A LANDSCAPED city beach and parking at an angle form part of an ambitious blueprint aimed at swelling council coffers and creating an extra 150 parking spaces on Southend seafront.

Philip Miller’s Stockvale group – which owns Adventure Island and Sealife Adventure – is calling for a city-wide revamp of parking to create “480 new spaces and £1.24 million annual revenue”.

It also calls for an immediate halt to plans to increase car parking charges and charging times along the seafront.

A report prepared by Stockvale and SK Architects details plans for echelon parking – where cars are arranged at an angle – along Marine Parade, within a landscape designed city beach, creating 82 spaces.

The proposals would also see echelon parking either side of Western Esplanade stretching from the Shrubbery past Clifftown Shore, creating an extra 68 car parking spaces on top of the current 111.

The plan for the 150 seafront parking spaces would generate £436,000 a year for the council, bosses say.

Mr Miller says the proposals would mean the council could reverse its recent move extend parking charges from 6pm to 9pm along with a 10 per cent parking charge increase.

Independent Shoebury councillor Steven Wakefield, responsible highways, transport and parking, says the council is looking into creating more spaces along the seafront He added: “We have surveyed the seafront and found a considerable number of extra spaces available along the seafront. There is a lot that can be done and we will follow that up after the elections.

We passionately believe in providing unrivalled quality journalism and value for money.

With a digital subscription, you can access our exclusive, insightful and trustworthy local news from just £1 a week.

If you are not already subscribing, sign up today to get instant access to our trusted local coverage - and an ad-light experience - check what package works best for you here.

“We have met with the Millers to discuss their findings, and while some of it may be possible, it needs to be understood that any changes must meet highway regulations.”

The Stockvale group is calling for the increase parking tariffs in and extended charging hours to be “immediately withdrawn”. The firm claims that these changes, along with rising energy costs, the living wage increase, has led Stockvale to decide to close Adventure Island for 20 days in June.

The report’s proposals also include plans for an extra 330 parking spaces across the city.

“If the highway authority were to introduce the options specifically outlined in this report the city council would increase their revenue by over £1.24m per annum,” the Stockvale report claims.