Author: Andy

The Beeline project hopes to bring nectar rich hanging baskets to Hamlet Court Road this summer, creating a Beeline super highway for bees, butterflies and other insects, supporting our local bio diversity and and the urban eco system. Not only will this support Wild Westcliff but it will bring beautiful hanging baskets to the road – in turn supporting our local high street.

But it can only happen if the public votes for it as one of the Council’s ‘Big Sparks’ projects initiative and you must vote NOW. Voting closes on the 28th January so please give your support by voting here https://yoursay.southend.gov.uk/bigsparks – scroll down to the bottom of the page to vote by registering at the blue bar. Beeline is project number 17.

Thank you. Together we can make this happen.

Once again we have made a written request to the Secretary of State to intervene to help save this important building at the heart of Hamlet Court Road. The building, seriously fire damaged in the spring of 2023, lost its roof and is open to the elements. Now the third winter is approaching and if the building is left open our concern is that irreparable damage will take place to the structure and the building could be lost.

This would be nothing less than catastrophic for Hamlet Court Road and local conservation.

The Secretary of State can make a direction that would enable the local authority to intervene, for example by erecting a tin hat (temporary roof) scaffold. This would provide a basic level of protection. Similarly any urgent bracing could be provided. The law provides for costs arising in this regard to be reclaimed from the building owner but it first requires the Secretary of State to grant that this can happen in a conservation area.

We await hearing from the government but will continue to do what we can to help protect this building.

October 2025

For the first time in Southend-on-Sea and following application to Historic England by Milton Society, a garden has been Listed. The historic Shrubbery gardens beside Pier Hill, site of the historic and magical Never Never Land, are now listed after assessment by Historic England. Listed status has also been granted to the 1930s sun shelter that sits below the Westcliff Hotel.

However, application for the wider cliff gardens dating from the Victorian period and extending up to the Cliffs Pavilion, was refused designation after a flawed assessment and then appeal by Milton Society. Incorrectly, Historic England included the large landslip area which was bound to negatively influence consideration of the remaining, intact gardens. On appeal and unsurprisingly, the original decision was upheld, even with the land slip area excluded from consideration.

Whilst is is great to see the Listing recognition, which we hope will help to protect the Shrubbery gardens, application for the same gardens was refused by Historic England as recently as 2023. A further application by us was submitted in 2024 and this led to their re-opening of the file in early 2025. This application also had the significant support of the Essex Garden Trust. The resultant Listing is very welcome but Historic England’s errors and the reversal of part of their decision rather cast doubt on their Listing process. It suggests that something more than historic significance is at play and this should result in further review.

But we can take pleasure in knowing that all our documented efforts were, at least in part, successful and now Southend has it’s first Listed gardens which should help with future protection and funding bids.

We will now push the Council for the whole of the cliff gardens to become a conservation area as we are still very concerned about the poor condition of these historic gardens and have maintained our campaign to ‘Save Our Cliff Gardens’ which you can support here https://www.change.org/p/save-our-cliffs-in-southend-on-sea?source_location=search

Please see the very full February 2025 Newsletter here

Read our latest November 2024 Newsletter here….