Land touted for new hotel and casino sells for £2.25m

10:00am Tuesday 31st August 2010

By John Geoghegan

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.

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.