Basildon emerged from the ashes of World War II in 1949, following an impassioned speech from Lewis Silkin, the Minister for Town & Country Planning in 1946. Silkin’s speech expressed a desire to create “a new type of citizen” who would develop through living in the new town “a sense of beauty, culture and civic pride”. The New Town was formed from the smaller surrounding towns of Laindon, Pitsea and Vange. The New Town Movement saw an opportunity to overcome the social inequalities, deprivation and overcrowding that characterised life for working class people in the capital. New Towns would offer access to plentiful green space, jobs and new buildings.

Fast forward to the present day and much has changed from the place town planners in the 1940s envisaged. Like many high streets across the country, Basildon’s vacancy rates are high, made even worse by the departure of national names such as Marks & Spencer, Maplin and Toys R Us. The town centre is not currently an evening and night-time destination, with competing offers at Festival Leisure Park and nearby town centres at Southend and Billericay seen to be more attractive propositions. The borough appears awash with contradictions, being home to the 15 areas in the most affluent 10% of the country, and 12 in the least affluent 10%. It hosts the most jobs in Essex, but also the most young people not in education, employment or training (NEET). There is abundant recreational green space and Olympic-standard sporting facilities, but engagement in organised sport at lower than regional averages. Just as elsewhere, this inequality creates disengagement and erodes community bonds.

To learn more about the context of Basildon you can request the Our Place section of the BasildON Creative People and Places programme by emailing chris@creativebasildon.co.uk