The Southend Urban Area is the informal name for the urban area including and surrounding Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England. The ONS defines the Southend Urban Area as having a population of 295,310 making it the largest urban area within the East of England. The population had increased by almost 10% since the 2001 population of 269,400 this was mainly due to Hullbridge becoming part of the built-up area.