THREE new cafes could be set to grace Shoebury with plans submitted for a major seafront development.

Southend Council has submitted a planning application setting out ambitious plans to renovate East Beach, which it considers less developed than Southend’s other beaches.

The move comes as the council looks to replace a former café on the Rampart Terrace site which burnt down in 2006.

The ambitious plans, designed under commission by Property and Estates architects team, would see three cafes built in a row, and rented to tenants, to improve the beaches popularity among residents and tourists.

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Shoebury West councillor Tony Cox welcomed the application but raised fears that three cafés may be too many for the area to support.

He said “I’ve always been of the view that East Beach needed a permanent facility, and it has been a long time coming.

“Whether tenants will be happy be sat alongside their competitors is another thing, it seems to me that a single building would likely be a better choice.”

The Conservative group leader added: “There have been plans there previously that haven’t progressed, there have been so many false dawns that I am sceptical. We need a proposal that is right, and we need to see it through.”

Each café would be about 1,500 square feet in size, with outdoor patio seating shaded by tensile fabric sails, stretched overhead from steel poles.

Council documents note the buildings will be “robust” to counter the known issues with anti-social behaviour in the area.

The cafés will boast green roofs, covered with vegetation, in an effort to reduce their carbon footprint. The council hopes the roofs will encourage local wildlife, particularly insects, to create a microclimate and boost the efficiency of solar panels fitted to the roof.

Planning documents reveal an accessible toilet will be built as part of the development, with the existing nearby public toilets used by customers.

No new parking will be provided as the council considers the existing East beach car park “adequate” adding the café opening times would match those of the beach car park.