'High rise blocks built in major overhaul will dwarf our Basildon'

Callaghan’s style of architecture – and designs of those wishing to please him – was impressive and in Basildon’s case it was meant to steer the town away from what was considered the decadent architecture of the 1950s and 1960s.

What the regeneration people regarded as town planning was something done by fiat and not by consent; the rebuilt towns were like Callaghan’s conception of the new modernism – “Basildonia” – to be constructed in a ‘blocking-in’ pattern.

St Martins of Tours church will be dwarfed by these massive, ugly buildings – known as high-rise flats, to dominate the whole of the build landscape, with a little bit of greenery thrown in for good measure.

A huge labour of time, money and materials is about to be poured into this Basildon utopia.

This bizarre experience which may last 30 years or more, is doomed to failure in my view because the people in this small part of South Essex are not ready for such drastic change. Many of them – in particular the old East-End contingent, would have preferred Basildon town centre to have been rebuild rather than by Blitzkrieg.

Only time will tell whether I am right.

VIN HARROP

Rosslyn Road, Billericay

READ MORE

• Basildon: how town will change in transformation
• ‘How are Basildon people going to benefit from this?’

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