Town rebuild shelved after council fails to attract a developer
Paul Offord Echo, 25 February 2010 link to Echo article

£100m plans to breathe life into town centre have stalled.
A £100MILLION plan to rebuild Wickford town centre has collapsed.
   Talks have broken down between Basildon Council and building consortium Community Solutions for Regeneration.
   The ambitious regeneration plan has been in the pipeline for five years.
   It was hoped the town's swimming pool and library would be revamped, the market moved into the High Street and the town centre made into tree-lined boulevards.
   Yet the council is still confident it can strike a deal with health chiefs for a new health centre in the town.
   David Harrison, from the Wickford Action Group, formed to fight over-development, said: "We've been waiting for the town centre to be redeveloped for five years, but all we've had is hundreds of new flats with none of the infrastructure to support them."

£100m plan to regenerate Wickford now lies in tatters Talks break down with last company interested in scheme

THE £100million rebuilding plan for Wickford town centre is in tatters.
   Basildon Council has pulled out of negotiations with Community Solutions for Regeneration, the last building consortium interested in taking on the scheme.
   This means proposals to revamp the swimming pool and library, build a new health centre, move the market into the High Street, and transform the town centre into a series of tree-lined boulevards and public squares have been postponed indefinitely.
   The plan was first mooted five years ago.
   David Harrison, from the Wickford Action Group which was formed to fight over-development, said: "This is sad news.
   "Wickford really needs to be rebuilt in a coherent way, matching the need for improved transport, shopping, health care, and leisure improvements to any extra housing.
   "We've been waiting for the town centre to be redeveloped for five years, but all we've had is hundreds of new flats with none of the infrastructure to support them."
   Malcolm Buckley, councillor responsible for the environment and a Tory Wickford councillor, admitted it was "disappointing" no deal could be agreed.
   He said: "I still think we were right to try to reach an agreement with suitable developers to take on the scheme.
   "I'm also sure it would have gone ahead if there had not been such a massive fall in property prices.
   "It is disappointing because the negotiations have taken a long time and cost a large sum of money."
   The council paid about £700,000 in legal, administrative, and other fees connected with its search for a Wickford Masterplan developer.
   Mr Buckley says the council has not given up hope and still plans to press ahead with the plans, which could involve bringing in several developers to carry out different parts of the masterplan.
   Mr Buckley said: "Our first priority will be to work closely with south west Essex Primary Care Trust to ensure a new Wickford Health Centre is built as quickly as possible."
   Lynda Gordon, leader of the opposition Labour group, said: "This is very regrettable. It means poor Wickford has been left with all these extra flats and nothing else.
   "I would have thought the people of Wickford will be very angry about this."

Basildon work 'will still go ahead'
FEARS have emerged for the future £1billion rebuild of central Basildon, yet the council is confident it will go according to plan.
   The Government has downgraded redevelopment for Basildon town centre and Gardiners Lane South, Basildon, to "low" priority.
   However, Malcolm Buckley, councillor responsible for the environment, insisted the council was not reliant on the Government cash.
   He still claims private building consortium Barratt Homes and Wilson Bowden is almost ready to sign a contract to rebuild the town centre.
   Once this is finalised, the consortium will cover the cost of rebuilding shops and offices, in exchange for huge sums it expects to earn from selling the thousands of new homes it will construct as part of the deal.
   Mr Buckley said: "There is no need for concern as the Basildon Masterplan will not be delayed."
He added Gardiners Lane South had not been expected to happen in the near future.
   The Government's Housing and Communities agency wants to build thousands of homes on the site.    Detailed plans have still not been published.