A LEADING businessman is demanding a lifeline to support Southend seafront businesses after the Covid-19 shutdown.

Philip Miller, executive chairman of the Stockvale Group, owners of Adventure Island, told the Echo the Government and Southend Council will have to act to “get the town on it’s feet” again following a “decade of slow decline”.

Writing for the Echo, reproduced in full below, Mr Miller called for business rates to be abolished adding that this is an “opportunity to steal a march on the competition”, and urged the council to put plans in place now before the impact is to grave.

However, council leader, Ian Gilbert, said: “Philip does not see eye to eye with the council for various reasons.

“Prior to this, visitor numbers to the pier and seafront have been very positive. Philip continues to invest in his business, which I do not think he would do if he wasn’t expecting a return.

“Southend High Street has had problems, as have many high streets up and down the country.

"We are determined to deliver new investment, and we believe the recent announcement that there will be no out-of-town shopping centre will help business confidence.

“I don’t believe there’s any danger of Southend becoming a ghost town, and I believe we can be more prosperous than ever once the current crisis is over.”

Seafront trader, Paul Thompson, also demanded action.

He said: “Yes these are very worrying times for seaside and tourist related businesses.

“To ensure survival of the tourism industry Southend Council should be preparing a period of free parking to all for once the virus has passed.

“Secondly they should be giving all council business tenants that cannot trade rent free periods.

They are offering rent holidays but this doesn’t go far enough.

These are desperate times and Southend Council shouldn’t be charging rents to businesses that cannot trade and have no income to pay the rent.”

The District Councils’ Network is also calling for Government financial support to areas most at risk.

Mark Crane, the network’s lead member for stronger economies, said: “There’s a real risk that if they don’t recover, our tourist towns could become ghost towns.”

'Give our seafront the love it deserves'

MOST seaside resorts nationally were already in trouble before the virus changed the world for ever.

Even Southend had been in slow decline over the last decade.

This has had a knock-on effect to feeder businesses such as hotels, guest houses restaurants and in particular, the High Street has lost masses of footfall.

In Southend’s case it has been self inflicted by reducing seafront/high street car parking by more than 1,000 spaces and generally making Southend a visitor unfriendly place to visit.

They never listen to good advice from outsiders. They have a “we know best” attitude, combined with group-think and bunker mentality.

Seafront businesses are looked down upon by the powers that be.

You can have a business in the high street going skint and be thought of as a proper businessman, have one along the seafront doing well and be treated with disdain.

They will tell you it’s not a proper job along there, we maltreat staff and are on zero hour contracts or paid cash in hand.

Depending on when we can reopen in full if we survive, will determine the level of investment the council will need to do to get the town on its feet.

The world could well be a totally different place by then.

Worst case scenario millions unemployed with no disposable income.

Government will have to reduce tax burdens on business to create and encourage an investment cycle from the entrepreneurs.

Business rates should become a thing of the past.

I would like to see civil servants on all levels take pay cuts so we would all be in it together for a change.

It’s about time they accepted that without thriving businesses creating the wealth, there would be no public sector.

To save their skins they will need to save us.

As an optimist I see a golden opportunity to steal a march on the competition.

Trouble is the wrong people are in charge for the coming depression.

This will not be a time for the grey people to run the show, it needs guys like me to push cajole and generally get things moving.

They should already be planning for what comes next now.

It’s a funny old thing the council has done with its best bit of marketing in living history in keeping people away.

I hope when we do get going they will have the same approach in reverse!

Geography has always been against us in Southend – half our audience is fish, after all!

We can’t be a Chelmsford with 360-degree access to punters, you have to work twice as hard for your buck.