Basildon Council will next week be asked to approve Barratt Homes and Wilson Bowden as development partner for a major town centre regeneration project.

Under plans for the regeneration of Basildon, 1,900 homes, 560,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space and 580,000 sq ft of offices will be built.

The council is being asked to approve BWB Trading, a joint venture between Barratt and Wilson Bowden, for the 25-year project.

Councillor Stephen Horgan, deputy leader of Basildon council, said: “We have recently seen the worst recession that our country has ever seen, but Basildon Town Centre has kept going while many other similar initiatives around the country have collapsed.

“That is an enormous vote of confidence in Basildon, and in Essex as a key location for the economic growth that our community and country needs. In fact, this will be one of the biggest town centre redevelopments in the whole country.

“A key point is that we have brought the procurement to a successful conclusion without compromising financial integrity.

“Elsewhere, some councils have effectively put up their land at nil cost to keep projects going. This is not the case in Basildon, and any disposal of public assets will be at market rates, with mechanisms to share in additional profits if the final sale prices of any buildings are higher than expected.”

The regeneration project also includes an extension of the Towngate Theatre from 546 to 1200 seats, a hotel, improvement to Gloucester Park South and a new pedestrian walkway connecting the town centre with the park.

If approved BWB will have a year in which to submit a master plan for the outline detailed plans for the project.

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