Hamlet Court Road in Westcliff was once referred to as the ‘Bond Street of Southend’ – and one father-daughter duo believe the street has the potential to live up to its old name once again.

Dad Bruno De Santis, 65, and his daughter Sabrina, are breathing new life into the property Mr De Santis owns at 106 Hamlet Court Road, which they’ve divided up into seven different units they’re renting out to small businesses.

Four companies have so far put down deposits and are moving in on May 1 – vinyl record specialists The Bear Cave, graphic designers and printers Precision Design & Print, automotive recruitment company Prestige Temps and production company Spread.

“Our aim is to get Hamlet Court Road back on the map with a destination place to go,” said Ms De Santis. “Leigh and Southend are only getting a look-in these days, and it’s time this changed.

The De Santis’ were lucky to get a £5,000 grant from Low Carbon Across the South East, an EU funded project to help businesses adapt to climate change and promote opportunities in the low-carbon market, for the costs of the air con, heating and electrical work. “If you make your commercial business energy efficient they give you back 40 per cent of the costs,” Ms De-Santos explained. “We’ve therefore been able to make the units affordable, with all bills included and no business rates to pay. This makes it ideal for a small company to get started with no big overheads.”

And theirs isn’t the only premises in the neighbourhood to open its doors to new local businesses lately. A new coffee shop, Frank & Luna’s, opened last month on nearby Canewdon Road, and The Foundry is a late night music bar and lounge that opened in February further up Hamlet Court Road.

And on London Road, Essex’s first crazy golf restaurant and bar, Caddies, is set to open in early May.

Mr De Santis believes that these early signs of regeneration mark a turning point for Hamlet Court Road.

“This road should be revived, because its been forgotten about for too long,” he said. “We want to help make Hamlet Court Road into a destination in itself, instead of visitors moving on to Leigh and Southend. We need to give Westcliff a base.”

The 106 Hamlet Court Road premises was previously leased out by Westcliff resident Heidi Hyde to operate the market trading hub 106 Merchants Hall & Yard, but Ms Hyde tragically died in a crash in Leigh in July and the lease later returned to premise owner Mr De-Santos. He subsequently decided to give the building a much-needed makeover.

Ms De-Santos explains that she and her father have styled each of the units out, and turned what was previously a “dark and dingy” property into somewhere with a “young and vibrant” feel, painting the walls in yellows, white and grey with a big neon sign.

Mr De-Santos wants to see his Hamlet Court Road premises become a base for local start-ups. “This is for people who can’t afford to get a high street shop,” he said. “Hamlet Court Road used to be called the Bond Street of Southend, and it would be nice to get people back down there again to see its potential realised.”

The size of each unit ranges from 14 to 24 square metres, but the biggest unit, which boasts a large shop front, is so far still empty.

“We are looking for the perfect tenants,” said Ms De-Santos. “We’ve had people interested but we’re holding out for the right one.”

For more details on renting out a unit at 106 Hamlet Court Road please contact 07770 672077 or barsproperties@hotmail.co.uk