TRANSFORMING Northlands Park into a Christmas wonderland with the help of a £10,000 investment will “bring pride back to Pitsea”, a councillor says.

Basildon Council’s Pitsea area committee will consider agreeing the cash next week which would fund community projects including Christmas events as well as waste collections for bulky items.

As part of the plans, carols, new food vendors and a permanent Christmas tree could aid festive celebrations in Northlands Park.

Pitsea North West councillor, Pat Reid, said: “We think this is something the whole community can get engaged with, the tree will be in the park from December to the end of Christmas and we hope that if this gets through the council, we can get decorations in Northlands Park that everyone can enjoy and appreciate.

“Things have been quite bad since Covid and this is a way to make people feel good again about where they live and Pitsea is an area that is fairly deprived, this does justice to the area and will put pride in people.”

Investment would include £3,000 for carols in the parks events and the purchase of the Christmas tree as well as £4,000 for a specific festive celebration event in the park on Monday, December 9. The tree would be professionally lit and provide space for residents to attach messages and wishes for the festive season. Planting pre-Christmas 2024 will allow the time for the tree to become mature and established for future events.

“If this all goes through, it will be a boost for Pitsea over the Christmas period,” Ms Reid added.

“The council is trying to improve the place and hopefully that instils in others a desire to do their best. We must keep Pitsea looking nice and bring pride back to the estates and back to Basildon.”

If agreed, the plans would also see a £1,500 investment for the delivery of the crunch service bulky waste collection in Pitsea as well as £1,500 allocated to the Pitsea school uniform bank to help parents struggling to afford new uniforms. The crunch acts as a household waste recycling centre for residents in the area it “pops up” in to dispose of household waste and recycling materials for tose who can’t get to the tip.

The plan will be discussed at the area committee meeting next Thursday.