For the last 19 years, Basildon Council has made very little progress on its obligation of creating a Local Plan. A Local Plan sets out a plan for the future of development and land use in the borough and provides guidelines for new
projects.
Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities wrote to leader of the Council
Andrew Baggott, saying “Your Council’s persistent failure to adopt a plan has left your communities vulnerable to
speculative development and has risked not delivering the economic growth and infrastructure they need.”
He went on suggest that if the Council does not complete a plan in a timely fashion, he and his office may use his
powers to intervene and do it on our behalf.
Local Green campaigner Eugene McCarthy is vocal about the need to have a Local Plan led by local people. He
says the failure to engage local people means that councillors of different stripes are putting their own wishes over
what communities actually want to see, meaning every time a new administration comes in they flip flop on the
Plan, kicking the can down the road.
He says, “Residents are fed up. Our town centre is dead. People who’ve lived here their whole lives are being priced
out. And the council seems to be more concerned with political stunts like the £25 million empty cinema than
delivering any real solution.”
“I like to think that councillors do actually want to represent their communities. For whatever reason they aren’t. We
want to show in crystal clear terms what their voters want to see and bring the evidence to back it up.”
