WESTCLIFF: New powers used to close brothel

New powers to close down brothels have been used for the first time in the UK – during a raid in Westcliff. UK Border Agency officials, along with a team from Essex Police and Southend Council, entered the property at 494a London Road in Westcliff on Thursday afternoon (7 Oct). One foreign national was arrested [...]

UPDATE: Regular flights from Southend to Ireland on the way

Regular passenger flights from Southend to Ireland will soon become a reality, with up to 300,000 passengers a year benefitting from the new service. The Stobart Group, which owns London Southend Airport has signed a deal to save low-cost Irish airline Aer Arann.  The company was put into administration earlier this year, but is expected [...]

SOUTHEND: Tree removals open old wounds

Three trees – which have been felled in Southend over the past couple of days – have reopened a dispute between protesters and the council. Saxon King in Priory Park (SKIPP) say the trees – along Eastern Avenue – were “apparently healthy” and have slammed Southend Council, calling the action “arboreal genocide”. But council officials [...]

YOUR VIEW: ‘The Only Way is Essex’

So did you see ITV2′s much hyped ‘The Only Way is Essex’?  Many of you have been getting in touch with longpier.com to add your thoughts about the show – and now you can start the debate right here. The ten part series – which started on Sunday night – has divided opinion so far.  [...]

VIDEO: Southend’s offering for London 2012

In the first of a regular weekend series, Longpier takes a look at videos, created in and around the Southend area. They could range from historical clips to the very latest videos, shot just hours ago. This week, we take a look at what Southend can offer the world’s best sporting teams when they descend [...]

AREA WIDE: Your say on ambulance service

The East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) – which covers the Southend area – is seeking views from the public to help develop its services as it applies to become a foundation trust. Under the banner ‘your service, your say’, the consultation means that patients and members of the public as well as staff [...]

SOUTHEND: New estate agent scoops awards

New estate agent, ‘Blackshaw Homes’ of Southend has been awarded two prestigious business awards this week. The ‘Building Better Business’ and ‘Accredited Property Agents’ certificates from business training providers The Business Ladder indicate superb competencies across issues such as commercial awareness, marketing and efficiency. Rory James MacLaren-Jackson, CEO of The Business Ladder, commented, “Blackshaw Homes [...]

THORPE BAY: Another donation aids community policing

A residents’ association in Thorpe Bay has donated another bike to help their neighbourhood policing team keep the community safe. The Burges Estate Residents’ Association (BERA) which covers that and surrounding areas has now donated a total of three bikes to the Southchurch Neighbourhood Policing Team. Ron Woodley, chairman of BERA, told longpier.com: “Seeing police [...]

ARTS: Going digital in Chalkwell Park

By Ian Sanders, Author & Longpier.com columnist Longpier has previously reported how Southend has benefitted from ‘the Metal factor’, a result of the arrival of the arts organisation – Metal – that moved into Chalkwell Park three years ago. Most readers will be familiar with ‘Village Green’ the annual music and arts festival that Metal [...]

Longpier.com is BACK and we need YOUR help

Longpier.com is BACK and now we really need YOUR help. As you may be aware, the site is run by a very small team who each have their own full time jobs.  Longpier.com is primarily a community based website, giving readers breaking news, sport and features from Southend and surrounding areas. But – simply put [...]

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