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Southend-on-Sea
 


Southend-on-Sea Borough Council
http://www.southend.gov.uk/
Borough of Southend-on-Sea
Geography
Status:Unitary, Borough
Region:East of England
Ceremonial County:Essex
Area:
- Total		Ranked 314th
41.76 km²
Admin. HQ:Southend-on-Sea
Grid reference:
ONS code:00KF
Demographics
Population:
- Total ()
- Density		Ranked

/ km²
Ethnicity:95.8% White
1.7% S.Asian
Politics
Leadership:Leader & Cabinet
Executive:
MPs:David Amess, James Duddridge
Southend-on-Sea is a seaside resort and unitary authority in the East of England. The borough of Southend-on-Sea is part of the ceremonial county of Essex and is located on the north side of the Thames estuary roughly 40 miles (65 km) east of London. It is bordered to the north by Rochford and to the west by Castle Point. Southend is twinned with the Polish seaside resort of Sopot.

History

Originally the south end of the village of Prittlewell, Southend became a popular seaside resort for Londoners during the Victorian era. Owing to its proximity to London and easy access by train, the town's economy has largely been based on tourism ever since. Southend Pier is the world's longest pleasure pier at 1.34 miles (2158 metres). Over the years the pier has suffered fires and ship collisions, most recently in October 2005, but it has been repaired each time.

With the decline of traditional British sea-side resorts, from the 1960s onwards much of the centre of Southend was developed as a centre of commerce, and many of the original features of this once-attractive Victorian seaside town were destroyed through redevelopment or neglect. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, formerly Customs and Excise, are major employers in the town, and the central offices for the collection of VAT are located there. Southend recently opened its new university aimed at boosting the town's flagging economy. Many Southend residents commute into London, which may account for the town's entertainment and cultural attractions being relatively under-developed, compared to towns of a similar population and demographic composition.

Local and National Government

Local government district

Southend-on-Sea was formed as a municipal borough in 1892 with the functions of local government shared with Essex County Council. In 1913 the borough was enlarged by gaining the former area of Leigh on Sea Urban District. In 1914 the enlarged Southend-on-Sea gained the status of county borough, exempt from county council control and a single-tier of local government. The county borough was enlarged in 1933 by gaining the former area of Shoeburyness Urban District and part of Rochford Rural District.

In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, Southend on Sea became a district of Essex with borough status, however in 1998 it again became the single tier of local government when it became a unitary authority.

Council

There are currently 17 wards each returning three councillors, making a total of 51. Councillors serve a four year term and are elected by thirds (i.e. one third of the council is elected each year, followed by one year without election). Following the 2006 local elections, the composition is:

Affiliation Councillors
  Conservative Party 30
  Liberal Democrats 9
  Labour Party 8
  Alliance Southend 4

The council is thus controlled by the Conservative Party. Most day to day decisions of the council are made up of a 10 member executive cabinet headed by the council leader. The former leader, Anna Waite, was the only conservative to lose her seat in the recent election.*

Alliance Southend was formed when two independent councillors from Westborough Ward were joined by two councillors who left the Conservative Party.

The town's coat-of-arms bears the motto 'Per Mare Per Ecclesiam' which translates into 'By the Sea and By the Church', reflecting Southend's historic position between the Church at Prittlewell and the sea as in the Thames estuary.

The town is twinned with the resort town of Sopot in Poland. Sopot is the location of the longest wooden pier in Europe, while Southend is the location of the longest iron pleasure pier in the world.

Members of Parliament

Southend is represented by two MPs at Westminster.

The MP for Southend West has been, since 1997, David Amess (Conservative) who replaced Paul Channon.

Since the 2005 General Election the MP for Southend East and nearby Rochford has been James Duddridge (Conservative), who replaced the long serving MP Sir Teddy Taylor. Despite its name the majority of the constituency is in Southend, Rochford makes up only a small part and the majority of Rochford District Council is actually represented by the MP for Rayleigh.

Both seats are considered to be "safe seats" for the Conservative Party.

Economy

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Southend-on-Sea at current basic prices published (pp.240-253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
Year Regional Gross Value Added Agriculture Industry Services
1995 1,373 2 305 1,066
2000 1,821 1 375 1,445
2003 2,083 - 418 1,665

includes hunting and forestry

includes energy and construction

includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured

Components may not sum to totals due to rounding

Transport

Railways

Southend is served by two railway lines. A branch of the Great Eastern Railway, currently operated by One runs between Southend Victoria railway station and Liverpool Street railway station via Rochford, Rayleigh and Billericay.

The other line, the London Tilbury & Southend Railway, currently operated by c2c runs from Shoeburyness in the east of the borough, west through Southend Central railway station to Fenchurch Street railway station via Benfleet, Basildon or Tilbury and Barking. Two services each weekday evening terminate at Liverpool Street instead.

Road

There are two main A-Roads connecting Southend with London and the rest of the country, the A127 (The Southend Arterial Road), via Basildon and Romford, and the A13, via Tilbury and London Docklands. Both are major routes, however within the borough of Southend, the A13 is primarily a single carriageway local route, whereas the A127 is entirely a dual carriageway. Both roads lead to the M25.

Buses

Local public transport is served by two main bus companies, Arriva, Serving Southend (formerly the council owned Southend Transport) and First Essex Buses (formerly known as Eastern National). An agreement between the companies means that they will accept each other's return tickets and local rovers, although many users have found that this depends on the driver. They previously operated a coach service to Victoria Coach Station under the Greenline brand. There is also a National Express coach service to Liverpool, which operates daily.

Southend Airport

London Southend Airport supports scheduled flights to Jersey on summer Saturdays. The new terminal and rail station planned for 2006 operation will almost certainly lead to a greater range of destinations becoming available from the airport, as well as being able to handle 1-2 million passengers a year. Discussions are already being held with interested airlines. Developed from the former military airfield at Rochford it also supports an important mix of engineering activities related to aviation and pilot training, corporate and recreational flights, as well as being home to Avro Vulcan bomber XL426.

Education

Secondary Schools

In 2004 Southend remained one of the areas of the UK that retain the grammar school system and has four schools of this type: Southend High School for Boys, Southend High School for Girls, Westcliff High School for Boys and Westcliff High School for Girls. Additionally there are two single sex schools assisted by the Roman Catholic church: St Bernards High School for Girls and St Thomas More High School. Both of these, while not technically grammar schools, contain a grammar stream; entrance to these streams is gained by passing the same entrance exam as the grammar schools. The other 6 main-stream secondary schools in the area are all mixed sex comprehensive schools.

Further and Higher Education

A number of secondary schools in the area offer further education, but the largest provider of further education is South East Essex College *, Located in a new building in the centre of town.

Currently SEEC offer a limited number of degree courses matriculated by the University of Essex. The university's centre in the town is currently a single building on the High Street *. The University, however, is building its own centre in Southend, located next to the new College campus on the site of the old Odeon cinema. The University notes that 'South Essex is probably the largest conurbation in the country without a significant higher education presence'. This development will change this.

Entertainment and Culture

Seafront Attractions

The town is well known for its seafront attractions. Since 1986, a diesel-hydraulic railway has been running the length of the famous pier, replacing the original electric service which opened in 1890. A fire in October 2005 seriously damaged the pier.

The Kursaal was one of the earliest theme parks, built at the start of the 20th century. It closed in the 1970s and much of the land was developed as housing. The entrance hall, a listed building, is now a bowling alley arcade (operated by Megabowl) and casino.

Another newer theme park, Adventure Island, straddles the pier entrance. It is a popular attraction for both adults and children, and despite a restriction on available land has continued to grow into a large amusement park with over 50 rides. The sea front also houses the "Sea-Life Centre" aquarium.

The cliff gardens and Victorian bandstand were a popular attraction until slippage in 2003 made parts of the cliffs unstable, and the bandstand has been removed for safe keeping. The council has expressed its desire to re-erect the bandstand but a suitable location has yet to be found.

A modern cliff lift links the base of the High Street with the new pier entrance. The older cliff lift, a short funicular railway, is located a few hundred metres away, now closed due to the cliff slippage.

Theatres

There are three theatres in the town.

The Edwardian era Palace Theatre is a grade II listed building built in 1912. Due to financial troubles the theatre is currently closed. It formerly showed plays from professional troupes and repertory groups, as well as some comedy acts. The theatre has two circles and is noted for having a very steep rake. Part of the theatre is a smaller venue called "The Dixon Studio". This was used for more intimate performances.

The Cliffs Pavilion is a larger building and is able to host different forms of show including musical concerts, and performances on ice.

The final and most recent theatre is the New Empire Theatre. It is, unlike the other two theatres, privately owned. It is used far more by amateur dramatic groups. The theatre was converted from the former ABC Cinema, which itself was originally a theatre, built in 1896. Therefore, as well as being Southend's newest theatre it is arguably the oldest as well.

Sport

Southend boasts one football team of league stature, Southend United, which currently competes in the Coca Cola Championship (the second highest division of the English football league system) and is managed by former player Steve Tilson. The team secured automatic promotion on 29 April 2006 and will play the 2006-07 season in the Football League Championship.

There are 2 rugby clubs in town with a nationwide profile, Southend R.F.C. and Westcliff R.F.C., with Southend having the superior men's first team (playing in National Division 3 South) but Westcliff having the more developed youth set up.

Cricket is played at Southend by Essex County Cricket Club twice a year usually, but otherwise the only cricket in Southend is local league Cricket.

Notable people from Southend

See also

Thames Gateway, UK topics

Towns within the Borough of Southend

Chalkwell, Eastwood, Leigh-on-Sea, Prittlewell, Shoeburyness, Southchurch, Thorpe Bay, Westcliff-on-Sea

External links

Local government in Essex | Seaside resorts in England | Southend-on-Sea | Towns in Essex | Unitary authorities in England

Southend-on-Sea | Southend-on-Sea | Southend-on-Sea | Southend-on-Sea | Southend-on-Sea | Southend-on-Sea | Southend-on-Sea

 

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