Tenants' joy as new homes ready before Christmas

23 December 2025

Simon DedmanEssex political reporter in Basildon

News image — Tia has moved into her new council flat in Basildon with her baby Avianna

Simon Dedman/BBC A mother with short cut hair and glasses wearing a white hoodie smiling holding her baby in a red christmas jumper. both are looking at the camera and the mother is smiling. they are in living room of a new flat. — Tia has moved into her new council flat in Basildon with her baby Avianna

Tenants at a block of 35 new council flats said they were delighted to have been able to move in before Christmas, with one calling it a lifesaver.

Chapelgate was built in 15 months on a derelict carpark in Basildon town centre, Essex, supported by £7m from the government.

Basildon Council, which has 3,800 people on its housing waiting list, said 200 new homes had been completed in the last 18 months, and its Labour leader vowed to "build more and build more quickly".

Opposition parties have criticised the number of homes being proposed for the borough but the Conservative group leader supports the building of new council properties.

Simon Dedman/BBC A modern block of flats of 5 storeys with some balconies. — One of two new blocks of flats in Basildon providing 70 new council homes

Tia, a 29-year-old disabled mother who has had brain surgery, has just moved into an accessible home at Chapelgate with her baby, having previously lived in a third-floor flat.

"This flat is a lifesaver for me," she said. "It's changed mine and my daughter's life.

"Everything is really suitable for us. She has her own bedroom."

A few doors down, Rachel is unpacking boxes. She and her family had been on the housing waiting list for a year.

"It's brilliant. We need the housing. There are children growing up, young people who need to live on their own," she said.

A woman in her late thirties with long light blonde hair wearing a white top and looking at the camera. Behind her are som bags and boxes up on a shelving unit. — Rachel Walker waited a year for a council flat and says there was a need for more homes in Basildon

Labour Leader Gavin Callaghan said the council had developed a local plan for 27,000 new homes across the borough over 20 years.

"By the end of this administration, we should have fully funded 1,500 new council homes this decade," he said.

"As well as the housing waiting list, I've got 10,000 20-to-34 year-olds living with mum and dad who are also desperate to get on the property ladder."

BBC research suggests Basildon has more newly completed and planned council homes of any borough in Essex.

A man in his mid 30s with a light beard looking at the camera wearing a black coat. — Basildon Council leader Gavin Callaghan said there were plans for 1,500 new council homes in total

Opposition politicians have expressed concerns about the overall number of new homes planned but Conservative group leader Andy Barnes said he supported the building of new council homes.

"I support that, broadly speaking, as long as they are sustainable and go to residents who have been on the waiting list for an extended period of time," he said.

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