Organisations supporting business and growth

South Essex Councils

South Essex Councils (SEC) is a partnership of 7 neighbouring councils that are working together to promote growth, prosperity and well-being in the region.

The partners are:

Together we're making south Essex a great place to live, visit and do business.

Opportunities and challenges don't stop at local authority borders

In January 2018, the partnership – then known as the 'Association of South Essex Local Authorities (ASELA)' – agreed a principle that authorities should work together on opportunities and challenges across south Essex over the next 30 years.

The partnership is working on 5 major programmes:

  • Thames Freeport – local authorities are partners of Thames Freeport, a special economic zone that connects Ford's engine plant in Dagenham to the Thurrock ports at London Gateway and Tilbury, offering real potential for enormous growth across south Essex
  • South Essex Estuary (SEE) Park – a single area of high-quality green space, within 300 metres of every door and workspace in the region, connected by cycleways and a 70km coastal path from Tilbury Fort to Shoeburyness
  • new technical university – a business-led proposal that could transform higher education by offering a wide range of work-based learning courses, including degree apprenticeships, both for young people and current employees who wish to learn new skills
  • infrastructure and housing – working with Homes England and local housing associations to increase amount of affordable housing available
  • superfast digital connectivity – every household, business and community facility should have superfast digital connectivity by the year 2025

In October 2021, ASELA formed a joint committee for making partnership decisions and allocating resources. Meetings are held in public. Go to South Essex: meeting agenda and minutes.

In October 2023, ASELA became known as 'South Essex Councils (SEC)'.

Find out much more on the South Essex website.