Southend tax office to become £60m apartment complex

The £60m residential-led development will provide 217 one-, two- and three- bedroom apartments and 275 sqm of ground floor commercial space.

Portcullis House at 27 Victoria Avenue in Southend-on-Sea was formerly the regional headquarters of HM Revenue & Customs. Weston Homes has bought the site from Mapeley Estates.

The HMRC complex at Portcullis House was a vast concrete and glass building where more than 1,000 people worked. Weston Homes has obtained planning permission for a new development, be known as Victoria Central, which will be 15 storeys high at the front with a brick and glass façade, glass fronted balustrades and a raised glazed ground floor. The development will have a seven-storey rear wing and a landscaped courtyard.

Bob Weston, chairman & chief executive of Weston Homes, said: “Weston Homes are elated to have received planning consent to transform the former site of Portcullis House into a development of beautifully designed apartments. Following the success of several of our developments in the area of Southend, we are incredibly excited to be expanding our portfolio within the area, and hope for continued success at the scheme.”

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