Southend Official Business & Investment Guide 2024/25

SOUTHEND

A1 Loo Hire is one of the UK’s leading integrated Waste Management Suppliers.

Our extensive range of units are available for hire from our depot in Essex, for any of your construction or event needs.

We deliver a comprehensive service, meeting all your welfare and drainage needs, from pre-construction to completion.

We also specialise in towing of welfare units up to 22ft in length and a maximum of 3.5T in weight.

Millane Contract Services Ltd is a multi-discipline building, roofing and maintenance company. We provide a national service.

We are well known for our exceptional product finish and attention to detail, together with excellent customer service. We are able to solve your construction, roofing and maintenance issues.

We deliver cost effective, outstanding services to improve everyday life for our customers.

MISSION STATEMENT

Our company mission is: “to provide the highest quality products and workmanship and to satisfy all stakeholders’ needs in order to create long-term growth and profitability for our company”. We want to achieve 100% customer satisfaction and aim to provide the best possible experience for our customers. The training and certifications that we have earned allow us to live up to these ideals.

HEALTH & SAFETY

We are fully accredited and operate OHSAS 45001 Health & Safety System. All our staff and operatives are fully trained and carry CSCS cards. All managers are SMSTS trained. We are fully aware of our responsibilities under the Health & Safety at Work Act and are committed to providing all requirements for the CDM legislation.

ACCREDITATIONS

We are fully accredited and operate the ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 45001 Quality, Environmental and H&S systems. We are accredited by: Altius Approved, CHAS, Safecontractor, NHBC, Confederation of Roofers, Constructionline, Achilles Building Confidence SSIP and Achilles UVDB.

CONSTRUCTION

Millane Contract Services Ltd provide a wide range of high-quality, complete building services in England and Wales, including:

NEW BUILD AND LARGE SCALE BUILDING EXTENSIONS

MAJOR REFURBISHMENT FOR RETAIL AND COMMERCIAL CLIENTS

PUBLIC SECTOR WORKS WITHIN THE HEALTH, EDUCATION, EMERGENCY SERVICES AND GOVERNMENTAL DEPARTMENTS

INTERNAL REFURBISHMENT AND FIT OUT

ADAPTATIONS FOR ACCESSIBILITY TO INTERNAL/EXTERNAL BUILDING ENVELOPE

BESPOKE JOINERY AND DETAILING

FIRE STOPPING INSTALLATION AND REPAIRS

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL DECOR ATION AND FINISHING

MAINTENANCE

Millane Contract Services Ltd offer a 24/7 365 days a year maintenance service – both planned and reactive. We cover all trades for a wide range of commercial and private properties in various sectors. These include:

ROOFING

Our wide range of roofing services include:

TR ADITIONAL PITCHED SLATE TILES FLAT ASPHALT GREEN

SINGLE PLY MEMBR ANE LIQUID

COPPER, ZINC & LEAD FLAT TO PITCHED CONVERSIONS

FASCIAS, SOFFITS & GUTTERING

CLADDING

INSPECTIONS & REPORTS INSULATION

Millane

Connecting communities in South end-on-S ea.

Jadu is a leading global provider of accessible web experiences, specialising in low code, CRM, accessible websites (CMS) and online forms, customer case management and expert digital design services.

Jadu focuses on using technology to connect communities and empower e ective self-service. Their expert team continues to deliver solutions to transform the way the public sector delivers customer services to communities, focusing on low-code platforms and tools, accessibility, automation, and user-centred design.

Millions of users use Jadu to access important digital services every day.

By providing the foundation of many accessible, responsive and award-winning websites and digital transformation projects, including; Southend-on-Sea City Council, Birmingham City Council and Edinburgh City Council, Jadu helps to improve processes, service delivery, and saves organisations valuable time and money to be invested in other vital services that help residents and communities.

Accessibl e custom er service delivery su pports th e vision of a ‘digital city’.

Southend-on-Sea City Council wants its residents to be able to transact securely with the council, just like they would with an online bank. People expect an ‘Amazon-like’ customer experience when they interact with services online, and in line with its vision to become a digital city, Southend-on-Sea chose the Jadu Digital Platform to support its digital transformation strategy.

The public-facing website southend.gov.uk is the primary ‘Customer Relationship Management (CRM)’ service, enabling residents and businesses to complete service requests quickly and easily without the need to log in.

Using Jadu, the council has also delivered a new portal for Adults and Children's Social Care www.livewellsouthend.com and launched www.southendclimateaction.co.uk to communicate its e orts to tackle climate change with the community. The council is now implementing a suite of integrations to the Jadu Connect CRM platform to launch ‘MySouthend’, a personalised account to enable automated self-service and case tracking for residents and businesses to track and receive updates on their service requests.

Visit Southend-on-Sea City Council’s website powered by Jadu: www.southend.gov.uk

SOUTHEND Official Business and Investment Guide

Published by: My Business Client Ltd

Martinique House, Hampshire Road, Bordon, Hampshire GU35 0HJ

Tel: 01420 477080

Email: sales@mybusinessclient.com

Web: www.mybusinessclient.com

Please note:

This publication is wholly or partially funded by the advertisers herein and the publisher. It is provided at no charge to the Council.

Our Advertisers:

We gratefully acknowledge the support of all the firms whose advertisements appear in these pages. Without their help we would not be able to produce this guide. As a reciprocal gesture we have pleasure in drawing the attention of our readers to their announcements, but wish to make it clear that Southend-on-Sea City Council can accept no responsibility for their products or services advertised.

All adverts correct at time they were approved.

and

Foreword

Southend-on-Sea is a vibrant, thriving, and proud coastal city with a pro-business attitude and ambitious plans to continue growing our economy.

Known as one of the UK’s top tourist destinations, Southend has a major tourism, cultural and visitor economy, but there’s much more to us than that. Our city is expanding in key employment sectors such as advanced manufacturing, engineering, healthcare, digital technology, and the cultural and creative industries. We seek businesses that share our vision for the future to join us here.

Southend-on-Sea is already home to an award-winning and growing airport and international companies like Olympus Keymed, Regis Group PLC, and NatWest. We’re also heavily investing in our future, with a commitment to regeneration across the city and an ambitious economic growth strategy to match.

The Airport Business Park Southend, partially funded by the council, continues to thrive, attracting companies like Ipeco. The Launchpad offers over 2,300m² of office and workshop space and is going from strength to strength, drawing start-ups, SMEs, and business park tenants from the area.

Beyond business, we are a vibrant coastal destination less than an hour from London, attracting over 7 million visitors annually for a unique seaside experience, including our world-famous pleasure pier and renowned events like City Jam, our Halloween Parade and seafront fireworks.

Our city is also a fantastic place to live, offering a wide range of activities for everyone, from sports and leisure to arts and culture. With seven miles of coastline, over 80 parks and award-winning green spaces, three theatres, and internationally significant cultural heritage collections and art galleries, Southend-on-Sea is growing and is an excellent place for investment. Contact us to learn more about investment opportunities in Southend-onSea.

Cllr Daniel Cowan, Leader of the Council

Image: Surgical Holdings, read their case study on Page 28.

Southend-on-Sea City Council is a ‘city-bythe-sea’ that welcomes visitors, stimulates start-up and growing businesses and above all, supports residents to fulfil their potential.

Economic profile

The Southend-on-Sea Economic Growth Strategy 2024 to 2028

Introduction

Enabling economic growth and a strong and prosperous business community is integral to the work of Southend-on-Sea City Council.

The Southend-on-Sea Economic Growth Strategy 2024 to 2028 is a key document for the council and the city. It is realistic, strategic and adaptable.

With this strategy, we aim to:

• Support established businesses and organisations in Southend-on-Sea to achieve sustainable economic growth, particularly those in our key growth and strategic sectors, and drive the development of local skills, employment and infrastructure.

• Promote Southend-on-Sea as the home of micro, small and medium sized enterprises to deliver a growing business base in the city.

• Improve our skills base, attract new talent and improve access to high quality jobs for employees, jobseekers and students.

Our approach

The economic growth strategy sits underneath Southend-on-Sea City Council’s Corporate Plan 2023 to 2027.

Our strategy will need to be agile to adapt to the changing requirements of our residents, businesses and other organisations. We have focused on our key strengths as a city and what we believe can deliver sustainable economic growth in Southend-on-Sea. These objectives will be progressed within the lifetime of this strategy. We recognise the importance of other determinants of economic growth, and these will be addressed in other supporting plans.

Examples could include plans for:

• Promoting businesses engagement

• Attracting new businesses, organisations and investment

• Workforce development

• Clean growth

• Boosting tourism

• Supporting our strategic and growth sectors

Quick facts

Growth sector

• Southend-on-Sea’s key growth sectors include creative and cultural industries, health and social care, specialist construction and specialist manufacturing. Our strategic sectors include aviation and engineering, financial services, medical technologies, retail and tourism.

• Key employment sectors: healthcare, tourism, leisure & hospitality, retail, engineering, and financial services.

• 1 million sq. ft of high-quality business space at Southend Airport Business Park.

• 7 million plus tourist visitors per year.

Wider regional context

Thames Estuary Production Corridor

Research shows that the Thames Estuary Production Corridor has the potential to create 50,000 jobs and generate £3.7bn for the UK economy, becoming the UK’s largest concentration of creative production.

The potential of the Thames Estuary Production Corridor has already unlocked over £4.6 million investment from central government into the Estuary, including £4.3 million for the Creative Estuary programme using culture as the catalyst for growth.

Opportunity South Essex

Councils across South Essex are working together to promote prosperity and wellbeing in our region and make it the place to live, visit and do business.

The councils of Basildon, Brentwood, Castle Point, Rochford, Southend-on-Sea, Thurrock and Essex County have formed South Essex Councils (SEC).

Through SEC they are working to deliver improved prosperity and wellbeing in the region by:

• tackling problems that members’ councils can’t solve individually

• creating collective scale and impact

• providing the place leadership to promote South Essex.

The SEC region includes 166,000 businesses and nine universities.

Southend-onSea is home to a large, diverse and willing workforce, ready to help your business reach its full potential.

Quick facts

• Population of 180,700.

• 37,000 highly skilled workers RQF4 and above.

• Average annual salary in Southend is £37.2k for females and £38.5k for males, compared to £51k for females and £67K for males in London.

• 4.9 million economically active people live in London and 3.2 million economically active people live in the Eastern region.

• Large local customer base boosted by 7 million visitors per year.

• The three biggest sectors in Southend by employment numbers: Human Health and social work activities (16.7%), Retail (14.4%), and Education (10.6%).

• The employment rate in Southend in 2023 - 75.7%.

• Working age adults - the national average is currently 75%; in Essex it is 77%.

• Across Southend there are 7,105 businesses and 88,600 people aged 16 plus are in employment.

Economic

assets and transport links

Southend-on-Sea is ideally situated close to London with excellent access to trade, services, and supply chains.

London Southend by air:

London Southend Airport is accessible by road and has its own rail station. It catered for more than two million passengers in 2019 before COVID restrictions, then in 2022 around 100,000. Last year there were 150,000 passengers - we are looking towards half a million for 2024 and over a million in 2025. The EasyJet contract has been signed and two million pounds has been invested in the airport.

London Southend Airport is a gateway to diverse holiday experiences, offering destinations across Europe, year-round.

• Southend to Amsterdam – flight time 52 minutes

• Southend to Alicante – flight time 2 hours 21 minutes

• Southend to Paris Charles de Gaulle – flight time

1 hour 10 minutes

• Southend to Geneva – flight time 1 hour 35 minutes

• Southend to Faro – flight time 2 hours 55 minutes

• Southend to Malaga – flight time 2 hours 55 minutes

• Southend to Palma de Mallorca – flight time 2 hours

30 minutes

New flights have been added for 2025 visit:https://londonsouthendairport.com/flights/

Southend by rail:

Southend-on-Sea is served by two main trainlines into central London.

Fastest journey times:

• 51 mins to London Fenchurch Street via C2C line

• 57 mins to London Liverpool Street via Greater Anglia line

• 33 mins to Shenfield Crossrail

• 37 mins to West Ham and the Jubilee Line

• 60 mins to Stratford and HS1 rail access to Europe

Southend by road:

40 minutes drive to the M25, London’s orbital motorway.

Southend by sea:

DP World London Gateway

Southend-on-Sea is close to the UK’s most integrated logistics hub, a sustainable, strategically located, trade enabling centre of excellence on the River Thames.

The deep seaport and logistics park is supported by its own international rail terminal. It is situated just 10 miles from the M25 and 28 miles from London, making it an accessible hub for import and export.

The site also offers convenient, modern warehousing space, with a logistics park equivalent in size to 400 football pitches – one of the biggest of its kind in Europe. Facilities offer absolute flexibility, from building size and layout to length of lease.

The port is equipped with top-of-the-range equipment, including some of the largest quay cranes in the world, as well as automation in many areas, such as the truck handling process and stacking yard.

London Gateway offers logistics and shipping companies, retailers and manufacturers a unique opportunity to work more efficiently and sustainably, closer to key consumer markets, in turn reducing road miles and offering a full service on one site.

Southend-on-Sea Council’s digital vision is to create a digitally enabled council which takes full advantage of the benefits that technology brings to change ways of working. This will enable the streamlining of processes, resulting in improved services.

Southend-on-Sea’s digital vision

Digital vision

Many councils currently find themselves in difficult times, with every penny counting. Our digital approach bring automation, and allows those residents who can, to self-serve, freeing up officer time to help those who are not able to use digital. We also believe that making use of technology will mean that service delivery will become more standardised and measurable.

MySouthend - Our journey is one which will modernise the way the council works and bring new life to manual and inconsistent processes. It is a journey of collaboration and upskilling of officers; a journey to find ways to do more with less and work smarter to improve and streamline services. By adopting a digital first way of thinking and acting, we can extract the most value from everything we do as a council, to benefit our residents and communities.

Having a sense of community is about belonging and drawing people together because they matter, and working together to find solutions to common problems. It is about finding better ways of working which support the community.

MySouthend Replacement

We are committed to a programme of work to replace our MySouthend platform. In July 2024 we released our first phase of this project to improve the way residents, businesses, and visitors of Southend-on-Sea can interact with online council services.

Our new solution improves our customer journey and allows residents to perform more self-serve activities. Re-developing our integrations has resulted in a more streamlined and efficient experience for residents, whilst reducing manual tasks for the Council officers.

Further information relating to the changes can be found on the council website.

https://www.southend.gov.uk/news/article/3152/our-online-customer-system-ischanging

Digital inclusion with Digital Essex

Digital Essex is a countywide initiative to ensure that no individual or business is excluded from digital opportunities due to lack of high-speed and affordable broadband connections, equipment, or skills.

Targeted campaigns are used to ensure that no one is left behind in the evolving digital world in projects like:

• Get online in Essex – an interactive map showing where you can access free digital support. https://www.superfastessex.org/get-help-with-digital/ skills/di-map/ and The Digital Skills Helpline (0800 987 4110) – a free helpline which supports residents setting up devices

By working with partners like Digital Essex we aim to improve digital literacy of our residents and businesses to ensure nobody feels unsupported in a constantly changing digital world.

Digital switchover in partnership with Essex County Council and Digital Essex

The UK’s telephone network is changing. By 2027, traditional phone lines will be replaced by a digital landline service which means that calls will be made over a broadband line.

The old telephone technology is becoming harder and more expensive to maintain and investment in the new technology should result in benefits, including improved call quality and monthly cost saving.

Telephone providers should contact all residents before any changes and more information is available on the Essex.gov website. https://www.essex.gov.uk/news/2024/your-home-phoneready-go-digital

South Essex Internet of Things

We are in the early stages of creating a South Essex Internet of Things (IOT) with the help of a technical partner, Abzorb. The project will be delivered with a full 3-year support package at no cost to South Essex authorities and offers the chance to collaborate with other local authorities, Imperial College London and Anglia Ruskin university.

Pier webcam

The pier webcam went live in 2023, putting Southend on the global map of landmarks that can be viewed online. The webcam provides a live stream view of the sea end of the pier looking out over the water. Whether you want to check the weather, tides or just be nosy, check out the live streaming pier webcam on the Southend pier website. https://www.southendpier.co.uk/webcam

This IOT uses sensors strategically placed around Southend and surrounding areas to help provide environmental information which can help us make quick, evidence-based decisions built on real time data.

Once the network is created, we will have the opportunity to explore how data captured with the IOT can help to support local businesses and residents.

Reduced energy use in the civic brings carbon benefits

Southend-on-Sea City Council has undergone significant work to migrate our technology estate to the cloud which has helped reduce the cost to the council of the data centres and their energy use. This was achieved by moving data and technical services from the on-premises estate in the Civic to the cloud. The on-premises estate has now been decommissioned. Not only does this bring a financial benefit as we have cut costs, but also it reduces our carbon footprint, as we are using less energy.

Managing our talent

In Southend-on-Sea City Council ICT, we believe strongly in growing our own talent. People are the reason we are here after all. Working with our learning and development team, we have an apprenticeship programme that recruits apprentices to our service desk. Here the apprentices learn technical and customer service skills. As they move through the apprenticeship programme they are coached and mentored and grow their abilities and skills. When more senior roles become available, they are encouraged to apply and continue to grow their skills and abilities.

Earlier this year the data and insights team became part of the ICT department which helps to not only streamline digital strategies but also provides additional opportunities for career development and a chance to learn new skills.

This approach is a success story for ICT, who are not only growing talent which benefits our community, but the service excellence that this team delivers in supporting officers, who in turn deliver services to our residents.

Airport Business Park

Southend Airport Business Park

The £150m Airport Business Park Southend (ABPS) is a 21-hectare, multi-use business park being delivered through a joint venture partnership between HBD and Southend-on-Sea City Council. It is just minutes from Europe’s fastest growing airport (London Southend Airport) and Southend Airport railway station, with direct services to London Liverpool Street rail station.

ABPS provides opportunities for bespoke flexible business space, large-scale industrial and warehousing facilities, along with The Launchpad, a centre for innovation.

Quick facts

• Up to 77,600 sq. ft bespoke employment space opportunities available to let/for sale.

• Buildings constructed and tailor-made to your requirements.

• IPECO Holdings, a global aircraft furnishings supplier, now occupy their 125,000sqft new campus and are in the process of fitting out a second, similarly sized facility, ready for occupation in early 2025.

• Site set in natural parkland with carefully considered infrastructure, making it aesthetically pleasing and sustainable.

• Immediate business audience of 5,000+ employees, offering fantastic opportunities for hotel, food and beverage signature brands and independents.

• A Costa Coffee Drive Thru is already established on the site and trading very well.

• Bespoke opportunities can now be delivered in around 12-15 months from heads of terms being agreed.

• The exciting Quad scheme within the Business Park of 12 smaller industrial units/plots are all now sold or let.

The Launchpad is a brand-new home for innovative businesses and start-ups in Southend-on-Sea.

Launchpad offers onsite support from their Business Growth Manager and will be hosting a busy programme of events, engaging the community and providing inspiration for growing businesses.

• Staffed reception, mail, and phone handling

• Onsite café and communal kitchens

• Business support and networking opportunities

• Meeting and conference rooms

• Free parking and EV charging points

• Secure cycle parking room

• Showers, changing and drying room

Find out more:www.launchpadsouthend.co.uk email: - info@launchpadsouthend.co.uk

Further details and updates can be found at https://abpsouthend.co.uk/

Flexible business office spaces

The flexible space market has experienced significant changes and opportunities in recent years. The demand for flexible space will continue to increase, as the need for a more agile portfolio strategy and employee mobility options expand.

In Southend there are a range of flexible business office spaces, tailored to suit every business’s evolving needs.

Space282

Space282 was set up to be different, to change with the times and give local people a space they want to work from. We don’t just offer an office, but also the support of the workspace community, encouragement to believe and the ability to get stuff done. Our sites are located in Leigh-on-Sea, Southend and Rayleigh.

Our members benefit from increased productivity and a better work-life balance. Enjoy an inspiring place to work from, with high-speed internet, free tea & coffee, meeting rooms and break-out spaces.

We are focused on the people who use Space282 and we listen to our members to ensure we have the perfect place for them to work.

And because we listen, we are able to enjoy members being with us as their business grows, knowing we are there to help every step of the way.

Further details at: www.space282.co.uk Contact: info@space282.co.uk

Quick facts

• Easy online booking

• Fully serviced offices

• Coworking and team desks

• Day hire offices and desks

• Meeting rooms

• Virtual office service

• Personal mailboxes

• Flexible terms – no leases or complicated agreements

• Affordable fees

• 24/7 access

• Located near public transport and local amenities

• Workspace solutions

SOUTHEND

One Hub

Southend’s entrepreneurial community is thriving, and One Hub provides a home for your business in the City Centre of Southend. We offer flexible terms on a range of workspaces from serviced offices and co-working options for local professionals from a variety of industries, all wrapped up in one fully-inclusive bill with no lengthy leases or utility bills to worry about, leaving you to concentrate on building your business. www.onehubsouthend.co.uk

Quick facts

• All-inclusive month-to-month memberships

• On-site meeting room hire

• A welcoming co-working community

One Hub, 3rd and 7th Floor, Maitland House, Warrior Square, SS1 2JY

The Link Business Centre

The Link Business Centre is in the heart of Southend and offers a selection of selfcontained suites available on a flexible basis, to suit the changing needs from local to multi-national businesses. Further details at: https://www.thelinkbusinesscentre.com/

Get connected to Southend’s business networks

Southend-on-Sea is fortunate to be home to several business networks, which offer expert peer support, advice and guidance, as well as timely business news and information. Many are free to join or cost very little to be involved with and contribute to the entrepreneurial spirit of the city. Listed below are some of these networks, with an explanation of what they do and who they are for:

Southend Business Partnership (SBP)

Southend Business Partnership (SBP) is a network of approximate 1,900 business professionals and community organisations across Southend and surrounding areas. The Partnership brings together businesses from all sectors, sizes and backgrounds to share best practice, contacts, knowledge and news. It also has an Executive body to support the partnership.

Chaired by Murray Foster, SBP meet three times a year for an early morning networking session with free refreshments, to hear from business leaders on locally relevant and topical subjects. The latest news and opportunities are also made available to partnership members throughout the year via monthly e-newsletters. SBP is one of the (if not the) largest networks in Southend, and it is completely free to join.

For more information please visit: https://www. businessonsea.co.uk/southend-business-partnership-5

To register with Southend Partnership newsletter: https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/ UKSOUTHENDBC/signup/32490

Southend Creatives

Formed in 2019, the Southend Creatives works collectively towards the production, presentation, and promotion of arts and culture in Southend. Southend Creatives’ collective ambition is maximising the potential of Southend’s creative businesses and enriching the arts/cultural offer for the benefit of residents and visitors. It is a self-governing network of at least 91 businesses, organisations, and self-employed creatives who work for public benefit to deliver culture/ arts for the community. Each member has equal responsibility for shared objectives and delivering these for the benefit of local communities and wider audiences. Achievements to date include the ‘Charter’ for members to sign up to with pillars around artists’ pay, freedom of creative expression, recognition and collaboration over competition. Southend Creatives

has over 500 members attending network meetings. Over 200 voluntary hours are spent by steering group members to promote culture locally, and a ‘Big Conversation’ event attended by over 80 politicians, community stakeholders and creatives.

Southend Creatives wishes to strengthen local entrepreneurs and creative businesses to achieve growth, sustainability, and innovation in the coming year and wishes to become fully independent.

The core aims of Southend Creatives is to enable:

1. Effective promotion of cultural activities in Southendon-Sea

2. Working together to create new opportunities for collaborative projects, programmes, enhanced resources and facilities for Southend creatives.

3. Host regular friendly and welcoming local events for creatives to connect.

Everyone who is part of the creative community in Southend is welcome. To join our network please email southendcreatives@gmail.com

Essex Business Partnership

Essex Business Partnerships is pleased to announce our ethos of Connect, Communicate, Collaborate is delivering great benefits to our members. Those of you who already attend our events know we offer networking in a relaxed and informal environment; enabling attendees to get to know each other in ways which build trust and create new business opportunities, helping Essex businesses grow.

We continue to add new venues and locations, throughout Essex, with 2024 seeing the addition of several new, more focused groups such as construction, not-for-profit organisations, and Supporting Women in Business networking events.

To book onto any of our events please visit our website https://essexbusinesspartnerships.org.uk/ and we look forward to meeting you.

SOUTHEND

Southend Tech/Coding Meetup

Southend Tech is dedicated to bringing together like-minded individuals who are passionate about all things tech. We offer a range of activities and events, including workshops, seminars, and networking opportunities, to help you stay up to date with the latest trends and developments in the industry.

Some of the activities members are involved with include creating websites and web applications, designing and building electronic circuits and Raspberry Pi robotics, developing mobile applications, virtual reality and much more.

At our larger family events and regular maker meetups, young people and adults develop their skills in programming, electronics, and other areas of technology, creating a pool of talented young people who are well-equipped to enter the workforce and contribute to the tech industry.

Our “girls only” group, the Essex Steamettes, provides a supportive environment for girls to learn about technology and develop their skills, encouraging girls to pursue careers in technology and engineering, helping increase the number of women in the field and promoting gender diversity in tech companies.

So, whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting out in your career, Southend Tech is the perfect place to connect with industry professionals and tech enthusiasts.

More details on our website https://www.meetup.com/ southendtechmeet/

ORB Networking Southend

The Organisation for Responsible Businesses (ORB) is a national organisation with a Southend-based head office. It runs monthly online networking events, on the fourth Thursday every month 11am to 12:15pm, and on the second Tuesday every month 4pm to 5pm. It is free for members, £2 for everyone else, with an optional charitable donation.

Networking for Responsible Businesses –Org for Responsible Businesses (orbuk.org.uk) https://www.orbuk.org.uk/networking-for-responsiblebusinesses/

People, Planet, Pastry: a Small99 initiative with free events held across the UK for businesses to discuss sustainability in their local areas. Southend’s PPP is at 4pm on first Wednesday of every month, hosted by Organisation for Responsible Businesses at Waitrose Café, Eastern Avenue.

People, Planet, Pastry, Southend – Small99 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/cc/people-planetpastry-2089959

effective business network (ebn) Southend effective business network (ebn) is relaxed and informal, but business-focused. We are based on the principle that “You don’t have to be serious to be serious about business.”

There are no referral pressure points! Referrals will come naturally, as the other attendees at meetings get to know you and trust you. Only then are they likely to refer your business to their clients, friends and associates. We have 12 Groups across Essex and our ebn meetings in the Southend area start at 7am. Meetings take place on a Tuesday every 2 weeks, usually at: Brewers Fayre, Eastern Esplanade, Southend-on-Sea, Essex SS1 2YT

For the latest update please visit: https://www.ebn.uk.com/groups/southend or https://www.ebn.uk.com.groups.southchurch

®

Business Buzz

Business Buzz hosts a series of local networking events in Essex. Their business networking events are informal and relaxed, just drop-in when you are free. There is no membership, it’s just £10 + VAT per event.

Southend Buzz meet on the second Wednesday of the month between 10am-12pm at D2 LoungeSouthend United Football Club, Roots Hall Stadium, Southend-on-Sea, SS2 6NQ.

For the latest updates and to register to attend, please visit: https://www.business-buzz.org/essex/southend/. You can book right up to and including the morning of the event, or just pay on the door.

Winning Women

Winning Women is a community of heart-centred & conscious businesswomen, founded in 2013. We meet at 10am every first Tuesday at Thamesbreeze in Leighon-Sea. We also have monthly meetings in Chelmsford and on Zoom. New women are always welcome.

This is a relaxed, friendly meeting to which all women at any stage of business are welcome. If more than one person has a similar business, we welcome collaboration & nurture every one’s uniqueness. Great friendships and collaborations come from this powerful group of enterprising women.

Find us at www.winningwomen.online

Southend Peers Business Community

Southend Peers is an established Southend-on-Sea based business group focused on support, community and business growth.

The group meets every Thursday morning at the Raddison by Park Inn Palace, from 6.45am, for breakfast.

The meetings are relaxed and friendly where business owners, from start-ups to established businesses, can build professional connections, find support and discover ways to grow and develop their business.

Each week, members have the opportunity to share a bit more about their business - the highs and lowsduring a 60-second update to the group. Then, there is a 10-minute presentation either by a member about their business or an interesting and insightful guest.

The group also organises regular but more relaxed visitor events to build connections in the community, as well as fun social opportunities.

Business owners looking for more than just your standard networking and referrals group can book a free visit and find more details at https://southendpeers.co.uk/

Women In Business Network

The Women in Business Network (WIBN) Southend is a membership organisation for women who wish to gain new business opportunities through word of mouth. WIBN operates a one profession per group policy to ensure that each member is given the very best targeted help from the other members of their group. The monthly meetings offer a supportive and businessfocused environment, with all meetings run to an agenda. Facilitated by the group leader, meetings are held between 12 midday and 2pm on the third Wednesday of every month.

Further details at: https://www.wibn.co.uk/groupsmembers/southend-on-sea/

Networking Essex

Networking Essex runs a FREE to attend business networking meeting each month that attracts around 100 businesses each month.

We have a membership of about 130 businesses that pay us to host three free meetings a month in the county, in Colchester, Chelmsford and Southend, along with two-three Director’s Club meetings aimed at our membership.

We meet in Southend on the third Thursday of each month between 12pm and 2pm at The Boundary, Garon Park, Southend, SS2 4FA. We have plenty of free parking on site and you can help yourself to free tea, coffee and tap water as well as a free buffet served at 1pm. If you would like to visit this or any of our other free meetings you can register at www.networkingessex.co.uk. If you want to know more about us please call 07802 807197 or email aaron@networking-essex.co.uk

YES Network (Young Entrepreneurs Southend)

The YES (Young Entrepreneurs Southend) Network has been set up to empower and support young business owners and professionals across the City of Southendon-Sea and beyond. The network hosts a plethora of networking, workshops and initiatives to help young people grow their businesses and improve professional skills. They meet every other month at OneHub Southend, Maitland House. They are led by Ben Cluett, Southend-on-Sea City Council and Takondwa Maosa, Divided London Clothing.

To find out about more events, follow the Businesson-Sea social media pages on LinkedIn and Facebook. You can also check Southend-on-Sea City Council’s Eventbrite where you will find tickets for the latest upcoming events.

You can follow our Instagram page to stay up to date on new events and opportunities @Y.E.S_Network or register your interest for more information at Economicd@southend.gov.uk

SOUTHEND

Business support services

Southend-on-Sea City Council’s Economic Development team are your first point of contact for business related enquiries. We offer a range of expertise and advice to support local businesses. Working closely with a wide range of support providers and partners, we can put you in touch with just the right person to help your business succeed. We also act as secretariat for Southend Business Partnership.

We provide services such as, but not limited to-

• Skills development – help businesses to train/recruit staff

• Funding information – signpost to available funding opportunities

• Business support – guidance and/or referrals depending on the queries.

To book a 1-2-1 appointment to discuss business support email - economicd@southend.gov.uk

• Online business updates at www.businessonsea.co.uk

• Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Businessonsea/

• Follow us on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/business-on-sea/

How businesses are telling us we’re getting on:

Bobby – WDC Physiotherapy

Business-on-Sea has undertaken a commendable effort to enhance inter-business relationships and foster growth within the local area. This initiative plays a pivotal role in supporting small businesses, offering an array of services that have significant benefits for their development and expansion.

“One of the core advantages of Southend’s business awareness initiative is its emphasis on promoting interaction and collaboration among different enterprises. Through networking events, workshops, and seminars, the initiative facilitates the establishment of meaningful connections between businesses, enabling them to share knowledge, insights, and experiences. These interactions provide a fertile ground for idea exchange, potential partnerships, and collaborations, which ultimately contribute to the growth of small businesses.

“The range of services made available through the business awareness initiative is instrumental in aiding small businesses to thrive. Firstly, the initiative provides targeted guidance and support in areas such as marketing, operations, and finance. Through tailored advice and workshops, small business owners can overcome challenges and gain new perspectives, enabling them to make informed decisions and drive their businesses forward.

“Additionally, the business awareness initiative offers access to resources and facilities that may otherwise remain out of reach for small businesses. From shared office spaces to training programs, these provisions bridge the gap for those businesses lacking the necessary infrastructure or resources, ensuring a level playing field for all participants.

“Business-on-Sea has proven itself as a catalyst for small business development and growth in the local area. Through its focus on inter-business relationships and the provision of essential services, the initiative creates an environment that fosters collaboration, idea-sharing, and mutual support. These benefits empower small businesses to overcome challenges, make informed decisions, and prosper, ultimately making Southend’s business community stronger and more vibrant.

“At WDC Physiotherapy we are an established business in Southend but still see the benefit of using and working with Business-on-Sea. Through our thriving business community, we will be able to develop a stronger offering to attract further custom either by B2B or increasing the workforce within Southend.” https://www.wdcphysiotherapy.co.uk/

Selina – MSB Accountants

“With MSB Southend being a new accounting branch, it’s been great to have someone from the council like Ben who is willing to help local businesses grow and build a strong supportive relationship within the local community. He’s been a great point of contact helping us with advertising and other matters that require council information. We think having a local directory that is free is a great way to search local businesses within Southend, giving us a platform to be advertised on, specially being a new branch in a new area.” https://www.msbbasildon.com/

Bidding for council opportunities

Business Directory

SIGN UP FOR THE SOUTHEND BUSINESS DIRECTORY

‘It’s Local Southend’ is a free dedicated business directory and marketing platform, for all businesses in the city. Council officers use the directory to source local companies and seek quotes for supplies and services up to £25,000 – making sure we spend as much as possible locally to support businesses. Find out more, visit:https://www.itslocalsouthend.co.uk/ southend/desktop/index.html

The ‘It’s Local Southend’ free business directory, replaces the local supplier list we held previously.

Tender opportunities are advertised and managed through the on-line Procurement Portal. If you don’t have an account you can register for free, where you will be able to see our advertised opportunities, and respond to tenders.

Find out more about tendering opportunities by visiting: https://www.southend.gov.uk/procurement-contracts/tender-opportunities

The new Procurement Act 2023 is expected to ‘go-live’ on the 28 October 2024 and replaces the existing Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015).

Transforming Public Procurement - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/transforming-public-procurement

SOUTHEND

Southend City Business Improvement District (BID) was established in 2013 to provide levy paying businesses with a range of projects and services focused on the City Centre. Now in its third term, these activities include the Street Ranger team who patrol the BID Zone seven days a week and streetscape enhancements such as bunting, baskets, banners and Christmas lighting. The BID runs or supports many events such as the Christmas Switch On, City Jam, Southend Pride, Cocktail Week and various trails. The BID also shares business updates and information to its levy payers to keep the business community updated and aware of the latest initiatives.

Further details can be found at www.SouthendBID.com

Federation of Small Business (FSB)

As experts in business, the Federation of Small Businesses offers members a wide range of vital business services including advice, financial expertise, support, and a powerful voice in government. As a not-for-profit business support organisation, they also engage with all small businesses of up to 250 employees, by providing an extensive programme of events, business guides, webinars, and reports. Their Essex Development Manager works closely with partners and stakeholders in Southend to ensure that the small business community is represented.

Further details at https://www.fsb.org.uk

Essex Chambers of Commerce

Essex Chambers of Commerce deliver local engagement, regional representation, and global opportunities.

As one of 53 UK Chambers accredited through the British Chambers of Commerce, we are proud to be the only accredited Chamber in Essex.

Constantly evolving to meet the changing needs of modern commerce, we are a not-for-profit membership organisation that represents a range of businesses, over many industries, both large and small. We provide International Trade support including the processing of export documentation such as Certificates of Origin and ATA Carnets, along with accredited export/import training and workshops and an advice helpline.

We operate countywide from two hubs located in Colchester and Southend-on-Sea, with a satellite office in Harlow.

Further information can be found at www.essexchambers.co.uk

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)

FREE Midlife MOT website launched to help older workers.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dwp-launchesnew-midlife-mot-website

The FREE online Midlife MOT to help older workers with financial planning, health guidance, and to assess what their skills mean for their careers and futures.

The free Midlife MOT website encourages people to review their skills and help to break down barriers to the labour market. It brings together trusted services, help such as a jobseeker toolkit and charity resources. It will allow people to identify job opportunities as well as better preparing them for later life and their retirement.

The website signposts key organisations and charities, including the NHS, Mind, MoneyHelper, Citizens Advice and DWP’s find a job portal. https://www.gov.uk/finda-job

As part of this, MoneyHelper has created a financial tool which will provide a personalised report to help people understand what to prioritise to improve their financial position, from now through to retirement. https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/everyday-money/ midlife-mot

Case study: Surgical Holdings

Business case studies

Founded in 1988 and deeply rooted in the heart of Southend-on-Sea, Surgical Holdings is a trusted family-run business that boasts over 30 years’ experience. The company’s passion for finely crafted surgical instruments started four generations ago by George Poole, who created his own business making finely crafted surgical instruments back in 1910. George’s commitment to excellence was passed down through generations, resulting in the creation of Surgical Holdings.

Today Philip Coole remains as Chairman, with his son Daniel at the helm as Managing Director – a role he took in 1995 after a gruelling apprenticeship! With a reputation for quality and excellence, the company is proud to have CE accreditation for the manufacture and supply of instruments and orthopaedic implants. They employ a team of highly skilled surgical instrument technicians and sell finely crafted instruments directly to the NHS and private sector organisations worldwide.

Daniel Coole, Managing Director of Surgical Holdings, said: “At Surgical Holdings, we’ve always believed in the power of skill-sharing and education. It’s been ingrained in our DNA for four generations. We love opening our doors to visitors at our friendly workshop right here in Southend-on-Sea. We encourage them to have a chat with our talented technicians because there’s nothing quite like firsthand knowledge from the experts themselves.“

“We are incredibly proud of our partnership with East Essex College. They are our go-to for engineering training and RM training for admin apprenticeships. We are firm believers in investing in the local talent pool and equipping them with the skills they need to shine in their chosen fields.

“Our team of highly skilled technicians all undertake a minimum apprenticeship of five

years and are also trained to manufacture instruments, not just repair them. This gives us an essential 360 degree understanding of the challenge and the importance of correctly functioning medical devices. We believe it’s this comprehensive knowledge that sets us apart.

“We love being based in Southend-on-Sea, which is known for its thriving entrepreneurial community, creating a perfect environment of innovation and collaboration, all aligning with our vision and values. Beyond the exceptional work environment, it helps to have the stunning coast at our doorstep.

“We’re also an excellent location for export customers. Our repair workshop is conveniently based just 40 miles from London, at the mouth of the Thames Estuary, and 5 minutes from Southend Airport, which ensures swift turnaround times.

“While we’ve been around for generations, our commitment to training the next generation of skilled technicians remains as strong as ever. We’re proud of our legacy, our partnerships, and the incredible community we call home.”

https://www.surgicalholdings.co.uk/

Case study: Indirock

Indirock is an indoor climbing wall and coffee shop, hailed as the coolest new venue to hit Southend high street. It offers bouldering for all ages, from one to 70 plus!

Indirock began as the idea of husband and wife, Gordon & Emily, back in 2019. After sharing their dreams with Southend Council’s Economic Development Officer and then Director of Public Health, the idea quickly snowballed into a reality.

Keen to be based on Southend high street, the council helped connect them with the Victoria Shopping Centre, which was struggling at the time with high vacancy rates. After raising over £0.5m investment, all was set for Indirock’s build and launch in time for summer 2020.

Then the pandemic struck, and the rug was pulled from under their plans. The shopping centre owners

went bust. The couple faced deep uncertainty, and it looked as though both their dreams of building Indirock and their own personal finances would go up in smoke.

However, Southend-on-Sea City Council stepped in to buy the Victoria Shopping Centre and although substantially delayed, builders were able to commence work and finally open Indirock’s doors in March 2022. Indirock has enjoyed a close partnership with the council ever since and has benefitted from the tight-knit business and third-sector community here in Southend.

Emily Vermont, CEO of Indirock, says: “Despite all the challenges thrown at us, we came out fighting and couldn’t have asked for a more successful first year in business. Through a crowdfunding campaign before launch, our local community came out in droves to support Indirock and were literally queuing out of the door to get in on day one.

“Being located on our high street, although more expensive than renting an industrial unit, has proved a great move in attracting interest from passing footfall. We also regularly collaborate with other small businesses, and love the entrepreneurial buzz there is in our city. We couldn’t imagine living or basing our business anywhere else!”

https://indirock.co.uk/

Low carbon economy –A green city

Over 45% of the Council’s emissions come from our 6,000 homes. We are currently exploring many ways in which we can decarbonise our housing stock, by building more eco-friendly homes and retrofitting our existing ones.

New homes:

In 2021, we built the Council’s first Net Zero Carbon homes in partnership with Essex-based contractor Marfleet and Blyth. This scheme consisted of four homes in Saxon Gardens, Shoeburyness which were highly commended at the Essex Housing Awards.

We have one development scheme which is currently on site in Eagle Way, Shoeburyness which will deliver 13 new sustainable Council homes. We also have more sites coming forward for development this year and will be looking to work with sustainable local contractors wherever possible. These include a further site in Shoeburyness for 16 flats, and a site near the airport for five houses and four flats.

Retrofit:

We are progressing a wide range of projects including:

1. Retrofit show home - We have completed a deep retrofit of one of our homes to display the latest sustainable housing technologies to provide experience of retrofit interventions and also help to educate local residents and contractors on “the art of the possible.”

2. £2.3m Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund project - From August 2023, we are retrofitting 110

of our most inefficient homes. Through installing external wall insulation, loft insulation, new windows, draught proofing, and ventilation, the project aims to reduce the homes energy bills and carbon emissions by 30%.

3. Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) - We are utilising this funding to bring more of our homes up to Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) C and undertaking cavity wall insulation installations.

4. Data improvement - We are undertaking 100s of EPCs and retrofit assessments to improve our understanding of emissions in our homes.

We will be looking to partner with local businesses to help us deliver our pipeline of sustainability projects. For more information please email: retrofit@southend. gov.uk

SOUTHEND

Council’s parks team secure nine Green Flag Awards for 2024

Southend received the third highest number of Green Flag Awards in the East of England, following Watford Borough Council and Chelmsford City Council. The Green Flags will be proudly displayed at the following Southend parks:

•Belfairs Park and Nature Reserve

•Chalkwell Park

•Leigh Library Gardens

•Priory Park Southend

•Shoebury Common North

•Shoebury Park

•Southchurch Hall Gardens

•Southchurch Park

• Sutton Road Cemetery and Southend Crematorium

Outside of the council’s park’s team, a Green Flag Award was also awarded to Garon Park CIC and two Green Flag Community Awards for TrustLinks in Shoeburyness and Westcliff.

ForwardMotion

Funded by the Department for Transport, ForwardMotion is encouraging people to think differently about the way they travel around south Essex. The goal is to reduce reliance on cars and get people to consider alternative travel options such as cycling, catching public transport, or walking.

ForwardMotion is a collaboration between Essex, Southendon-Sea, and Thurrock Councils. We work with individuals and organisations including businesses, training providers, schools, colleges, and universities to provide services that make alternative travel options accessible. Services can be tailored to each organisation or individual, but include E-Cargo Bike loan, Bespoke cycle training, cycle checks and security tagging, public transport travel advice and much more.

Research shows active travel not only benefits the environment and boosts the wellbeing of employees, but also has direct, positive consequences for the whole business. For example, more people walking or cycling to work leads to a healthier workforce, which can improve productivity and reduce absenteeism.

To get involved contact the ForwardMotion Team at forwardmotion@southend.gov.uk

Southend businesses encouraged to be a ‘Refill destination

The council are encouraging local businesses and residents to help the city become a ‘Refill destination’ by providing greater access to drinking water as well as refill and reusable packaging.

This initiative, run by the not-for-profit City to Sea, prevents plastic pollution and helps people live with less waste. The campaign is designed to create an alternative vison of the future and accelerate the transition away from single-use plastic and towards refill and reuse systems.

Southend also features on the City to Sea refill app which connects people to places that provide free access to drinking water as well as places to eat, drink and shop with less waste.

City to Sea will work with the city of Southend over the coming years to measure their impact and to transparently report on the growing refill and reuse in the area supporting the council in engaging businesses and residents alike.

If your business wishes to become a Refill station in Southend-on-Sea visit the Refill https://www.refill.org. uk/  where there are other useful tips to help you reduce plastic waste.

City Centre and cultural offer

In 2023 ‘Herd in the City’ visited Southend-on-Sea

New for 2025 ‘Waddle-on-Sea’ to learn more visit:https://www.waddleonsea.co.uk/

• A number of cultural festivals throughout the year including the Leigh Folk Festival, Southend City Jam, Southend Film Festival and the Leigh Regatta. https://www.visitsouthend.co.uk/whatson/

• Internationally significant heritage collections, such as the Prittlewell Princely Burial at Southend Central Museum which is the earliest archaeological evidence of a Christian burial from the Anglo-Saxon period.

• Art galleries such as the Beecroft Gallery with The Jazz Centre UK, fine art collection and works from artists including Constable and Reynolds, to Focal Point Gallery with its contemporary arts focus.

• Performing and visual arts with world-famous comedians and musicians frequently performing in Southend.

• Several delightful historic buildings including the 12th century Prittlewell Priory and the 14th century Southchurch Hall.

The city centre has a range of top retail names plus independently owned shops to choose from. There are two covered shopping centres, The Royals and The Victoria Centre, that anchor each end of a busy High Street, a perfect place to meet friends and enjoy some retail therapy.

Southend Business Improvement District (BID) works closely with the council and traders in the town centre and seafront area to ensure that BID members can make the most of their combined potential and remain ahead of the competition. Southend has a vibrant and rich cultural offer and is a place that blends cultural heritage and historic architecture with contemporary art and innovative architectural design. Southend-on-Sea has three theatres attracting internationally acclaimed productions, musicians and comedians: the Cliffs Pavilion, the Palace Theatre and the Clifftown Theatre. Creative industries are flourishing and our live music scene that has produced a number of internationally recognised artists and bands continues to thrive. The city also has strong sporting heritage with a fantastic mix of amateur and professional sports teams, including the National League football team, Southend United.

SOUTHEND

Southend Museums

Heritage, culture and partnership opportunities

Southend’s cultural heritage is both rich and fascinating. Southend Museums care for two Grade 1 listed buildings, the Prittlewell Priory and Southchurch Hall. The Beecroft Art Gallery hosts the city’s fine art collection and displays temporary exhibitions of art, photography and fashion. The Central Museum features exhibitions of natural, local and social history and internationally significant archaeology, including finds from the Prittlewell Princely Burial and London Shipwreck.

Sponsorship packages: improve your brand visibility by sponsoring an exhibition or object.

Team Away Days: This is a hands-on opportunity to boost team morale and support employee health.

Client tours: take a prospective client on a guided tour and showcase your local area.

Room hire: with spaces including our lecture theatre and cafe areas available to hire for meetings and events. There are numerous ways your business can engage with Southend Museums including through: Contact us and ask for Business Development to find out more. museums@southend.gov.uk

Visit www.southendmuseums.co.uk or call 01702 212511

Education, skills and training for employment

From top performing schools, regional and local colleges, universities and numerous programmes to support with sector and vocational training - whatever your business labour and training needs are, we can help your business and workforce to excel.

Southend-on-Sea is home to two colleges, two university campuses and some of the top performing schools in the country, including grammar schools.

The University of Essex is the UK’s leading institution for active Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) with businesses.  The flagship Innovate UK programme can boost profitability and give businesses a competitive edge.  The University of Essex and colleges are able to assist with in work learning, professional development and specialist training for your workforce.

South Essex College’s Southend City College offers a range of courses for students from entry level to level 7, with focus on vocational subjects for 16 to 19 year-olds, adult / HE High Needs and a discrete Pre 16 provision as well as apprenticeships. South Essex Colleges Group equip young people for work through training in realistic working environments. In addition to science labs and a 250-seat performance pod, college students also have access to a recording and rehearsal studio, state of the art gym/fitness studio and a commercial run hairdressing and beauty salon.

Southend Adult Community College is Southendon-Sea City Council’s provider of adult education, providing high-quality learning and skills from entry level to level 5 with 100s of part-time leisure courses, vocational qualifications, CPD and industry specific training for adults. The College also offers full-time vocational programmes for 16 to 19-year-olds (up to 24

years with an EHCP) as well as Adult SEND courses and a High Needs Provision for young adults.

Southend-on-Sea City Council and its partners offer sector-specific training programmes to attract and prepare residents to key sectors in the city and across South Essex. Adapting to market need and in collaboration with local employers, the Council aims to support all your workforce needs.

Quick facts

• 59 schools, two colleges and two university campuses. (University of Essex and University Centre South Essex).

• Six of our schools have been rated in the top 15% of schools nationwide and four are in the top 80 schools in England.

• There are 154 local authorities in England and Southend-on-Sea is ranked 10th (based on attainment 8.)

• University of Essex – 30th out of 130 UK universities in the Complete University Guide 2025.

• The economic impact of the University of Essex campus at Southend is £102.9 million, with students’ contributing £6.5 million.

SOUTHEND

Could you be a business volunteer?

The Greater Essex Careers Hub brings secondary schools, colleges and special schools together with other partners from across Essex. The organisation’s aim is to support every young person to find their next best step into further education, training and/ or employment. There are two different volunteering opportunities available to you.

Enterprise advisers - partner with a school or college over a period of at least one year offering strategic support on their careers programme development and review.

Industry champions - offering a chance, on an adhoc basis, to engage with young people, share knowledge, insights and experience. Using activities such as careers talks, mock interviews, careers fairs, industry insight days, and work experience.

If you are interested or would like to get involved, please email the team today - careershub@southend. gov.uk

Seaside living and quality of life

The average house price as of June 2024 was £331,000 up 3.6% from June 2023. (ons.gov.uk)

• Southenders enjoy an outdoor lifestyle with seven miles of glorious coastline which is part of the 350 mile ‘Discovery Coast’. Southend-on-Sea combines desirable coastal living with access to numerous green flag winning parks and open spaces, nature reserves and sports facilities.

• Blue Flag and Seaside Awards for summer 2024. Our beaches have yet again been named as some of the best in the UK.

The council applied for and has been awarded four Blue Flag Awards, the most awarded in the East of England alongside North Norfolk District Council. The four beaches are East Beach, Shoebury Common, Three Shells and Westcliff Bay. This means these four beaches all have excellent bathing water quality according to the strict international standards.

Seaside Awards have also been given to all our eight beaches: Chalkwell, Jubilee, Thorpe Bay, Three Shells, Shoebury Common, East Beach, Bell Wharf and Westcliff Bay.

• Southend Pier is the city’s most treasured, historical icon as well as being the longest pleasure pier in the world. It stretches for 1.33 miles out into the Thames Estuary, putting Southend on the map as well as into the record books. The pier was awarded ‘Pier of the Year 2023’ from the National Pier Society.

• The region receives praise for strong community spirit, skills and education opportunities with celebrated Higher Education institutions and schools, restaurants, and shops.

• First class sports and leisure facilities with local swimming and diving facilities used by the Olympic Team GB, and the London 2012 mountain biking course at nearby Hadleigh Country Park.

• Water sports activities including paddleboarding, sailing and kite surfing on the coast.

• Famous nightlife with vibrant bars, nightclubs, and casinos. In 2024, Southend has retained the prestigious Purple Flag accreditation for its evening and night-time economy for the eleventh year running!

• A wide range of restaurants and culinary options with over 300 eateries across the city. Southend Pier was home to Jamie Oliver and Jimmy Doherty’s successful ‘Friday Night Feast’ TV show.

Southend’s Economic Development team and key contacts

The Economic Development team at Southend-on-Sea City Council

Phone: +44 (0)1702 215022

Email: economicd@southend.gov.uk

Website: www.businessonsea.co.uk

Planning Registration team, Southend-on-Sea City Council

Phone: +44(0)1702 215004

Email: planningregistrationteam@southend.gov.uk

Business Rates team, Southend-on-Sea City Council

Phone: +44(0)1702 215001

Email: businessrates@southend.gov.uk

Local estate agents:

Ayers and Cruiks: Steve Ayers

Phone: +44(0)1702 343060

Email: mail@ayerscruiks.co.uk

Dedman Gray: Mike Gray

Phone: +44(0)1702 311111

Email: mikegray@dedmangray.co.uk

Kemsley: Colin Herman

Phone: +44(0)7976 327448

Email: colin.herman@kemsley.com

@BusinessOnSea https://twitter.com/ BizzOnSea https://www.facebook.com/Businessonsea BusinessOnSea https://www.instagram.com/businessonsea/ BusinessOnSea https://www.linkedin.com/company/business-on-sea/

It’s Local Southend - Online business directory

Southend-on-Sea City Council is excited to launch this business directory service for businesses in Southend, connecting local businesses with local customers, free of charge and keeping trade inside the local economy. www.itslocalsouthend.co.uk

Business Directory

Southend Care is a company wholly owned by Southend Borough Council, set up to deliver high quality care and support services. The company began trading in April 2017 and since then we have developed a strong track record as a local care provider working in close partnership with Southend Borough Council, the NHS and the Third Sector.

We are a dynamic and forward-thinking company employing over 300 sta and supporting over 1,000 people per year

We pride ourselves on working with some of the most vulnerable people in society including those people with very complex needs.

Our range of services includes Day Opportunities, Residential Care, Supported Living, Extra care, Shared Lives, Complex Reablement and Supported Employment.

We have highly trained and skilled sta who provide consistent and high quality care to people in our community. Our customer satisfaction ratings are excellent reflecting our passion and commitment to making a positive di erence to peoples’ lives.

We o er services to people mainly funded by Southend City Council however we also support people who wish to pay for care privately and other organisatins including Clinical Commissioning Groups.

or more information contact us at:

Telephone: 01702 534427 (for recruitment enquiries). 01702 212426 (Brook Meadows Reception).

E Mail: info@southendcare.co.uk • Web: southendcare.co.uk

Address: Southend Care Ltd, Head O ce, Brook Meadows House, Burr Hill Chase, Southend-on-Sea, Essex SS2 6PE

REAL HOMES FOR REAL PEOPLE

Davis Construction are a principal contractor, who provide a high quality mix of affordable rent shared equity and private-sale new homes across the South East.

WE UNDERSTAND HOW PEOPLE WANT TO LIVE, WHICH IS REFLECTED IN THE EFFICIENT DESIGN OF OUR HOMES, AND WE PRIDE OURSELVES IN OFFERING SUSTAINABLE, THOUGHTFULLY DESIGNED HOMES WHERE FAMILIES CAN GROW AND THRIVE.

01702 601000

info@davisconstruction.co.uk

www.davisconstruction.co.uk

DAVIS Construction 1st Floor, 73 The Broadway Leigh-on-Sea Essex, SS9 1PW

Over the years, we’ve developed an extensive portfolio of clients across a wide range of industries, whilst maintaining a key focus on affordable and social housing projects.

We are immensely proud to create and craft real homes for real people, using our skills and expertise in this particular sector. From working on shared ownership schemes through to delivering private residential developments, we pride ourselves on our approach and the specialist care and detail we apply to every single one of our projects.

What we offer..

Four golf simulator bays powered by Trackman

Expert golf tuition

A fully stocked bar, with a wide variety of hot drinks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and snacks

Bring friends, family, and colleagues to enjoy virtual golf, irrespective of your skill levels. Golf.One's ethos is enjoyment for all!

What we offer...

Complete hire out for birthdays and all special events

Luxurious space for networking, and corporate and business events

Lounge area to relax and enjoy refreshments pre and post playing

With

3D Printing can make...

• Car Parts

• Scale Models

• Moulds

• Jigs&Tool Parts

We work with...

• Universities, Schools & Academies

• Engineers

• Hobbyists

• Entrepreneurs

We provide...

• Guidance

• Materials

• Design Services

• Print Services

• Functional Parts

•Prototyping

• Personalised Models

• Replacement Parts

•Product Designers

• Charities

• Artists

•Prop Makers

• Accessories

•Technical Information

• Fast Delivery

•

Support

Belfairs Pharmacy

327 Eastwood Road North

Leigh-on-Sea SS9 4LT 01702 525123

Elms Pharmacy 912 London Road

Leigh-on-Sea SS9 3NG 01702 474306

Treatments and services

• Dispensing services

• Help and advice

• Prescription delivery

• Contraception services

• Healthy living services

• Stop smoking service (NHS)

• NHS Blood Pressure Checks

• Stoma appliance customisation service (NHS)

• Pharmacy First services

• Ear wax removal by micro-suction technique (location depending)

Frenchs Pharmacy 1723-1725 London Road

Leigh-on-Sea SS9 2SW 01702 475140

• Vaccination services

• Seasonal flu vaccination service

• Inhaler recycling

• Appointment booking available for consultations

• Private consultation room

• Multi-lingual sta

BOSCOMBE JOINERY AND MOULDINGS OULDINGS LTD

At Boscombe Joinery and Mouldings our craftsmen are the key to the production of quality, bespoke joinery, custom-made furniture, replacement windows, roof lanterns, doors and all makes of staircases. We are very proud of our hard-won reputation within the bespoke joinery industry. Using traditional skills and paying particular attention to detail, we specialize in the custom design and production of individual timber items, roof lanterns and the replication of existing features, such as windows and doors.

Wood is a natural product and, when selected from properly managed forests, is a renewable resource requiring only a small amount of energy to be moulded into useful and beautiful products. It is recyclable, waste efficient, biodegradable and non-toxic. But just as important, it is weather resistant and very durable - many timber species have lifespan of 30 years or more, easily outstripping modern alternatives for doors and windows.

Each order is custom made, using soft and/or hard woods as appropriate and using traditional techniques to ensure a quality finish to our bespoke custom made joinery.

Tel: 01702 617 461 • boscombejoinery@hotmail.co.uk • www.boscombejoineryandmouldingsltd.co.uk

adv672639

5STARREVIEWS

Southend-on-Sea, covering the entire county, for both Domestic and Commercial Pest Control.

Covering all aspects of pest control either in residential premises or as part of a commercial service: Wasps, Rats, Bedbugs, Fleas, Insects, Mice, Squirrels or any other pest. Our fully qualified pest controllers are on call ready to help you with your pest emergency

Our specialist commercial service can protect your premises with monthly visits. Regardless of the size of your premises, we can provide you with a bespoke pest management service.

As trusted suppliers of both Southend City Council & Essex County Council, NPTA Members and RSPH Qualified Pest Controllers, you can rest assured we will resolve your pest control issue safely and e ciently.

6 Nelson Road, Leigh-on-Sea, SS9 3HU, United Kingdom Our Team Are Waiting To Help: 01702 668 769 Email: admin@southendcitypestcontrol.co.uk • Web: southendcitypestcontrol.co.uk

Pest Control Service based

If you want the best moving services in Essex and surrounding areas, then look no further than Essex House Removals.

We take quality seriously and will meet your needs without a fuss. We're confident in the way we work to ensure you receive a smooth move. Everything we do is with the clients requirements in mind.

The team are a cheerful bunch and will bring good humour on move day. Many previous clients have said we've made move day fun and enjoyable

Designer’s note: Would it be possible to send a higher resolution version of the logo and top banner as the one sent is quite low res and will appear blurred when printed. I have had to edit the text as it was too long for the artwork dimensions. Many thanks.

The Leigh Heritage Centre and Plumbs Cottage stand in the centre of the Old Town next to Strand Wharf.

The Heritage Centre is a treasure trove of artefacts and information about Leigh and its life in past times and we have an extensive archive which can be searched on request. We sell Leigh related books, pictures and souvenirs. Entry to both buildings is free – but of course a donation is always welcome as our stewards are all volunteers who give their time because of their love of Leigh.

‘An eye to the future and an ear to the past in the heart of Leigh’

Our Heritage Trail through Leigh old and new, is free to visitors and caters for all abilities.

Membership of LCAH (form on website) is £12pa per household.

We welcome schools and visitors for prearranged group visits. We are happy to help with family history research and are always looking for more and more information about Leigh, its people and its places, where they came from and where they went to

Contacts: Chairman of Trustees –carole.mulroney@btinternet.com or 01702 475117 for all enquiries Heritage Centre: 13A High Street, Leigh-on-Sea SS9 2EN. Tel 01702 470834 www.leighsociety.com or www.leighlives.co.uk Leigh Heritage Centre Ltd is a not-for-profit Company and Registered Charity

Millane Contract Services Ltd

Millane Contract Services Ltd are an award-winning multi-discipline maintenance, building and roofing company. Our Head Office is based in Basildon, Essex, along with an additional office located in Central London. MCS provide experienced workmanship and high-quality services to satisfy all our clients requirements. We strive to achieve 100% customer satisfaction and aim to achieve the best possible client experience. Throughout our 21-year trading history, we have acquired numerous accreditations, including SafeContractor, CHAS, and HSEQ ISOs. This, combined with our stringent training regime, enables us to perform and deliver to the highest possible standards.

MAINTENANCE

We are experienced and widely knowledgeable in the provision of both reactive and planned maintenance. With the knowledge we have gained over the years, we are able to provide an unrivalled level of service

CONSTRUCTION

We offer a flexible approach to construction from internal refurbishments to new builds and renovations projects. Our experience is vast and covers all aspects of construction to deliver a full service from start to finish.

ROOFING

Our in-depth knowledge and experience allow us to provide a wide variety of roofing services and solutions to meet all requirements from traditional, liquid and felt, to commercial sheeted roofing systems.

Telephone: 01268 289203

Email: info@millane.ltd.uk www.millane.ltd.uk

We can offer:

As a trusted partner of Southend-on-Sea City Council, we provide a wide range of high quality services to private and public sectors, including proper ty and facility management services across the South East.

•Security – Security Industry Authority (SIA), Community Safety Accreditation Scheme (CSAS) and British Security Industry Association (BSIA) accredited Security Staff to provide concierge, patrols, waking watch, community safety & security services and attend any events when required.

•Fire door servicing – our team of inspectors are BM TRADA certified and will provide fire door installation, fire stopping, fire door inspections to ensure that all fire doors are serviced, repaired and meet all regulations under the Fire Safety Act. Fire door inspections are essential to fully ensure health and safety measures are met. As part of the varied range of services we offer, we provide a fully comprehensive inspection and on-site repairs service during the inspection, which can be completed on the frequency required.

•Property Maintenance (including handyman services) – low level minor repairs including lock changes, Electrical Portable Appliance Testing (PAT), property decoration and and Energy Performance Certificate Services.

•Caretaking Services – Holiday and sickness cover for on-site caretaking duties by our dedicated Estates Team, including graffiti removal and bulk removal.

•Cleaning Services – including all public settings, bathrooms, classrooms, deep cleans during holidays, floor polishing to specific service standards, extraction cleans on carpets and upholstery, removal and disposal of unwanted contaminated items in accordance with government guidelines. We also have a large array of commercial cleaning tools such as mobile steam cleaners, carpet cleaning machines, scrubber drying machines and polishing cleaners. We are constantly reviewing the products, equipment and working methods to achieve the results you want in a fast-changing situation

www.marfleetandblyth.co.uk

8AB .uk y Marfleet and Blyth Ltd are a Chartered Building Contractor, with a focus on providing the highest levels of professional service delivered through sustainable construction, customer care and continuous improvement. We specialise in the delivery of residential projects with a focus on social and affordable housing and are proud to be working in partnership with Southend-on-Sea City Council to deliver Net Zero Affordable housing within the City.

With

We o er a range of exciting, fully-funded publishing and mark eting services to major public and private organisations throughout the UK – primarily government bodies, local authorities, NHS Trusts and trade associations.

Our comprehensive ser vice encompasses all elements of printed and elec tronic publishing. We provide a wide range of ser vices including design and print, data management, adver tising sales, mark et research, website design and produc tion, software development and sponsorship

Energy saving

Switching off non-essential equipment in an office overnight saves enough energy to run a small car for 100 miles.

Saving energy saves you money, protects your reputation and helps combat climate change.

Your organisation could save up to 10% through housekeeping actions which cost little or nothing.

Source: www.carbontrust.co.uk

SOUTHEND

Online Business Directory

If you are a business located in Southend and would like to be included in the online directory, please visit www.itslocalsouthend.co.uk and click on the ‘Add Company’ link. It’s free to be included.

Market your products and ser vices for free Free for all local businesses to register Find local businesses and services Buy local & keep trade local

PROMOTE Y OUR LOCAL BUSINES S

Ocean Residential are situated in Westcli -on-Sea, per fectly located to cover all surrounding areas from Shoeburyness in the East through to Ben eet in the West.

Proper ty Specialist s

With over 20 years’ experience in the property business, we will get the job done!

Local Knowledge

Knowledge is key! Our sta are all local people and have all worked in the proper ty business at Ocean for years.

Trusted Reputation

Most of our new business comes from recommendation. You need total trust in your agent.

View our properties

View our properties