The first shops open at Kibcaps, off The Knares at the Lee Chapel South neighbourhood centre. Cottis bakers at No. 3, Smith Bros, newsagent at No. 7, Vic Sanders dispensing chemist at No. 1 and Townsend greengrocers and florist at No. 6 were some of the first to open.

The Double Six public house in Whitmore Way, Fryerns opened. It was operated by St. George's Taverns. In the 1980s it became the Flying Childers after the famous racing horse but later reverted back to its original name which it remained until closure in the early 2000s. In 2003 the pub was demolished and the land sold for a new residential development of flats.

Two former rectory's in Basildon Road are demolished. The rectory's, one of which dated to 1859 and the other rebuilt as recently as 1949, had been used by each subsequent rector of 'Laindon cum Basildon', who took services at both Holy Cross church and St. Nicholas church in Laindon. The earlier rectory became a farm in the 1930s and the 'newer' rectory had been rebuilt following extensive damage by two V2 German rockets in 1945 having previously been a country house turned rectory called Oliphants. The site and adjoining land totalling 100 acres was required by Ford for the site of their Tractor Plant.

The first tenants move into properties on the Ghyllgrove 3 housing development. The new 300 home estate off the Gore comprising Brempsons, Rokells and Roodegate was constructed to a flat roof design on land originally designated for Gloucester Park. The development, containing a mixture of two and three storey homes and flats, was designed and built on behalf of Basildon Development Corporation but unfortunately soon after completion many of the properties suffered leaking roofs which had to be replaced costing the Corporation £80,000. As a result of this a Ministry of Housing design award, presented in 1963, was later withdrawn. This development would be the last housing development in Ghyllgrove until the 2010s when work began on a new housing estate called Acacia Park.

The first factories on the No. 2 Industrial Estate at Pipps Hill reach completion. Constructed on a 114 acre site off Cranes Farm Road, the new estate was designed to provide a mixture of large sites for established companies seeking to relocate from London and smaller industrial units to attract small businesses. Among the first businesses to move in are kitchenware manufacturer Spong, who relocated from South Tottenham, and petrol pump designer and manufacturer Gilbarco. The site was built over former residential properties and farmland in Basildon Road, of which three quarters of its original length was lost in the estate's creation. The new street names introduced comprising: Bentalls, Chester Hall Lane, Crompton Close, Howard Chase, Luckyn Lane, Miles Gray Road and Winstanley Way, were named after inventors or industrial engineers.

Spong & Co. Limited open a kitchenware manufacturing factory at Crompton Close on the No. 2 Industrial Estate (now Pipps Hill), Basildon. The company, founded by James Osborn Spong in 1856, is a leading manufacturer of kitchen utensils and wire works, from which mincing machines are perhaps their most recognized product. The new factory, employing over 200 workers, has around 70,000 square feet of floor space and is one of the first to open on the partially completed No.2 industrial estate. It replaces the company's former home at Woodville Grove, South Tottenham, London, which had been considered too small for future expansion. In 1970 the production area was increased by 50% but by 1980, the company, still being run by descendants of the founder, began to sell off parts of the brand resulting in the eventual closure and sale of the Basildon site later in the same decade. A small area of the business involving the production of filters for car engines did survive for a time after the company, which had become Spong Holdings plc, was rebranded as Lion Heart plc and relocated to Repton Close on the Burnt Mills Industrial Estate. The Crompton Close factory site, the front of which has offices on two storeys, is now addressed as The Gloucesters and sub divided into separate business units. Those trading there now include the Jet hairdressing academy at No.1, accessed from the main front entrance.

Petrol pump maintenance and suppliers Gilbarco Ltd. open a factory at Crompton Close on the No.2 Industrial Estate. Founded by Charles Gilbert and John Barker, the company became Gilbarco in 1929 supplying fuel equipment throughout the world. In 1987 the company was acquired by GEC but following another acquisition in 2002 by the Danaher Corporation is now known as Gilbarco Veeder-Root.

Barton's the Bakers open a new bakery at Paycocke Road on the No.1 industrial estate at Nevendon. The bakery chain, which is named after its founder and registered as W.J. Barton Ltd, had been supplying Essex since the 1940s from its headquarters at Kemp Road, Dagenham. The company soon established nine shops within the town; these being at Basildon town centre (3), Fryerns (2), and one each at Barstable, Laindon, Lee Chapel North and Pitsea. The site included a large distribution and storage depot with up to 80+ delivery vehicles. The bakery and shops survived until around the late 1980s when the company ceased trading. The Paycocke Road site was later redeveloped and now called Bakers Court in recognition of the former bakery.

The Commodore public house in Timberlog Lane, Barstable opened. The pub, which opened as a Free House, later became part of the Mann, Crossman & Paulin brewery chain. Among its attractions is an air conditioned restaurant and live entertainment in the form of Saturday dinner dances. For many years large Manns letters adorned the public bar's upper outer wooden fascia cladding later being replaced with a large circular Watney Combe Reid sign. The Commodore closed in the 1990s and was replaced with a residential development of flats named Commodore House, after the former public house.

Ingaway Chapel in Ingaway, Lee Chapel South opened. The chapel was built to replace the undenominational Ebenezer Gospel Hall which formerly stood in Elizabeth Drive (now Wickhay), Lee Chapel (now Lee Chapel North) and to which had been issued a Basildon Development Corporation compulsory purchase order prior to the creation of the Lee Chapel North housing development. In the 2000s the chapel became Ingaway Evangelical Church.

January

Fairhouse County Infant School in Long Riding, Barstable opened. Mrs C.M. Kirby is the first appointed Headteacher. The new school, which takes its name from a former farm that once stood in the area, shares the site with the neighbouring Fairhouse Junior School. In the 1990s the school's name changed to Fairhouse Community Infant School, which it remained until September 2016 when the school amalgamated with the junior school to become Fairhouse Primary School.

January

Springfield County Infant and Junior School in Honeypot Lane, Fryerns opened. The school was built as a temporary one and closed in the 1980s. The first Headmaster of the junior school is Mr. K.H. Duckworth and Mrs. F. Patis is the first Headmistress of the infant school. The school was demolished soon after closure. The site remained empty for a number of years until the 1990s when an older persons residential development called Ghyllgrove Close was built.

February

Work on demolishing The Bull public house continues throughout the month and into March. This building and its use as a public house dated from the 19th century. It stood in Bull Road, Vange (later renamed Clay Hill Road in 1963) and was run by brewers Mann, Crossman and Paulin. It closed around September/October 1961 being replaced by a new public house, also called The Bull and run by the same brewery company which was built about 50 yards to the east on the corner of the new junction with Timberlog Lane. A new parade of shops, known as Bull parade, was built partly over the site of the former public house.

February

Barstable Grammar and Technical School in Timberlog Lane (now Timberlog Close) opened. The new school for 750 pupils was the second and last grammar school to open in the new town. Work on the new school began in June 1960 and would include a swimming pool and sixth form accommodation. The first Headmaster was Mr. Geoffrey Whitehead. In September 1968, following the reorganisation of local education, the school merged with nearby Timberlog Secondary Modern to become Barstable Comprehensive. Following the merger the Timberlog building became the lower school until the original Barstable site was enlarged, allowing the lower school to be sold off for a housing development towards the late 1990s. On 30th March, 1993 the main block became a Grade II listed building. In 2005 the school became Federated with Chalvedon and from 1st September, 2009 the school was renamed Basildon Lower Academy and accommodating students between the ages 11-14.

3rd February

Basildon Bowling Alley opened. The 26 lane ten pin bowling alley at 129-131 Southernhay in the Town Centre is run by TransWorld Bowling and called Basildon Bowl. Interior features included a cafe, juke box and licensed club room. B.D.Corp. Chairman, Sir Humfrey Gale carried out the opening ceremony. By 1965 it had became Ambassador Bowl, but later in June 1975 was taken over by Basildon Council, reduced to 10 lanes, and renamed to Basildon Bowl again. The remainder of the building was refurbished and taken over by Coral Social Clubs Ltd. for use as a bingo hall. During the 1980s the facility closed and the bingo hall was extended to encompass the remainder of the building. It is still a bingo hall and now called Gala.

4th March

Howard's Dairies Ltd. open a milk distribution depot at Southernhay (later Bluehouses and now Time Square), in Basildon Town Centre. The new depot is the latest undertaking for the company, established in the early 20th century by the late Essex farmer and landowner Harold George Howard, that included a chain of shops at Laindon, Langdon Hills, Pitsea, Vange and various neighbourhood centres within the new town. It was later taken over by Unigate Dairy and is now operated by Dairy Crest Limited. The name Bluehouses may have been taken from the Laindon and Pitsea farmsteads, one of which, Pitsea, had been the home of Mr. Howard and both noted as local milk producers.

15th March

Basildon Fire Station in Great Oaks officially opened. Chairman of Essex County Council, Alderman George F. Chaplin, C.B.E., J.P., conducted the ceremony. Also in attendance was local U.D. Council Chairman, Mrs. Christina Gadsdon, J.P., and representatives of the development corporation. The Essex County Fire Brigade station was built at a cost of around £50,000 and manned by nearly 40 fireman. A new fire engine with turntable ladder was also provided. The station had become operational from 8th December 1961 when the Laindon building, located in High Road near Aston Road, was formally closed and the appliances transferred to Basildon.

15th June

The last steam train to run between London and Southend was the 18:10 Fenchurch Street to Thorpe Bay service.

18th June

All services on the London, Tilbury & Southend railway are now solely operated by electric trains following the withdrawal of steam locomotion.

23rd June

Southend Motor & Aero Co. Ltd. open a vehicle service station at Southernhay in Basildon. The Southend based company known by its initials S.M.A.C. established an Austin / Morris dealership (British Motor Corporation) car showroom, workshop and Mobil petrol filling station. In 1989 the SMAC group was acquired by leading car dealership operators Lookers, who sold Austin Rover models, but eventually closed the site, including the petrol station, when the brand ceased to make models in the late 1990s. The site then became Motor Market selling second hand vehicles until that too closed around the early 2000s leaving the site empty for a number of years. A property developer eventually bought the site and erected a nine storey block of luxury flats called The Icon, which was completed in 2008.

7th July

The Mother and Child water fountain sculpture and raised pool in Town Square, Basildon, unveiled. It was commissioned in 1959 by the Development Corporation to symbolise the growth of Basildon as a New Town. The design was by Paris born sculptor Maurice Lambert R.A. (25/06/1901 - 17/08/1964) and finished in bronze. It was later adopted in 1974 as the symbol to represent Basildon Council and now has Grade II listed status.

7th July

14 storey, 84 flats, residential tower block, Brooke House in Town Square, Basildon Town Centre is officially opened. It is named after the former Minister for Housing and Local Government, Henry Brooke, Conservative M.P. for Hampstead, north west London, (09/04/1903 - 29/03/1984), and stands 161 feet tall and 48ft wide. It is supported by sixteen, twenty seven feet high, V-shaped angled stilted reinforced concrete columns (in pairs of two) which merge together to form eight piloti at ground level, each continuing on to a 45 feet pile foundation. The accommodation features six flats to each floor, these being four single-bedroom and two double-bedroom, all with underfloor heating, a basement garage for 53 cars and two high speed lifts. It was designed by Anthony B. Davies, A.A. Dipl., A.R.I.B.A., Chief Architect and Planner to Basildon Development Corporation, (consulting adviser: Sir Basil Urwin Spence, (13/08/1907 - 19/11/1976)), in a Modernist style and constructed by Holland, Hannen and Cubitts at a cost of £283,000. The structural engineers were London based Arup and Partners (Ove N. Arup etc.). Sir John Ruggles-Brise, Lord Lieutenant of Essex performed the opening ceremony. Rents per annum were set at £200 for a one bedroomed or £250 for two bedrooms, which it was hoped would appeal to business and professional people. In March, prior to its completion, the development corporation offered a post for a resident caretaker to ensure the security and cleanliness of the building. Three shop units numbered 29, 31 and 33 Town Square, also formed part of the overall development, then known as Block K3, and completed by the same construction company. Its name was announced to the press in December 1961. On 22nd December 1998 Brooke House was given Grade II listed building status by English Heritage.

September

Lee Chapel South Community Hall in The Knares opened. The new hall located at the Kibcaps neighbourhood centre proved very popular with varied entertainment for all ages including a children's Saturday morning film club and Child Welfare Centre sessions.

1st September

Ghyllgrove County Junior School in The Gore, opened. The first appointed Headmaster was Mr. Eric Rand, who was born in Langdon Hills and previously taught at Laindon Park Primary School. The school is now known as Ghyllgrove Community Infant and Junior School. Mr. Rand would later hold the same post at Briscoe Junior School at Felmores End, Pitsea.

17th September

Cranes Farm Road is opened to through traffic. The new 'feeder' road linking Upper Mayne with Nevendon Road (now East Mayne) was built to serve the two industrial estates and the future tractor plant site. The first section to Gardiners Lane (now Gardiners Lane South), part of which took over the course of the former Basildon Road, Nevendon, had been completed in 1959 as a single carriageway, though the final section linking to the Upper Mayne roundabout is mainly duelled. The road, identified as 'Road 6' on Basildon Development Corporation's area plan and later designated A1235, took its name from the former farm which stood at its eastern end and was lost in the creation of the Cranes housing estate in Fryerns.

26th September

The first tenants move into Brooke House tower block in Basildon town centre. Myles and Janette Godfrey are the first to occupy the block at No.53 in a two bedroomed flat. Mr Godfrey is the son of the Godfrey chemist chain founder.

October

An experimental housing scheme involving 18 homes began at Knights on the Lee Chapel North Phase 4B housing development. The system built homes, numbered 9-25 (odd) and 28-44 (even), were designed by the chief architect planner to Basildon Development Corporation, Anthony B. Davies, A.R.I.B.A., as a pilot scheme involving a new Swedish developed building material called Siporex. The homes were assembled on-site using grey pre-cast sections manufactured in Scotland by the Costain Concrete Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of Richard Costain the main contractor employed in their construction. The small estate, situated within the larger Phase 4A housing development, was completed in August 1963 and in the following year work commenced on the main project; the 950 home Laindon 1, 2 and 3 estate, which was built to the same methods. Years later in the 1990s the Knights doctor's surgery was established at No.32.

November

St. Nicholas Lane (Road 26) extension and road upgrade commences. The road scheme had been submitted to the Ministry of Transport earlier in the year as being necessary to link the new Upper Mayne roundabout with High Road, Laindon. The cost was put at £219,000 and would change the road from a single lane into a three lane carriageway with footpaths on either side. The extension to St. Nicholas Lane, which had previously run from Basildon Road to High Road, Laindon past St. Nicholas Church (this section since being renamed Church Hill), was built over the length of Church Avenue, which was residential and required the demolition of around 23 properties. The road when completed included two new junctions: Ballards Walk and Leinster Road, which both served the ongoing housing development at Lee Chapel North and Laindon. The footpath to the north side of St. Nicholas Lane was never fully completed; finishing at one end at Church Hill with a short section added at the eastern end in the late 1990s when the Basilica building was constructed.

10th November

Church of St. Martin-le-Tours in Pagel Mead, Basildon officially opened. The Bishop of Chelmsford, Rt. Rev. John Tiarks, conducted the consecration service. It was designed by Billericay architect Trena Cotton and cost £40,000 to build. A foundation stone had earlier been laid on 15/10/1960 by then Chairman of Basildon Development Corporation, Lieut. General Sir Humfrey Gale. Pagel Mead was later renamed St. Martin's Square.

16th November

The Van Gogh public house opened. Situated in Paycocke Road on the Nevendon Industrial Estate the new public house and restaurant is unusual in that is on the first floor above lower business premises. Film, radio and television star Richard "Stinker" Murdoch was amongst the guests on the opening night. It is named in part after the 19th century Dutch painter Vincent Willem van Gogh. Live entertainment was a regular feature which peaked in the late 1970s with a weekly Thursday evening promotion called "Upstairs at Turkan's". Future stars Alison Moyet and Martin Gore were regulars in their respective bands, namely The Vandals and Norman and the Worms. The first proprietor of the new Free House is Mr. Johnny Blake who also serves as a town councillor for the Barstable Ward. From around 1984 the venue went through a succession of names beginning with The Factory (Discotheque) which then became Hats Nightclub followed in the 1990s by Monroes and finally Piccadilly Night Club to closure around the early 2000s.

11th December

Southend Waterworks Company open a new reservoir at Staneway, Lee Chapel South. The covered reservoir, located off the course of the former Green Lane, was the first of two in the area; the second being built on an adjacent field in the early 1990s. Lieutenant General Sir Humfrey Gale, Chairman of Basildon Development Corporation, officially opened the reservoir in the presence of The Hon. Peter Esmé Brassey, Chairman of the waterworks company. It is now owned and operated by Essex and Suffolk Water.