More houses could be built in Southend’s town centre and shopping could become secondary to events centred on arts and culture under recommendations from a council working group.

Ideas on how to “reimagine” Southend’s town centre for the future have been collected in a report put together by a group made up of members of the council’s place and policy and resources scrutiny committees.

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Busy? - Southend High Street

It includes building more homes in the town which would “not only help to address the housing pressure the borough is facing but will introduce significant footfall, activity and spend power within the town centre”.

This could be done by adding additional floors to existing buildings and creating “modular homes”, which would be assembled at a construction facility before being transported and added onto an existing building at a later date.

The suggestions are based on an expected change of the town centre caused by a decline in retail shopping - an issue which local authorities across the country are experiencing.

The report goes on to state: “A common theme throughout the project from all witnesses, case studies and evidence, was the acknowledgement that town centres are no-longer driven by retail.

“However, the retail offer does still serve a local community and is part of the reason why people will use a town centre, but less frequently the sole driver for a visit.”

Visitors are expected to be more attracted to the town centre if it offers more space for the community.

This could include new dedicated public spaces used day and night for art, music and events to draw people into the town and encourage them to stay longer.

These spaces would be curated by the local arts community “reflecting the wealth and diversity of the cultural and creative sector in Southend”.

There could also be an increase in “experience-led” activities, such as escape rooms, because the working group believes that they can lead to “linked-trips” where customers go on to shop and use restaurants.

While the plan lacks specific detail and is more a series of aspirations and ideas than a firm proposal for the future, it is understood it could eventually be developed and used to inform later strategies on the town centre.

The suggestions will be discussed further at Southend Council’s place scrutiny committee on Monday evening.