Basildon Conservatives are disappointed that the Planning Inspector has granted the appeal

In response to the announcement of the Planning Inspector's decision following a Public Inquiry in relation to an appeal by Basildon Estates Ltd., Cllr Andrew Baggott, Leader of Basildon Council, has issued the following statement:

"We are naturally very disappointed with the decision of the Planning Inspector, which flies against the public’s aspirations for our Town Centre. As we have stated throughout, the local community have been absolutely clear that they do not want these kinds of developments, towering in the sky at twenty-plus storeys. They do not accord with the public's aspirations and they do not accord with my Administration's aspirations either. The residents elected us to power, and ejected the Labour-led alliance that voted through these monstrosities, and we remain committed to honouring their views."

"It is a big disappointment but we respect the Inspector's decision and now we will need to work to ensure the result is something that can add value to the Town Centre."

"We are naturally very disappointed with the decision of the Planning Inspector, which flies against the public’s aspirations for our Town Centre." ~ Cllr Andrew Baggott, Leader of Basildon Council 

Cllr Davida Ademuyiwa, who was elected in May 2021 and whose ward includes the Town Centre, added: "It is a sad day for Basildon's residents. This was the vision the Labour and Independent Alliance had for our town and this is their legacy. St Martin's residents did not want it. I did not want it. The Conservatives have fought against it. But, unfortunately, the plans Labour and their allies put in place have proved difficult to unpick and we will now be left with it on our doorstep."

It should be stressed that this development was passed under the previous Labour/Independent Alliance that ran Basildon Council between 2019 and 2021 over and above the objections of the then Conservative Opposition and a large number of local residents. The applications were only passed by the then Labour Chairman of the Planning Committee using her casting vote when the vote was tied due to the repeated abstentions or absences of the representative of the Independent Group. We opposed these developments at the time and felt there were strong grounds to fight them at appeal. At the subsequent local elections, the Lab/Ind Alliance lost control of the Council and the Labour Mayor, who represented the Town Centre, lost his own seat to Councillor Ademuyiwa.

"This was the vision the Labour and Independent Alliance had for our town and this is their legacy. St Martin's residents did not want it. I did not want it." ~ Cllr Davida Ademuyiwa (Con, St Martin's)

Although the Inspector upheld the appeal by the developer, it is worth noting that she did not award costs. The appeal cost in the region of £157,000 - nowhere near the £2m figure being quoted by some individuals online. Furthermore, contrary to the misleading claims of the former Labour Leader of the Council, the Section 106 Agreements for infrastructure funding are still valid, so that funding has not been lost by our trying to stop these developments going ahead. It was right that we honour the wishes of local people, who did not want Mr Callaghan's tower blocks.

It angers us that we have had to spend so much taxpayers' money to try to reverse Labour and the Independent's high-rise vision for Basildon but we make no apology for honouring our committing to do everything we could to fight these outrageous schemes on behalf of our residents and in support of their wishes.

We will be reflecting on these recent decisions over the coming days but we remain absolutely committed and will continue to do all in our power to work towards the best possible outcome for the people of Basildon.