Security is to be among the top priorities of the £500million regeneration of the Queensway estate with residents set to benefit from secure entry, concierge desks and CCTV.

The latest plans for Southend Council’s ambitious regeneration scheme have been unveiled ahead of a new round of consultation events.

Developer Swan Housing, which is working in partnership with the council, promised the new residential blocks comprised of 1,700 homes would benefit from secure entrances as well as a concierge service monitoring a CCTV system operating throughout the development.

Project director Graham Kaunders said: “It will be secure entry. People will have most likely fob access and that will give entry solely to their block.

They will also have access to the central concierge and if they have a parking space, access to that. They will not have access to any other building on the site.

“It is totally secure and matched with a CCTV system which we will monitor. If required, we would be able to time check who is coming and going because you can see when the fob is used and check the camera to see who used it.”

Council leader Councillor Ian Gilbert added: “This is about being safer by design, its about not having dark corners and places where people can lurk.

“We will have nice open spaces with natural surveillance as well as CCTV.

“We want this to be a place that people feel they can walk through because the more people feel they can walk through a space, the safer it will be.

“The physical layout of the Queensway estate at the moment means nobody would want to walk through it so permeability is a big part of that.”

He added that there would also be “opportunities” for partnership schemes with the council’s community safety team.

The Queensway estate is currently comprised of 441 homes across four tower blocks. The blocks date back to the 1960s and have been plagued with problems linked to anti-social behaviour and crime.

Under the council's plans, the blocks will be torn down and all existing residents will be given a new property in the new development.

One resident of the Chiltern block, Alexandra Waite, 34, previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service since moving there in 2011 she had witnessed gang violence and face problems with rough sleepers sleeping in corridors.

Another Chiltern resident, Alrita Hyre, 55, said the regeneration was urgently needed and there is "no security" in the current blocks.