AN Essex council has formally withdrawn from a funding agreement through which it was awarded almost £10 million for town centre regeneration projects reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
At a cabinet meeting on December 7, Basildon Borough councillors passed a motion to withdraw from the Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) run by Homes England, central government’s housing and regeneration agency as presented by Councillor Craig Rimmer (Con., Pitsea South East).
The proposal to formally withdraw from the HIF came in light of a number of delays and shortfalls in project delivery since the funding was first allocated in 2019. The pandemic and its nationwide lockdowns, soaring construction costs and inflation as well as the impact of the Russian invasion of the Ukraine on international markets were all named as contributing factors in the failure of the scheme.
Further to this, the former owner of Basildon town centre’s shopping centre, Infrared UK, went into administration in November 2021. Being the largest shareholder of the HIF funding, the risk to the council of attempting to deliver projects according to schedule was judged to be potentially catastrophic.
Instead, the council has filed a request with Homes England for the return of £1.6 million of the authority’s money which has already been invested, allowing for the “continuation of a strong professional relationship” between the administration and agency. In addition, councillors say that having investment costs returned will not jeopardise future funding opportunities with Homes England.
Addressing the cabinet, Cllr Rimmer said: “The council doesn’t like to be in this position, and [formally withdrawing from the HIF] is not a decision it has taken lightly.”
He said that although many of the housing and regeneration projects which had been planned with HIF money were “no longer viable as things stand in the current environment”, the administration’s withdrawal from the scheme should not be counted as “a ‘never’, but as a ‘not now’”.
Council leader Andrew Baggott (Con., Burstead), despite echoing others’ disappointment, said that the administration accepting that it would not be able to deliver the projects it had hoped to was “an honest approach”;
“We have proved to Homes England that we are honest in our dealings and any other dealings we may have going forward.
“I’d like to thank our officers for having the guts to be honest in a professional manner which reflects the nature of this council.”
Councillor Terry Webb (Lab., Lee Chapel North), responding to the statement that the national lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 had an impact on the scheme’s delivery, said: “Covid has become an excuse for a lot of things which haven’t progressed”. He also said that it was “convenient” that the council’s £1.6 million claim would fall within the existing budget gap.
Conversely, Councillor Andrew Schrader (Con., Billericay East) called the council’s course of action a “prudent move”, and that the administration needed to remain a good-faith partner with Homes England heading into the future.
He said: “Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and accept the reality which is right in front of you.
“This is sensible; it’s not by any means desirable, but it’s where we are at the moment.”
What a joke this is all those shops whereMoon on the Square was gone loads of shops gone or empty cinema empty everywhere empty if your going to build flats then get on and build them nothing to go into the town centre now all shops are going
Residents of Basildon want to have a town centre we’re proud of-one that is vibrant and flourishing. We need to attract bigger stores, ones that will encourage people from surrounding areas to come to Basildon .
At the moment there’s very little to attract customers and the town is dirty, soulless and unwelcoming.
If rents are prohibitive then the council should substantially lower them. Surely some rents are better than empty units and no rents.
Most importantly of all the council needs to get its act together and do something positive to regenerate the town and stop it spiralling into decay. I don’t understand why the council have withdrawn from the £10 million regeneration fund and fear this is a bad move for the future of our town.
Basildon council should also thoroughly review their parking policy. Who wants to drive and pay to park for what Basildon offers when Lakeside offers far more, quality retail and free parking. As a resident for over 40 years, it is so sad to see how the town centre has been allowed to deteriorate.