james howell

I was the chief reporter of the daily Echo newspaper covering south Essex, managing a team of up to 15 reporters and undertaking news editor duties on a frequent basis.

I am Head of External Affairs at L&Q, a regulated housing association and one of the UK’s most successful social businesses. L&Q houses 250,000 people in 100,000 homes, primarily across London and the South East. Over the next decade, we will be building another 100,000 homes across Britain to tackle the housing crisis. We also invest in a £250 million community Foundation and £5 million a year skills academy to build opportunity and confidence in our communities. I am responsible for formulating and leading all aspects of L&Q’s press, PR, external affairs and reputation management programmes, overseeing L&Q contact with senior external stakeholders and key influencers. I advise Executive Group, Board and the senior leadership team on all aspects of stakeholder and media relationships essential to meeting our corporate objectives.

Southend Rising aims to showcase the growth and success stories happening all over the borough of Southend-on-Sea. Through this website we want to proudly tell visitors about investment, regeneration and development taking place in Southend, Leigh, Westcliff, Prittlewell, Southchurch, Shoebury, Thorpe Bay, Chalkwell and Eastwood. Most importantly, we want to help promote local businesses and organisations.