Betrayal: Sale of the University of Essex’s Southend Campus showcased at Labour’s very own ‘Southend Investment Summit’

Southend Labour recently held an event called the ‘Southend Investment Summit’ and I was shocked to learn that one of the speakers they invited was the Chief Operating Officer of the University of Essex who was giving a presentation to sell off the four multi-million pound assets of the Southend Campus originally funded largely by taxpayers.

I am in possession of the presentation, which I have copied into this blog, and on the first page it kindly lays out the four substantial buildings with recommendations as to what new owners might like do with each of them. 

The properties are:

• The Gateway Building (freehold)

• Clifftown Studios (freehold)

• University Square (freehold)

• Part of The Forum (leasehold - Southend City Council are the freeholders)

For interested parties, they will all be available for acquisition from January 2027! 

Unsurprisingly, the suggested use is housing or offices.

As the freeholder of The Forum Library, Southend Council has first option on the space of the University of Essex’s lease, which makes it impossible to believe Southend Labour did not know the closure was coming - an FOI to the council and University of Essex has gone in.  If Labour can claim credit for a business deal just for being the freeholder (i.e. the Kursaal), then they must hold their hands up and take responsibility for the closure of that part of the Forum Library.  The sword cuts both ways.

What makes it worse is how Cllr Cowan, Cllr Dent and the Southend Labour MPs have paraded their demands to the University of Essex’s Vice Chancellor to fix the situation all across social media and local papers, when they have been pro-actively helping the university to flog their goods!

For clarity, the inaugural Southend Investment Summit, in the description of Labour’s Bayo Alaba MP was designed to:

”Shine a spotlight on the diversity of Southend’s growth opportunities and drive inward investment to the city centre and beyond.

“The programme will feature a series of speakers actively delivering major projects across the city alongside key decision makers and local government representatives.

“Showcase Southend’s investible opportunities and provide an overview of exciting areas for growth, such as the Airport Business Park, the Better Queensway Projectand a range of sites within the City Centre.“

This took organising.

No speaker was invited by fluke nor accident.

And the guest list was invitation only.

Each presenter and presentation would have been vetted and approved by the Labour organisers, and so the Chief Operating Officer of the University of Essex’s detailed “showcase” of the Southend Campus must have been approved by Labour MPs and councillors.

I did pop Bayo Alaba MP a message asking him to confirm his side of things a few weeks ago - twice, and without response.

As elections approach I just couldn’t stomach these people being elected on the back of what I believe is skulduggery and deceit. They’ve already tried to sell our green belt land down the river by Bournes Green Chase with their plans to build 10,000 unaffordable houses not prioritised for local people. And now we see those same traits shining through here.

For me, I cannot ignore the concrete evidence in front of me - Southend has been betrayed.  However, my message to the protesters of the Southend Campus is to read the document below and make your own minds up.

Do I have a solution? No.

I fell for it and thought our MPs and council were doing all they could to fight for the Southend Campus. However, at least now we know we cannot rely on them and that a different plan is needed to find a solution - if one is indeed possible.

If you want to find out as much truth as you can, may I suggest you FOI Southend City Council and the University of Essex:

• foi@essex.ac.uk

• SouthendFOIRequests@southend.gov.uk

Lastly, I do find it most odd that given these buildings were originally funded with taxpayer money - and bear in mind that bill was around £100 million or so - that the UoE should benefit wholly from their sale. Some of this money came directly from Southend Council (£12 million on the Forum), so how can an organisation funded by public money reap the benefits after selling the asset? Ethically and morally wrong, quite clearly. Legally, whoever set this up left a gaping hole that seems about ready to be exploited - and with the enthusiastic aid of Southend Labour.