Renewed efforts to redevelop derelict street (From Echo)

I used to work at C E Heath House in the '80's and '90's and it breaks my heart every time I go past it to see such a blatant waste of space with all these office blocks being derelict, when housing is in such demand. I think the owners (not sure if my ex-employer owns the building) should be legally obliged to do something with it, in the same way that councils have things in place to track down and encourage owners of empty private residences to put them back into service. The building was viewed as a cash cow asset, but never materialised into the high sum they wanted, so I guess they are just hanging on to it in the hopes of maximising a return.

leighmum wrote:
I used to work at C E Heath House in the '80's and '90's and it breaks my heart every time I go past it to see such a blatant waste of space with all these office blocks being derelict, when housing is in such demand. I think the owners (not sure if my ex-employer owns the building) should be legally obliged to do something with it, in the same way that councils have things in place to track down and encourage owners of empty private residences to put them back into service. The building was viewed as a cash cow asset, but never materialised into the high sum they wanted, so I guess they are just hanging on to it in the hopes of maximising a return.

They should be no more legally obliged to do something with it than a single person owning a two bedroom flat should be legally obliged to take a lodger.

I tend to agree with Nebs on this. Perhaps leighmum you could let us have some suggestions as to exactly what could be legally enforced on the owners. Certainly there is no current law which could be enforced.

It is a disgrace that this situation has been allowed to develop for so long.
Surely there is something the council can do to enforce demolition of at least Heath and Carby House.
I also worked for C E Heath and building is not owned by the existing company Gallagher Heath.

Strange how the past comes back to haunt. All those lovely Edwardian/Victorian properties demolished in the 1960s to make way for a better modern Southend as an impressive office centre. Hope lessons have been learnt but not convinced.

Nebs wrote:

leighmum wrote:
I used to work at C E Heath House in the '80's and '90's and it breaks my heart every time I go past it to see such a blatant waste of space with all these office blocks being derelict, when housing is in such demand. I think the owners (not sure if my ex-employer owns the building) should be legally obliged to do something with it, in the same way that councils have things in place to track down and encourage owners of empty private residences to put them back into service. The building was viewed as a cash cow asset, but never materialised into the high sum they wanted, so I guess they are just hanging on to it in the hopes of maximising a return.

They should be no more legally obliged to do something with it than a single person owning a two bedroom flat should be legally obliged to take a lodger.

It is empty. Someone being forced to take in a lodger is being being forced to share. If you must make comparisons use the right examples.

Leighmum is correct, there is something in place where Councils can track owners of long term empty properties and work with them to bring it back into use.

Why should businesses and corporations not do the same with commercial buildings and land that they are sitting on waiting for the optimum profit?

Knock some down or use some for the Havens hospice
close to the town centre and rail and road communications
keep off our green belt

Shame about Victoria Avenue. A reflection of how society has changed over the past 40 years. In my own personal view areas like Vic Ave are more worthy of attention than additional cycle lanes that are rarely used or the so called 'golden mile' of amusements that are a complete eyesore and an unpleasant area to visit. I recall Vic Ave in it's heyday when the town was a nicer place to live.

SARFENDMAN wrote:
Strange how the past comes back to haunt. All those lovely Edwardian/Victorian properties demolished in the 1960s to make way for a better modern Southend as an impressive office centre. Hope lessons have been learnt but not convinced.

Exactly - have just returned from working in Manchester, where the old properties akin to those in Victoria Avenue have been respectfully restored into suitable apartments and in keeping smaller offices .....

Why not knock some of them down and create a new park. Be honest there is never going to be another boom time in Southend .

Keptquiettillnow wrote:
Why not knock some of them down and create a new park. Be honest there is never going to be another boom time in Southend .

not until the SS Montgomery goes up.

They knocked down the houses to build offices and encourage business. now they want to knock down the offices to create houses and yet more shops with the high street having cheap shops and empty shops.
When the recession is over they will want the offices back.
Or maybe the tourists. The prob with southend is that they cannot make up their mind. When they make decisions they are behind the times.
Its sad. This was a lovely town and could yet be but I think with everything being aimed to be built towards the airport and out of town retails parks it aint gonna happen.

problem is there is little the council can actually do.

They are privately owned so the council can not just go in and convert them to flats, how many people would moan if the could got a CPO and spend millions on buying thm and doing them up, peoplem would find fault even if it resulted in getting them back into use.

There is a quirk in UK planning law that if you demolish an office block the planning permission for offices is lost to that patch of land and you need to seek out planing again for offices.

What would I do, knock them down and convert the land into a pay car park until such time the economy picks up to warrent building a shop on the ground floor, a few offices on the next couple and then flats on the top few floors.

Something that people forget is most of the current council were not sitting members when Victoria Avenue was redeveloped so how anyone can blaime the current members fpr what happened is crazy.

whay no jayman/11111 or what ever he calls himself comments.

Eric Whim wrote:

Keptquiettillnow wrote:
Why not knock some of them down and create a new park. Be honest there is never going to be another boom time in Southend .

not until the SS Montgomery goes up.

Very good, lol

The sooner something is sorted out the better, but it has to be right.
So many people knock Southend as somewhere to live, but the grass is not greener elsewhere believe me.
At least our council is trying to doing something about the town.