A RECYCLING centre is set to be turned into a car park and new “pride” teams set up to make Basildon pretty.

Basildon Council has allocated thousands of pounds to improving the area by creating extra parking and cleaner streets.

Some of the £420,000 funding will go towards three “pride teams”.

A spokesman for the council said: “There are currently three pride teams operating until the end of the municipal year, with the additional investment approved enabling all of them to be retained on a permanent basis.

“The teams, which are each made up of two employees, are responsible for improving the appearance of the borough by clearing undergrowth from footpaths, removing dumped litter from wooded areas, deep cleansing untidy areas and enhancing shrub beds.”

Parking at council-owned car parks will also be made free during Christmas and on St George’s Day with the aim of “supporting local businesses” and encouraging use of the High Street.

An extra £100,000 will also be used to match funding from Essex Highways to improve public spaces.

The largest of the investments is likely to be an effort to replace the South Green Recycling Centre to provide additional parking.

However, the council has not provided any information on how much this would cost and failed to answer questions on why they had made this decision or what impact it would have on recycling in the borough.

It did confirm that it wants to “investigate the option of improving the level of parking capacity for visitors to the shops”, which is why the change was being made from something which can help the environment to something with the potential of hindering it.

Councillor Kevin Blake, chairman of the Leisure, Culture and Environment Committee, said: “We hope our investments will build civic pride in communities across the borough.

“It’s a great time to expand on our good work and improve neighbourhoods, making residents proud to call the borough their home.” The free parking will be at council sites.