The Borough of Basildon is a local government district with borough status in Essex, England. It is named after its largest town, Basildon, where the council is based. The borough also includes the towns of Billericay and Wickford, and surrounding rural areas.
The borough borders the City of Chelmsford to the north, the Borough of Brentwood to the west, the Thurrock unitary authority area to the south, the Borough of Castle Point to the south-east, and Rochford District to the north-east.
History Billericay Urban District was created in 1934. In 1955, it was renamed Basildon Urban District to reflect the growth of Basildon, which had been designated a new town in 1949.
Urban districts were abolished on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. On this date, a new non-metropolitan district called Basildon was created, covering the whole area of the former Basildon Urban District plus the small part of the neighbouring Thurrock Urban District which fell within the designated area for Basildon New Town.
In the 1990s, Basildon applied to become a unitary authority but this was declined. The government asserted that the divergent interests of the three main towns meant any change to the status quo should involve splitting the borough; with Billericay and Wickford joining the districts of Brentwood and Rochford respectively.The Local Government Review in England Research Paper 95/84 House of Commons Library https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/RP95-84/RP95-84.pdfThe 1995 Review of 21 Districts in England: Overview Report - Local Government Commission for England
The district was awarded borough status in 2010, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of Mayor, with Mo Larkin being appointed the first.
In March 2026, the government announced that it would abolish the district in 2028 as part of local government reform across Essex. These proposals were withdrawn in September 2026.
Governance
Basildon Borough Council provides district-level services, while County-level services are provided by Essex County Council. Parts of the borough are also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.
Political control The council has been under no overall control since the 2024 election, with Conservatives and Labour the joint largest parties since the 2026 election. The council is run by a minority Conservative administration with support from Reform UK.
The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: (note: type "Basildon" in search box to see specific results)
Party in controlYears 1974–1976 1976–1982 1982–1987 1987–1990 1990–1991 1991–1992 1992–1994 1994–1996 1996–2000 2000–2003 2003–2014 2014–2018 2018–2019 2019–2021 2021–2024 2024–present
Leadership The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Basildon. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1996 have been:
Councillor Party From To John Potter 1996 May 2002 Nigel Smith May 2002 Oct 2002 Malcolm Buckley Nov 2002 21 May 2009 Tony Ball 21 May 2009 May 2014 Phil Turner 12 Jun 2014 25 May 2017 Gavin Callaghan (Minute 255, enclosure 2) 25 May 2017 May 2018 Andrew Baggott 24 May 2018 May 2019 Gavin Callaghan 23 May 2019 May 2021 Andrew Baggott (Minutes 332, Enclosure 2) 27 May 2021 May 2024 Gavin Callaghan 23 May 2024 May 2026 Andy Barnes 21 May 2026
Composition Following the 2026 election, the composition of the council was:
Party Councillors 12 12 11 4 3Total42
The 4 independent councillors sit together as the Independent Group.
Premises The council has its headquarters at the Basildon Centre on St Martin's Square in Basildon Town Centre. The building was purpose-built for the council in 1989, at a cost of £17.5 million. It was formally opened on 14 November 1989 by Jack Cunningham, the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons. The building also contains the town's library.
Elections
Since the last boundary changes in 2024, the council has comprised 42 councillors representing 14 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held in three out of every four years, with a third of the council (one councillor for each ward) elected each time for a four-year term of office.
Essex County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no borough council elections.
Towns and parishes
There are nine civil parishes in the borough. The town of Basildon itself is an unparished area, as is a small area west of Wickford. The parish councils for Billericay and Wickford are styled "town councils", whilst that for Great Burstead and South Green is styled a "village council". The civil parishes are:
Billericay Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet Great Burstead and South Green Little Burstead Noak Bridge Ramsden Bellhouse Ramsden Crays Shotgate Wickford
Geography
The district has three main urban areas: Basildon, Billericay and Wickford. Proposals to move Billericay and Wickford to other districts, leaving Basildon district more focused on the new town, were considered in the 1990s, but were rejected.LGCE.Final Recommendations on the Future Local Government of: Basildon & Thurrock; Blackburn & Blackpool; Broxtowe, Gedling & Rushcliffe; Dartford & Gravesham; Gillingham & Rochester Upon Medway; Exeter; Gloucester; Halton & Warrington; Huntingdonshire & Peterborough; Northampton; Norwich; Spelthorne; and the Wrekin. December 1995.
The new town of Basildon grew to absorb four earlier settlements: Laindon, Basildon, Vange and Pitsea (from west to east) which have merged with other minor hamlets.
The remaining land, approximately half of the district is designated as green belt, has several sites of special scientific interest: two are around Billericay and the remainder are to the south of Basildon New Town. There are also wildlife areas of varying sizes around most of the district, except in the east.
The source of the River Crouch is in the district; it runs across the district, through Wickford before it leaves the district.
In the west of the Basildon district, the Dunton Plotlands is an area of small plots of land used as weekend cottages or smallholdings inhabited during the mid-20th century.
List of settlements It contains the towns of:
Basildon (the administrative headquarters) Laindon Langdon Hills Pitsea Vange Billericay Wickford.
Villages within the district are:
Bowers Gifford Crays Hill Dunton Wayletts Great Berry Great Burstead Havering's Grove (part) Little Burstead Nevendon North Benfleet Ramsden Bellhouse Shotgate.
Regeneration plans Basildon District is a prosperous business location and has in recent years seen significant inward investment and jobs growth. Development projects with an estimated combined value of nearly £2 billion have been proposed, including:
The regeneration of Basildon, Wickford, Pitsea and Laindon town centres A new sporting village and improvements to playing pitches and sports facilities throughout the district, including an Olympic (50m) size swimming pool The creation of a health and education research centre, near Basildon and Thurrock University Hospital and further education college Investment in the Basildon Enterprise Corridor, the largest business area in the Thames Gateway outside London. It is home to 45,000 jobs and over 5,000 businesses, including Ford, Selex, Visteon, Case New Holland, First Data Europe, International Financial Services Limited, RBS and Starbucks The creation of one of the largest wetland nature reserves in Europe in the Thames Marshes by the RSPB, Land Restoration Trust, Basildon District Council and Veolia A strategic review of the district's housing, with investment in housing estates such as Craylands, Five Links and Felmores to create first class places to live.
Co-ordinating and promoting this programme of investment is the Basildon Renaissance Partnership, which was set up in 2003 by Basildon District Council. Its partners also include the East of England Development Agency, English Partnerships, Essex County Council and the Thames Gateway South Essex Partnership, with support from the Department for Communities and Local Government.
It was reported that the council had decided to sell a plot of land it bought for £1 million for £1 in order to build a four-star hotel. The Conservative leader described the sale as "doomed to failure".
Transport Railway The district is connected to London and Southend via two railway lines: London, Tilbury & Southend line - c2c operates services on this line from , and Shenfield to Southend Line - Greater Anglia provides services from and ; the Crouch Valley Line to diverges from the Shenfield to Southend line at Wickford.
Buses The area is served primarily by First Essex, along with NIBS Buses and Ensignbus; they operate routes throughout the borough, to Brentwood, Chelmsford, Southend, Grays, Lakeside shopping centre and Upminster.
Roads Four primary routes run within the district: A13 - goes through the south-east at Pitsea A127 - passes through its centre A129 - the major road link between Billericay and Wickford, which are linked via A-roads to the urban area of Basildon, Pitsea and Laindon by the A176 and the A132 respectively A130 - connects the district with Chelmsford.
The A13 and A127 both connect the district with Greater London and Southend-on-Sea. In Bowers Gifford, at a terminus of the A13's primary status, there is a junction with the beginning of primary status for the A130, which runs along a small section of the western boundary of the district.
Freedom of the borough The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Basildon.
Individuals Max Whitlock: February 2016 Stuart Bingham: February 2016 Trudi Westmore-Cox: September 2019 Donald Sheppard: September 2019.
Military units The Royal Anglian Regiment: April 2011.
Organisations and groups Basildon & Brentwood Clinical Commissioning Group: 27 May 2021 Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust: 27 May 2021 North East London NHS Foundation Trust: 27 May 2021 Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust: 27 May 2021 East of England Ambulance Service NHS trust: 23 October 2021.
References
External links Basildon District website Basildon Renaissance Partnership Basildon Heritage Basildon Borough History