BULLDOZERS will move in and demolition underway within weeks at a former Wetherspoon pub set to become almost 500 new flats.

Plans were given the green light at appeal back in December 2021 for a number of buildings in Basildon town centre to be demolished but no work has taken place since.

However, developer Orwell Limited has now revealed the demolition work will begin in December and construction on the 492 new homes will begin in spring next year.

If the project goes to plan, it is hoped the development will be completed and the first residents will move in in summer 2027.

The plans for Market Square, where the Moon on the Square pub stood before it closed, were initially rejected by the the previous Conservative administration at Basildon Council before being approved on appeal.

How the flats could lookArtist's impression - How the flats could look (Image: Orwell Limited)The current Labour-led administration is backing the plan and is confident it will benefit their town centre masterplan, aimed at creating thousands of new homes to boost footfall and help businesses thrive in the town centre.

Fryerns Labour councillor and deputy leader Adele Brown said “We all know that the town centre needs regenerating and it’s been a long time coming. This is just a first step in that larger regeneration project, and it fits into the future town centre masterplan.

“At the end of the day people need homes and our town centre needs footfall.

“It’s part of a wider picture and wider ambition. No one can look at that town centre and say that the best it can be.”

The update comes after Basildon Council agreed on varied plans for the development at a meeting last week.

Updates to the plans include an increase of 25 one-bedroom flats, a decrease of 25 two-bedroom flats, one additional stairwell per block, changes to open hours of commercial units and other alterations.

Speaking at the meeting, a council officer said: “The changes proposed would ensure fire and building regulations are met and would generally represent a high-quality new development in the centre of Basildon.

“As the application site is in one of the early stages of the town centre redevelopment the proposal would help to improve investor and land owner confidence in the town centre as one of the first schemes to come forward in the town centre, helping to accelerate the delivery of important housing”.