BASILDON
BEECHWOOD VILLAGE
Price: £234,000
A contemporary four-bedroom home with style and eco-credentials. Its slick interior belies this property’s energy-efficient design which promises reduced carbon emissions and a sizeable dent in your energy bill. Leafy avenues, a cycle lane and an ecological park comprise this house’s idyllic environs. Contact: Swan New Homes on 08000 195005 or www.beechwoodvillage.co.uk
MORELLO QUARTER
Price: £129,000
This well-appointed one bedroom apartment, conveniently situated a short walk from Basildon Station, is typical of the new developments which are springing up across the town as part of the regeneration project. Perfect for the first time buyer who commutes to London. Contact: Weston Homes on 0845 638 5012 or www.weston-homes.co.uk
THE CROFT
Price: £649,955
If you dream of escaping the rat race to live the Good Life, Tom and Barbara-style, this chalet bungalow surrounded by greenbelt could be for you. With four bedrooms, two acres of land and a paddock, there’s ample room for growing kids and even a horse.
Contact: John Cottis & Company on 01375 676655 or www.johncottis.co.uk
NEED TO KNOW | AREA INSIGHT
Commuting: The c2c rail service will whisk you from Basildon Railway Station at London Fenchurch Street in a timely 35 minutes.
Education: Basildon is home to one of Essex’s five new Academies, which claim to inspire and motivate its pupils with a “bold new approach to education”. As for indepenedent schools, the reputable Brentwood School is just a 15 minute drive away. Decent primaries are plentiful.
Crime: Figures are in line with national averages and improving: 2010 saw the lowest crime rate in 3 years.
Restaurants and bars: Indian restaurants, Chinese takeaways and fast food outlets dominate the culinary scene. But you do not have to travel far to find gems such as the cosily unpretentious yet AA Rosette-winning Bear Inn in Stock.
Leisure: If the BasVegas Leisure Park – featuring a bowling alley, nightclub complex and its very own white Hollywood-style welcome sign pitched atop a small mound on the A127 – is not to your taste, fear not. The town is undergoing a £1bn re-vamp including the creation of a new wetland nature reserve.