I recently met with the CEO of Visit England to discuss the need for investment in domestic tourism outside of London.
There are millions of people within one hour drive of Southend. We should be making the case for holidaymakers to come here to enjoy our beaches, arcades, beautiful walks and historic buildings. There are several steps I have been taking to support our local area and enhance our cultural offer.
The Kursaal
A great deal of work has been done on the campaign to save the Kursaal that pre-dates my election, including a fantastic survey by Concrete Culture in 2021. I’m fully behind the effort to get the Kursaal back into community use and recently held a meeting with AEW, the current leaseholders of the building. I expressed the community’s desire to see the building back in use and I felt reassured that AEW were receptive and willing to engage.
Following the meeting, I will be arranging a meeting with key stakeholders to scope out options for the building’s future. Ahead of this meeting, I want to hear directly from local residents about what they want to see in the Kursaal, building on the fantastic work done by Concrete Culture. Keep an eye out for more details about this public event!
The Freight House
Since my election, I have had a number of meetings with Rochford District Council and Rochford Residents Steering Group about the future of the Freight House. I’ve also been lucky enough to peek inside and see the current state of the building. The Freight House has a huge amount of potential and I can’t wait until it reopens this summer and we can enjoy it once more.
More than bricks and mortar
Of course, our cultural offer is more expansive than bricks and mortar: it is our local community above all that make Southend and Rochford so special.
Individuals behind incredible events like City Jam, Lazy Days Festival and unique local spaces like Indirock will be the driving force behind our regeneration, drawing visitors in from far and wide.
That’s why I’m determined to support our events and hospitality sector locally. I was recently appointed as a ‘Business Champion’ by the Government and in May, I had the pleasure of hosting a roundtable at the wonderful Cliffs Pavilion to discuss challenges for businesses locally and to feed their insights into the Government.
by Bayo Alaba
MP for Southend East and Rochford
bayo.alaba.mp@parliament.uk