[1] Henry Garon had opened a chain of grocery & bakery shops, cinemas and banqueting suites at a time when rail travel to the town had started to bring in tourists from London.

He was unfortunately childless, and decided to set up a trust to manage the attached Foxhall Farm which had the famous Shopland Hall Herd of Friesian Cattle, which they had hoped would raise money to support young people in Southend, including the scouts.

In the 1982, the Norman Garon Trust was setup, with Tolhurst being joined as trustees by David Evans, a manager for a large farming company and Alan Jordan of Savills, who had both been involved in the Essex Scout movement.

[2] However after Garon's death in 1990, the loss of several tenant farmers and changes in the agricultural business had seen the farm and managing the herd become financially unsustainable.

[9] The Leisure Centre offers the following facilities:[10] Each year, Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre hosts regular users and events:[11] After resurfacing & refurbishment of the athletics track in 2011, the site was proposed to be used as an Olympic Training Ground for the London 2012 Summer Olympics in the following sports:[12] In 2024, local campaigners claimed that the Garon Park Community Interest Company were committing "uncontrolled development" at the park, with the flattening of wild spaces for extra 3G football pitches.

The company however stated that work would not start until planning permission was received, and that the extra facilties were to meet the needs of grassroots teams, colleges and charities.

Southend-on-Sea City Council stated that they had an open ongoing planning enforcement investigation into the concerns raised.