Victoria Avenue

[Medway Blue]

The whole top end of Victoria Avenue is an awful, 1960s, greyscale concrete breezeblock mess. Maybe it's just the historian in me, but judging on the photos I've seen, take the Vic Ave and Vic Circus back to the 1930s and 1940s. Nice old town houses lining the avenue, Vic Avenue carrying on through where the Odeon and Vic Plaza is now all the way to the top of the High Street (i.e. no roundabout or pedestrianised top-of-the-high street). It seriously just needs to go back in time. Victoria Plaza was thriving in the 50s. Very metropolitan, busy, nice looking buildings and lots of lights - Southend's own Piccadilly Circus. Now it and Vic Ave just look like nasty, grey, concrete monstrosities. Could be behind the iron curtain if I didn't know any better.

 

[Ron Manager]

Sorry, don't want to sound like a boring ex-pat slagging the old place off. Because the reality is I love Southend and hate to see it so rundown. However as I said before, when I came back last year it really depressed me walking through the town. I saw it through fresh eyes as a rundown hole of a town and it doesn't have to be like that.

 

[Mad Cyril]

Sorry, don't want to sound like a boring ex-pat slagging the old place off. Because the reality is I love Southend and hate to see it so rundown. However as I said before, when I came back last year it really depressed me walking through the town. I saw it through fresh eyes as a rundown hole of a town and it doesn't have to be like that.

No sharks, box jellyfish and funnel web spiders though.

Which is nice.

 

[londonblue]

The state of Victoria Avenue is a concern but my real worry is the state of Victoria Shoes.

I used to stop and marvel at some of the slip ons on display in white, tan or even powder blue leather with stack heels, extensive lattice work and gold chains.

Now it is all teen fashion.

And it's under new ownership since the old owner died about 5-10 years ago. I used to get my work shoes there. They would do a really good deal on Loakes seconds. You really couldn't see any reason why they were seconds, but they sold them for about a quarter of the proper price. They stopped doing it when Loakes themselves got wise and started selling seconds is batches rather than individually. Therefore Vic Shoes would have to buy about 5 pairs to get one they could actually sell.

 

[Jam_Man]

Instead of encouraging business and government clients to remain in Victoria Avenue, with competitive business rates and incentives, typically of Southend Council they kept increasing the charges until it became too expensive to remain there.

I worked for Heaths when it closed and nothing that the council could have done would have affected the office being closed. We "merged" with another company who were the ones calling the shots, they had a regional office in Swindon and were never going to shut that over ours so Heath House closed and that was that.

Prior to that I worked at Alexander Howdens, who were bought out by Aon.

RBS and Natwest moved out of Victorian Avenue to occupy their new office.

Whilst its easy to blame the council for the state of Victoria Avenue the fact is that things changed, companies moved out of the town, often due to reasons out of their control, and in the case of RBS to progress and improve whilst staying in the area. The buildings along Vic Avenue are not attractive to businesses anymore, nor are there the companies of the size of Heaths who would wish to relocate to Southend just because of a cheap rent. (Which the council probably dont even have control of.)

Big companies will want their own buildings, ala RBS, they wont want to move into Heath House etc, so the buildings along there are all now too big to sustain themselves.

Regeneration and building more relevant buildings for our times is the only way forward but will that ever happen due to the costs ?

 

[MrB]

I worked for Heaths when it closed and nothing that the council could have done would have affected the office being closed. We "merged" with another company who were the ones calling the shots, they had a regional office in Swindon and were never going to shut that over ours so Heath House closed and that was that.

Me too, I still remember that fateful day when the Lambert CEO pulled us all over to the Civic Centre and told us they were shutting the office and that 'only' 150 of us would get jobs in Swindon and that we' all be interviewed for our roles. IIRC only 7 people actually chose to go. He then droned on for about 15 minutes about what a positive move the 'merger' was for the company while we all planned our full days drinking at Bar Vic. Those last 6 months were a good laugh though!!

 

[Beefy]

NatWest used to own Premier House, unlike the other buildings in Southend which it used (Esplanade & Thamesgate). RBS I think managed to get rid of it on the cheap and a lot of money was spent doing it up but I don't think any of it has been used since it was finished almost three years ago now. There's just no demand for the space. I think there's still a couple of companies in Thamesgate, but that's about it.

When I started working down that way in 1997 the whole area was thriving. Every building was full and there was a good buzz about the place. Bar Vic was heaving every lunch time and most evenings when it was first built. It was a good place to work.

It's a real shame, but I don't see what the best solution is. Enough of it has recently been turned into residential properties that knocking the whole area down isn't an option but I don't think there'll be any demand from businesses for significant office space around there any time soon.

 

[Jam_Man]

Me too, I still remember that fateful day when the Lambert CEO pulled us all over to the Civic Centre and told us they were shutting the office and that 'only' 150 of us would get jobs in Swindon and that we' all be interviewed for our roles. IIRC only 7 people actually chose to go. He then droned on for about 15 minutes about what a positive move the 'merger' was for the company while we all planned our full days drinking at Bar Vic. Those last 6 months were a good laugh though!!

Indeed that was a weird day and remember that speech well. Straight from the civic centre into the pub. Dont think I did an ounce of work from that point until I got a new job a few months later !

 

[EastStandBlue]

While I was at University I temp'd at a company in Thamesgate over one Christmas. Awful company, but they had three floors worth of space. I think there were another two companies who used the building and, at the time, there wasn't much available space.

 

[BrettieAngell]

While I was at University I temp'd at a company in Thamesgate over one Christmas. Awful company, but they had three floors worth of space. I think there were another two companies who used the building and, at the time, there wasn't much available space.

Was it Converso by any chance?

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Me too, I still remember that fateful day when the Lambert CEO pulled us all over to the Civic Centre and told us they were shutting the office and that 'only' 150 of us would get jobs in Swindon and that we' all be interviewed for our roles. IIRC only 7 people actually chose to go. He then droned on for about 15 minutes about what a positive move the 'merger' was for the company while we all planned our full days drinking at Bar Vic. Those last 6 months were a good laugh though!!

As I imagine both you and Jam_man know, the Chief Accountant at Heath's back at the time it closed, also posts on SZ.

 

[EastStandBlue]

Was it Converso by any chance?

On the money. Awful company.

 

[OldBlueLady]

In today's Echo, Southend councillor Anna Waite is advocating building more tower blocks to house the umpteen families currently being housed in private accommodation in the Borough. I thought some of these properties along Vic Ave were being looked into as possible conversions. Personally, I'd have thought the last thing Southend needs would be more tower blocks knowing the infamy of those in existence currently.

 

[Mad Cyril]

I used to go out with a Victoria Avenue but she kicked me to the curb.

 

[Davros]

Prior to that I worked at Alexander Howdens, who were bought out by Aon.

Hmm, you must have worked with my mum in that case. I take it going to work in Romford didnt tickle your fancy?!

 

[BrettieAngell]

On the money. Awful company.

I had an interview there once thankfully I got offered another interview the next day and got the job, I was very glad I didn't have to take a job there!

 

[Beefy]

I worked for Converso just before they changed the name to that from Outbound. It was just a summer job whilst I was at Uni. It was alright. The job was **** but it's telesales so what do you expect? The biggest problem with it was that I tended to spend as much money as I'd earned that evening down in Bar Vic or in town from 9pm onwards.

 

[BrettieAngell]

I did a telesales job once, did one day and didn't go back. Hassling people on the phone is just not for me!

 

[Beefy]

The first time I got a sale it was a real buzz. That quickly wore off though.

 

[MrB]

Hmm, you must have worked with my mum in that case. I take it going to work in Romford didnt tickle your fancy?!

My mum also worked at Howdens. She went to London before the Romford move though and retired from Aon last year.