Elections 2022: Will Basildon town centre regeneration be an issue again?

Voters in Basildon, Essex, will be electing one third of their councillors for their borough council on 6 May, with 14 of the borough's 16 wards up for grabs.

The council is currently controlled by the Conservative Group, which took over from an alliance of Labour and Independent councillors in 2021.

Last year, one of the keenly debated topics was the future of the town centre and proposed high-rise developments, and again it is on the agenda.

The BBC spoke to locals and political parties about their views.

Bud Breadmore maintains some of the empty shops in the town centre and would like to see the council bring some of those back into use.

"In the 80s you could come here, whatever you wanted there was a shop for it, now there are things that people don't really want," he says.

He is worried high-rise accommodation would make the town centre "more like an estate".

"I think the town centre should be for shops," he adds.

Harpreet Bhanot, who runs a fruit and veg stall in the market in the town square, says: "Regeneration will bring more customers to the local businesses that are here but at the same time certain people don't like the change."

He says high-rise development, with retail and accommodation, will be good "in business terms" and could turn Basildon into a "new good upcoming [town] near to London".

But he says those in charge of Basildon Borough Council have "got to take in the views of everyone".

Conservative Andrew Baggott became leader of the council last year when the Tories took control.

The party is against plans for high-rise development and Mr Baggott describes them as "monstrosities that create a ghetto for the future".

He says: "We are all for a lively town centre. We've put a lot of work into encouraging retail and the public are telling us they want an open and airy town centre."

The Conservative Group wants to "create something that is a pleasure to come and enjoy" in the town centre, he says.

Mr Baggott says if the Conservatives remain in control they will work with developers in the town to "make sure that designs are fit for purpose".

Leader of the Labour opposition Jack Ferguson says "the future of Basildon is on the ballot box".

He says the Conservatives have "no definition of regeneration" and he is "still no clearer what the Conservative plan for regeneration of our town centre is".

Labour, he says, wants "a regenerated town centre that provides jobs, that provides a new bus service, provides a new NHS centre, provides a new youth centre, because after five o'clock in the afternoon there is nothing here to see".

On the subject of high-rise building he says he wants "development that provides jobs, homes and activities".

"It's not possible to stop development [so] you need to make it work for Basildon," he adds.

Independent Group leader Kerry Smith says he is "worried about all the battles we've fought" over proposed developments in the town when the group was in an alliance with Labour.

Earlier this year the Conservative administration voted for a second time to pull its local plan.

Mr Smith says: "The local plan is the only line of defence you've got. Speculative developers can submit plans and win on appeal."

He says he would prefer houses to be built but high-rise developments are "for the young people somewhere to live, because we don't have any proper policies to build council properties".

Mr Smith says to increase footfall in the town he would ask for a "big strong police presence, so the town centre belongs to the people not the anti-social elements".

David Harrison, leader of Wickford Independents, says the party's "main interest is Wickford and its regeneration".

But he says the developments planned for Basildon "would benefit from engagement by the council's administration rather than just oppose for the sake of opposing".

Liberal Democrats have been contacted but have yet to respond.

Full details of candidates for the 14 Basildon Borough Council wards where elections are taking place can be found here.

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