SUPERMARKET giant Tesco is planning a huge store on the former B&Q site by Southend Victoria rail station.

The company is negotiating to buy the Royal Mail's Short Street sorting office and sources say the proposal is for a new store, bigger than the Prince Avenue site, which would be on stilts with car parking for around 900 cars.

There would be direct access to the top floor of the Victoria shopping centre straight from the new store.

Victoria shopping centre boss Bill Harkness said: "With the car parking at the Victoria and the Tesco link, it would mean this end of the High Street would have a major attraction for shopping.

"The Tesco plans are likely to be made public in June."

John Lamb, Southend councillor responsible for regeneration, said the Tesco plans would be a massive boost to Southend.

He said: "The Victoria refurbishment with the new roof is a major step forward for the town.

"Tesco is important if it goes ahead with its plans for the B&Q site. A major store there, next to the shopping centre, would be a massive boost for town centre shopping."

Royal Mail spokesman James Taylor said: "Talks continue with Tesco on its proposals for redeveloping a site in Short Street, to include that currently occupied by Southend mail centre.

"However, nothing has been decided and we will continue to keep our people and customers updated if there are any significant developments.

"There are no plans to remove Royal Mail operations from this site and we will continue with our commitment to further modernisation, with the introduction of new technology across the network.

"As part of this, we are continuing with our review of Southend operations to ensure optimum efficiency and best quality service for our customers."

New lifts and bus stops open

NEW lifts and bus stops have finally been unveiled at the Victoria shopping centre in Southend following its £20million revamp.

FORGET the windy city, the Hammerson development, Victoria Plaza and the other names.

This is the 21st century Victoria shopping centre, insulated from the howling winds, which have been a problem since it was built in the 1960s.

The new lifts and bus stops by Victoria railway station mean easier access to the town centre and a big step forward.

Bill Harkness, managing director of Delamere Estates, which has been carrying out the refurbishment, said: "This is the end of the first phase - we have something fit for the 21st century. It was vital we got the interchange with public transport right, otherwise we would not be able to have the footfall we need."

For Mr Harkness, this is the realisation of a long dream and much hard work which began when he came to Southend in 2004 having bought the centre.

With the Lattice Group Pension Fund as backers, he set out to transform the Victoria into a modern shopping centre.

Now totally enclosed, it needs to bring in more stores, but with the retail sector struggling, that is proving easier said than done.

What's new at the Victoria

  • New lifts and escalator providing an undercover link from the centre to Southend Victoria station.
  • Two new bus stops allowing all bus services from London Road and Victoria Avenue to call outside the centre. These replace the bus stops in the Deeping underpass which were awkward to access and disliked because they were underground.
  • The centre is now protected by automatic doors.
  • The lifts mean improvements to disabled access are now virtually complete.
  • Peacocks clothing store reopens today after a refit.