HOMELESS families who are stuck in a “miserable existence” in hotel rooms could be moving into new “spacious” council homes by Christmas, according to Basildon’s council leader reports the Local Democracy Reporter.
Basildon Council says progress on its Chapelgate development, off Laindon Link, is “moving quite quickly” and that some homes will be ready before the end of the year.
The council is building 105 new homes on a former car park, 35 for private sale and 70 for council renters. Gavin Callaghan, the council’s Labour leader, says some of the properties could accommodate temporary accommodation and those on the council housing waiting list.
Mr Callaghan said: “These homes are due to be ready halfway through 2026, but the construction is going very well, things are moving quite quickly, and we are hopeful that by the end of 2025, there might be some ready. We are hopeful to get the 70 council properties ready by the end of this year.
“The council properties are one and two-bedroom flats, they’re very spacious, they will have low energy bills, which is a major issue for lots of our residents at the moment, particularly with the cost of living crisis still biting. It’s a great location, central to Basildon close to the town centre, train station, bus station, it’s exactly the kind of development that we want to see coming forward so people are close to jobs, schools and transport links.
“We have a housing crisis in this country. There are 10,000 20 to 34-year-olds living at home with their parents in this borough. They are young people who need a house and to hear me and the council agree to building homes. I am not able to commit to building 4,000 new council homes because we haven’t got the money and headroom to be able to do that, but we can do is maximise every opportunity and every development coming forward.
“People who are currently finding themselves in bed and breakfasts and hostels are going through a miserable existence. These are not the highest quality places, these are people who were in the private rental sector for 10, 20 years, happily paying their rent to their private landlords, never ever presenting at the council, never coming to us with any particular problems.”
Mr Callaghan blamed Liz Truss’s mini budget for rent rises and said the private rental market in Basildon “is dead.”
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