Dear Residents,
At the time of posting, we have just heard from the Prime Minister that the UK is to experience restrictions unlike anything we have seen in this country, since the last World War. We wanted to take this opportunity to let you know about plans for a single point of contact community hub for Basildon Borough.
The main reception in the Basildon Centre will be closed from the end of business tomorrow (Tuesday 24th March). This is to help stop the spread of the virus and make sure that the welfare of council staff and residents is protected.
The Barleylands recycling centre will also be closed to align with Essex County Council's decision to close their recycling centres and avoid being overwhelmed with demand. The Crunch service is now paused. This may have an impact on fly-tipping and this is something that will be kept under careful review.
Community Hubs
The Council is taking a far-ranging approach to tackling coronavirus and supporting the borough’s residents through this difficult period, especially those who are most vulnerable.
To achieve this, the Council has set up new, dedicated contact channels for all residents and businesses in the Borough who may require additional support.
This includes two new email addresses:
and we ask residents and businesses respectively to use as their primary contact channels with the Council for all matters in relation to Covid-19.
The Council has also set up a dedicated phone line, which can be accessed by ringing the council on our normal number – 01268 533 333 – and selecting Option 1 immediately.
A Community Hub has been established to support our most vulnerable residents.
This Community Hub will co-ordinate all of the activity across Basildon Borough to make sure the right people get the right help at the right time, working with partners in the public, voluntary and private sectors, along with people who express an interest in being volunteers, to get support to people. This will focus primarily on trying to help people unable to access groceries and other essential supplies (e.g. medication) but helping people who feel socially isolated at this time is also under consideration.
The Council has also established a Business Hub that will work with Basildon’s business community to help them access the various offers of support from Central Government and from the Council itself. The Council is using its extensive networks of contacts to proactively engage with businesses to better understand what support they need.
Residents or businesses who would like to volunteer their time or services to help tackle the Covid-19 challenge should register their interest at the following two pages: for individuals http://bit.ly/ecaformvolunteers and for businesses http://bit.ly/ecaformbusinesses.
Basildon Council will then collate this information and get in touch with those people expressing an interest in helping.
A range of information is available to residents and businesses through the council’s website www.basildon.gov.uk/coronavirus
We also remind everyone to continue to check the UK government’s advice at www.gov.uk/coronavirus.