SOUTHEND’S landmark concrete tax office, opposite Southend Victoria station, will be transformed into more than 200 flats in a planned £60million development.

Weston Homes has bought the 0.4 acre Portcullis House site at 27 Victoria Avenue, Southend, from Mapeley Estates, formerly the regional headquarters of HM Revenue and Customs.

The company now plans to build 217 one, two and three-bedroom apartments complete with a landscaped courtyard, entrance foyer and 275 square metres of ground floor commercial space.

Set to be called the “Victoria Central”, Weston Homes has now successfully obtained planning permission for the new development, which will be 15 storeys high at its apex with a striking 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 with timber decking, planting with stone bordered beds and semi-mature trees.

The HMRC complex was a vast concrete and glass building which housed more than 1,000 people and was responsible for the collection of Value Added Tax (VAT) that is charged on goods and services, collected by companies and retailers.

It will occupy a prominent position at the southern end of Victoria Avenue, close towards the town centre.

Victoria Central will offer a range of new homes, each with open-plan living areas, designer kitchens and bathrooms.

Bob Weston, chairman and 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 Southend, we are incredibly excited to be expanding our portfolio and hope for continued success at the scheme.”