The council’s economic development team was delighted with the success of their first Southchurch Business Expo event held on 14 September 2023.
The event hosted at Southend Christian Fellowship Plaza, aimed to support Project Southchurch, a proactive community organisation, to promote the benefits of living and working in Southchurch and to increase footfall by raising awareness of local businesses and activities.
Cllr Daniel Nelson, cabinet member for economic growth and investment opened the event by thanking the event organisers for helping to promote the diverse range of Southchurch business to a wider audience. He also thanked sponsors Amber Mortgage Solutions who are based in Southchurch.
There were also speeches by Rob McAvoy from Project Southchurch and Ben Cluett, who joined the council's economic inclusion team back in April as a Business Navigator to help local businesses grow and succeed. Many businesses have already benefited from his help and he is available to support any business in the City by offering free guidance and signposting how our support providers and connections can help their business thrive. The event was officially opened at 8am and provided a marketplace of exhibitors and allowed for a morning of networking
Cllr Daniel Nelson, cabinet member for economic growth and investment, said: “It's wonderful to hear about the success of this community-based event, and I want to thank the economic development team for organising it to support Project Southchurch.
“These events are a good opportunity for local business people and residents to come together to help put Southchurch on the map as a place to work and live. It's particularly encouraging that the event was well attended and that the feedback from businesses and residents was so positive.”
Many organisations exhibited at the marketplace including Amber Mortgage Solutions (the event sponsor), Main Media Video, PFS Group, Azets, Dedman Gray, Adventure Island, Department for Work and Pensions, Southend Museums, Trust Links, Garon Park CIC, Everyone Health Southend, BellyGoodness, Southend Peers, Southend Adult Community College, Belle Vue Honda Motorcycles and the Southchurch Art Trail. This provided attendees with the opportunity to network and to find out about business and resident support in Southchurch.
Due to the success of the launch event that saw over 250 attendees, plans are now underway to roll out this successful format to other areas of the City early next year.
Photos are available on our Flickr page.