There is no doubt Southend-on-Sea has lots to offer!

Southend-on-Sea is located in Essex, 40 miles east of central London. Amongst the top attractions is Southend Pier, the longest leisure pier in the world. Pier activities include Southend mini golf, The Royal Pavilion, Salt Café and plenty of other seafront amusements.

Southend is also home to a lively cultural scene, with some of the local favourites including Central Museum, Beecroft Art Gallery and Southend Planetarium. There is also plenty to see and do around the central retail district of Southend-on-Sea, where you’ll find a thriving retail scene as well as bars and local businesses. In Southend-on-Sea, much of the on-street parking is limited to residents’ parking zones, making it tricky for commuters to drive into town every day. Parking spaces are in demand throughout Southend, including parking in Southend-on-Sea beach.

Many of the central car parks in Southend-on-Sea are overpriced, making them undesirable for commuters, and for those who wish to dive into town regularly. Finding a parking space in busy Southend-on-Sea can be a challenge.

Book in advance with YourParkingSpace to ensure a hassle-free parking experience, and you can save time and money. It’s even easier to secure on-demand parking with our free app.

YourParkingSpace offers an affordable parking service with many different locations readily available across Southend-on-Sea.

Both long term and short-term parking is available with our hourly and weekly booking options. YourParkingSpace is available 24 hours of the day so you won’t be left in the dark searching for a free space.

Parking in Southend-on-Sea centre can be difficult, due to the Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ). Parking Management Schemes (PMS), Residents Parking Schemes (RPS) and Permit Parking Schemes (PPS) are in areas with a high volume of cars. Parking in Ensure you are parking in Southend-on-Sea in compliance with the local restrictions to avoid a Southend-on-Sea parking fine. Parking permits available include Type of Permits, Residents Permits, Visitors Permits, Business Permits, Carers Permits and Hotel and Guest Permits.

Enforcement of restrictions are between 8.00am and 6.00pm Monday to Saturday, Sundays between 9.00am and 6.00pm and evening enforcement of parking areas regulated by charges extending to 9.00pm and double yellow lines (24 hours).

Parking restrictions to look out for are:

• Pay and Display bays where you can stay for 1,2 or 4 or 10 hours.    

1. Single yellow lines, where you can only park at some times. Be sure to check the signs when parking on these

• Kerb flashes showing loading restrictions
• Double yellow lines where you cannot park

On-street parking is provided by pay and display bays which operate between 8am – 9pm, Monday – Sunday in all areas. Blue badge holders park for free at any time.

On the YourParkingSpace map, we make sure that we only offer parking spaces that you are entitled to park in! This way you’ll encounter no restrictions, no permits, and most importantly no unexpected fines!

Parking around Southend-on-Sea Airport is highly desirable. For cheap, safe and convenient parking spaces, both long stay and short stay, visit our Southend-on-Sea airport page. Alternatively, Luton airport is also easily accessible and you can find cheap and convenient parking using our in Luton airport page.

Southend-on-Sea has a vibrant scene of attractions, including the longest leisure pier in the world: Southend Pier, which boasts stunning views of the Estuary. Sea-Life Adventure and Adventure Island are also amongst Southend’s favourite attractions.

Originally home to a small fishing industry, Southend-on-Sea gained status as a seaside resort in the 1790s. Today Southend’s centre is full of bars, shops and museums, galleries and theatres. It is the ideal destination to be explored by car, on foot or by bike. Beyond Southend-on-Sea, day trips can be taken to Old Leigh, Bradwell on Sea and Stanford le Hope. 

Other popular attractions in include Southend-on-Sea Art Gallery, Belfairs Wood, Park and Nature reserve, Palace Theatre and Priory Park. 

Search, book and park close to these desirable attractions using our search results page. Simply enter your time and dates into the search bar, and you can reserve a parking space that suits you.

Car

Southend-on-Sea is easily accessible from London area from the A13, it lies not far outside of the M25 and is well connected to nearby hotspots including Chelmsford, Colchester and Braintree in Essex.

Train

Southend Central Station is where you alight for Southend town centre and access to South Pier, Adventure Island and Sea Life Centre (and many more attractions besides) which are all short walks away on the seafront. The station also directly serves the University of Essex’s Southend Campus.

There are charging ports for electric vehicles across the centre of Southend-on-Sea, and the primary network is GMEV and their site provides a map of the places for charging.

A network of all electric vehicle charging points in the UK can be found on the government's Go Ultra low website.

A Blue Badge in Southend-on-Sea allows you to park in more places, for longer, and often free of charge!

Many off-street car parks in Southend-on-Sea will offer disabled spaces, but these may be limited and all car parks are different, so check the signs before parking. 

You can park in the following car-parks in designated spaces if you have a blue badge, however, only badge holders with Southend-on-Sea issued badges can park for free. Badge holders with badges issued by other authorities will need to pay the appropriate car park charges. On-street parking bays remain available and free of charge to all badge holders.

With a valid Blue Badge, you can park at:

• Southend Town Centre Parking 
• Alexandra Street
• Civic Centre (North) – only up to 2 hours
• Clarence Road
• Elmer Approach
• Essex Street 
• Beecroft Upper
• London Road North (Rear of Santander)
• Seaway
• Short Street
• Warrior Square
• Tylers Avenue
• University Square - Barrier Controlled, fee charge as displayed on entry

and other locations across Southend.

Where not to park

• Places where there are loading and unloading restrictions.
• Parking places reserved for specific users.
• On any pedestrian crossings.
• On any clearways, double or single red lines or urban clearways during their hours of operation.
• Bus stops, bus lanes or cycle lanes.
• Where there are double white lines in the centre of the road.
• Anywhere it would be obstructive or cause a danger to others.

Don’t panic, many overnight off-street car parks in Southend-on-Sea run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Enter your dates and times into our search results page and find a space fast, before it gets dark.

Southend-on-Sea is busiest on weekends and Bank Holidays and therefore most on-street restrictions will still apply.

Have you considered making a bit of extra cash from your empty Southend-on-Sea parking space? Anyone who lives in Southend-on-Sea in a location that is relatively close to the centre will be able to make money easily from hiring their private parking space. It takes only moments to register with YourParkingSpace on our list your space for free page and you could be earning an easy extra income in no time.

What time is free parking in Southend-on-Sea?

Parking restrictions are in place most of the time in Southend-on-Sea. Enforcement of restrictions are between 8.00am and 6.00pm Monday to Saturday, Sundays between 9.00am and 6.00pm and evening enforcement of parking areas regulated by charges extending to 9.00pm and double yellow lines (24 hours). Parking is free in many locations after 6pm, or if you are a blue badge holder from Southend-on-Sea you can park in most places for free.

How much is parking at Southend-on-Sea beach?

On-street parking is provided in pay and display bays which operate between 8am – 8pm Monday to Sunday in all Controlled Parking Zones of the city centre, which operates in the area of Southend-on-Sea within the inner relief road. There are no charges for using the bays on Bank Holidays. If you are a Blue Badge Holder all on-street parking in the city centre is free.

Is it free to park at Southend-on-Sea beach?

Parking at Southend-on-Sea near the beach is difficult to find for free unless you have a guest or visitor Southend-on-Sea parking permit, or are a blue badge holder. Charges are in place in many of the local car parks including East Beach car park from Monday to Sunday 9am – 6pm. You can expect to pay £1 for up to an hour and £7 for up to 6 hours in summer, tariffs are lower in winter. Evening parking is often free from 6pm, check local signs.

How much is it to park in Southend-on-Sea centre?

Parking restrictions are in place in Southend-on-Sea centre Monday to Sunday 9am – 6pm. Parking charges for on-street parking vary slightly depending on location, parking for up to an hour costs £1.20, 3 hours costs £3.90 and 6 hours costs £7. You can park for free if you are a blue badge holder. For cheap and convenient spaces head to YourParkingSpace search results map, for short, medium and long stay parking solutions.