Southend residents vote for new council logo to mark seaside town being awarded city status

Residents have voted for a new council logo to reflect a seaside town being awarded city status.

Southend-on-Sea, in Essex, officially became a city on March 1 as a tribute to MP Sir David Amess who was stabbed to death during a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea.

Sir David, who had served as Conservative MP for Southend West since 1997, had long campaigned for city status.

The local council recently changed its name from Southend-on-Sea Borough Council to City Council, and asked residents to vote on four proposed new logos.

More than 600 people took part in the survey, with the "shell" design emerging as the clear favourite with 41% of the public vote.

Other concepts included a seaside windmill and design which included the city's famous pier - the longest in Britain.

The council's cabinet will now discuss the results at a meeting on 13 September.

“It’s important that we have and up-to-date brand and logo that reflects the council’s new name and allows us to embrace the change of status by updating our corporate image," Cllr Stephen George, leader of the council said.

"This is an exciting change for our city, and if approved by cabinet, the council will be able to undertake further work to refine and develop the ‘Shell’ concept based on the feedback, giving us an opportunity to look forward as a strong, ambitious and cohesive city with new branding.”

If approved by the cabinet, the new logo would appear on things like building signage and letterheads.

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