Demolition plan for £2m 'white elephant' lagoon

A £2m beach lagoon built largely with taxpayer cash is set to be demolished at a cost of £800,000.

The Three Shells Lagoon opened in July 2026 to create a "sheltered bathing area" and sandy beach that Visit Southend described as "a popular choice for families".

But the Labour-led Southend-on-Sea City Council is set to consider dismantling the lagoon – which is currently closed after a safety incident earlier this year – on Monday. Concerns have been raised about a pungent smell although the bathing water is rated excellent, according to council papers.

Matt Dent, cabinet member for business and tourism, described the lagoon as a "monstrosity" and said the council needed to "cut our losses".

The owner, Philip Miller, part-funded the project with £100,000, and his Stockvale Group "covered the costs associated with preparing the site and securing planning permission", according to council papers.

Miller told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "The council's lack of maintenance, despite their feeble excuses, is the real reason it has come to this stage."

The Adventure Island owner said they had offered alternative options to fix the Lagoon.

But Dent argued the lagoon "has faced significant challenges for years. Following extensive assessment, restoring the site to a natural beach environment is considered the most practical long-term solution".

In March, a mother and daughter had to be rescued with ropes after they got stuck in waist-deep sand at the lagoon.

Fencing and safety signs have since cordoned off the site.

The £1.25m came from David Cameron's coalition government's Coastal Communities Funding, which had invested more than £182m in 178 projects in England since 2012.

The government backed the project as a way to "enhance and diversify the tourism offer in Southend" and said it would allow "safe access to the water at all times and avoiding tidal limitations".

The council put in £600,000 towards the construction.

Southend Reform UK group leader Tony Cox described it as "a white elephant", adding: "This is the sort of thing that gives local government a bad name."

A council cabinet report in the coming days says maintenance has been "increasingly challenging" and the lagoon has "naturally accumulated seaweed and algae".

The council spent £90,000 trying to prevent what visitors had described as a "pungent smell" and to improve the drainage, which "had made some difference".

It is being recommended to cabinet to remove the lagoon and return it to a natural beach.

A decision will be made on Monday at a public cabinet meeting.

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