Time is running out - things to do NOW!

22/12/2025

As we rush towards the end of the year and into 2026 there are a number of important things for you to do.

Firstly, there are a number of Green Belt planning applications around Billericay that need to be objected to.

Secondly, the Local Plan consultation is open to the 16 January and we need a big response from local people.

Please see our Resources page for further details.

These applications and the proposed Local Plan will affect the lives of everyone in Billericay and across the borough, not just those living next to the developments. Not only will we lose huge amounts of our precious green spaces but the pressure on schools, health facilities, roads, trains and parking spaces will be profound.

Basildon council is proposing to increase the population of the borough by over 30% in just 20 years by building around 28,000 new homes. That rate of growth in unprecedented and is not sustainable within our communities and environment.

From a Billericay perspective we are looking at around 8,000 new homes all of which will be on the Green Belt, which is close to 50% growth. Most of the new estates will on the edge of town leading to inevitable car use and more congestion.

Please take part. Make your voice heard. This is your last chance, Views like this could be lost forever.

Thanks.

2 Comments

Graham Moat link

28/12/2025 10:01:32

Further to my earlier comment I had also intended to state in my that the above photo of the single 500+ year old Oak Tree that is such a striking landmark is all but gone! For as per the notfication in Countryside's circulated Newsletter, by next spring it will be surrounded by a building site! Virtually every day over the last 31 1/2 years that I have lived in Billericay, when walking my dog/s, my gaze has been drawn to the imposing view of this magnificent tree. And the thought of it no longer being viewed in such a spledid setting angers me greatly. Whether it be Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter the sheer majesty of this single tree posed against the skyline is wonderous. In my view it rivals that of the Sycamore Gap tree, the mindless destructions of which was so publically banded across our news channels. Regretfully the slow suffocation of our Billericay Oak tree will probably never attain any such level of public awareness, not even in Billericay, let alone anywhere else! With the western view obscurded by houses and the eastern view and the eastward visage clouded by a background placard of bricks! My prediction is that, without the benefits brought by nature the tree will wilt and die within a few years.

Julie Loveard

29/12/2025 16:58:07

I am so sad that this beautiful tree may not exist in the future, and that houses are going to be built all over Billericay, i know that people are living longer so we need more houses, but please think about this again. I am sure there are brown stretches of land somewhere, as Billericay will be ruined. We need to look after our green spaces, it helps with our well being and mental health. Please reconsider your decisions. From Julie Loveard

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Aims of BAG

To protect the Green Belt around Billericay and elsewhere in Basildon Borough from loss through excessive and unjustified development.

To prevent the character of our historic towns from being changed forever.

To ensure that any development that does take place is sustainable, with adequate infrastructure and prioritises local needs.

We support the need for a new Basildon Local Plan and the need for more housing. But it must be of the right number, the right type and in the right places to best help local people obtain a home of their own.

Join our Facebook Group

Our most up to date activity can be found on our closed Facebook Group - Save Billericay From Housing Developments. Ask to join here;
www.facebook.com/groups/BillericayActionGroup/

Information on the Local Plan

The latest summary position on the long history of the Basildon Local Plan can be found here;
Current Situation

Historical items from the 2022 withdrawn Local Plan can be found here;
2014 to 2034 Withdrawn Plan Archive