Development hope for Southend seafront site (From Echo)
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Development hope for Southend seafront site
10:00am Tuesday 31st August 2010 in
A KEY piece of land on Southend seafront has been sold to a property developer for more than £2million, raising hopes redevelopment plans could be back on.
The Echo has discovered land at the corner of Marine Parade and Southchurch Avenue has been purchased by London-based company, Goldfield Developments Limited.
The land was owned by developer John Remblance, whose plans for the 21-storey Marine Plaza included a casino, a hotel, flats and a restaurant, but fell through a year ago.
It is thought the land fell into the hands of administrators in August 2009, after Mr Remblance’s property company, JBR Leisure, went into administration.
A land registry search has revealed the registered owner is Goldfield Developments Limited, which bought the site for £2.25million from NatWest on July 13.
Goldfield Developments was only registered with Companies House in May, and lists an address in Holborn, central London. It is thought to be a consortium, though the company could not be contacted for comment.
The site includes the former Funland amusement arcade and Ye Olde Chippy, plus a new private car park which opened a couple of weeks ago.
Mr Remblance revealed his Marine Plaza plans in 2005 and they were given planning permission by the council in 2007.
News of the property deal has sparked speculation redevelopment could still happen on the corner, opposite the iconic Kursaal building. Southend Council and its partner, Renais-sance Southend, have long seen the site as important to reviving the seafront.
Council leader Nigel Holdcroft said: “The plans previously put forward for the site are now unlikely to be delivered.
“Let’s hope someone investing in the site has the funding and ability to develop it.
“We wait with interest to see what plans or proposals are put to us. A number of businesses along there have invested significantly in recent years.
“If we can see similar investment on the site, it has to be a good thing.”
Mr Holdcroft said the council was spending a lot of money on revamping the area through the £7million City Beach scheme.
Murray Foster, vice-chairman of Renaissance Southend, said: “The planning permission given in 2007 was for a wide range of uses. We would like to think that still remains fit for purpose.
“The hope is the improvements on the seafront through the City Beach project will act as a catalyst for the private sector to come forward with compatible development in this area.”
The land sold does not include the Foresters Arms pub or the New Ship, which has been closed since Christmas. These were both part of the Marine Plaza development, and would have been demolished had it gone ahead.
Comments(21)
AshingdonMan
says...
10:48am Tue 31 Aug 10
westcliff willi
says...
12:38pm Tue 31 Aug 10
anon anon wrote:A company that could n't be contacted hmmmmm
sounds possitive........
Tom from Southend
says...
12:56pm Tue 31 Aug 10
NickS
says...
12:57pm Tue 31 Aug 10
westcliff willi wrote:Its been a Bank Holiday weekend prehaps they were all out of the office.
anon anon wrote: sounds possitive........A company that could n't be contacted hmmmmm
What I am waiting for is a protest group to start protesting about what ever is proposed for the site.
anon anon
says...
12:58pm Tue 31 Aug 10
westcliff willi wrote:should carry on knocking down towards pier hill and start again.........
anon anon wrote: sounds possitive........A company that could n't be contacted hmmmmm
DannyK86
says...
1:20pm Tue 31 Aug 10
jolllyboy
says...
1:34pm Tue 31 Aug 10
BASILBRUSH
says...
1:43pm Tue 31 Aug 10
That corner has been an eyesore for years. It looks better already since they knocked down part of the mock castle clad Walls down for the car park.
Looking forward to seeing what's in store for the area.
southendreb
says...
1:51pm Tue 31 Aug 10
SARFENDMAN
says...
4:10pm Tue 31 Aug 10
radioman
says...
6:11pm Tue 31 Aug 10
SARFENDMAN
says...
7:18pm Tue 31 Aug 10
radioman wrote:Great idea! Just like the one on telly. Is it Visa or Barclaycard?
Bring back the Helter-Skelter!
southendreb
says...
7:43pm Tue 31 Aug 10
Alice in Her Own Land :P
says...
8:44pm Tue 31 Aug 10
essexgirl2
says...
9:46pm Tue 31 Aug 10
NickS
says...
11:52pm Tue 31 Aug 10
SARFENDMAN
says...
6:11am Wed 1 Sep 10
southendreb wrote:Now your talking! Best doughnuts ever!
perhaps we could reinstate jerry`s nosh.
j-w
says...
9:07am Wed 1 Sep 10
NickS wrote:Oh my word!
Just dug out an old copy of the echo, relating to the Westcliff Casino "Super Casino bid" (remember that!) well there was a protest group set up call "Save Our Seashore" use the echo search function is I will say...
serial protester comes to mind!
westcliff willi
says...
10:17am Wed 1 Sep 10
PJR
says...
11:42am Mon 6 Sep 10
westcliff willi wrote:Funnily enough, myself and my partner were saying this the other day when we took our boy to a waterpark in Blackpool. The only water fun area around here is in Colchester, at Leisure World.
how about a water splash park like the one in promanade park in maldon,kids can still play even if its raining (warm rain) they will have all their beach gear with them and if i go all the way to maldon there must be a demand for it.
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anon anon says...
10:40am Tue 31 Aug 10