Seafront traders fear “traffic chaos” in Southend amid claims a massive regeneration scheme does not offer enough parking. 

Turnstone Estates’ £50million Seaway scheme was unveiled to the public yesterday at the Royals Shopping Centre. It includes a cinema, ten restaurants, hotel and leisure centre to the Lucy Road car park. 

The current site offers 485 car parking spaces, but the new development will only have 480 bays in a multi-storey car park, rising to 500 spaces when the coach bays are not being used. 

Seafront traders argue the scheme needs double the amount of spaces proposed, as the current site regularly gets filled by midday on summer days. 

The developers themselves admit they have a difficult situation on their hands, and will look to encourage people to park elsewhere, claiming that car parks within ten minutes of the site have 2,200 spaces between them. 

Paul Thompson, chairman of the Southend Seafront Traders’ Association, said: “This will create a massive amount of extra demand on a site that is full by midday during the summer months. 

“If this goes ahead in its current form, the council risks traffic chaos across the entirety of Southend.” 

Southend Council owns the Seaway site, but has signed a deal in principle for the Cambridge-based firm to develop it into a huge leisure complex, that also includes a leisure centre. 

At the moment, the car park has 485 permanent car parking spaces, and 36 coach spaces. 

The new scheme will offer 480 permanent car parking bays, and 11 coach spaces, and in the evening when the coach bays are not being used an extra 20 car parking slots will be available.

But the planned hotel for the site will ask its visitors to use the spaces on site too, further increasing demand. 

Echo:

The site's plan


Martin Richardson, who owns the Happidrome Arcade, in Marine Plaza, said: “This will shut down the seafront full stop. It’s going to be an absolute killer. 

“If they put in 1,000 spaces that would keep 400 for the seafront alone and give them 500 for their own scheme.” 

And George Zinonos, owner of Ye Old Chippy, in Marine Parade, added: “People realistically are going to park on the seafront. Families don’t want to be walking a mile to get to the seafront.” 

Turnstone Estates is aiming to have an outline planning application submitted to the council’s planners early in the New Year. 

Its plans include a new entrance onto the site from the roundabout on the Queensway dual carriageway, and demolishing the Rossi Ice Cream factory, which will be relocated, to make way for a public area. 

Echo:

The exhibition in the Royals Shopping Centre

 

Parking is a concern, admits developer

The managing director of Turnstone Estates has said anything over the proposed car parking numbers is “financially unviable” and admitted traders will not be happy on the seafront. 

Tim Deacon, managing director the Cambridge-based company, will instead look to work with Southend Council in encouraging people to park at the town centre’s other car parks as well as his own on busy summer days.
 
The firm estimates that there are 2,200 spaces available in car parks nearby, and is meeting with seafront traders to discuss their concerns. 

He said: “There is a parking issue and this is about how we can meet the demand by using other car parks in the town centre to meet demand. 

“On busy weekends, we will look to direct people to where there is capacity elsewhere. It’s about changing visitor habits with people going straight to the seafront to park. 

“We will need to write a full transport assessment and carry out capacity testing of the car park as part of the planning process.” 

He said that both the daytripper and leisure market could work on the site, with daytrippers leaving by the evening, which is when his scheme, with restaurants and a cinema, will get busiest. 
The firm is in discussions with two cinemas to operate the multiplex, which will be on top of the restaurant units.
 
And Mr Deacon admitted he was “surprised” to learn the developers behind the nearby Marine Plaza project would take them four years to complete their scheme.
 
He said his would have an eighteen month build time, and that some parking should be available during construction, and he hoped the multi-storey would be ready before the rest of the scheme.

 

Residents fear traffic woe

Nearby residents fear traffic problems and loss of seafront views because of the development. 

Paul Evans, 53, who lives flats off Queensway, opposite the site, said he was concerned about the five-storey, 80-bedroom hotel. 

But he also pointed out traffic issues, with the dual carriageway regularly clogged up during busy summer days as daytrippers flock to the beach. 

He said: “On a bank holiday, if I leave the house I can get back in again because the traffic is so bad. 

“I’ve got a lot of concerns over traffic about this. 
“Why can’t the council spend the money making the High Street look better instead?” 

And Pete Murray, 79, who lives in the same block, added: “If people are in a traffic jam coming down Queensway, they will just turn around and go back home again.” 

Turnstone Estates will do a transport plan as part of its planning application, and plans to add an extra exit from the Queensway roundabout onto the site.