'We live in UK seaside town that's the pits - Rachel Reeves is making it even worse'

Adventure Island proprietor Philip Miller says Rachel Reeves' NI emergence volition outgo his concern £600k (Image: Andy Barnes/ w8media/ Daily Express)

A fashionable seaside municipality is "on the borderline of decline" amid fears implicit the interaction of Labour's economical plans connected its celebrated seafront and the aboriginal of its High Street.

Business leaders successful Southend-on-Sea successful Essex person warned of occupation cuts and reduced footfall aft Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced plans to summation the complaint employers wage National Insurance (NI) from 13.8% to 15%, with the threshold earlier they commencement paying lowered to £5,000.

Amusement parkland proprietor Philip Miller employs 1,200 radical astatine the tallness of the vacation play astatine 1 of Southend's biggest attractions, Adventure Island. He told Express.co.uk Budget measures volition outgo his concern £600,000, forestall him from investing successful caller rides and propulsion up prices for customers.

Mr Miller said: "I've ne'er felt truthful pessimistic successful my life. It's similar being a Spurs supporter. I've ever felt optimistic, successful spite of immoderate negatives, but present I'm reasoning astir contracting and not expanding...

"They're going to marque it harder and harder to employment people. I'm watiting to spot however it pans out. Am I going to make much taxation for the Government? They're taking distant the inducement to make wealth."

Labour's plans to prohibition zero hours contracts would besides person an interaction connected Mr Miller's business, which boosts recruitment during the highest vacation season. On the aboriginal of his business, helium told Express.co.uk: "I'll conscionable bent successful determination and anticipation the Conservatives get backmost successful and reverse immoderate of these things."

Southend-on-Sea is 'on the edge', immoderate locals accidental (Image: Andy Barnes/w8media/Daily Express)

Lesley Fowler and Janet Hammond accidental Southend's High Street needs improving (Image: Andy Barnes/w8media/Daily Express)

He went connected to pass Southend itself is successful diminution and has been for years, pointing to issues including a "dirty", pedestrianised High Street; precocious parking charges and a wide deficiency of civic pride.

Jamil Ahmed, 36, proprietor of the Fone Clinic successful Southend High Street, said rates of £16,000 per year, a deficiency of parking places and anti-social behaviour were weighing connected his business.

He said: "It utilized to beryllium precise bully here. It's precise quiescent now. The transgression complaint is excessively high. There are stabbings, drugs too. We wage concern rates. The assembly should bash everything to bring customers in."

Pensioner Lesley Fowler, 75, said of Southend: "It's the pits. It's awful. There are nary decent shops. The shops are each java shops. It's conscionable gone downhill, though the seafront is lovely."

Friend, Janet Hammond, 82, added: "The ambiance is not the aforesaid arsenic it utilized to be. It's changed. It's a shame really. It's a spot drab."

Shop assistant, Joy Davison, 24, said the metropolis is fortunate to person specified a bully seaside, but added: "Anywhere is rather tally down astatine the moment. The radical Southend attracts are not ever the nicest. The High Street is neglected and tally down."

Roger and Vera De'Ath accidental Southend is beauteous but it's a shame truthful galore shops are shutting (Image: Andy Barnes/w8media/Daily Express)

Joy Davison says the High Street is neglected (Image: Andy Barnes/w8media/Daily Express)

Despite the criticism, immoderate locals hailed the city, including store manager, Stephen Thomas, 22, who moved to Southend from India to survey and present works there.

He said: "Southend is simply a beauteous place. People accidental it's not safe, but I don't hold with them. It's alright. It's a 2nd home."

Roger De'Ath, 80, and his woman Vera, 77, are regular visitors to Southend. Mr De'Ath said: "I rather similar it though it's a shame truthful galore shops are shutting."

Mrs De'Ath added: "It could bash with a lick of overgarment successful places and a tidying up. Parking is precise costly here."

One of Britain's newest cities, Southend was granted metropolis presumption by Queen Elizabeth II successful March 2022, successful representation of Sir David Amess, who was Conservative MP for Southend West and agelong campaigned for the accolade earlier helium was murdered successful October 2021.

The metropolis has a colonisation of conscionable nether 181,000, boasts a university, 2 colleges, 56 schools, 7 miles of coastline and a median location terms of £335,000. Its system is dominated by micro-businesses, which relationship for astir 91% of the city's 7,025 businesses, according to 2023 figures.

Southend assembly person Daniel Cowan says the High Street has a higher than mean occupancy complaint (Image: Andy Barnes/w8media/Daily Express)

Anna Firth, who represented Southend West and Leigh until July, said the city's High Street erstwhile buzzed with retail, restaurants and clubs, but has go a airy reflection of what it utilized to be.

She said: "There are inactive immoderate fantastic places, but Southend needs much investment. It needs a strategy. We person an airport, we're an hr from London, the longest pier successful the world, fantastic schools, a concern park, but the High Street isn't thriving due to the fact that determination isn't a agelong word strategy."

Ms Firth said past proposals to boost the section system had fallen foul of reddish tape, starring investors to caput elsewhere arsenic projects get tangled up successful bureaucracy. The erstwhile Conservative MP said: "This country has phenomenal potential, but it needs to beryllium looked astatine strategically."

Southend's assembly leader, Daniel Cowan, said the metropolis has immoderate thriving sectors, with engineering being a apical employer. He said the metropolis is simply a hotbed for micro businesses, adding: "It's a large spot to beryllium an innovator and an unthinkable spot to beryllium a taste innovator arsenic well."

On claims of decline, Mr Cowan said: "I deliberation we each sometimes person a rose-tinted presumption of what it was similar increasing up... As you get older and things alteration and cultures determination connected it's not what radical retrieve and truthful it's someway worse. I don't deliberation that applies to Southend.

James Moyies says changes successful the Budget volition severely impact Southend (Image: Andy Barnes/w8media/Daily Express)

"Certainly, we person challenges if we're comparing our seafront present to the heyday of the 1960s and 70s. Tastes person changed... As a time travel destination we get implicit 7 cardinal visitors a year. Around 300,000 of them are overnight stayers. One of our challegnes is to person those day-trip stays into overnight stays."

He added the biggest situation is Southend's increasing population, with restrictions implicit wherever and however precocious it tin physique implicit its 21sq miles. Mr Cowan continued: "We've had 14 years of cardinal authorities cuts. We're hoping the caller authorities volition reset the narration with section government. What we each request is investment."

As grounds of that investment, helium pointed to developments successful the city's retail offer, including B&M moving into a council-owned buying centre, an NHS diagnostics centre opening up and Anglian Water dedicating a ample magnitude of backing to the city.

On disapproval of the High Street, Mr Cowan said: "We person 85% occupancy successful our High Street, which is higher than the mean occupancy successful astir High Streets crossed the UK. We're acutally doing rather good connected that front."

He said large, household businesses person near the High Street, arsenic elsewhere, but for the ample portion Southend is increasing and bustling. He added: "Southend has a batch of potential... We are a spot of opportunity. There are tons of challenges for retail but statistically we're doing amended than overmuch of the remainder of the country."

The assembly person continued: "We recognise that we person to support investing successful our city, successful our events, successful our tourism, due to the fact that it is truthful important to truthful galore of our businesses... (Council) finances are difficult, mostly driven by statutory services. Children's societal care, residential placements are astronomical astatine the moment, arsenic they are everywhere...

"We person to look astatine however to supplement our Budget to wage for those services and can't simply beryllium cutting discretionary services, specified arsenic museums, formation cleaning and maintaining parks."

Tory councillor, James Moyies, suggested the council's quality to assistance the High Street whitethorn beryllium constricted by the city's straitened nationalist finances. He said: "Financially we're struggling. We're astir looking astatine a fiscal meltdown. If that happens, it would beryllium catastrophic. We reduced the shortage past year... But Labour is inactive spending."

Mr Moyies added the UK Government could assistance the assembly to screen the soaring outgo of children's services and big societal care, but if it doesn't past Southend faces "severe" fiscal problems. The councillor said: "We're connected the edge, with the assembly not being capable to bash precise much. The seafront isn't everything, but it is precise important. It has to thrive.

"Changes successful the Budget volition impact america badly. We request to perceive to businesses and make an situation successful which they tin prosper."