THE Labour leader of Southend Council says closing Southend seafront completely to stop visitors is "under serious consideration" to help tackle the spread of coronavirus. 

Cllr Ian Gilbert, writing on Facebook, said a number of people had asked why the council hasn’t close the seafront to stop the spread of Covid-19.

He spoke after the council launched a publicity campaign, encouraging people to stay away. Many car parks in seafront and tourism hotspots have also been shut

"It's an idea under serious consideration but there are some issues, and it's a tricky judgement call," he wrote.

He said the difficulties with any closure include:

  •  Closing one of the main east-west routes in the town could cause problems for emergency services and other essential activities, even on a day when road traffic should be light.
  •  We would have to make arrangements for residents who access or enter their properties from the seafront (including those on Hartington, Pleasant Road etc) and these will need managing.
  • It would require a lot of time to set up, when council resources are already stretched.
  • It's not a complete solution because people can still park in nearby residential streets.

Writing on Facebook, he added: "We have decided not to make any road closures this weekend, although Car Parks will be closed, and there will be messages, signs and patrols from the Police and Community Safety to deter gathering.

"However, it is likely that we will be putting some further restrictions and closures in for Easter Weekend, depending on how things progress."