17th March

H.R.H. Prince Edward visited the Case New Holland tractor plant at Cranes Farm Road, Basildon.

April

The Barge public house at High Road, Vange closes for business. A public house or beer house is thought to have existed here from at least 1840 being known for many years as the Old Barge Inn. The present building is believed to date from the mid 1800s. In 2019 after standing empty since closure it was purchased by the South Essex Islamic Trust who converted the building into the South Essex Islamic Community Centre, which opened in 2022.

4th May

Basildon sportsman Stuart Bingham wins the World Snooker Championship. Basildon born Bingham, 38, from Vange, defeated former 2005 winner Shaun Murphy 18-15 in the best of 35 frames at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England. He reached the final after beating Judd Trump in the deciding frame of their semi-final match 17-16, having already seen off tournament favourite and 5 times world champion Ronnie "The Rocket" O'Sullivan 13-9 in the quarter-final. He finished the tournament ranked second in the world rankings having started it ranked tenth. The following year, along with fellow Basildon gymnast Max Whitlock, saw them both became the first individuals to be awarded the Freedom of the Borough.

7th May

Stephen Metcalfe (Conservative) (19,788), re-elected as the member of parliament for the Basildon South and Thurrock East constituency. He retained the seat with a majority of 7,691, up 1,919 on the 2010 result.

7th May

John Baron (22,668) is re-elected Conservative MP to serve the Basildon and Billericay parliamentary seat. He won the seat with an overwhelming 12,482 majority over his closest rival Ian Luder of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip). The results, and that of the local council elections held the same day, were declared the following day at Basildon Sporting Village, the first such occasion that this venue had been used for an election count. The Conservatives win the general election.

8th May

Swan Housing Group acquire the site of the Laindon Shopping Centre. The centre, which had been partly demolished in 2008, was purchased from former owners Colonnade operating as Laindon Regeneration LLP, who were then in Administration. It had become severely run-down and in a poor state of repair following years of false starts and broken promises from a succession of former owners intent on redeveloping the area. Swan Housing, who already had a strong presence in the town as a social landlord following their creation as Basildon Community Housing Association (BCHA) in 1991, then prepared plans for its complete demolition, including the health centre, in a housing/shops regeneration scheme called Laindon Place. 2019 saw the completion of demolition work alongside ongoing construction of the new buildings which are planned to be completed in phases from 2022 to 2024.

28th May

Don Morris is appointed as the 2nd Mayor of Basildon. The conservative councillor for the Wickford Castledon Ward replaces Mo Larkin who stood down earlier in the year after holding the position since 2010 when the district became a borough. Deputy Mayor is Danny Lawrence, councillor for the Nethermayne Ward who succeeds Nigel De Lecq Le Gresley.

June

Waymade Healthcare pharmaceuticals factory in Miles Gray Road, Pipps Hill, Basildon shuts down production. The company, founded by Kenyan brothers Vijay and Bhikhu Patel, began in 1984 and employed over 200 workers at the Sovereign House factory. Much of the company had recently been sold to B&S Group and it is expected that some of the workforce will transfer to the company's other plants at Ruislip and Perivale in north west London. The site at Miles Gray Road, which dates from the 1960s, had previously been a munitions factory.

1st September

Kingswood Primary School and Nursery in Clay Hill Road, Basildon opened. The new school, which serves the Kingswood area of Basildon, was formed from an amalgamation of Kingswood Infant School and Nursery and its respective junior school. Luke Bulpett is appointed as Head Teacher.

1st September

Maple Grove Primary School in High Road, Pitsea opened. The new primary school was created following an amalgamation of Pitsea Junior and Len Wastell Infants, both of which were located on the site of the present school. Sasha Furze is appointed as Head Teacher.

1st September

Northlands Primary School and Nursery at Winifred Road, Pitsea opened. The new primary school was created following an amalgamation of Northlands Junior School and Northlands Infant School and Nursery. Jane Young is appointed as Head Teacher.

4th September

Basildon Bowl and Quasar Centre closes. The 20 lane tenpin bowling centre at 3-4 High Pavement, Basildon closed suddenly following a dispute over rent with the final public bowling session being the previous day. Opened in the 1990s in a former bingo hall, it was the town centre's second bowling alley, the first having closed in the 1980s, with the added additions of a Quasar Centre, pool tables, cafe and a gaming arcade.

20th September

Longwood Equestrian Centre at Dry Street, Langdon Hills closes. The riding school, stables and associated land, which first opened in 1974, was leased from the Government controlled Homes and Community Agency who sold it to property developers Redrow for their Westley Green luxury housing development. The development is part of a larger 700+ home scheme controversially approved by Basildon Council that involves the relocation of Basildon College to a town centre site currently occupied by Basildon Market. The equestrian centre later reopened at a new location at Whites Farm off Barleylands Road having been renamed to Barleylands Equestrian Centre. Former Mayor Mo Larkin performed the ribbon cutting ceremony there on 16th September, 2016.

27th November

New shopping centre at The Triangle in Langdon Hills officially opened. The council owned complex, built at a cost of £2.1 million, consists of six shop units with upper flats accommodation known as Lincewood Court. The new centre replaced the original buildings first erected in 1976 and completely gutted following a fire on 03/01/2013. Mayor of Basildon Don Morris and constituency MP Stephen Metcalfe performed the opening duties.

Basildon Jobcentre Plus moves into the Basildon Centre in St. Martin's Square. Jobcentre staff and around 150 staff from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) formerly based at Regent House in The Gore, moved into the Council's office building where the ground floor is being transformed into a Community Hub. The former H.M.S.O. (Her Majesty's Stationery Office) building had been home to the Jobcentre since the 1980s but is being cleared ready for conversion to 98 residential flats. The DWP made their move on November 7th.

Tenants in the converted Trafford House office block in Cherrydown East, Basildon begin moving in. The eight storey E shaped building, built as Station House in the 1970s, had stood empty since 2010 after former occupants Ford had completed vacating their European Truck Division to Dunton. It was bought by real estate company and property developer Colonnade MMH (Trafford House) Ltd. who successfully applied for planning permission for the conversion to flats but then declined to act, instead marketing the building which was bought for around £15 million in July 2014 by Criterion Capital Ltd. from the same developer, now known as RMD Trafford House 2000 Ltd. A revised application for 384 one and two bedroomed flats with parking provision gained approval in November 2014. Work began in February 2015 following the removal of a large group of squatters. Lettings are being handled by estate agents Balgores Property Group, where rents are said to be around £850 per calendar month for a one bedroomed flat and £1,000 for a two bedroomed flat.

February/March

The Bull Inn public house in London Road, Pitsea is demolished. An inn had stood on the site from at least the 18th century with the present building dating from 1889. A name change to the Prohibition occurred sometime during the 1980s until around the late 1990s when the public house reverted back to its original name. Although located within the Green Belt a new residential development called Bull Mews was given planning permission and properties erected soon after.

12th April

Basildon sportsman Stuart Bingham and Max Whitlock awarded the Freedom of the Borough. The two sportsman were nominated for the honour by councillor Danny Lawrence at an extraordinary meeting held on the 11th February in recognition of their outstanding sporting achievements. Locally born Bingham, 39, from Vange, was the current world snooker champion having won the title in May 2015 and Whitlock, 23, from Hemel Hempstead, is a gymnast and 2012 Olympic Games bronze medal winner and member of South Essex Gymnastics Club, who train at Basildon Sporting Village. The pair become the first individual recipients since the Council became a Borough in 2010, and only the second such occasion in the boroughs short history. The first being being in 2011 when the Royal Anglian Regiment were honoured. Basildon Mayor Don Morris presented the sportsman with commemorative scrolls at a special ceremony held at the Basildon Centre. Also in attendance were the Deputy Mayor Cllr Danny Lawrence, former Mayor Mo Larkin, Leader of the Council Cllr Phil Turner and former Leader of the Council Tony Ball.

7th May

Roadhouse The Diner open at the former Oasis public house in North Gunnels, Basildon. The american themed diner, which until 01/05/2017 had been located on the southbound carriageway side of the A127 Arterial Road at Hovefields service station, moved into the former public house which had stood empty since around 2000. The premises required extensive renovation having last been occupied at least 16 years earlier following its closure as the Oasis public house. The single storey building was first opened in 1971 as the Painted Wagon as part of the ABC cinema complex, later becoming the Jolly Wagonner and finally Oasis through to closure around 2000. Roadhouse diner survived to July 2017 citing high rents and business rates as the main cause of closure.

26th May

David Harrison is appointed as the 3rd Mayor of Basildon. The former Labour, Liberal, Ukip and now Wickford Independence Party Councillor representing Wickford Park Ward beat the Conservative nominee Stephen Hillier. He replaces Don Morris who held the position for the previous municipal year. Deputy Mayor is Stephen Ward, Ukip Councillor for Pitsea-South-East Ward, who replaces Danny Lawrence.

11th June

St. Nicholas Mews, Lee Chapel North "Show Home" officially opened. The detached 4 bedroomed show home, built in the Shaftesbury style, will form part of developer Redrow's Heritage Collection of homes that includes other names like The York, The Ludlow, The Oxford, The Cambridge, The Stratford and The Harrogate. The 110 home estate, of which 25 are to be taken on by Basildon Council's new housing management company Sempra Homes as affordable housing, is being built by property developer Redrow Homes (Eastern) Limited, who purchased the land from Basildon Council for £7.5 million. The council sold the land with planning permission for future housing to Redrow in 2014, with the money going towards the cost of the Sporting Village, opened in April 2011. The 15.5 acre site off Ballards Walk had a long history as 'open land' having never been developed during Basildon Development Corporation's house building programme (1949 - 1986), or by subsequent owners. The decision to sell 60% of this, following a conservative led council vote in favour in 2013, attracted much controversy as it was popular with dog walkers, had children's park equipment, benches and a recreation field with a goal, as well as areas of dense natural woodland that was home to squirrels. Work on the estate began on 28th October 2015 with the felling of trees, the site having been fenced off since June 8th, though this was breached by a group of travellers who left in August. The street names will be Sellars Way, Mundells Drive and Finches Chase, the first two relating to local farms at Dunton Road and Wash Road. The new estate has proved very popular with 15 sales already achieved, including 10 at a special launch held on March 19th. House prices for the three and four bedroomed semi-detached and detached homes will start at £347.995, with the show home being priced at £469,995. They are being marketed through estate agents Temme English and it is expected that the first occupants will have moved in by November. Mayor of Basildon, Cllr. David Harrison was the special guest performing the opening duties.

15th July

The Range officially opens a new store in Pitsea town centre. The new home, leisure and garden store in Northlands Pavement is on two levels and will provide up to 80 full and part time jobs. The British based company, which have nearby stores at Lakeside and Southend, have a lease covering 54,000 sq ft of the 75,000 sq ft total floor area. The building was built as the main feature of an ongoing Pitsea town centre regeneration by landowner London and Cambridge Properties and in part covers the site of the former Aldi foodstore, which was rebuilt on an adjacent site. Mayor of Basildon councillor David Harrison and his deputy councillor Stephen Ward performed the opening duties outside the giant superstore which had originally been earmarked for the food store chain Morrisons, who abandoned plans to move in in December, 2015. Range founder and billionaire Chris Dawson was also present at the opening, which was one of a planned 40 between 2013-2016. A large car park is also part of the new development.

September

Basildon Air Training Corp and Army Cadets Forces Centre at Cherrydown West, Kingswood officially opened. The new brick built centre replaces three wooden buildings, one of which dated back to around 1962 when the centre was established, and another from 2001, which itself had replaced a pitched wooden building destroyed by fire in January 1999. Lord Lleutenant of Essex, Lord Petre, KCVO, was the special guest to perform the opening ceremony along with Rev. Esther McCafferty of St. Martin's, who blessed the new building.

1st September

Millhouse Primary School and Nursery in Tavistock Road, Laindon opened. The new school was formed following the amalgamation of Millhouse Infant School and Nursery and Millhouse Junior School, which both closed officially on 31st August. Millhouse has occupied the site since 1968. The school can enrol up to 630 pupils plus an additional 52 within the nursery. Gareth Allen is the first appointed Headteacher, a post he previously held at the former junior school. A special official opening was held on Friday 2nd September.

1st September

Fairhouse Primary School in Long Riding, Barstable opened. The new school was formed following the amalgamation of Fairhouse Community Infant School and Fairhouse Community Junior School, which both officially closed on 31st August. Fairhouse has occupied the site since 1960. The school has places for 400+ pupils and takes its name from the former 19th century Fairhouse Farm which stood in nearby Church Road either on or close to the school site. Jennifer McCutcheon is the first appointed Headteacher, a post she previously held at the former junior school.

13th September

Berry Boys Amateur Boxing Club closes. The club, which has its headquarters and gym at Valence Way in Langdon Hills, was founded in 1946 by Fred Nunn and was the oldest in Basildon. The closure was the result of falling membership which had dropped to just twenty five with only four able to compete at a competitive level. Berry's youth football teams were unaffected by the closure.

29th September

The Beech Community Centre in Basildon is officially opened by the Leader of Basildon Borough Council, Councillor Phil Turner. The centre in Austen Road was built by Swan Housing in partnership with Basildon Council and the Homes and Community Agency (HCA) to serve the Beechwood Village housing development regeneration of the Craylands estate. The regeneration had been ongoing since 2007 and included the demolition of the former Fryerns Community School to provide additional land for housing.

October

The S.P.A.C.E. for young people building located in the former Roundacre Town House in Long Lynderswood, Lee Chapel North is demolished. The building, which originally opened in 1963 as Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church, was acquired from Essex County Council by Basildon Council in 2015 as a site for residential development. It had remained empty following the closure of S.P.A.C.E. in 2013. A planning application for 20 flats and associated car parking spaces was later approved by the council on 10th January. These will be managed by Sempra Homes.

4th October

Street names on the Five Links housing estate in Laindon are renamed and properties renumbered. The renaming, which Basildon council had insisted on to simplify the estates layout, had been due to take place by 14th November 2014 but had been put on hold due to bitter, costly and lengthy court proceedings, brought by some of the residents. The case was initially won by the residents but overturned after the council appealed the decision. The new street names, which affect 533 properties in Phase III of the estates redevelopment, replace Mellow Purgess, Newberry Side, Somercotes and Somercotes Court, which all date from the estate's construction in the late 1960s to early 1970s. They were chosen by local school children and all have a flower and herb theme. They include Arabis Place, Begonia Drive, Bellflower Mews, Camellia Place, Gardenia Court, Lobelia Mews, Orchid Place, Sorrel Court and Wisteria Court. This is the second time street names on the estate (once dubbed Alcatraz) have been renamed, the first was back in the early 2000s when the surviving properties from the estate's original layout at Brendon and Handley Green were renamed to Bostocke Close and Crosse Courts respectively, in Phase II of the estates ongoing redevelopment. The new name plates, in some instances, and all of the new numbers have been affixed over the original names / numbers which are on ceramic tiles embedded on walls and in the brickwork of the properties.

3rd January

TSB Bank at 1-2 Laindon Centre, Laindon closed down. The bank, which had until September 2013 previously operated as a Lloyds TSB, was one of a number of branch closures announced the previous year by TSB, who cited a downturn in customer usage and an increase in online banking. It is also the latest in a long line of shop closures to hit the centre, which is due to be replaced with new shops and housing following its acquisition by Swan Housing in May 2015. The origins of the Laindon bank can be traced back to a small branch of Lloyds, opened in 1951 in a mock Tudor fronted house that stood on the west side of High Road between Manor and Victoria Road. All shops and other properties along this stretch of High Road were displaced, mainly in the 1960s, during the redevelopment of High Road and subsequent opening of the Laindon Centre in late 1969. It was to the Centre that Lloyds transferred to, in the same unit later occupied by TSB, along with two other banks, Barclays and Midland, who both had branches in other High Road locations. At its peak the Centre could boast of having 5 banks but following a succession of closures beginning with the National Westminster, Midland, and Abbey National (originally a building society) (1998) followed by Barclays in 2003, left the TSB as the last bank anywhere in Laindon. Its closure has left Laindon without a bank for what is possibly the first time in 88 years, when Barclays first opened a sub-branch around the turn of 1928.

February

The Joker public house located within Laindon shopping centre closes. The public house, which first opened in December 1970 by the Truman brewery company, is due for eventual demolition by centre owners Swan Housing as part of a Laindon Centre Regeneration plan.

22nd February

H.R.H. The Princess Royal visited the new Citizens Advice Bureau office located in the Community Hub on the ground floor of the Basildon Centre. Anne, Princess Royal, who is patron of national Citizens Advice, marked her fourth visit to Basildon with a guided tour of the office and Community Hub.

13th March

Coffee producer Costa Coffee's new purpose built Roastery in Christopher Martin Road, Nevendon becomes operational. The new roasting plant, called Paradise Street and covering over 85,000 square metres, was built at a cost of £38 million on the former factory site of automotive parts supplier Visteon UK, who went into administration in 2009. It will have the capacity to produce 45,000 tonnes of ground coffee a year. The multinational company, which was founded in 1971 in Lambeth, London by the Costa family, already have a presence within the town having opened a retail coffee shop in the east Pavilion unit in Town Square, Basildon town centre following its completion in 1999.

29th April

LT Carpets announce the closure of its original store at Timberlog Lane, Basildon. The carpet retailer had occupied the bungalow site in Barstable at 198 Timberlog Lane for its entirety but is moving to its Carpet Sense unit at High Road, Laindon due to high maintenance costs associated with the premises. The business is named after Len Thipthorpe who founded it in 1942 at the family's home - then called Woodview and later numbered 198 - and following his retirement in 1992 was taken over by brothers Darren and Gary Laver. Their Cranes Farm Road store is unaffected by the closure.

May

Citizens Advice Basildon celebrates 60 years of local service. The Basildon branch, which for much of its life was known as Citizens Advice Bureaux, is based in the Basildon Centre where a team of volunteers and paid staff offer advice and guidance to anyone living within the borough. From its beginnings in the 1950s the organisation has been based at many different locations around the town. These include the Congregational church hall in Honey Pot Lane, Fryerns, followed by Enderley, a bungalow in Church Road, Basildon, shared with the Women's Voluntary Services, and later from around 1968 an office in the council's temporary portacabins in Fodderwick followed by another move, this time to Church Walk House and finally to their present home in St. Martin's Square.

25th May

Councillor David Harrison (Independent, Wickford Park Ward) is re-elected for a second term as Mayor of Basildon. His Deputy is David Burton-Sampson, Cllr. for the St. Martin's Ward.

1st June

Leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn MP visits Pitsea in the run up to the June 8th general election. The Labour leader attended an afternoon event at The Place (formerly Pitsea Leisure Centre) where he addressed a private gathering of labour supporters. He was joined by three members of his shadow cabinet; Emily Thornberry, Sir Keir Starmer and Barry Gardner.

8th June

Stephen Metcalfe (Conservative) (26,811) , is re-elected as the member of parliament for the Basildon South and Thurrock East constituency. He retains the seat with a majority of 11,490, an increase of 7,023 on the previous 2015 general election result.

8th June

John Baron (Conservative) (27,381), is re-elected as the member of parliament for the Basildon and Billericay constituency. He won the seat for the third time with an increased majority of 13,400 over his nearest rival Kayte Block, representing the Labour party. The General Election produced a hung parliament just seven years after the previous one. The Conservative party won the most seats (318) and formed a minority government with the support of the Democratic Unionist Party in a formal confidence and supply deal. The results were declared the following day at Basildon Sporting Village in Gloucester Park.

14th July

Lee Chapel Primary School's swimming pool officially opened. The 25 metre pool, which cost £1.62 million, was the ambition of headteacher Sue Jackson who with others organised fund raising events over a decade towards its overall cost. The school, located at The Knares, Lee Chapel South, will run it in partnership with a company called Aqua Aim who plan a swimming lesson programme for evenings and weekends. Stephen Metcalfe, MP for Basildon South and Thurrock East, performed the opening ceremony.

31st July

The Town Centre spherical clock is returned to Town Square, Basildon. The clock, which dates from December 1965, was originally removed from Town Square in 2007 and resited from March 2010 in St. Martin's Square. It was removed from St. Martin's Square on 28th April this year due to ongoing work relating to the town's market relocation. During its removal it was given an overhaul and now stands to the centre of a new square plinth.

21st April

Marks & Spencer's store at 1 Town Square, Basildon Town Centre closes. The store, which operated on two levels, opened in 1971 as the centrepiece attraction of the then new Block S development that included Taylors Department Store. The multinational company, also known as M & S and once famous for its St. Michael's brand of clothing, announced the closure in February following a restructering plan aimed at turning round declining profits. The store, which employed around 91 people, was one of 15 in Essex and had in recent times seen the addition of a first floor restaurant. Future plans for the retail unit have not to date been announced.

21st April

Toys "R" Us superstore in Basildon town centre closes. The store was first opened in 1985 when the American company founded its UK operation and had originally occupied all of the large detached retail unit in Southernhay. The closure was one of 105 following the company's fall into administration as a result of high creditor debts exceeding profits.

24th May

Councillor David Dadds JP is elected as the 4th Mayor of Basildon. The conservative councillor, representing Billericay East Ward, succeeds David Harrison who had held the post since May 2016. His Deputy is conservative councillor Danny Lawrence, representing the Billericay West Ward who replaces Stephen Ward. Danny Lawrence had previously held the deputy's post from May 2015 to May 2016.

24th May

Councillor Andrew Baggott is elected as the new Leader of Basildon Council. The conservative councillor, representing Burstead Ward, takes over following the local elections held on 3rd May in which the conservative party reclaimed overall control of the council from no overall control. Councillor Kevin Blake, conservative councillor for Burstead Ward - who was Deputy Leader from 2014 under the last conservative administration - was elected Deputy Leader.

Christadelphian Hall at Basildon Drive, Laindon ceases to operate as a place of worship. The church first opened in 1958 and was later registered for the solemnisation of marriages from 28/03/1963. In recent years it had been used as an Open Bible Learning Centre which relocated to the Billericay Reading Rooms at 73 High Street, Billericay, with effect from 5th January 2020. Their final meeting was believed to have taken place on Sunday 29th December. In February 2020 the building and associated land was put on the property market.

The first new tenants begin moving into Regent House in The Gore, Ghyllgrove. The building had been home to Her Majesty's Stationery Office (H.M.S.O.) since its construction in 1963 and since the 1990s by the Jobcentre and the Department for Works and Pensions (D.W.P.), who vacated in 2016 to the Basildon Centre. Ninty eight one and two bedroomed flats became available following the conversion to residential use, which included the retention of the front mosaic.

19th February

Laindon Shopping Centre pedestrian bridge removed. The footbridge, which spanned the only dual carriageway section of High Road, linked the centre with High Road between Worthing Road and Manor Road. It had been the first and to date only footbridge to span High Road when it was constructed in the early 1970s following the completion of the centre. It was removed as part of the ongoing clearance and eventual demolition of the remainder of the shopping centre and Laindon Health Centre. The High Road was temporarily closed in both directions during the operation to remove the main centre section, which was carried out by Southern Cranes & Access Ltd. of Horsham, West Sussex on behalf of site owners Swan Housing Association.

2nd April

Laindon Shopping Centre's last business closes. The Crown Post Office at No. 20 Laindon Centre is the final business to close following Swan Housing Association's takeover of the stricken centre in May 2015. It had occupied the same unit since relocating to the centre from the High Road in December 1970. The closure though is temporary as the post office will be amongst some of the former traders returning to new units following the completion of Swan's regeneration of the centre site. This closure brings to an end just over 49 years of trading at the Laindon Centre since the first businesses moved in in December 1969. It had been built on behalf of original owners Basildon Development Corporation to replace the many shops that straggled the High Road, some of which stood on land that formed part of the corporation's 'master plan' for the creation of Basildon New Town.

23rd May

Councillor David Burton-Sampson is elected as the 5th Mayor of Basildon. The Labour councillor representing the St. Martin's Ward seat succeeds David Dadds who had held the post since May 2018. Derrick Fellowes, former Ukip Cllr. and now Independent for the Nethermayne Ward is voted Deputy Mayor. Councillor Burton-Sampson had previously been Deputy Mayor for the municipal year beginning May 2016.

24th June

The Basildon edition of the Yellow Advertiser newspaper ceases publication. The final edition was delivered to households on week ending Friday 21st June. A message to YA readers and advertisers was printed on page 3 which read: "We sadly have to report that as we go to press we are currently in consultation with staff at the Yellow Advertiser, which could result in the closure of the titles published, so this could be the last edition of the Yellow Advertiser series. If this is our last edition we would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers and readers for your loyalty over many years." The Basildon edition of the Yellow Advertiser first appeared around June 1976 and was published by Hornbeam Investment Co. Ltd. It was delivered free each Friday to over 60,000 households in areas including Billericay, Laindon, Langdon Hills, North Benfleet, Pitsea, Vange and Wickford. The paper was later acquired by United News & Media, itself part of United Provincial Newspapers, who sold the entire YA brand around 1999 to Trinity Mirror (Southern) Ltd. At the time of closure it was owned by the Tindle Newspapers Group, founded by Sir Ray Tindle, who bought all the YA editions back in 2007 from Trinity Mirror (Southern) Ltd. Over its 43 year history it covered a broad range of topics including local news, readers letters, soundcheck gig guide and for a time an agony aunt column called 'Frankly Fiona'. It was initially based at Northgate House in High Pavement, Basildon Town Centre. Early editions ran to 12 pages but this increased to 100+ at its peak but in recent times was reduced to 40 pages due to changing advertising trends as a result of internet growth. The paper moved its headquarters in the early 1980s to the then newly built Acorn House block in Great Oaks but had relocated around April 2019 to Cornwallis House at Howard Chase, Pipps Hill when their landlords announced plans to convert the building to residential use. The remaining three weekly editions covering Havering, Southend, Castle Point and Rochford, were also closed from this date. During the 2000s the paper could also be read online. In September 2019 the Yellow Advertiser was relaunched online in digital form, including full archived editions dating back to 2009 being available for the first time.

19th August

Laindon War Memorial unveiled to a new temporarily location. The memorial, which now stands on the remains of the former Laindon Centre's rear car park, had previously stood on the east side of High Road between Laindon Link and Danacre. It was removed during the regeneration of Laindon Centre which is now set to be transformed into Laindon Place, a blend of shops and housing accommodation. In its new location a comprehensive list of both Great War and Second World War casualities, compiled by Basildon Heritage, are displayed on an adjacent section of fence hoarding.

September

Don Sheppard born in Laindon in 1920 called up in 1940 enlisted Royal Engineers 107 Field Company Royal Engineers. previously Chairman of the Normandy Veterans Association, Southend-on-Sea Borough

8th November

Basildon streets lights to remain on at night. The 'switch on' is set to be phased in over a number of evenings following an agreement by the council's Labour controlled alliance with Essex County Council. The initial agreement, which covers the whole Borough, will last until March 2020 with a further four years planned pending a decision to be made in February 2020. The switch off, which had been active since 23rd February 2014, was taken as a cost saving initiative and affected the whole of Basildon with the exception of Felmores, Chalvedon, Craylands, Pitsea 1, 2 and 3 estates, Cranes Farm Road and the Five Links estate in Laindon. The annual bill for the switch on has been put at around £275,000 with an expected fall when replacement LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights are installed by Essex County Council over the period 2020/2021.