A MULTI-MILLION pound project to revamp Basildon town centre has passed its final hurdle after a land sale agreement became legally binding. South Essex College and the Government’s Home and Communities Agency have finalised the sale of land in Nethermayne to housing developer Redrow. Selling the land to Redrow, who will build 725 homes off Dry Street, will in turn fund a new £30million college campus in the town centre. Basildon Market will relocate to St Martin’s Square to make way for the college. The Dry Street development will take place in three stages, with the first phases seeing 181 homes built near Basildon Hospital. The full development will include a new primary school and health centre and an expansion to St Luke’s Hospice. College deputy principal Anthony McGarel said: “Every day hundreds of students travel from Basildon to our Southend campus. While we welcome them there it is vital that Basildon has its own state-of-the-art campus that inspires young people to succeed.” Phil Turner, Tory leader of Basildon Council, added: “The college will have a state of the art facility right in the heart of a regenerated town centre, and new courses will align it to the skills needed in the local economy. “By working together, we can really make a difference to the chances of young people growing up in the Basildon.” The project had been held up last month when opposition councillors challenged a £1.75million grant from Essex County Council, paid to Basildon Council to make up a funding shortfall in the scheme to relocate the market. County councillors Kerry Smith (Ind) and Mark Ellis (Ukip) had argued the grant breached EU rules on state aid as both the college and Redrow would gain unfairly from the funding. But an Essex County Council scrutiny meeting threw out the objection.
UK housing developer, Redrow, will begin building on Nethermayne, Basildon, after South Essex College and the Home and Communities Agency finalised the land sale. As well as the planned 725 homes, the three-stage development will include a new primary school, health centre and a new £30m college campus in the town centre. The project stalled briefly last month when local councillors challenged a council grant, however, the complaint was thrown out by Essex County Council.