Basildon Council is consulting on the future of Laindon

by
Cllr Jeff Henry, Conservative Councillor for Laindon Park
&
Cllr Andrew Schrader, Basildon Conservatives Spokesman for Economic Development

(Conservative Members of the Laindon Town Centre Working Group) 

We are aware that letters that were scheduled to be distributed to Laindon residents, advising them of the details of a survey commissioned by the Laindon Town Centre Working Group, have been late going out due to the Covid-19 outbreak and have only recently been received by residents.

While we recognise that this delay was unavoidable, it is pity that the letters were not amended and still showed a closing date of 30th April. This has understandably caused a great deal of confusion. The deadline has been extended by six weeks but this is not clear in the letter.

As the Conservative representatives on the Working Group, we supported conducting the survey on the basis that people should always be asked what they want, rather than told. We hope that residents will take the time to let Basildon Council know what their priorities are.

Although the tone and general content of the survey were agreed at the Working Group, the survey that has been distributed does fall quite short of what we had hoped for. We had wanted the Working Group to explore the approach to what is both a busy train station and a terrible walk to the new town centre. We also want to consider the wider Laindon area, both sides of the High Road.

Despite the limitations of the survey, we hope that residents will take this opportunity to engage and give a clear steer to the Council on what they think we should be focusing on. We all want to see pride restored to Laindon and a new town centre that all residents can enjoy.

You can complete the survey online at www.basildon.gov.uk/laindonsurvey.