Summer came early for Southend and its traders this Easter with soaring temperatures and the return of the Southend Shakedown motorcycle event making it the busiest in recent memory.
 
After temperatures reached the mid 20’s, tens of thousands of tourists and residents flocked to the town’s sun-soaked beaches to enjoy traditional fish and chips, soak up the sun, and admire over 3,500 motorbikes that had roared their way to the seafront on Bank Holiday Monday.
 
A total of 18,461 sun-seekers visited the pier over the weekend – more than the whole of March. The Pier saw a fun Easter Egg hunt along with the opening of the new tearoom where Jamie and Jimmy’s TV show is filmed.
 
Meanwhile, the hidden historical gem of Prittlewell Priory attracted 5,442 visitors to its popular Teddy Bear Hunt – compared to 538 in Easter last year.

In anticipation of the busy weekend, significant extra resources were drafted in, including parking marshals to coordinate car park flow and BID rangers to welcome visitors and help reunite lost children with parents.

An extra 25 Veolia waste staff were drafted in to remove waste, with crews removing over 11 tonnes of rubbish from the seafront - from both bins and litter-picks - and clocking up a total of 320 working hours between them.
 
Scott Dolling, Director of Culture, Tourism and Property, said the success of the weekend showed that the extensive planning between the Council, emergency services and local police as part of Operation Heatwave had paid off.

He said: “This was the busiest Easter we can recall for many years with huge numbers visiting the breadth of our seafront and award-winning parks. The sunshine certainly helped, but the huge numbers clearly show the continued appeal of Southend as a visitor destination.

“I, like many, was delighted to see the return of the Southend Shakedown and congratulate the organising committee on such a well-attended, safe and enjoyable event.

“As one of the key agencies involved in ensuring the event ran smoothly, we will be attending a debrief and taking on board feedback from attendees, traders and residents.

“In particular, I would like to thank our Veolia waste crews for their fantastic work - many local residents and businesses have also told us what a fantastic jobs they did. They worked long hours, raking the beaches early in the morning, regularly empty bins throughout the day, then picking up litter in the evenings.

“It’s clear that our joint preparations have helped ensure were welcomed, had a fantastic time and will want to return again and again.”

Traders also saw a boom in trade. Joan Tiney, chair of Southend Seafront Traders Association, said: “We had live music on at The Borough and the atmosphere was great with no trouble just people having a great day out. I have not seen the seafront so packed in a long time and the organisers are to be complimented on all their hard work.”
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Jacqui Dallimore, chair of Southend Tourism Partnership, said: “The Roslin Hotel, like much of the Borough, has been exceptionally busy over the Bank Holiday especially on our large terraces and it’s been great to see the whole area buzzing with the glorious weather.
“There really is no better place to be when the sun is shining but of course Southend’s offer is increasingly all-year round with such a diverse and wonderful events programme.”

​Record numbers of visitors are coming to Southend’s shores and they are staying here for longer, the town’s tourism leaders have heard.
 
Businesses, volunteers and council partners were told the welcome news at Southend’s fourth Annual Tourism Conference, where representatives of Visit Essex also stated that Southend was experiencing an increase in overnight stays – the only borough in the county to do so.
 
The conference, held on Southend Pier last week, saw attendees sharing ideas for the upcoming season and reviewing the town’s progress against its ambitious tourism strategy, Destination Southend-on-Sea, which aims to propel the town to being “England’s number one coastal destination.”
 
Delivering excellent customer service was a key theme of the conference, following on from the ‘Make Southend Sparkle’ campaign, which sees residents and businesses join forces to spruce up the borough’s streets with litter picks, beach cleans and planting.
 
Place branding and developing better communications were also key themes that delegates were keen to highlight.
 
Scott Dolling, Director of Culture, Tourism and Property, said: “News that more people are visiting Southend and that they are staying longer is a real boon for the town and shows that businesses, volunteers and the council are working well together to deliver against our ambitious tourism strategy.
 
“That this news comes before the Easter Holidays – which typically sees the year’s first large surge of visitors and will this year welcome the Southend Shakedown Resurrection – is especially welcome.
 
“This conference, now in its fourth year, helps bring like-minded, positive businesses and organisations together to see how we can work better together for the benefit of the town and its economy.
 
Jacqui Dallimore, chair of the Southend Tourism Partnership, said: “Southend welcomes 7.5 million visitors a year, with tourism supporting 9,500 people through direct employment and bringing £440m into the local economy. It’s vital that Southend’s visitor offer continues to grow and evolve and the Annual Tourism Conference is crucial in setting the tone and establishing the priorities for the visitor season ahead.”

Residents, businesses and community groups are invited to shape the development of Southend over the next 20 years.
 
Southend Council is hosting three local events to seek people’s views on a new Local Plan which sets out the council’s proposals to manage development of the borough and how it will assess planning applications for the area over the next 20 years.
 
Local Plans address needs and opportunities in relation to housing, the local economy, community facilities and infrastructure, such as roads and transport. They should safeguard the environment, enable adaptation to climate change and help secure high quality and accessible design.
 
Cllr John Lamb, Leader of Southend Council, said: “Having a good Local Plan in place is vital for the future of the town. It will determine where major developments take place across the borough over the next 20 years and will impact on where people will live, work and spend our leisure time.
 
“In Southend, we have a real challenge in providing the level of housing growth we need to meet future demand, so where and how we let residential development take place will be an important – but by no means the only – part of this consultation.
 
“Importantly, it will allow the town to grow in a sustainable way, so that we have sufficient roads, medical facilities and schools while protecting valuable green spaces.
 
“I feel passionate about Southend and I want the best possible future for its residents. I know this passion is shared by people I speak to across the town.
 
“Please share your views now to shape the sort of town you would wish future generations to grow up in.”
 
The draft Local Plan can be viewed and commented upon by visiting https://localplan.southend.gov.uk until 2 April 2019.
 
The three public events will be held at the following times and locations:
 

• Saturday 23rd February – The Forum, Southend Town Centre 09:30 – 17:00
• Wednesday 27th February – Thorpe Bay Yacht Club 13:00 – 18:00
• Wednesday 13th March – Leigh Community Centre 15:00 – 20:00

You can also buy hard copies of the document. Hard copies can also be viewed at the Civic Centre and all the local libraries within the borough.
Email: planningpolicy@southend.gov.uk

Post: Business Intelligence Officer, Performance & Business Support, Department of Place, Southend-on-Sea Borough Council, PO Box 6, Civic Centre, Victoria Avenue, Southend-on-Sea, SS2 6ER.

If you would like to be notified of future planning policy consultations, you can sign up to the council’s planning policy consultation database. Please contact planningpolicy@southend.gov.uk or telephone 01702 215408.

New planters, lighting columns and benches are being installed at the town centre end of London Road as part of a project to improve access and create a more attractive gateway to the town.
 
The work is part of the Southend Central Area Transport Scheme (S-CATS) and follows the reconfiguration of the highway and parking of London Road between Queensway and College Way as well as the introduction of new electric vehicle charging points.
 
A total of eight Corten steel lighting columns, which are designed to give a rust effect, were erected earlier this week together with seven complementary planters and seven benches. The planters will be planted with ivy within the next few weeks.
 
The landscaping scheme was the result of consultation with local businesses and marks the end of the first phase work along this stretch of London Road.
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Later phases of the project will focus on improving the section of London Road (from College Way to Victoria Circus) and then improving the Victoria Circus public area itself.
 
Cllr Andrew Moring, cabinet member for infrastructure, said: “I’m pleased to see work progressing on the landscaping of this important gateway to the town. The clever design allows us to introduce greenery to an area where planting trees into the ground was not an option due to the large number of pipes and cables beneath the road, as well as introducing attractive new lighting and seating.
 
“I’d like to thank all the local businesses who fed into the final design by sharing their ideas.”
 
Southend Central Area Transport Scheme (S-CATS) is a £7m project is being fully funded by the Department for Transport’s Local Growth Fund through the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP).
 
The first phase of S-CATS was completed in 2017 with £1m worth junction improvements on Victoria Avenue (Great Eastern, Carnarvon Road and East Street/West Street).
 
Phase 2 (just completed) is a £2m public realm and streetscape improvement scheme along London Road (between Queensway and College Way through to Elmer Avenue) to make this an attractive gateway to Southend High Street.
 
Later phases of the project will focus on improving the section of London Road (from College Way to Victoria Circus) and then improving the Victoria Circus itself. A much wider stakeholder engagement process is planned to develop design options for these phases.

Blue Islands, a Flybe franchise partner, has today announced it will launch new daily flights to Guernsey from London Southend Airport, starting from 20 May 2019.

Tickets are on sale now at www.flybe.com. All ‘Just Fly’ seats are £29.99 one way, when booked by 30 Jan. From 31 Jan onwards fares will be from £29.99 one way.

The new service will be operated on 68-seat Blue Islands ATR 72-500, with flights taking just 75-minutes.

Glyn Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Stobart Aviation, owners of London Southend Airport said “We are delighted that Flybe franchise partner Blue Islands, has chosen London Southend to provide a new route to Guernsey from our fast growing airport. We have now launched an incredible three new routes in January alone. With our own railway station just 100 paces from the terminal door, up to six trains an hour into London in under an hour and our award-winning customer service, we expect our latest route to the Channel Islands to prove very popular with passengers from London and the South East.”
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Rob Veron, Blue Islands CEO: “As a Channel Islands based airline, Blue Islands is proud to launch a new daily service from London Southend to Guernsey, making it easier than ever to discover our beautiful island. Equally, the service offers Guernsey residents an effortless way to arrive in London thanks to London Southend’s excellent train connections to central London.”​

​More than £35m of new projects are being put forward by Southend Council as part of its draft capital budget proposals for 2019/20.

In addition to existing schemes already ongoing or planned, this would give the council a capital investment programme of £177m for the next four year period, including over £18m of investment into the Pier, £26.3m investment into improving roads and pavements, £3m for community safety improvements and £1.2m on parks and open spaces.

An additional £36.5m worth of new projects are also included in the draft programme, but will be subject to external funding and detailed and viable business cases being prepared and approved, including up to £20m for commercial property purchases over the next three years, £10.5m for a new pavilion deck on the end of the pier and £1m for the refurbishment of the Cliffs Pavilion in summer 2020.

The capital budget, which is separate to the council’s day to day revenue budget, is used to make one-off investments in things like regeneration and housing projects, and to carry out essential improvements to leisure and cultural facilities and ICT systems. Funding is raised from a mixture of external funding, reserves and borrowing.

The proposals for new projects include £3.25m over the next two years to replace ageing Pier trains which were introduced in 1986 with a predicted 20 year lifespan and an additional £3m over three years to fix more pavements and roads.

Safety measures are also a big new investment, with a further £2m proposed to continue to upgrade the borough’s CCTV system and install new cameras in key locations following a recent consultation.

A new children’s residential care home, new public toilet provision, better traffic management and car park improvements are some of the other projects highlighted for new investment in the draft budget.

Over £20m is also being added to the capital programme from 2021 to 2024 for investment in the council housing stock, which will be funded through the housing revenue account (HRA).

Cllr James Courtenay, Deputy Leader of the Council, says: “Capital and revenue budgets are two entirely different things and we have a duty to fund essential things like ensuring we can look after our most vulnerable residents, and also ensure that facilities like the Pier and Cliffs Pavilion, which are a source of pride and joy for so many, are invested in and safeguarded for the future. Financially we have tightened our belts, but this must not be to the detriment of our future vision for Southend-on-Sea and our plans must remain bold and ambitious.

“The resident and stakeholder led ambition document Southend 2050, has helped us identify the type of town our residents and stakeholders want to see. With feedback from more than 35,000 people, it helps us to focus both on the work that is needed now, but also over the next few years, to help make those ambitions a reality.

“This can be seen with more investment in things that are important to people in the here and now, including fixing more roads and pavements, investing in more public toilet provision in the seafront area, and ensuring our housing stock is up to decent homes standard, but also looking to the future with investment in the Pier and the Bell junction for example.

“The proposals in this draft capital budget will make a real difference to important local facilities and infrastructure and shows that we are open for business and here to do the very best for local people and businesses.”

If all external funding and viable business cases are approved, then the capital investment programme could be £229m for the period of 2019/20 to 2023/24.

Other investment within the capital programme and already allocated includes £12.7m for the ongoing secondary schools expansion programme, £24.8m for the continued development of Airport Business Park Southend, £11.5m for the delivery of a new 60 bedroom care facility and day centre and £1.3m for the continued construction of  affordable housing on housing land.

There will also be a business and voluntary sector budget consultation event on Thursday 17 January at Holiday Inn, Eastwoodbury Crescent starting at 8.30am (registration from 7.30am). This will give local businesses and stakeholders the opportunity to hear an insight of the 2019/20 budget.

Leigh-on-Sea has been crowned the happiest place to live in Britain for the second time in three years after topping Rightmove's 2018 Happy at Home Index.

The town originally took top spot in the 2016 index, and has climbed back into first place again this year.
 
The findings follow a survey of more than 21,000 people by Rightmove, which asked people how happy they are with where they live across 219 areas in Britain, based on factors such as community spirit, feeling safe, earning enough money to live comfortably, proximity to green spaces and amenities, friendliness and artistic and cultural activities.
 
Leigh-on-Sea scored highly for community spirit, the opportunity to develop skills, and restaurants and shops.
 
Valerie Morgan of Leigh-on-Sea Town Council said: "We’re all quite friendly here. People like to pass the time of day with one another, rather than ignore each other. There is also quite a large dog walking community down here so there’s lots of social interaction and people stopping and chatting to each other.”
 
Rob Cooke, director of Hunt Roche estate agents in Leigh-on-Sea, said: “There is just a lot going on, there are some pretty trendy parts of Leigh-on-Sea.”
 
The 10 happiest places to live according to Rightmove’s survey:

1. Leigh-on-Sea, East of England
2. Farnham, South East
3. Monmouth, Wales
4. Christchurch, South West
5. Leamington Spa, West Midlands
6. Newbury, South East
7. Macclesfield, North West
8. Hitchin, East of England
9. Tunbridge Wells, South East
10. Kendal, North West

Visitor numbers to Southend reached a record high in 2017, according to a new tourism assessment.
 
The key results from the 2017 Economic Impact Assessment – an independent assessment conducted by tourism insights experts Destination Research - has shown that tourism in Southend reached new heights in a record breaking year.
 
Key results show that:

• More than 7.5 million trips were undertaken in the area, an increase of around 500,000 from 2016
• £335m was spent by tourists, an increase of £22m from 2016
• 9,587 jobs supported for local residents, an increase of 607 from 2016
• £50m generated from overnight visits, an increase of £2m from 2016

Cllr James Courtenay, cabinet member for growth, said: “Figures from the recent Economic Impact Assessment reveal Southend’s tourism economy continued to go from strength to strength last year. The council has worked closely with our partners, such as Southend BID, to entice day-trippers to the borough and encourage them to stay longer.
 
“I’m pleased to see an increase in number of trips, number of overnight visits, money spent in the borough through tourism and also more tourism jobs filled by local people. This is all fantastic news for the town.
 
“So far this year we have also seen record visitor numbers for the pier, and I am confident that visitor numbers for this year will be similarly impressive. Our focus now must be to continue to ensure our town remains a place people wish to keep coming back to and our recent High Street summit is and important part of that.”