New homes plans to go on show in Basildon

Members of the general public will be given the opportunity to voice their opinions on a major proposal to regenerate Basildon town centre.

Plans for the £1bn revamp of the town centre which would include a new market, hotel, cinema, college and up to 2,000 new homes, including many affordable homes, will go on show in mid-February.

Eight areas in Basildon town centre have been earmarked for a major overhaul, including East Square, Broadmayne, the Eastgate Centre, Town Square and St Martin's Square.

According to the plans by developers Barratt Wilson Bowden, between 1,500 and 2,000 new homes have been proposed, along with 25,000sqm of offices and 40,000sqm of retail and leisure space.

Basildon Borough Council has described its plans for the next 20 years as "one of the biggest town centre redevelopments in the country".

The council said the first phase of work could be completed by 2017.

Large scale infrastructural projects generally presents property investors with a good opportunity to cash-in on improvements made to an area.

Fortunately, a number of housebuilders are already hard at work developing new and improved homes in Basildon

Persimmon Homes is developing a collection of two-, three- and four-bedroom houses at Church Park. Prices range from £160,000 to £199,995.

Weston Homes is offering a range of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments for sale at Morello Quarter in Cherrydown East. Prices start from £125,000 to £167,000.

Barratt Homes is building one- and two-bedroom homes at a development called Axis, with prices starting from £125,000.

Beechwood Village is Swan New Homes newest development in Essex offering a mix of contemporary one- and two-bedroom apartments and two-, three- and four-bedroom homes. Prices range from £168,000 to £234,000.

The early sales success achieved at these developments suggest that buying a new home in Essex during the off-plan stage of construction is finally starting to prove popular again.

Early-bird homebuyers and property investors generally buy new homes off-plan in order to secure a modern brand new property at a reduced price.

Purchasing property off-plan presents an opportunity to potentially secure a new home at a discount on the retail property price, particularly during the early phases of construction, when house builders require funds to boost their cash flow.

Not only is it potentially cheaper to buy a new home off-plan, it can also be a good investment because it might be worth more by the time you move in.

Upward pressure is being placed on property prices some parts of Essex due to a general housing shortage, caused mainly by historically low construction levels in the residential sector.