A new hotel, shops, food and drink businesses could replace a shopping park site in an Essex town, the council boss has revealed.

Basildon Council is looking into the proposals for the Westgate Shopping Park, off Fodderwick, Basildon, Gavin Callaghan, Labour leader of the council has revealed.

The council purchased the site in the summer for £18.5 million and at the time the council boss said the authority had not owned this amount of land in the town centre since 1947.

It also comes as plans are set to be progressing for 492 new homes at the nearby site of the former Moon on Square pub in Market Square. The council agreed to changes to the proposals and initial works are underway on the development.

Gavin Callaghan revealed the plans on his Facebook page, during a weekly video to update residents. He said there will be announcements in the next few months regarding the development of the Westgate Shopping Park. He also said the plans involve bringing more people into the town.

Speaking on Facebook Live, Gavin Callaghan said: "In the Westgate,  in the next few months we’re going to be able to highlight what is going to going there but we’re looking at a hotel on that site. We’re looking at some new retail units going on that site, as well as perhaps a new food and beverage offer, as well going along that site.

"So that whole corridor door in Basildon Town Centre, the regeneration of that is starting to get off and get underway.

"The idea is we get more shops, more restaurants, more bars, more leisure activities in our town centre, and we start to breathe some new life into it. I’ve been looking at the car park as well I’ve been looking at what we could potentially do to reduce the fees and charges in the car park at the Westgate and to be in control of that and for us as the council to be able to do something about it finally after all these years that’s a really positive thing.”

Mr Callaghan spoke about the town needing a hotel when speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service about the purchase of the shopping park area in the summer. It also comes as the Labour council boss is planning an arena for the town centre and a master plan for the town.