Basildon town centre 'Silicon Valley' transformation set to start

Basildon’s abandoned Robins Cinema, the former British Heart Foundation shop and the American Diner at the Great Oaks site will be taken over by a council appointed supplier in June, with work set to begin on transforming the three spaces immediately.

The council hopes the spaces will be used by the film, tech and gaming industries, building on the success of the Underwater Studios in Basildon as a corridor for residents and students to access connections and resources from major businesses.

Basildon Tory cabinet member for economic stimulus and tourism, Craig Rimmer, said: “We want the next Steve Jobs to come from Basildon, this is Silicon Valley, and we are giving the future entrepreneurs a workspace.

“The film industry and the gaming industry have been cited as interests and there will be a link up with the colleges, who would be going into these spaces to allow students to develop their ideas.

“I think this will feed into the revitalisation of the town centre, this will increase employment and people want to shop, eat, and stay in Basildon and depending on the success of these plans, we could see new businesses created.

“This plan is to make a space to incubate their creative ideas, it will provide the workspaces.”

Mr Rimmer added that the council now has a timetable for these plans and will appoint the supplier in June, with hopes to get the three buildings ready for 2025 and 2026.

He said: “We have had a wide field of people interested in this issue and we want to ensure we get a long-term deal.

“We have put the tender out for a second attempt at bidding as companies may have been looking at similar ventures across the country.

“Arts Council England are providing more than £4million in funding, there have been other organisations involved, but that is under wraps due to commercial sensitivity.”

Companies have until March 22 to apply for the contract to get started on the project.