The UK seaside town dubbed ‘the pits’ as Rachel Reeves ‘is making it worse’ | UK | News

A popular seaside town is “on the edge of decline” amid fears over the impact of Labour’s economic plans on its famous seafront and the future of its High Street.

Business leaders in Southend-on-Sea in Essex have warned of job cuts and reduced footfall after Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced plans to increase the rate employers pay National Insurance (NI) from 13.8% to 15%, with the threshold before they start paying lowered to £5,000.

Amusement park owner Philip Miller employs 1,200 people at the height of the holiday season at one of Southend’s biggest attractions, Adventure Island. He told Express.co.uk Budget measures will cost his business £600,000, prevent him from investing in new rides and push up prices for customers.

Mr Miller said: “I’ve never felt so pessimistic in my life. It’s like being a Spurs supporter. I’ve always felt optimistic, in spite of any negatives, but now I’m thinking about contracting and not expanding…

“They’re going to make it harder and harder to employ people. I’m watiting to see how it pans out. Am I going to create more tax for the Government? They’re taking away the incentive to create wealth.”

Labour’s plans to ban zero hours contracts would also have an impact on Mr Miller’s business, which boosts recruitment during the peak holiday season. On the future of his business, he told Express.co.uk: “I’ll just hang in there and hope the Conservatives get back in and reverse some of these things.”

He went on to warn Southend itself is in decline and has been for years, pointing to issues including a “dirty”, pedestrianised High Street; high parking charges and a general lack of civic pride.

Jamil Ahmed, 36, owner of the Fone Clinic in Southend High Street, said rates of £16,000 per year, a lack of parking places and anti-social behaviour were weighing on his business.

He said: “It used to be very good here. It’s very quiet now. The crime rate is too high. There are stabbings, drugs too. We pay business rates. The council should do everything to bring customers in.”

Pensioner Lesley Fowler, 75, said of Southend: “It’s the pits. It’s awful. There are no decent shops. The shops are all coffee shops. It’s just gone downhill, although the seafront is lovely.”

Friend, Janet Hammond, 82, added: “The atmosphere is not the same as it used to be. It’s changed. It’s a shame really. It’s a bit drab.”

Shop assistant, Joy Davison, 24, said the city is lucky to have such a nice seaside, but added: “Anywhere is quite run down at the moment. The people Southend attracts are not always the nicest. The High Street is neglected and run down.”

Despite the criticism, some locals hailed the city, including store manager, Stephen Thomas, 22, who moved to Southend from India to study and now works there.

He said: “Southend is a beautiful place. People say it’s not safe, but I don’t agree with them. It’s alright. It’s a second home.”

Roger De’Ath, 80, and his wife Vera, 77, are regular visitors to Southend. Mr De’Ath said: “I quite like it though it’s a shame so many shops are shutting.”

Mrs De’Ath added: “It could do with a lick of paint in places and a tidying up. Parking is very expensive here.”

One of Britain’s newest cities, Southend was granted city status by Queen Elizabeth II in March 2022, in memory of Sir David Amess, who was Conservative MP for Southend West and long campaigned for the accolade before he was murdered in October 2021.

The city has a population of just under 181,000, boasts a university, two colleges, 56 schools, seven miles of coastline and a median house price of £335,000. Its economy is dominated by micro-businesses, which account for almost 91% of the city’s 7,025 businesses, according to 2023 figures.

Anna Firth, who represented Southend West and Leigh until July, said the city’s High Street once buzzed with retail, restaurants and clubs, but has become a pale reflection of what it used to be.

She said: “There are still some fantastic places, but Southend needs more investment. It needs a strategy. We have an airport, we’re an hour from London, the longest pier in the world, fantastic schools, a business park, but the High Street isn’t thriving because there isn’t a long term strategy.”

Ms Firth said past proposals to boost the local economy had fallen foul of red tape, leading investors to head elsewhere as projects get tangled up in bureaucracy. The former Conservative MP said: “This area has phenomenal potential, but it needs to be looked at strategically.”

Southend’s council leader, Daniel Cowan, said the city has some thriving sectors, with engineering being a top employer. He said the city is a hotbed for micro businesses, adding: “It’s a great place to be an innovator and an incredible place to be a cultural innovator as well.”

On claims of decline, Mr Cowan said: “I think we all sometimes have a rose-tinted view of what it was like growing up… As you get older and things change and cultures move on it’s not what people remember and therefore it’s somehow worse. I don’t think that applies to Southend.

“Certainly, we have challenges if we’re comparing our seafront now to the heyday of the 1960s and 70s. Tastes have changed… As a day trip destination we get over seven million visitors a year. Around 300,000 of them are overnight stayers. One of our challegnes is to convert those day-trip stays into overnight stays.”

He added the biggest challenge is Southend’s growing population, with restrictions over where and how high it can build over its 21sq miles. Mr Cowan continued: “We’ve had 14 years of central government cuts. We’re hoping the new government will reset the relationship with local government. What we all need is investment.”

As evidence of that investment, he pointed to developments in the city’s retail offer, including B&M moving into a council-owned shopping centre, an NHS diagnostics centre opening up and Anglian Water dedicating a large amount of funding to the city.

On criticism of the High Street, Mr Cowan said: “We have 85% occupancy in our High Street, which is higher than the average occupancy in most High Streets across the UK. We’re acutally doing quite well on that front.”

He said large, household businesses have left the High Street, as elsewhere, but for the large part Southend is growing and bustling. He added: “Southend has a lot of potential… We are a place of opportunity. There are lots of challenges for retail but statistically we’re doing better than much of the rest of the country.”

The council leader continued: “We recognise that we have to keep investing in our city, in our events, in our tourism, because it is so important to so many of our businesses… (Council) finances are difficult, mostly driven by statutory services. Children’s social care, residential placements are astronomical at the moment, as they are everywhere…

“We have to look at how to supplement our Budget to pay for those services and can’t simply be cutting discretionary services, such as museums, beach cleaning and maintaining parks.”

Tory councillor, James Moyies, suggested the council’s ability to help the High Street may be limited by the city’s straitened public finances. He said: “Financially we’re struggling. We’re almost looking at a financial meltdown. If that happens, it would be catastrophic. We reduced the deficit last year… But Labour is still spending.”

Mr Moyies added the UK Government could help the council to cover the soaring cost of children’s services and adult social care, but if it doesn’t then Southend faces “severe” financial problems. The councillor said: “We’re on the edge, with the council not being able to do very much. The seafront isn’t everything, but it is very important. It has to thrive.

“Changes in the Budget will affect us badly. We need to listen to businesses and create an environment in which they can prosper.”