26 Jul Basildon town centre revival plan boost after committee agrees to borrow £100m
The leader of Basildon Council has called a £100m boost to its investment fund a “signal of intent” to private developers.
At a meeting last night (Thursday 25 July) the Policy and Resources Committee, chaired by Basildon Council leader Gavin Callaghan, agreed to increase the fund to enable the commercial and strategic acquisition strategy to be more proactive and move faster on development opportunities.
Cllr Callaghan said: “This is an incredibly exciting time for Basildon town centre. This council is committed to regeneration on a scale we haven’t seen in Basildon for 70 years. We know that Basildon can be better and we are taking proactive steps to help get the ball rolling on regeneration.
“By putting £100 million on the table for investors to see, we are signalling our clear intent. Basildon Council means business when it comes to regeneration. Our goal now will be to ensure Full Council approves the funding at an Extraordinary Council meeting on Thursday 8 August so we can get on with taking back control of sites in the town centre.
“I’m more confident than I have ever been that Basildon town centre is set to change for the better. There is plenty of hard yards left to tread but this decision means that within the first three months of this administration we will have commissioned a new masterplan and invested significant money into the project to ensure that Basildon town centre regeneration finally gets going.”
The committee also agreed to approve the appointment of an investment advisor to work alongside the commercial and strategic acquisition strategy.
