot of local customers as well as visitors from further away.”

Craig Herbert, general manager of the Crooked Billet pub, says the weather was a great boost to their trade.

He said: “The weather’s been fantastic and it was nice to have an early start to the summer.

“After a really bad winter, we’ve managed to claw it back and made, on average, one-and-a-half times more than last summer.

“It’s been constant every day and we’re hopeful it’ll be the same for next year.”

Councillor Carole Mulroney, chairman of the leisure, foreshores and environment committee, said: “The fine weather always brings people out, especially after the awful year, weather wise, we had last year.

“It’s been really noticeable in the past few weeks that people are out and about, flocking to the Old Town which is a huge attraction and a wonderful setting.

“The town itself has hopefully benefited as well. The restaurants and bars seem to have been very busy and hopefully this has spilt over into people using the many and varied local shops.”

From Property Week: September 2nd, 2013

Grosvenor Casinos, part of the Rank Group, has signed a 20-year lease with the Yianis Group for a 27,000 sq ft casino at Southend-on-Sea.

Grosvenor will become the anchor tenant in the next phase of the Yianis Group’s  multi-million pound redevelopment of The Palace hotel.

The Palace, one of the last great Edwardian hotels to be built in the UK, has undergone a £25m refurbishment since it was acquired by the Yianis Group in 2000 and has already delivered a 137 bedroom hotel - let to Park Inn - and 16 luxury apartments.

The casino will operate over ground and lower ground floors across a total 27,000 sq ft and is expected to open later this year. 

Cedar Dean Gilmarc has been appointed as joint letting agents with Southend local agents Dedman Gray, to market the remaining 25,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space, which incorporates kiosk units of 500 sq ft through to larger units of 7,000 sq ft.