Big new plans are in store for two Southend shopping centres.

Southend Council is considering major plans for the Victoria Shopping Centre and is hoping to work with the new owners of the Royals.

Plans are being considered to demolish the New Look extension of Victoria Shopping Centre – bought by the council for £10 million in 2020.

The demolition job would makeway for a wider gateway to the High Street, with plans for street art, trees and benches to make it a more inviting area.

Southend Council is also looking to work with the new owners of The Royals at the bottom of Southend High Street to redevelop and repurpose the site.

The council views it as a strategic location to create a link between the seafront and the High Street.

The centre was purchased last month by the Regis Group – a real estate investor based in Warrior Square – in what is believed to have been a multi-million pound deal.

The firm has yet to confirm its plans for the site, but the councils hopes the two can work together.

In its city centre strategy plan, the council lays out a desire to see the building repurposed to provide “a new anchor of activity for the high street which could include retail, leisure, residential and workspaces”.