No Use Empty South Essex
- Capital Investment - Getting Building Fund, Essex, Southend & Thurrock, Less than £2m
Approval status
Fully approved
Delivery status
Project in progress
Expected completion date
Spring 2026
The Getting Building Fund investment will be used to return long-term empty commercial properties back to use, for residential, alternative commercial or mixed-use purposes. The project will focus on secondary retail and other commercial premises which have been significantly impacted by changing consumer demand, the impact of the pandemic and which may have been impacted by larger regeneration schemes.
The project will:
- support economic growth through new commercial activity: attracting new business rates, and creating and safeguarding jobs;
- increase the number of new homes available as a result of mixed-use development: generating new council tax receipts and attracting Government New Homes Bonus;
- support wider regeneration, in particular assisting in improving the vitality and viability of existing commercial areas, improving the quality of the local environment, complementing wider regeneration activities and supporting community safety and cohesion.
This will be achieved through provision of short-term secured loans (up to 3 years) to bring long-term empty commercial properties back into use.
The No Use Empty South Essex project has also applied for Growing Places Fund investment totalling £1m. Further details can be found here.
Project Update November 2021 – At the November Accountability Board meeting it was agreed that the project met the conditions and criteria for the retention of GBF funding beyond the 31 March 2022 for a maximum period of 6 months. This is subject to Strategic Board. endorsement at its meeting in December 2021. Further, at the 13 April 2023 Accountability Board meeting it was agreed that GBF can be retained against the project until 30 June 2023
| Project Outputs | |
|---|---|
| Jobs created/safeguarded | 18 |
| Homes unlocked/delivered | 28 |
| Commercial space unlocked (sq m) | 706 |
£85m of investment to East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock
The Getting Building Fund focuses on projects that can progress quickly and that will stimulate and better integrate economies in some of the most economically impacted and COVID-affected parts of the South East.
£85m of Getting Building Fund investment has been secured, enabling delivery of 34 projects across East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock.