The History
Prospects College, located adjacent to the Roots Hall football stadium in Southend, was a former vocational college - providing engineering and construction skills training and apprenticeships.
From the several Prospects sites dotted around Essex, very little seems to exist around the exact history of this particular location. It closed in 2010 and merged with the Futures College site in Southchurch Boulevard Southend, becoming known as Prospects College of Advanced Technology (PROCAT).
According to an article dated April 2012 the site was sold to Sainsburys for £2million as part of a redevelopment plan. Another article in 2013 suggests Sainsburys are negotiating the purchase of other nearby sites before development can take place.
The empty building appears to be relatively modern, showing very little signs of serious decay from the outside. In fact, it would be very easy to pass by without noticing – as windows are undamaged and few boards in place.
The Explore
Heading out as a team made up of me, Boomstick84, Slayaaaa and Oakley – this was one of a few sites we had on our list for the day. Following an initial failed entry at another closed school, we made our way over to Prospects. Entry to the perimeter had to be quick due to being on full view of passing traffic and then a very tight entry was gained by our greaseman Slayaaaa who kindly established an easy route in for the rest of us.
With the exception of a small amount of damp towards the rear of the building, things were very clean inside. An interesting site that is split between a large workshop area at the rear (with separate areas setup for learning trades such as workwork, painting, wallpapering, tiling, plumbing etc) and an office/admin area at the front.
Strangely we were surprised to find the CCTV system still running in the reception area, with a screen showing all the cameras still active (and exposing us derping around the building which was amusing). Despite this we roamed the site for about an hour or so without any trouble, doubtful that anyone was actually watching!
The Photos
A selection of mine below, with contributions by the others to be added.
Ocean’s 4 – Oakley, Boomstick84, Robg172 and Slayaaa. Thanks for looking!
Prospects College, located adjacent to the Roots Hall football stadium in Southend, was a former vocational college - providing engineering and construction skills training and apprenticeships.
From the several Prospects sites dotted around Essex, very little seems to exist around the exact history of this particular location. It closed in 2010 and merged with the Futures College site in Southchurch Boulevard Southend, becoming known as Prospects College of Advanced Technology (PROCAT).
According to an article dated April 2012 the site was sold to Sainsburys for £2million as part of a redevelopment plan. Another article in 2013 suggests Sainsburys are negotiating the purchase of other nearby sites before development can take place.
The empty building appears to be relatively modern, showing very little signs of serious decay from the outside. In fact, it would be very easy to pass by without noticing – as windows are undamaged and few boards in place.
The Explore
Heading out as a team made up of me, Boomstick84, Slayaaaa and Oakley – this was one of a few sites we had on our list for the day. Following an initial failed entry at another closed school, we made our way over to Prospects. Entry to the perimeter had to be quick due to being on full view of passing traffic and then a very tight entry was gained by our greaseman Slayaaaa who kindly established an easy route in for the rest of us.
With the exception of a small amount of damp towards the rear of the building, things were very clean inside. An interesting site that is split between a large workshop area at the rear (with separate areas setup for learning trades such as workwork, painting, wallpapering, tiling, plumbing etc) and an office/admin area at the front.
Strangely we were surprised to find the CCTV system still running in the reception area, with a screen showing all the cameras still active (and exposing us derping around the building which was amusing). Despite this we roamed the site for about an hour or so without any trouble, doubtful that anyone was actually watching!
The Photos
A selection of mine below, with contributions by the others to be added.
Ocean’s 4 – Oakley, Boomstick84, Robg172 and Slayaaa. Thanks for looking!
Last edited:
Thanks
