Is Victoria Avenue’s new dawn a bright one for Southend?

A new era dawns on the once bustling business quarter, Victoria Avenue in Southend – so run down that council officials admitted it was actively putting off investors.The looming Heath House and Carby House tower blocks, the focal point of the main road into Southend, have stood empty since the mid nineties and remain products of a bygone era.But, now, for the first time in well over a decade, there is genuine optimism around Victoria Avenue.Local developers Randall Watts have bought up the two offices, and are turning them into the new vision for Southend living: swanky apartment blocks.Elsewhere, developers now taking advantage of Government legislation that makes it easier to convert office blocks, are redeveloping the Pinnacle, Victoria House, and Baryta House, while the long-awaited demolition of the former South Essex College in nearby Carnavon Road is also underway.Southend Council believes these developments, plus other sites between East Street and the T-junction at the bottom of Victoria Avenue can yield 1,084 homes.