IN PICTURES: How Laindon has gone from horse and carts to £50m shopping centre

A brand new £50million shopping centre, named Laindon Place, is still under construction after seeing work put on hold due to the initial coronavirus outbreak back in March.

But these images from the Echo archive show that you would have been more likely to see a horse and cart moving along Laindon High Road than a host of shoppers travelling to a multi-million pound complex in their modern cars.

Laindon Place is set to include a thriving new shopping parade, health centre, and 224 modern homes, which is a far cry from the facilities residents enjoyed more than a century ago.

Artist's impression - how Laindon Place, which is being built, is expected to look in a town which looks much different to 100 years ago

These eye-catching retro snaps date as far back as 1908 and show some iconic Laindon buildings.

Scroll down to see more eye-catching photographs of how much Laindon has changed.

Horse and cart - the view towards Dunton Road, near the Fortune of War pub, in 1912 Shops - a horse and cart pulls up outside a row of stores along London Road in 1910 Drink up - the base of brewer Ind Coope and Co in Laindon in 1908

SEE ALSO

• IN PICTURES: Laying foundations of the Southend we know and love 100 years ago
• What Southend seafront looked like in the hustle and bustle of the 1970s

No longer in operation - Laindon police station before the doors were closed Plans put on hold - work to build a new £50million shopping centre, named Laindon Place, were put on hold following the initial Covid outbreak in March Essentials - this photograph of shops along Laindon High Road dates back to 1910 Rural view - Laindon country houses from yesteryear Rations - a trader sells bananas during the Second World War