Leigh-on-Sea is a civil parish in Essex. It is a district of Southend-on-Sea, with its own town council, and is at present the only civil parish within the borough. The town is located on the northern side of the Thames estuary, being only a few miles from the open waters of the North Sea and from the Kent coast. Featuring on the town's coastal area is a nature reserve at Two Tree Island and a centrally positioned beach close to Bell Wharf. Leigh's foreshore is mainly viewed as being an area with considerable mud flats and creeks when the water is at low tide. Between the 1870s and the 1920s, Broadway, formerly a residential street, was transformed into a commercial parade of shopfronts. In the 1930s, London Road and Leigh Road similarly ended up being acknowledged as commercial streets, holding shops, workshops, industrial properties, and entertainment areas. As a result of the prominence of 24 hour grocery stores and online shopping from the 1990s, most of the town's independent companies underwent redevelopment, with bars, cafés, restaurants, galleries and gift stores replacing most of the traditional shops. On-going city regeneration continues to draw in new homeowners to the town, as well as aiming to accommodate for the rise in Southend's increased population. With a population of over 20000, Leigh was ranked by Rightmove's 2016 Happy at Home Index as the happiest area to live in Great Britain, with attention being drawn to the strong community spirit, a sense of belonging, and excellent access to sports and arts ventures. A range of local celebrations are well established, such as the Leigh Regatta, happening over one September weekend, the Leigh Folk Festival and the Leigh Art Trail. For all your house upgrades, make sure to make use of trustworthy specialists in Leigh-on-Sea to make certain of quality.