2000

5 September

The James Hornsby High School relocates to the former Nicholas school site at Leinster Road, where the building has been extensively refurbished. The first day of the new term is for Year seven pupils only - Years Eight to Eleven attending the following day.

2001

28 March

Essex County Council's new Laindon Library opened. The new building occupies a site on the corner of New Century Road on land unused since the Radion Cinema was demolished in 1969. Years earlier the library was located at 3 High Road, in a parade of shops near the railway station, but had relocated to the Laindon Shopping Centre in the early 1970s. Councillor James Gordon and Martina Cole performed the opening ceremonies.

29 April

Census statistics for the Basildon district; 165,661. Basildon Town; 102,400.

7 June

Angela Smith (21,551) re-elected Labour MP for Basildon and East Thurrock. Majority 7.738. Labour win General Election.

November

Basildon Zoo closes. The Zoo, based in London Road, Vange, was home to a number of Mammals, Birds and Reptiles, but had faced a series of complaints relating to adverse conditions. The Zoo originally opened in 1971. A pet shop and garden centre on the same site remain open.

2002

Gifford House in London Road, Bowers Gifford, once headquarters of the Basildon Development Corporation, is demolished. The Corporation were based there from October 1949, and their successor the Commission For The New Towns (CNT) were the last occupants when they vacated in 1995. The site, later owned by English Partnerships, lay undeveloped for some years until completion of a new purpose built residential care home for the elderly opened in December 2006.

1 January

Swan Mead County Infant & Junior School in Church Road, Vange is renamed Cherry Tree Primary School.

1 January

Manor County Infant & Junior School in Church Road, Fryerns is renamed Willows Primary School.

1 January

Bardfield County Infant & Junior School in Clay Hill Road, Vange is renamed Bardfield Primary School and Nursery.

28 May

The main structure of Gloucester Park's bandstand is demolished. The site is completely cleared and grassed over. The bandstand built in the 1970s was the scene of many summer events with Erasure and Bad Manners among the many bands to grace the stage. A skateboard park, opened in 2005, now occupies the site and its former concrete frontage.

2 September

The Powerhouse public house in Clay Hill Road, Vange, which had stood empty since closure in 1998 is finally demolished during this week. A new housing development of 2 bedroom flats was erected on the site. The pub, once known as The Bull, opened in the early 1960s and replaced an earlier pub of the same name that was demolished in 1961. It became The Powerhouse on 7th June, 1985.

2003

The Woodards residential care home in Tavistock Road, Laindon demolished. Constructed in the 1970s, the building and facilities were considered too small, and a new larger complex named Woodbury Court was later built in its place.

Evelyn May House residential care home opened. The three-storey, 58 bedroomed nursing home in Florence Way, Langdon Hills was built on land vacant following a High Road residential demolition, possibly as long ago as the 1980s.

May

Whife and Sloper Dairies close. The milk delivery business, which began in 1969, was based at Markhams Chase, Laindon and was the result of a merger. The name Sloper had a long association with Laindon going back to the early 1900s which also included shops in the High Road. Their vehicles, finished in blue and white livery, included a Morrison Electricar. In 2007 work began on erecting a semi-detached property on the main dairy site along with a single detached house on land adjacent to one of the few remaining pre-new town bungalows left in Markhams Chase.

August

The Fortune (formerly Fortune of War) public house at Laindon is demolished. The site was redeveloped with new housing by Barrett Homes.

September

The Jolly Cricketer's public house at Nevendon is demolished. The pub had stood empty before being set alight in a suspected arson attack.

1 September

Bluehouse Infant & Junior school in Leinster Road, Laindon becomes The Phoenix Primary School.

1 September

Pitsea Infant School is renamed The Len Wastell Infant School in honour of long serving school governor.

2004

Redevelopment of the Five Links estate in Laindon begins a new phase with the demolition of maisonettes at Brendon, Handley Green. Hatterill is closed to through traffic during this time from the 26th August.

25 November

Northlands Park Childrens Centre in Davenants, Pitsea opened. An opening commemoration plaque reads: Northlands Park Childrens Centre opened by Emma & Paige The First Sure Start Family 25th Nov 2004.

2005

March

The Five Links estate regeneration programme at Laindon continues with the demolition of maisonettes at Somercotes. Hatterill is still closed to through traffic during this time.

19 March

Allders department store in Eastgate, Basildon closes after going into receivership. Debenhams, who established their first department store in 1905, took over the building soon after.

5 May

Angela Smith (18,820) re-elected Labour MP for the constituency of Basildon and East Thurrock. Majority 3,142. Labour win General Election.

Oct/Nov

Bedsit flats in Thistledown Court, Basildon are demolished as part of Basildon Council's regeneration scheme. The 42 flats in 4 three storey blocks (12 to a block x3 + 1 block of 6) were constructed around the mid 1970s on land adjacent to Church Road. A detached 2 storey house had previously stood in the vicinity until around 1973. The new housing development will provide 37 larger flats for the site.

24 November

Labour Transport Minister Derek Twigg, MP, attends an unveiling ceremony to officially open the new railway station building at Pitsea. Also in attendance is rail operator c2c's managing director Andrew Chivers. The previous single storey building was constructed in the 1970s to replace the old Station House but had been closed for a number of years before demolition earlier this year.

2006

Jan/March

The two escalators linking Town Square with High Pavement are dismantled. They were constructed in the early 1970s as a link to the newly completed Northgate House and High Pavement amenities. A glass panelled stairway was also built to provide additional access, but this was later removed during the 1990s as part of the Town Square improvments, that also saw the removal of part of Keay House and renaming to Southgate House.

1 December

Gifford House Care Home in London Road, Bowers Gifford, opened by the Conservative MP for Billericay, John Baron. The new residential care home for the elderly was built on a site once occupied by the Basildon Development Corporation in a former residential home also called Gifford House, which was demolished in 2002. Amongst others in attendance at the opening ceremony were Keith Vaz, Labour MP for Leicester East, Chairman of Basildon District Council Cllr. Sandra Hillier and Councillor Geoffrey Buckingham.

2007

May/June

Work carried out on the demolition of the former Laindon High Road secondary school. The school was sold by Essex County Council earlier in the year. A new housing development named Radford Park is planned for the site.

May/June

Former Borg Warner (once York Shipley) factory and office complex in Gardiners Lane South, demolished.

December

Essex Ford open an all new car dealership facility at Dunton. Located just off the B184 West Mayne on land adjacent to the Ford Technical Centre, the new premises was built to replace their Cherrydown East, Basildon location of more than 40 years.

2008

January

Demolition begins on the former Essex Ford car showroom and garage complex at Cherrydown East, Basildon. Opened in 1963 as S.E.M. (South Essex Motors), the site offered a wide range of services that included for many years a petrol forecourt. It closed when a new centre opened alongside the Ford Technical Centre at Dunton in December 2007. A seven storey office block called Essex House and once home to Social Services had also stood on the site before being demolished in the late 1990s.

March

The Icon luxury apartment block in Southernhay, Basildon, officially opened by leader of Basildon Council, Malcolm Buckley. This new residential development of 121 1 and 2 bedroomed luxury apartments, with prices starting at £159,995, was built by Hollybrook Homes. It stands on a site once occupied by the S.M.A.C. (Southend Motor & Aero Co.) who opened a showroom/workshop and Mobil filling station in 1962. This business later became Lookers and lastly Motor Market before the site fell into disuse in the early 2000s.