Southend Town Centre Interventions Project

This project will deliver a number of interventions to support the regeneration and revitalisation of Southend town centre. Whilst Southend town centre remains very popular and enjoys large numbers of visitors it also has relatively high levels of retail unit vacancies (16.75%). In recent times the town centre has also attracted negative publicity due to a number of safety related issues. This project proposes a coordinated mix of interventions to support existing work in the town centre whilst addressing public concerns in relation to community safety and some of the ‘look and feel’ factors which contribute to that. The project will include:

• Work with partners, businesses and developers to think strategically, imaginatively and practically about elements of the public realm which lend themselves to illegal/anti-social activity. This behaviour will be ‘designed out’, whilst at the same time using environmental improvements, public art and street performance to help create better places for all and increase the feeling of safety and well-being.  An early priority will be the reconfiguration of Pitmans Close and Farringdon Service Road which adjoin The Forum and Forum II developments;
• Installation of additional CCTV with ‘facewatch’ capability. This will also include the ability to count and report footfall;
• Work with property owners to improve and promote empty properties including the provision of a 0% loan fund to improve properties and bring vacant space back in to use, perhaps as residential;
• Improved wayfinding signage to promote public access to more of the town centre including The Forum;
• Introduction of new business led activities into empty units in the town centre; and
• Introduction of a PA system to protect the public, as well as promotional announcements for events and activities and to create an audio experience for the public especially during Christmas and other key times of the year.

Award of additional LGF funding

The LGF COVID-19 response fund was established to support those existing LGF projects which were experiencing a funding gap due to cost increases or loss of local funding sources as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. A new LGF project pipeline, consisting of existing LGF projects, was agreed by the Strategic Board in December 2020 and will be used as the basis for awarding all currently unallocated LGF funding.

This project was included on the new LGF project pipeline and the award of an additional £0.125m LGF was approved by Accountability Board on 12th February 2021.

£579m of investment to East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock

In total the SELEP Growth Deal with Government has brought £579m of investment to East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock. Over the lifetime of the Growth Deal (2015-2021) we aim to deliver 78,000 jobs and 29,000 homes across the SELEP area, with the Deal set to attract a further £960m of investment into the South East over the six year period. Find out more here