Basildon - Regional Shopping Centres

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Regional Shopping Centres

Laindon: (1) Somercotes, Kathleen Ferrier Crescent and Hoover Drive



Location: Kathleen Ferrier Crescent Photographer: Bix Year of photo: 27/11/2002 Copyright: Basildon History Online Comments:	Location: Kathleen Ferrier Crescent Photographer: Bix Year of photo: 27/11/2002 Copyright: Basildon History Online Comments:	Location: Somercotes Photographer: Stuart Wilson Year of photo: 2006 Copyright: Stuart Wilson Source: Stuart Wilson Comments: Taken at the time of the Five Links redevelopment phase.

Pound Lane Estate

The shops at 81, 83 and 85 Kathleen Ferrier Crescent in Laindon were created to serve the then new council estate which had been under construction from around 1954 onwards. The three storey building comprising three shop units and upper floor maisonette accommodation numbered 81A, 83A and 85A was completed in August 1956. The shop units began opening the following month.

Below are some of the traders to have occupied the units.

Kathleen Ferrier Crescent			Open	Closed
No. 81	Gordon K. Dawe Forbuoys Newsbuoys Premier - Newsbuoys Convienence Store	Newsagents and confectioners Newsagents and confectioners Newsagents and confectioners Newsagents and confectioners	1960s c.1974 2010s	1970s -- 2010s Open
No. 83	A.W. Slocombe Wavy Line - Reids Foodstore (John S. Reid) A.C.T. Premier - Newsbuoys Convenience Store	Food Provisions Supermarket Foodstore Foodstore	Pre /06/1962 1967 2010s	c.1967 1973 2010s Open
No. 85	J.F. Mansfield M. & D. Matthews ?? ?? Inkin Ian's Inkspot (Ian Knell)	Greengrocer & fruiterer Greengrocer & fruiterer Video hire Hairdressers Tattoo & Body Piercing	Pre /06/1959 1970s -- -- c.1997	c.1960 1980s -- -- c.2022

Laindon West

The neighbourhood centre at Presidents Court, Hoover Drive was built in the 1980s. It serves the Presidents and Commonwealth housing estates and the nearby Laindon 8 and 9 (off Durham Road) housing estates built between 1979 and 1982.

Some of the past and present traders are listed below:

Presidents Court, Hoover Drive			Open	Closed
No. 48	Ho-Ho	Take-away
No. 50	Londis Premier	Foodstore Foodstore	1980s	--
No. 52	Sonal Tandoori Delhi Akash	Chemist Video hire Take-away Fusion Indian Take-away	1980s -- -- 2010s	-- -- 2010s

Five Links

A small neighbourhood centre comprising three units on the Five Links estate was built in Somercotes around 1973, some years after the houses had been completed. The first to occupy the new units were Martin the Newsagent at No. 200, V.G. Foodstore at 201 and Jill's Ladies Hairdressers at 202. From October 2016 all three units were renamed and given new numbers. See below.

Businesses known to have traded there include:

Somercotes (to 3rd October, 2016)			Open	Closed
No. 200	Martin the Newsagent (Goyal) Newsbuoys	Newsagent and confectionery Newsagent and confectionery	1973 --	--
No. 201	V.G. Foodstore A. & T.A. Patel Londis	Foodstore Foodstore Foodstore	1973 1990s --	2000s
No. 202	Jill's Heads Together Video Shack (Janette Mills) Lovell's Site Office Five Links - Information and Community Centre Busy Bees Pre-School	Ladies Hairdressers Ladies and Gentlemens Hairdressing Video hire (V.H.S. only) Building Contractors Office Five Links Residents Association Headquarters Nursery	1973 c.1978 c.1988 2000s 2000s 2014	c.1978 1980s 1990s 2000s 2014

2016 renaming of Somercotes

As part of the ongoing regeneration of the Five Links housing estate landlords Basildon Council gradually introduced new street names to replace the original names. Following court proceedings in which the council on appeal successfully overturned a residents led case to retain the existing names, the shops at Somercotes were renamed 24, 25 and 26 Elizabeth Court from 4th October, 2016.

Businesses known to have traded there include:

Elizabeth Court (from 4th October, 2016)			Open	Closed
No. 24	Londis	Newsagent and Foodstore	2016	Open
No. 25	Londis	Foodstore	2016	Open
No. 26	Busy Bees Pre-School Kinder Kidz Day Nursery	Nursery Nursery	2014 2022	/01/2020 Open

Page added: 2013

Other points of interest:

1) The Busy Bees Pre-School playgroup took over 202 Somercotes following a major fire in February 2014 at their former base at the Bluehouse Farm Community Centre in Laindon Link. Following the eventual demolition and partial rebuild of their previous home they were able to move back in January 2020.

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