Property prices in Leigh-on-Sea have rocketed by 16.6% this year – the fifth highest rate in the UK.

New figures from the Halifax reveal that average prices in the town have gone up from £269,478 in 2014 to £314,175 in 2015.

This compares to an average 10.1%, or £21,000, climb across the UK to £230,672, and a 12% rise across London.

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said: "Those areas that have seen the biggest house price increases over the past year are either in outer London or within close commuting distance of the capital.

"Demand in these areas has risen as rapid house price rises in central London in the past few years have caused increasing numbers of people to look for property in more affordable areas.

The London borough of Newham topped the list, with prices up by 22.2% over the past year to an average of £319,522 – only slightly more expensive than Leigh.
​
Bottom of the pile was Merthyr Tydfil in Wales, where prices fell by 3.8% to £103,983.

Southend Council has successfully bid for £108,622 from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and Department of Health (DoH) to provide targeted support for homeless people with complex needs. The successful bids were announced earlier today.
 
The funding will be used to divide an existing homeless hostel in Southchurch Avenue to provide ten units of self-contained accommodation for this particular group of homeless people.
 
Cllr Martin Terry, Deputy Executive Councillor for Housing, says: “This funding is excellent news and will help us to support a group that are often the most challenging to engage with, work with and source accommodation for. 
 
“As well as providing self-contained accommodation, the funding will also allow us to provide training and assessment facilities for use by all of Southend’s homeless. 
 
“This will provide Southend with the ability to use a pioneering approach to address the housing needs of some of our most complex and vulnerable homeless and rough sleepers in the Borough.
 
“There is no doubting that, and as with many local authorities, we are facing pressure on our homelessness service, with an added demand for services, coupled with diminishing resources.  It is not an easy situation so funding like this can only be welcomed. Two other Southend projects were also successful which means that 3 out of 60 projects funded nationally are here in Southend which is also great news.”
 
The full list of successful bids can be found here – this list highlights the two other Southend-on-Sea projects successful under the Platform for Life allocations.

Residents and businesses across the borough are invited to shape Southend Council’s vision for the future development of the town centre and central seafront over the next five years.
 
The Southend Central Area Action Plan (SCAAP) sets out the Council’s proposals to manage development of the town and seafront and how it will assess planning applications for the area over the next five years.
 
The plan can be viewed and commented upon by visiting www.southend.gov.uk/scaap from today (Friday 18 December). There are also two public workshops planned on 21st January at the Park Inn Palace, where members of the public can learn more about the action plan and shape its content.
 
·        Public Workshop 1 – 21st January, 10:00-12:30
·        Public workshop 2 – 21st January, 18:00-20:30

Martin Terry, Deputy Executive Cllr for Housing, Planning & Regulatory Control, said: “The council has an ambitious vision for Southend to be a prosperous and thriving City by the Sea. But we need the views and expert local knowledge of the public to shape our long-term plans for the town’s development.
 
“The action plan is a highly detailed document, so I would urge as many residents as possible to attend one of our public workshops, where they can speak to members of the planning team and help inform our proposals.”
 
Southend Council is welcoming views on the draft SCAAP by 15th February 2016. To have your say and view the full reports:
 
·        Head online and visit: www.southend.gov.uk/scaap
·        Call 01702 215408 and request a printed copy
·        Visit your local library
·        Visit the Southend Civic Centre

Respond using a response form:
 
·        online at: www.southend.gov.uk/planningpolicyconsultations
·        via email: ldf@southend.gov.uk
·        Post: FAO Debee Skinner
                   Department for Place
                   Southend-on-Sea Borough Council
                   PO BOX 5557
                  Civic Centre
                  Victoria Avenue
                  Southend-on-Sea
                  Essex SS2 6ZF

Revised plans for a £50 million leisure park near Southend seafront go on public display this week.


Residents are being invited to view the ambitious proposals for the Seaway car park in Lucy Road and talk to staff from Turnstone Estates this Wednesday, December 16th, between 12pm and 7pm at the Royals Shopping Centre.

Turnstone Estates are planning to build a new 10-screen cinema, an 80-room hotel, 12 restaurants, a rock climbing wall, a gym, a new public plaza and a multi-storey car park on the site. A total of 500 car parking spaces are planned in the multi-storey to replace the current 470 space surface car park.

The first three restaurant units have been pre-let to The Restaurant Group, which operates the Coast to Coast, Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito restaurants. The cinema operator is due to be named shortly. 

Turnstone say that the scheme will provide around 450 new jobs.

The plans come as part of a wider scheme to stimulate growth and regeneration of the central seafront area. As set out in the Southend Central Area Action Plan, the council has ambitions for regeneration in key areas to make Southend a thriving regional centre by providing new opportunities for recreation and leisure.

Tim Deacon, director at Turnstone Estates, said, “We are delighted to be sharing these exciting proposals with local people. This project is a vital part of the Council’s town centre regeneration plans and Seaway Leisure is a unique opportunity to enhance and reinforce the town centre by offering complementary restaurant and leisure uses, generating extra footfall and providing a huge boost to the local economy.”

More information about the project can be found by visiting www.seawayleisure.co.uk. Residents with comments or questions can get in touch with the project team by calling 0800 148 8911, emailinginfo@seawayleisure.co.uk or you can tweet the team @seawayleisure.

An outline planning application is due to be submitted in early 2016.

​Two education establishments have become the largest producers of solar energy in Southend as part of a drive to cut costs by going green.
 
A total of 754 solar panels have been installed on the roof of Temple Sutton School, providing 180,000kwh a year - around three quarters of the school’s electricity demand. Southend Adult Community College, meanwhile, has fitted 401 panels to their roofs, providing 90,000 kwh a year, approximately a third of demand.

The solar installations are just one part of a large investment programme in energy savings and generation at the sites, which will also include solar-thermal cells, biomass boilers, ground-source heat pumps, LED lighting, additional insulation, motor controls, heating controls and double glazed windows at the school.  It is estimated that 437 tonnes of CO2 will be saved every year from the new measure – the equivalent to 219 hot air balloons filled with CO2.
 
The initial £1.9m investment is being made by the Council on the school and college’s behalf.  The school and college will then use part of the energy cost savings to pay for the investment over the long term. Additional savings can then be used by the school and college to reinvest into education. 
 
Cllr Mary Betson, Executive Member for Enterprise, Tourism & Economic Development, said: “The work by both the school and college highlights how forward-thinking education providers can harness environmental technology to become leaner and greener, thereby saving money which they can reinvest in education.
 
“Southend-on-Sea Borough Council is currently considering a whole raft of energy schemes that will not only reduce the Borough’s carbon footprint but also help residents and businesses alike to combat rising energy prices.
 
“Earlier this year we launched a new energy supply partnership, Southend Energy, which now has over 1,100 customers who are on target to have made a combined saving of over £280k in their first year.
 
“We’re also replacing every street light in the borough over the next two years with efficient LED lamps, enabling us to keep the lights on all night every night at a time when other authorities are having to turning theirs off to control budgets.”
 
Head teacher of Temple Sutton, Tim Barrett, said: “At a time when energy prices are rising and budgets are challenging, investing in green energy to save money long term is an extremely attractive proposition. However, for many schools, the initial outlay for solar panels, boiler and associated works can be prohibitive. That’s why we were delighted that the Council were able to underwrite the necessary finance and a solution for spreading out repayments in line with savings.
 
“The pupils at the school are really interested in environmental issues and have been keen to engage in activities around energy saving. There’s no doubt that green energy has an increasing role to play in meeting the country’s energy needs and we’re proud that our students will be at the forefront of the renewable energy revolution.”
 
Sue Hasty, Principal of Southend Adult Community College, said: “It’s clear that we all must find a way to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and that renewable energy is an important part of the energy mix in future. With prices for micro-generation such as solar panels coming down, this means that we are able to save money as well as carbon, leaving us more to invest in computers, e-learning technology and teaching resources.”

An artisan muffin bakery is moving into the former Early Learning Centre building on Southend High Street next week.

The new Muffin Break store will be creating 13 new jobs, including a team of in-house bakers, and will seat around 75 customers at a time.

Abdul Majid, franchisee of the new Southend Muffin Break, said: “I am really excited to be opening a Muffin Break store in the lead up Christmas and look forward to inviting all the busy shoppers to come into our store to refuel themselves. What really makes Muffin Break different from other cafes is that we employ skilled bakers on the premises who make delicious products fresh from scratch each morning. We cannot wait to share our tempting menu with everyone. The team and I are confident that the quality of our food and coffee will entice customers to visit us time and time again.”

Muffin Break Southend-on-Sea will be serving muffins, cakes, slices, cookies and scones; alongside quiches, sandwiches, soups, wraps and paninis. Customers can also treat themselves to a cup of Muffin Break’s special blend of coffee, which is made from 100% Arabica beans.

Muffin Break has a loyalty card scheme, which offers all loyalty card holders the chance to receive every sixth coffee purchased free of charge. Plus, by registering their loyalty card on the Muffin Break website, customers can automatically receive a free coffee and a complimentary muffin on their birthday.

For more information visit: www.muffinbreak.co.uk