A LEADING businessman has taken to social media to mock the deal struck between Southend Council and the developer behind a £50million seafront leisure complex.

Philip Miller MBE tweeted a satirical message targeting Turnstone Estates and the council.

The council sold Turnstone the lease for the Seaway car park, Southend, for £1 in 2014 and agreed it would pay £282,000 a year in rent, after construction work gets underway. However, Turnstone has failed to submit a planning application - and the car park now provides more than £600,000 a year in revenue.

Mr Miller told the Echo: “This is important to Southend taxpayers because Southend Council is wasting their money. The Seaway car park has been sold for a quid and the council is giving away a huge sum in car park takings to receive less than half back in rent.

“Council officers need to come clean on the numbers all they say is it will be all right on the night and we trust our partners. I believe the deal is a wrong-un for taxpayers.”

He added the deal should be cancelled and the council should “let it go to open tender”. The council did not wish to comment on Mr Miller’s posts on social media, but said it had not gone through a tender process because the authority had worked with the developer as a “special purchaser”.

Tim Deacon, director at Turnstone Estates, said a planning application was coming soon. He said: “We are fully committed to delivering the regeneration of the Seaway site. “That’s why, after successfully securing high profile anchor tenants including Empire Cinemas, Hollywood Bowl and Travelodge, together with positive negotiations with further tenants, our planning application will be submitted next month.

“The regeneration of this site presents an exciting opportunity to build a better Southend.

“Our vision will do exactly that, providing a huge boost to the local economy with the creation of hundreds of full-time jobs for local people, significant spin-off investment and providing Southend with a fantastic all year round family leisure experience.”