Southend-on-Sea City Council will ask Cabinet on 16 November 2026 to seek a private partner for Better Queensway. A September feasibility study proposes about 934 homes at £330.4 million, the Echo reported.
Land Registry records on Pryce show a median price paid of £326,000 across 2,449 sales in Southend-on-Sea in the 12 months to August 2026. That sits £41,000 above a median of £285,000 across 671,521 sales in England over the same period.
Sanctuary Housing withdrew in 2023 after taking over the council’s former partner Swan Housing, pausing housing while highway works on Queensway continued. The cabinet report on Better Queensway housing plans asks members to approve market sounding for a commercial partner to fund phases the council cannot deliver alone.
The study’s 934 homes sit in development zones 1 and 2 only, below earlier council plans for up to 1,000 homes in the first phases. Zone 1 covers The Range and Short Street car park; zone 2 covers Quantock Tower and the former Essex Street car park. The September feasibility study costed both zones at about £330.4 million at 2026 prices, and the proposals remain at feasibility stage.
Quantock kept, tenants moved out
Zone 1 on The Range and Short Street car park is costed at about £173.3 million for about 481 homes, with buildings along Queensway up to 18 storeys. The Range’s lease runs to around September 2028 and talks with the retailer are under way.
Zone 2 at Quantock Tower and the former Essex Street car park would deliver about 453 homes for about £157.1 million. Quantock would be stripped and rebuilt around its concrete frame rather than demolished, including 116 refurbished flats.
Tenants would move out for those works while structural, fire and viability studies continue. Quantock is among eight Southend tower blocks whose Building Safety Regulator cases had not been called in when the study was prepared.
Above the England median
Southend-on-Sea’s median sat above England’s in the year to August 2026, with flats trading well below the city-wide figure across 801 sales.
The chart below compares median prices paid for all homes and flats in Southend-on-Sea with England. Southend recorded 2,449 sales at a £326,000 median; flats made up 801 of those sales at £215,000. England recorded 671,521 sales at £285,000.
Source: HM Land Registry Price Paid Data
Land Registry records put the median at £4,088 per square metre across 252 sales with floor area in Southend-on-Sea, against £3,339 across 72,008 such sales in England in the same period.
Flats well below the median
Flats in Southend-on-Sea sold for a median of £215,000 across 801 sales in the 12 months to August 2026.
Leasehold flats in the Queensway postcode sector SS2 5 sold for a median of £165,000 across 47 sales in the same window.
New-build sales numbered 21 of the city’s 2,449 sales, about one per cent of turnover.
Scrutiny, then a 2027 partner
Joint scrutiny meets on 12 November 2026 at 6:30pm before Cabinet decides on 16 November whether to approve seeking a partner. Market sounding would begin from December 2026, with likely partner selection in summer 2027 and signing in summer or autumn 2027.
Councillors are also asked to approve £1.1 million of new borrowing towards about £1.4 million of preparatory work through 2027/28.
Councillor Daniel Cowan, Leader of Southend-on-Sea City Council, said on 4 November 2026:
“Subject to Cabinet approval, this is a major milestone with the process of setting up an Investment Partnership. Through which, the city council will work jointly with a commercial organisation to ensure that future development phases are both fundable and deliverable.”
No partner is appointed yet. Any appointment would need a further cabinet decision after the summer 2027 selection window.
Sources: Echo; Southend-on-Sea City Council; Better Queensway housing plans, scrutiny papers for 12 November 2026; HM Land Registry sold prices on Pryce for Southend-on-Sea and England.