A MUSIC and entertainment arena, a state-of-the-art movie multiplex, 4,000 new homes and plenty more bars and restaurants are in the pipeline as part of a huge £1bn regeneration scheme.

The bold, new chapter is beckoning for Basildon thanks to the huge town centre masterplan.

Covid-19 may have stopped the world in its tracks, but there is great optimism as council bosses maintain momentum on the transformation of the town centre.

With so many new buildings destined for Basildon over the coming years as a result of the ambitious regeneration project, it’s positive to know a whole lot more could be created in the process too.

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“It’s not just about bricks and mortar, shop units, colleges and cinemas,” said Basildon Council leader, Gavin Callaghan.

“Basildon’s future is as much about its cultural growth as its economic and physical transformation.

“From what it is at the moment – overwhelmingly a shopping centre – we are shaping Basildon town centre into a home for thousands of people, an attractive destination for people region-wide seeking leisure and entertainment and a creative and dynamic place to work and do businesses.

“Our vision sees the birth of a night-time economy in the heart of the town and creation of more than 4,000 new homes, a 5000-seater arena that will be home to music, arts, sports and e-sports entertainment.”

Coronavirus has put the brakes on most construction work across the nation, but behind the scenes work is still taking place to keep the regeneration timetable on track.

Mr Callaghan added: “When the coronavirus crisis is over, the job of putting Basildon back together will begin and the job of transforming Basildon town centre will be more important than ever.

“This will be the start of the next chapter of the Basildon story, building on successes and recognising and responding to changes in technology, the environment, economy and demography.

“Even through this crisis we are continuing to work in the background to put things into place so we can quickly move forward with the transformation of the town centre.

“The recent purchase of another key building, Robins House, in Basildon demonstrates this.”

It’s easy to forget that Basildon is still relatively in its youth.

Built only 70 years, it was part of several “new towns” to provide homes to those displaced by the war or living in over-crowded cities.

“Basildon has grown exponentially since its birth as a New Town into the biggest economy in the Thames Gateway outside of Canary Wharf,” added Mr Callaghan.

He added: “It’s home to a working population of more than 114,000 with 8,700 businesses contributing £3.9billion to the Essex economy and is home to global names like Ford UK, CNH Agricultural and Leonardo.

“In 2017, Costa Coffee opened Europe’s largest coffee roastery in Basildon.

“We have to look to the future and build a town that works for everyone.

“We have unrivalled accessibility, by road, rail and air and are the central hub within the South Essex corridor of commercial activity.

“The transformation is already evident with work underway on a £30m leisure development in the heart of the town centre consisting of a ten-screen cinema, which will be operated by Empire Cinemas and house the largest screen in the South East outside London.

This will be accompanied by restaurants and package of other improvements.

Mr Callaghan, the town’s Labour leader, added: “A state-of-theart digital technology college is also springing up at the other end of the town on the site of the old market bringing further footfall and vibrancy to the town. “

He concluded: “Together with the new cinema development, plans for up to 4,000 town centre homes and 51 hectares of additional employment development, Basildon is on track to deliver a thriving town centre that can support a night-time economy.”

'A little bit of Tinsel Town right here in Basildon'

IT’S been exactly a decade since Basildon went a little bit Tinsel Town and our now famous white Hollywood-style sign went up.

The landmark, which graces the A127 Noak Bridge turn-off, cost £90,000 to make and was finished being installed by the first week of April, 2010. There it has stood for the past ten years, weathering snow, storms heatwaves and the odd prankster attack or two.

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It has largely been seen as a positive part of the furniture in Basildon but in the beginning, the sign received its fair share of ridicule in its comparisons to the iconic ‘Hollywood’ sign.

Yet it certainly helped to put the town on the map and continues to do so.

Within days it had its own Wikipedia entry and newspapers and TV stations from as far away as Perth in Australia covered the story.

Even celebrity fans came fawning. Dapper designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen praised the Basildon sign when he came to town in to film an episode for his ITV series House Gift calling it (perhaps tongue in cheek) “shiny, sexy and elegant”.

Basildon-born TV presenter Denise Van Outen also poured out her love for her hometown after hearing the new Hollywood-style sign had gone up saying: “I’d take Basildon over Hollywood any day.

“Sure, the weather in Los Angeles is better, but you can’t beat the people in Basildon.”

In the early days there was some concern over the cost of the sign, with some labelling it a waste of taxpayer money, but in fact the bulk of the cost was paid for by a grant from the Homes and Communities Agency.

The sign was part of a bigger £400,000 plan to flag up the location of the town to passing traffic on the A127 and to highlight the growing industrial areas of Basildon.

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Stephen Horgan, leader of Basildon Council at the time, welcomed the international media attention the sign attracted, saying: “It must be fairly rare for an English council putting up a sign gets worldwide publicity, but we seem to have managed it.

“It has garnered a great deal of interest in the media, as far away as Australia.

“ I think the sign looks good and it does its primary job. There’s no way you can speed down the A127 now and not notice when you get to Basildon district.”

The sign could well have said “made in Basildon”. It was manufactured just a few hundred yards from its permanent home at Ace Sign Group based in Bentalls.

Made from rolled stainless steel, the imposing letters were designed and hand crafted. It was all about the bespoke manufacturing.

Andy Wightman, Ace’s product development manager admitted: “This is not the sort of item you keep in stock or just pick off the shelf.”

Each one of the letters were constructed from 3mm-thick steel.

Laser cutters were used to slice the steel, but the highly-skilled process of rolling it into shape was done by hand.

Andy was responsible for the shape of the letters.

He even spent hours polishing the sign.

Naturally the sign has attracted a few jokers - in 2011 a prankster from Southend added the word “smells” beneath the sign to cheer up motorists.

There have been lovely gestures too. A giant poppy placed on the side by a resident one Remembrance Sunday, the ‘70’ addition in 2019 to celebrate Basildon’s birthday and of course lately we’ve seen the sign lit up in blue to honour the NHS.

So with so much in the pipeline for Basildon’s future does the sign still have its place as the gatekeeper to our town? Yes says leader of Basildon Council, Gavin Callaghan: “I think it has become much loved and iconic and my administration has adopted it as a symbol to celebrate, commemorate and bring the community together,” he said.

Town will be 'unrecognisable'

BASILDON’S town centre masterplan will leave the area unrecognisable once complete.

But what are the highlights of the plan and what do we have to look forward to?

  • A new £25m ten-screen Empire Cinema multiplex will be built in East Square, part of the first building phase of the masterplan. The leisure hub will also feature bars and six new restaurants. Contractors McLaren Construction are currently working on the project, after former contractor Simons Group collapsed into administration in October last year. The cinema was due to open in 2021 year but obviously the coronavirus has hampered work, so delays look inevitable
  • A 5,000-seater events arena and an £8.4million youth centre in Basildon town centre. Early designs show the arena situated next to the council offices. The arena will be a venue for music concerts as well as a sports venue and conference centre. 
  • About 4,000 homes built in the town centre.
  • Robins House - which once housed the old Robins Cinema, an American diner and dropzone trampoline venue being transformed. The council bought the cinemas for £2.75million as part of a town centre transformation plan. It also includes a store which is currently used by the British Heart Foundation. Robins House, on North Gunnells, also features a ten-storey office block. The Robins Cinema closed in December 1999 after struggling to compete with the new UCI multiplex - which is now Cineworld - at Festival Leisure Park.
  • Acorn House in Great Oaks Basildon will be converted into 94 apartments. These will consist of mainly of one bedroom, with some two-bedrooms.
  • A new £30 million state-ofthe-art college campus specialising on digital technology, built on the site of the old Basildon Market.
  • A huge overhaul of the bus station and railway station to boost connectivity