A CAFE and restaurant quarter with al-fresco drinking and dining is on its way to Southend as part of £4million plans to ban traffic from a key part of the town centre.

Southend Council is spearheading the rejuvenation scheme which includes pedestrianising the “stub end” of London Road between College Way and Victoria Circus.

It is hoped the move will be a catalyst for a complete overhaul of Southend’s town centre that will see it divided up into quadrants – the first will bring about a café culture in London Road.

The plans for London Road also include installing brighter street lights, planting trees and placing colourful planters.

Deputy council leader Ron Woodley said: “This would be the restaurant and cafe quadrant of our larger plans to create four different quadrants.

“Residents can expect to see a lot more pedestrianisation on this end of London Road and a more relaxed atmosphere when visiting restaurants and cafes, with tables outside and umbrellas up.

“There will also be more trees and more planters to make the area greener.”

He said the plan is to attract more people into this part of the High Street and he hopes it will be complete sometime around March next year but this could be delayed due to Covid-19.

The £4million funding for the scheme has come from the South East Local Enterprise Partnership, a Government-backed scheme aimed at driving job creation.

Mr Woodley said the council will next begin focussing on the retail element of the town, specifically the area surrounding the Royals Shopping Centre which could become the “retail quadrant” and plans for the Forum 2 in Elmer Square will help create and education quadrant.

The new-build in Elmer Square would complement the existing Forum library, South Essex College and the University of Essex centres of learning.

He said: “It is a plan to increase footfall and first there will be the parking strategy, with that finished more will come, along with the development of homes around Roots Hall and Queensway.

But the redevelopment of London Road has not been met with support from the opposition Conservative Group.

At a council meeting on Thursday night, Tory leader Tony Cox described the area as “barren”.

He said: “We can already licence outside tables and chair on the pedestrian part of our High Street and there is no evidence that it has created one single job.

“I think in the current climate with nothing being proposed for that area, really why would you create an even bigger barren area. This just does nothing.”

Conservative councillor Kevin Buck said: “We have to acknowledge that times have changed and our lives have changed. We are relying on a report drafted before the current crisis and we have to consider what is an appropriate way to spend public money.

“The fact this is central Government money does not detract from that fact this is taxpayers’ money.”