Council leader asks Boris if he backs Basildon

Basildon Council Leader Gavin Callaghan has written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson on his first full day in office to ask, can we count on Boris backing Basildon?

In the letter Councillor Callaghan sets out six areas in which urgent action by Prime Minister Johnson’s new administration can go a long way to making a real difference to the wellbeing of people in Basildon borough:

• providing certainty for local government financing beyond next April
• lifting the threat of a charging zone around the A127
• stopping the permitted conversion of offices to flats without planning approval and equalising Local Housing Allowance levels to better reflect local market rates in London and the Home Counties
• looking seriously at Basildon’s bid for unitary status
• removing the Felmores Approved Premise from the borough
• ensuring towns are not forgotten when it comes to the opportunities that Brexit will bring.

Councillor Callaghan said:

“Basildon is an extraordinary success story for Britain. From the depths of World War II, rose an economic powerhouse in the heart of the Thames estuary. This is a place that Prime Ministers should shout about.

“Seventy years after a Labour Government brought Basildon new town into existence, you could be the Prime Minister to kick start the next chapter of untold success and opportunity.”

Councillor Callaghan finishes his letter with an invite to the Prime Minister to visit Basildon to see for himself the potential the borough has to power growth in our region.

The full text of the letter is available on the council’s website.

Image: Basildon Borough Alliance