The winners of Southend’s Best Festive Business competition have been announced.

The competition was arranged in partnership with Southend United Football Club as part of Small Business Saturday.

Companies were encouraged to attract customers with special offers and imaginative Christmas displays, with six worthy winners chosen from Eastwood, Leigh, Westcliff, Southend, Southchurch, and Thorpe Bay/Shoebury.

Their prizes include an advert in a Southend United match programme, a feature on the club’s website and a picture with Southend United Manager, Phil Brown.

Cllr Graham Longley, Executive Councillor for Enterprise, Tourism and Economic Development at Southend Council, said: “We are very proud of our small firms in Southend and are delighted that so many took part in Small Business Saturday – an excellent national campaign.

“The entries for the Best Festive Business Competition were a terrific boost to the whole event.

“There were some marvellously creative ideas among the decorations and these really added to the momentum of Southend’s Christmas countdown.”

Over 90 local businesses took part Small Business Saturday, a national initiative to encourage residents to shop local and support small businesses in their communities on the day and beyond.

Meet the winners and read below about the ideas behind their festive displays. For more details about the firms themselves, visit www.businessonsea.co.uk

Eastwood - Artability

Artability is a day provision committed to creating a working environment and development opportunities for adults with learning difficulties. Service Users were fully involved in all aspects of the window display. The inspiration came from an old chimney sweep in the shop. From this, the trainees drew a sketch of chimneys with Santa and his reindeers travelling in the sky overhead. The display was then made using paper mache and cardboard."

Leigh - Scape Interiors

Our display followed two themes this year, both ran through each side of the shop. Our 'Oliver Twist' window was created to evoke the traditional memories of Christmas. Our other window was inspired by the film 'Frozen'. The Winter Wonderland featured polar bears, white reindeers and penguins lit up with hundreds of lights.

Westcliff - Halo Hair & Beauty

Our festive display was a vintage setting with a modern day twist. We all involved ourselves with the spirit of Christmas by dressing up as Alice in Wonderland's Mad Hatter's Tea Party. On Small Business Saturday we raised £170 for Cedar Hall School. We’ve also been collecting toys for underprivileged children via ‘THE FAMILY ACTION BLIF PROJECT’ and have been amazed by the generosity of our clients."

Southend - Costa Couture Cakes

We wanted our displays to have a festive WOW factor. We displayed a small gingerbread village in our shop window and it certainly attracted customers. We were given the opportunity to display a grander scale model of this in the Victoria Shopping Centre's Santa's grotto. We decided to donate the display in support of Cancer Research UK, who are running the grotto this year.

Southchurch - Blades Hair Company

We ourselves use a lot of the local businesses because we understand the effects of supporting each other. We got inspiration for our festive displays from the ever popular Disney's Frozen! Everyone loves snow and we wanted the salon to look understated with a dusting of snowflakes."

Thorpe Bay - Quinn's of Thorpe Bay

For my festive display I used glass, white, silver and feathers to create the look of a winter wonderland!

 

A plan to generate thousands of jobs across two new business parks near London Southend Airport are set to become a reality, after councillors gave the green light to the scheme.

The proposals - known formally as the London Southend Airport and Environs Joint Area Action Plan (JAAP) - were adopted by Southend councillors at a meeting of the full Council last Thursday, and then by Rochford District Council’s full council meeting yesterday (Tuesday 16 December 2014).

The plans envisage 7,000 jobs being created over 10-15 years through the construction of over 100,000 sqm of new employment space.

Last month, Southend Council announced it had selected Henry Boot Developments Ltd as its preferred development partner. Southend Council is now working with Henry Boot to refine a masterplan for the area, with the intention of submitting an outline planning application to Rochford District Council, as the planning authority, in the spring. Subject to the necessary approvals, construction work could start in 2016.

Key features of the proposals include:

• A site for the Anglia Ruskin Medtech campus which will deliver space and support for businesses in the medical technologies sector
• An innovation centre providing flexible commercial accommodation for entrepreneurs and small businesses
• Up to 109,000 sqm of new employment space, including good-quality new office space
• A further 15,000 sqm of employment space to be made available for redevelopment on the existing Aviation Way Industrial Estate
• New opportunities for aviation-related maintenance and overhaul businesses to develop on the extension of the northern Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul area of the Airport
• New attractive public open spaces and landscaping and investment in sporting facilities
• Transport improvements within the JAAP area and on the local and wider networks, including new routes and junction improvements
• A junction on Cherry Orchard Way to open up land for development.

Cllr Ron Woodley, Leader of Southend Council, said: “This is fantastic news for Southend and Rochford which could see upward of £100m of private sector investment in the area over the next 10 to 15 years.

“This new business space, next to an international airport and with excellent access to the mainline rail line into London, will help us to attract further investment and create much needed jobs for the area.

“It is part of an unfolding story of regeneration across Southend. We’re seeing a huge amount of investment along the seafront and Seaways car park, we’re working hard to bring about the redevelopment of disused office blocks along Victoria Avenue and we’re investing in nurturing new and growing businesses through grants and business support.

“I’m delighted that both Councils have adopted this plan and now look forward to realising the massive economic potential of the area.”

Councillor Keith Hudson, Deputy Leader of Rochford District Council and joint Chairman of the JAAP committee, said:  “This process has taken seven years to complete and involved a great deal of hard work from both Rochford District Council and Southend-on-Sea Borough Councils, but this is where the real work starts.

“Now we need to press ahead with implementation, as this means 7,000 jobs for our residents - 7,000 jobs that will put bread on the tables of our families.

“It will also save a lot of out-commuting and this, combined with the associated improvements to the A127, will take the pressure off our roads.

“I truly believe it’s the greatest thing to happen to our District in a long time.”

Southend is rising and Southend is changing.

The Seaway plans and Marine Plaza development represent a combined investment of more than £100 million in Southend, and will create hundreds of new jobs.

Coupled with the ongoing growth of Southend Airport and plans for an Airport Business Park, there is a real sense that Southend is now a major growth area and a magnet for investment.

Southend Rising was set up to promote Southend, attract investment and support local business, so we are thrilled to see such ambitious plans on the table. We welcome the new jobs, homes and commercial opportunities, and we applaud those who are committed to such significant investment in Southend. Are they out to make a profit? Of course they are – they’re businesses not Samaritans.

Some people don’t like this change and greet each new announcement with negativity and criticism. Southend Rising agrees that the Kursaal and the pier are fundamental parts of the town which must be fiercely protected, but we won’t lament the loss of the Foresters Arms.

Day-trippers and “kiss-me-quick” kiosks will continue to be an important part of Southend’s identity and economy, but now we can attract people who want to stay in a nice hotel for a few days and have a choice of restaurants and entertainment options.

This boosts the night-time economy, improves safety and turns the seafront into a place that people can enjoy around-the-clock throughout the year. Existing seafront traders have already welcomed the Marine Plaza and Seaway announcements.

Valid design concerns about the new developments should be addressed through the planning process, as should questions about traffic congestion. Southend’s roads do need more investment – especially the A127 – but the Government is much more likely to grant funds to a progressive town creating jobs and housing, rather than one stuck in a 1950s time-warp.

With a better reputation comes more investment, more growth and more jobs. People will be able to find well-paid, skilled work on their doorstep, instead of jamming the roads as they commute out of town every day.

The face of Southend is changing for the better, and we think that’s a good thing.

Unemployment across Southend has fallen by more than half since 2012, according to new figures seen exclusively by Southend Rising.

In February 2012 there were 5,983 people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) across Southend West and Rochford/Southend East. By October 2014, the number had fallen to just 2,746 – a 54% reduction.

There was even better news for young people. During the same time period, the number of 18 to 24-year-olds claiming JSA fell from 1,630 to 730. This 55% decrease means there are 900 fewer young people seeking work in Southend West and Rochford/Southend East.  

Southend West MP David Amess believes that local youngsters are benefitting from apprenticeship schemes being run by many Southend businesses.  

Speaking to Southend Rising, Mr Amess said: “I welcome this wonderful news of a drop in youth unemployment. This can partially be accredited to the Government’s long-term economic plan which shows that since 2010, the deficit has been reduced by a third, the private sector has created more than 2,000,000 new jobs, and 400,000 new businesses have been created. But this is also thanks to the huge number of local businesses in Southend West, who recognise the value that young people can add to their enterprises.

“We will be celebrating the Small Business Saturday on 6 December. This is a great opportunity to congratulate all small enterprises in our constituency on achieving this spectacular result in getting a record number of people on the jobs. Southend is a first class place to start a business in.”

Chancellor George Osborne, talking ahead of today’s Autumn Statement, said: “I certainly congratulate Southend businesses on the apprenticeship schemes they run. Apprenticeship schemes number two million in this Parliament and we aim to take that figure to three million in the next Parliament. That is all towards achieving our goal of full employment. We have the highest number of people in work, but we want to go further still.”

Mr Osborne is expected to announce a review of business rates today, to help High Street shops and other local retailers compete with internet giants like Amazon.

Earlier this week, the Government gave the go-ahead for a new business park at Southend Airport, which is set to create an additional 6,000 jobs, on top of 1,000 new jobs within the airport itself.

Find out more about Small Business Saturday in Southend this Saturday.