Mr. Douglas Galloway, R.I.B.A. succeeds Air Commodore Allen Mawer as General Manager of Basildon Development Corporation. Mr. Galloway, who became the fourth and final General Manager, joined the corporation in the 1950s as an architect and later in the 1960s succeeded Anthony B. Davies as Chief Architect Planner. He held the General Manager's post until 1986 when the Development Corporation was wound up. He then took up a post with the Commission for the New Towns and was also responsible for the design of the belltower which stands in St. Martin's Square, Basildon.

Riverview Community Centre at Clay Hill Road, Vange opened.

Basildon (Felmores) Bail Hostel at 1 Felmores, Pitsea opens. It is run by Essex Probation Service.

Chalvedon Centre shops at Chalvedon Square open. The small centre was built to serve the recently completed Chalvedon 3 housing development and features shop units with above flat accommodation and a community centre.

Grevatt Lodge, Rectory Road, Pitsea completed. Built as a private sheltered housing scheme for older people, the care home comprises 32 flats of mobility standard. It is run by Springboard Housing Association. It received renovation works in 2007. The Lodge is named after Rev. Ernest William Grevatt, the former Rector of Pitsea from 1924 - 1936. In 1928 he purchased the land on which St. Gabriel's church now stands.

The number of councillors elected to serve on Basildon Council was reduced from 46 to 42. (District of Basildon (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1978). The first elections were held on 3rd May, 1979. This number continues to the present. The 14 voting Wards continued unchanged until 2002 when an additional 2 Wards were created.

Elim Pentecostal Church in Vowler Road, Langdon Hills opens as a place of worship. This new purpose built building replaced the original corrugated built church which had closed the previous year and stood on part of the same plot, though facing High Road. The new larger plot allowed for a small car park where previously stood a large High Road facing detached house called Hazelmere. It was subsequently registered for the solemnising of marriages on 22nd April, 1980. In the 2020s the church closed and became the target for vandals. The Pitsea based Salvation Chapel International later purchased the building with the intention to bring it back into use.

January

Tenants begin moving in on the Northlands estate at Pitsea. The new 257 home estate was designed by the National Building Agency and built on behalf of Basildon District Council.

11th January

The third Pitsea Market site in Northlands Pavement opened. A market at Pitsea was first established in the 1920s at Station Lane. This relocated in 1969 to a large field site on the southern side of the High Road during the construction of the South Mayne flyover. This new site, to the rear of the Railway Hotel public house and Tudor Buildings/Broadway North shops, was partly created on a former sports field to the rear of the pub and demolished residential properties that stood in St. Nicholas Avenue or Northlands Drive (now Northlands Pavement), which now separates the two sides of the market.

April

Chalvedon Community Centre in Beambridge (now 1 Chalvedon Square) opened.

10th April

Laindon Link Busway comes into use. Laindon Link was constructed in the late 1950s and functioned as a direct route linking the Roundacre roundabout at Basildon with the High Road at Laindon. Following the construction of the Laindon 5 (5 Links) housing estate a new road called Hatterill came into use and in September 1970 Laindon Link was 'stopped up' close to the cycle path adjacent to the Bluehouse Infants & Junior school playing field. The development corporation in consultation with the council and Eastern National Omnibus Company, who wished to reinstate services along the route, reached agreement on opening a short 250 metre length of road between Tyler Avenue and the Little Totham Path cycle path for buses and emergency vehicles only. This arrangement continues to the present with the exception from 2002 of unrestricted vehicular access to new build Laindon Link properties on the eastern side of the busway.
The District of Basildon (Laindon Link, Basildon) (Prohibition of Driving) Order 1978.
Source: The London Gazette, publication date: 17/02/1978, issue number: 47466, page: 2146.

26th July

Tesco's Superstore in Pitsea opens. The new store, located off Station Lane, has 49 checkouts, an upper floor restaurant, outside gardening centre and petrol filling station. It is built adjacent to the site of the original Pitsea Market which had relocated some years earlier to allow for the A132 South Mayne flyover construction. A new road called Hazelmere, essentially a continuation and realignment of the former Hazelmere Drive, linking the High Road to the station end of Station Lane (later Pitsea Hall Lane), was constructed with two entrance/exit points to the store's car park. The former market site is now covered by part of the Tesco car park. In 1997 the store was upgraded to become the first Tesco Extra to open in the UK and one of the largest within the company. An upper floor for clothing and electrical goods was added in 2006 bringing the total retail area to above 100,000 sq ft. In October 1993 the main Pitsea Crown post office in the Broadway relocated to within the store in a move considered controversial (by some) at the time. In the early 1990s the petrol filling station was relocated to the western end of the site from its former eastern location adjacent to the garden centre and in the same decade for a short time the outside car park was used for a Sunday boot fair. Scottish singer and television child star Lena Zavaroni appeared at the store on this day to promote her new album release Songs Are Such Good Things and sign autographs.

20th August

First major use of Gloucester Park's bandstand with all day "Rock Festival" headlined by local band "The Opposition". Also appearing, unscheduled, were Basildon band "The Vandals" whose lead singer was Alison Moyet who later went on to national success firstly as a member of Yazoo before embarking on a solo career.

30th September

Radio Basildon begin broadcasting from the basement of Brooke House in Basildon town centre. The new community based service utilised channel A of the Rediffusion piped television system installed in Development Corporation and Council homes. The station's manager was Clive Thomas and its home address, for collecting prizes etc., was an end terrace house at 74 Spurriers on the former Laindon 1, 2 and 3 (Siporex) housing estate. There was also an office in a prefabricated building on an undeveloped area of land at South Gunnels in the town centre. The station broadcast for 11 hours, seven days a week, beginning in the morning at 7am through to 6 pm on channel A, previously utilised by a 405 lines of transmission BBC1 service (a superior 625 lines service having been introduced on channel E in 1968). A full range of programmes was implemented covering topical issues along with the promotion of local talent, both in the studio and at outside broadcasts, and the service even extended to live transmissions of the councillors monthly meetings held in the temporary council chamber at Fodderwick. News bulletins courtesy of Independent Radio News (IRN) were also provided. The station's operating costs received funding from the council and development corporation along with additional revenue from local advertising. The station's logo and on-air jingle was Radio Basildon...Getting closer to you. Some of the presenters included Clive Thomas, Geoff Cullen, who presented a live phone-in, Mike Barlow, Chris Phillips, who covered religion every Sunday, Adrian Seek, who covered Arts, Ted Elliott, Kevin Hall, who presented the breakfast show, and Keith King, who followed him. It closed down on Friday 14th August, 1987 having never achieved its long term aim of a transmission licence and was not replaced. In 2007 a new community radio station, Gateway Fm, operating from Kelting House, Basildon, began trialling 28 day intermittent broadcasts on 87.7 FM. In February 2010 they were awarded a five year community radio licence. The station was renamed Gateway97.8 in September 2010 when 24-hour-a-day broadcasting was launched.