Southend Council will set aside £2.5million extra to fix and resurface more pavements in 2025/26 under its draft budget proposals, in addition to the £8.5million already budgeted from April 2024 to March 2027.
There will also be £1.5million extra to mend and resurface more roads, in addition to £6.16million already budgeted up to 2027.
About £5million funding will go towards a £20million pot to kickstart the Better Queensway scheme, which will see 1,700 new homes built in the heart of the city.
The cash will enable the council to complete a new highways scheme through Queensway by 2027. This will include filling in the underpass and providing a four-lane highway from the town centre to the seafront.
Daniel Cowan, leader of the council said the decision for the council to carry out this vital infrastructure work has attracted potential developers to come forward after previous partner Sanctuary Housing pulled out of the scheme.
He said: “It will probably take about 22 months to do the entire work because it will be done in phases. The majority, 75 per cent is coming from external funding, the Highways Infrastructure Fund.
“It’s really important to get on with that for two reasons. If we don’t we risk losing the funding and separating the highways work from the housing scheme makes the delivery of the Better Queensway housing scheme far more viable because previously [a developer] would have to spend £20million doing the road works before they built a single house.”
Mr Cowan added: “Since we’ve announced we would be doing this work on the highways, we have had a significant amount of interest from possible development partners, far more than when it was single scheme being delivered in one block.”
Investment linked to the council’s civic pride action plan is also earmarked, including £590,000 to design and build a new inclusive playground at East Beach, £175,000 to improve signage across the city, £130,000 to improve the approach from Victoria Station to the High Street and £100,000 for a feasibility study into stabilising the cliffs on Western Esplanade and creating a new Never Never Land.
There will also be £500,000 to resurface and reline car parks which need work.