53-401: Basildon ( / ˈ b æ z ɪ l d ən / BAZ -il-dən ) is a town in the borough of the same name , in the county of Essex , England . It had a recorded population of 115,955 at the 2021 census . In 1931, the town had a population of 1,159. It lies 26 miles (42 km) east of Central London , 11 miles (18 km) south of the city of Chelmsford and 10 miles (16 km) west of
106-527: A 'New Town'. Basildon Development Corporation was formed in February 1949 to transform the designated area into a modern new town. The New Town incorporated Laindon and Pitsea and was laid out around small neighbourhoods with the first house being completed in June 1951. The masterplan was published in 1951, with the landscaping proposed by Sylvia Crowe with open space and playing fields distributed throughout
159-536: A bar, a sixteen screen Cineworld cinema, two health clubs and a nightclub called Unit 7. The Festival Leisure Park is colloquially known as "Bas Vegas". The name originated from a proposed Casino development on the site. The site was previously home to the Aquatels park which hosted a zoo, ski slope and golf range that opened in 1972, which was replaced in 1982 by a conference venue called the Festival Hall which
212-506: A commuter suburb of London, were eventually forced through. A significant number of modern-day residents do commute to London. By the beginning of the 1900s, Basildon had evolved with much of the land having been sold in small plots during a period of land speculation and development taking placed haphazardly with building by plot owners ranging from shelters created from recycled materials to brick-built homes and with amenities such as water, gas, electricity and hard-surfaced roads lacking. In
265-522: A miniature famous white Hollywood sign, reading "Basildon": at five feet tall, the new sign is one-ninth of the height of the Hollywood original. part of a plan of landscaping and infrastructure improvements funded by £400,000 from the Prescott -spearheaded Thames Gateway . Opponents from all parties believe spending could have been directed toward social problems. The former constituency of Basildon
318-399: A new purpose built theatre as part of the new Basildon Centre, on the opposite side for the former Towngate Road. In 1989, the culture and history of the town was documented by the newly re-opened Towngate Theatre, when it commissioned a community play from Arnold Wesker for the town's 40th anniversary. The potted history that Wesker called "Boerthel's Hill" was acted out by a 125 members of
371-487: A number of facelifts since 1985, with its most recent substantial refurbishment in 2007 at a cost of more than £10m. Further shopping facilities in the town can be found at Westgate Shopping Park, while there is a pavement market selling fresh fruit and vegetables as well as household goods, which in 2018 moved to a new location in St. Martins Square. Outside of the town centre there are retail parks at Pipps Hill and Mayflower on
424-537: A pub in Tyefields, which is reputed to date from the 16th century. Nevendon Hall was built in 1789 and is Grade II listed. The moat at the former site of Boetlers, a Tudor house demolished in the 1960s, is located near to Holy Cross Church. Borough of Basildon The Borough of Basildon is a local government district with borough status in Essex , England. It is named after its largest town, Basildon , where
477-878: A regional warehouse on Pipps Hill Industrial Estate in the 1990s. In 2015, an Amazon delivery base was opened in Christopher Martin Road. A datacentre hosting the European matching engine of the Intercontinental Exchange is located in Gardiners Lane, Basildon on the site of the former York International factory. In 2017, Costa Coffee opened their new coffee roastery in Basildon. It is said to be Europe's biggest coffee roastery – quadrupling Costa's roasting capacity from 11,000 tonnes per year to 45,000 tonnes. The facility, which
530-550: A terminus of the A13's primary status there is a junction with the beginning of primary status for the A130 with runs along a small section of the western boundary of the district. The A130 connects the district with Chelmsford . The A129 is the major road link between Billericay and Wickford, which are linked via A-Roads to the urban area of Basildon, Pitsea and Laindon by the A176 and
583-487: A third of the council (one councillor for each ward) elected each time for a four-year term of office. Essex County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no borough council elections. There are nine civil parishes in the borough. The town of Basildon itself is an unparished area , as is a small area west of Wickford. The parish councils for Billericay and Wickford are styled "town councils", whilst that for Great Burstead and South Green
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#1732772157215636-472: Is a new town, there are still traces of its historical past visible. Old roads that once connected the villages have been incorporated into the new town: Clay Hill Road, Timberlog Lane, Rectory Road, Pound Lane, Church Road and Dry Street. Dry Street is a perfect example of old Basildon, as it is an undeveloped country lane that runs through One Tree Hill and Langdon Hill Country Parks and is home to several listed properties. Other than St Martin's Church, most of
689-580: Is dubbed "Paradise Street", can handle around 24 tonnes of coffee beans per hour. The two main roads from London to Southend, the A13 and A127 , pass to the south and north of the town respectively. Both are important commuter trunk roads, allowing easy access to the M25 and the rest of the motorway network. Locally, the A13 gives access to Pitsea and Vange; the A127 gives access to the town centre and Laindon. Within
742-603: Is largely ceremonial in Basildon. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council . The leaders since 2009 have been: Following the 2024 election , the composition of the council was: The six independents sit together as a group. The next election is due in May 2028. The council has its headquarters at the Basildon Centre on St Martin's Square in Basildon Town Centre . The building
795-646: Is now based in the Basildon Centre (since 1989), but had previously been in prefabs next to the temporary council offices on Fodderwick. There are also numerous smaller libraries across Basildon: Clay Hill Road in Vange, Pitsea Centre in Pitsea, Fryerns Library in Whitmore Way, and Laindon Library on New Century Road Laindon. Basildon is home to the Haven Plotlands Museum and was previously home to
848-523: Is styled a "village council". The civil parishes are: The district has three main urban areas: Basildon , Billericay and Wickford . Proposals to move Billericay and Wickford to other districts, leaving Basildon district more focused on the new town, were considered in the 1990s but rejected. The new town of Basildon grew to absorb four earlier settlements: Laindon , Basildon, Vange and Pitsea (from west to east) which have merged with other minor hamlets. The remaining land, approximately half of
901-704: Is the Basildon Renaissance Partnership which was set up in 2003 by Basildon District Council. Its partners also include the East of England Development Agency, English Partnerships, Essex County Council, and the Thames Gateway South Essex Partnership with support from the Department for Communities and Local Government. The BBC noted the council had decided to sell for £1 a plot of land it bought next to
954-435: The 2024 election , with Labour the largest party. An administration of Labour and the independent councillors subsequently formed to run the council. The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: The role of mayor
1007-565: The Anglo-Saxon personal name 'Boerthal' and the Anglo-Saxon word 'dun', meaning hill. In historical documents, this name had various forms over the centuries, including Berdlesdon, Batlesdon and Belesduna. Railway service started in the 19th century to Pitsea (1856) and Laindon (1888) but it was only later that proposals to provide service to the new town of Basildon, shelved for many years because of concerns that it would simply become
1060-604: The Shenfield to Southend Line . Trains stop at Billericay and Wickford railway station . At Wickford, the Crouch Valley Line diverges from the Shenfield to Southend line. Three primary routes are within the district. The A127 goes through its centre, the A13 goes through the south-east at Pitsea. Both these primary routes connect the district with Greater London and Southend-on-Sea. At Bowers Gifford at
1113-578: The "most typical place in Britain'. The town centre has a variety of high street stores. As well as shops and coffee houses in the open air East Walk and Town Square, there is the covered Eastgate Shopping Centre which is home to over 100 retailers. When Eastgate was completed in 1985, it was the largest covered shopping centre in Europe until the opening of the Metro Centre . Eastgate has undergone
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#17327721572151166-593: The 1940s, Billericay Urban District Council and Essex County Council , concerned by lack of amenities in the area and by its development, petitioned the Government to create a New Town. Basildon was one of eight 'New Towns' created in the South East of England after the passing of the New Towns Act . On 4 January 1949 Lewis Silkin , Minister of Town and Country Planning, officially designated Basildon as
1219-573: The 2017 election, the seats were split: 2 to the Conservatives, 2 to Labour and 1 Independent. Noak Bridge has a parish council . Basildon was built like many new towns with each area being a planned community. These communities are now the local areas of the town: Basildon has a heavily developed industrial base. During the construction of the New Town, government grants were given to companies to set up their businesses in Basildon. Amongst
1272-568: The A127 undergo significant development at a cost of £15 million, which was expected to be finished by March 2011. It was funded via the Community Infrastructure Fund (CIF). The project was completed and was divided into three sections: There are several secondary schools in the Basildon district: Basildon also has two FE colleges: New Campus Basildon – formerly part of SEEVIC and was based in Church Walk. It
1325-536: The A127, while there are smaller shopping centres in Laindon and Pitsea, which is home to a famous market that opened in the 1920s. There are several smaller shopping areas located in each of the communities. Festival Leisure Park is a trading leisure park located in the north of Basildon and owned by Aviva . The Festival Leisure Park, includes 15 restaurants, a bowling and arcade centre, a family and entertainment centre with play frame and dodgem car track, two hotels,
1378-716: The Isthmian League North Division; and Basildon Town, who play in the Essex Olympian Football League. Basildon also has a senior ladies team, Hashtag United Women F.C. (formerly AFC Basildon), who play in the National League Southern Premier. In rugby, the town is represented in the London 2 North East League by Basildon R.F.C., while there is only local cricket played at Basildon and Pitsea C.C. in
1431-595: The National Motorboat Museum, which had been based at Wat Tyler Park. Currently there is not a museum dedicated to the history of Basildon, though plans had previously been made to site one at Wat Tyler Park. As of 2018 there is still a campaign to have a museum created. Basildon was designed with large amounts of green spaces with Gloucester Park dominating the centre of Basildon. Kent View Recreation ground in Vange and Northlands Park in Pitsea are
1484-744: The Shepherd Neame Essex League Division 3. Basildon is home to the South Essex Gymnastics Club, where Olympic champion Max Whitlock trains. The town's main sporting facility is the Basildon Sporting Village, that opened in 2011 and is based in Gloucester Park. The Village consists of an Olympic-sized swimming pool, 8 court sports hall, a climbing wall, athletics track and is home to the South Essex Gymnastics Club. It
1537-491: The city of Southend-on-Sea . Nearby towns include Billericay to the northwest, Wickford to the northeast and South Benfleet to the southeast. It was created as a new town after World War II in 1948, to accommodate the London population overspill from the conglomeration of four small villages, namely Pitsea , Laindon , Basildon (the most central of the four) and Vange . The local government district of Basildon, which
1590-475: The community recording a fascinating history of London's East Enders, who were the first Basildon residents. Basildon currently has one cinema, Cineworld , which is located at the Festival Leisure Park. This was previously owned by Empire Cinemas but was purchased as part of $ 124m deal to purchase 5 cinemas. It had opened originally as a UCI . Previously, Basildon had an ABC Cinema , which
1643-410: The companies that took up these grants were Ford Motor Company (opened 1964), Carreras Tobacco Company (1959–1984), Yardley of London (1966–1998), Gordon's Gin (1984–1998) and GEC-Marconi (now home to Leonardo MW ). Basildon has industrial areas situated in Laindon, Cranes Farm Road and Burnt Mills. Cranes Farm Road is currently home to CNH Tractor Plant, formerly owned by Ford. Argos opened
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1696-637: The council is based. The borough also includes the towns of Billericay and Wickford and surrounding rural areas. The borough borders the City of Chelmsford to the north, the Borough of Brentwood to the west, the Thurrock unitary authority area to the south, the Borough of Castle Point to the south-east, and Rochford District to the north-east. Billericay Urban District was created in 1934. In 1955 it
1749-516: The developed area to preserve the best landscape features. The first tenants moved into homes in Redgrave Road in Vange. A large, illuminated town sign "Basildon Town Centre Site" at 3.5 feet (1.1 m) was erected in 1956 by the railway and stood until early construction was completed. The Basildon Centre, which incorporates the local council offices, was officially opened by Jack Cunningham on 14 November 1989. Since March 2010 Basildon has
1802-461: The district is designated as green belt , has several sites of special scientific interest . Two are around Billericay and the remainder are to the south of Basildon New Town. There are also wildlife areas of varying sizes around most of the district, except in the East. The source of the River Crouch is in the district. The river runs across the district, through Wickford before it leaves
1855-743: The district. The district is linked well by road and rail with significant surrounding destinations, including London . In the west of the Basildon district, the Dunton Plotlands is an area of small plots of land used as weekend cottages or smallholdings inhabited during the mid twentieth century. It contains the towns of: Villages within the district are: Basildon District is a prosperous business location and has in recent years seen significant inward investment and jobs growth. Throughout Basildon District there are major developments planned estimated to total nearly £2 billion. These include: Coordinating and promoting this programme of investment
1908-504: The districts of Brentwood and Rochford respectively. Urban districts were abolished on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972 . On this date, a new non-metropolitan district called Basildon was created, covering the whole area of the former Basildon Urban District plus the small part of the neighbouring Thurrock Urban District which fell within the designated area for Basildon New Town. The district
1961-539: The golf course for £1m in order to build a 4 star hotel. The Conservative leader described the sale as doomed to failure. The district is connected to London and Southend via two train operators: c2c and Abellio Greater Anglia . The route operated by c2c is the London, Tilbury and Southend line . Three principal stations of the railway line are in the district: Basildon railway station , Laindon railway station and Pitsea railway station The former Great Eastern service (now Abellio Greater Anglia ) operates on
2014-626: The historical parish churches still exist. St Nicholas (13th century and Grade 1 listed) sits proudly over Laindon , from where Basildon can be seen clearly, however St Peter's (13th century Grade II* listed) at Nevendon is hidden behind Sainsbury's and is little known by its residents. St Michael's at Pitsea is said to be 13th century, but was rebuilt in 1870 and now only its Bell Tower remains on Pitsea Mount. The village of Basildon's parish church, Holy Cross (Grade II listed) can still be seen in Church Road, while Vange's 14th-century church All Saints
2067-562: The other large green spaces. Other formal parks include Mopsies Park in Timberlog Lane, and Howards Park in Pitsea. Basildon is also home to Wat Tyler Country Park which opened in 1984; Marks Hill Nature Reserve (opened 1981); Vange Hill ; One Tree Hill Country Park; Langdon Hill Country Parks and the RSPB Nature Reserve at Bowers Marshes. Essex Wildlife Trust run a large reserve at Langdon . Even though Basildon
2120-655: The town are six main roads which link to and from the A13 and A127; all of them include the word 'Mayne' in their names. The town has three stations on the London, Tilbury and Southend line : Pitsea , Basildon and Laindon . All are served by c2c trains running between Fenchurch Street and Southend / Shoeburyness ; trains serving Basildon and Laindon stations run via Upminster . Most bus services are provided by First Essex which connect Basildon to Billericay, Wickford and other nearby towns. Other providers are Stephensons of Essex and NIBS Buses . As part of Basildon's redevelopment Essex County Council had proposed that
2173-640: The town being well connected in the county to the City of London and the Docklands financial and corporate headquarters districts, with a 36–58 minute journey from the three Basildon stations on the c2c to London Fenchurch Street . Basildon also has access to the City via road, on the A127 and A13. The first historical reference to Basildon is in records from 1086. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book as 'Belesduna'. The name 'Basildon' may be derived from
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2226-714: The town – its success was due to the split between the SDP and the Labour Party . "Basildon Man" or "Essex Man" was coined to describe an aspirational working class voter. Boundary changes, which came into force from the 2010 general election, mean that the area is politically represented by two MPs, from the constituencies of Basildon and Billericay and South Basildon and East Thurrock . The current MPs are Richard Holden ( Conservative Party ) and James McMurdock ( Reform UK .) In terms of local politics, Basildon District elects five councillors to Essex County Council. Following
2279-597: Was announced in January 2017 that the college would be closing from September 2017. Essex County Council 's Adult Community Learning service, ACL is based at Ely House, Churchill Avenue, while there are several private providers delivering apprenticeship, traineeship and business training. Basildon has four senior men's football clubs: Bowers & Pitsea F.C. play in the Isthmian League Premier, while Hashtag United F.C. and Basildon United play in
2332-437: Was awarded borough status in 2010, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, with Mo Larkin being appointed the first mayor. Basildon Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Essex County Council . Parts of the borough are also covered by civil parishes , which form a third tier of local government. The council has been under no overall control since
2385-539: Was built in 1971 and was based in North Gunnells. This changed hands several times becoming a Cannon and a Robins cinema before closing in 1999. The building until August 2022 was home to the British Heart Foundation store. Prior to this, a cinema in Pitsea , originally called The Broadway from 1930, before changing its name in 1955 as The Century, operated until its closure in 1966 when it
2438-485: Was considered a barometer of public opinion in general elections . The results of the constituency elections were the same as the overall result of general elections from 1983 to its abolition in 2010. Basildon was said to epitomise the working class conversion to Thatcherism during the 1980s, though the town did not vote Conservative in 1979; nor did the Conservative Party ever hold an absolute majority in
2491-414: Was converted to a Bingo hall. In 2018, planning permission was granted for a new ten screen Empire cinema, along with new restaurants on the site of Freedom House in Basildon town centre, with demolition of the current buildings on site starting in 2019. As of January 2023, the partially completed cinema has not opened. As of July 2024, the cinema was opened under Vue's management. Basildon Central Library
2544-550: Was formed in 1974 and received borough status in 2010, encapsulates a larger area than the town itself; the two neighbouring towns of Billericay and Wickford, as well as rural villages and smaller settlements set among the surrounding countryside, fall within its borders. Basildon Town is one of the most densely populated areas in the county. The parish of Basildon was abolished to create Billericay on 1 January 1937. Some of Basildon's residents work in Central London, due to
2597-501: Was home to the MFI World Matchplay darts championship. A wakeboarding complex also opened in 2012, attracting both professionals and amateurs alike The Arts Centre was the first theatre in Basildon, opening in 1968 in a temporary facility behind the then temporary council offices, on the site of the current Westgate shopping park. This was renamed 'The Towngate Theatre and Arts Centre' in 1976, before being replaced by
2650-553: Was purpose-built for the council in 1989 at a cost of £17.5 million. It was formally opened on 14 November 1989 by Jack Cunningham , the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons . The building also contains the town's library. Since the last boundary changes in 2024, the council has comprised 42 councillors representing 14 wards , with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held in three out of every four years, with
2703-576: Was remodelled in the 19th century and is set back from the London Road and is Grade II listed. Other buildings of note are: the Barge Inn at Vange; the Broadway at Pitsea, with its mock Tudor architecture built by Harold Howard in 1929; Cromwell Manor, formerly Pitsea Hall Grade II listed, by Pitsea railway station that dates from the 15th century; and Great Chalvedon Hall, Grade II listed and now
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#17327721572152756-401: Was renamed Basildon Urban District to reflect the growth of Basildon , which had been designated a new town in 1949. In the 1990’s Basildon applied to become a unitary authority but this was declined, with the government asserting that the divergent interests of the three main towns meant any change to the status quo should involve splitting the borough; with Billericay and Wickford joining
2809-473: Was revealed in 2014 that more people swim in Basildon than anywhere else in the county and that 3.5 million people had visited the centre since it had opened. There are also smaller leisure centres, named The Place and Eversley Centre, located in Pitsea which opened during the 1980s. Basildon golf course is based in the Kingswood district of the town. A 2024 analysis by The Economist found Basildon to be
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