First look: Inside Southend's new high street community centre building
The five floor building will feature a community café and an indoor market
Last updated 22nd Mar 2022
Southend, the UK's newest city, is becoming home to a new community centre in the heart of the high street.
Greatest Hits Radio Essex was given a sneak peak inside The IronWorks building, which will be developed into the new community centre, with plans to open to the public in July.
Located at 90 High Street, The IronWorks is a multi-functional space which organisers hope will become a hub for the city's residents.
The building has a long history itself, most notably having begun as an iron mongers, hence the name, and housing Southend's oldest department store, Ravens of Southend.
Natalie Solomons is organising the project: "We thought this could be such an amazing hub to bring the community together - we think the high street is crying out for a community centre, somewhere everyone can come, whatever age they are, whatever demographic.
"It's about making art, and the community, accessible."
There are plans for an indoor market space, where local traders, creatives, social enterprises and start-up businesses will be able to reserve a stall to sell their wares.
Organisers have stressed these spots won't "break the bank" to make it easier and more cost effective for sellers to "showcase what they do and make money at the same time".
Natalie thinks the centre will make a perfect addition to the new city of Southend: "This is really putting the city on the map. There aren't many buildings like this, or ones with this purpose, so it's quite revolutionary.
"It's fantastic."
Alongside a market, the ground floor will house a community café, with a performance and exhibition space to allow local artists to display their work.
The basement will be developed alongside a local charity and feature recording studios, textiles studios, a live lounge area and collaborative spaces for workshops.
The building has five floors, and whilst there are plans to use each floor in the building, the focus will initially be on the ground floor and basement.
They already have plans for other floors which include a bar with a rooftop terrace on the top floor, an immersive, story-telling zone for children and another area for music and performance.