Recently granted outline planning consent, the regeneration of Basildon’s town centre through the Eastgate Quarter scheme will create a new destination for residents and visitors. Based around Leslie Jones Architecture’s key vision, the ambitious plans focus on the creation of four new distinctive character areas within Basildon town centre, which together will form the new Eastgate Quarter.
The Eastgate Centre was built during the 1980s and sits at the heart of the town. Originally the largest covered shopping centre in Europe, Eastgate dominates the eastern half of the town centre, limiting connectivity to the rest of the town. Through Eastgate Quarter developers, Sovereign Centros, aim to reinvigorate the area, transforming the Eastgate Centre site to create an interconnected, attractive and safe gateway to the town.
By repurposing elements of the existing shopping centre and relocating the Asda store, Eastgate Quarter will deliver a stunning mixed-use district which provides up to 2,800 new homes – including build to rent, open market sale, student accommodation, housing for later living and co-living units – along with a comprehensive blend of retail, leisure, commercial and dining outlets which are set to become a destination for residents and visitors.
Waterman is providing multidiscipline engineering services in support of this exciting scheme and our experts are working closely with Leslie Jones Architecture to help create a truly sustainable development. With cutting carbon high on the agenda, our building services team is developing the energy strategy for the site which will be centred around air source heat pump technology supplemented by PV cells.
Integrated within the extensive landscape design, which incorporates three hectares of new landscaped space punctuated by around 700 new trees, our infrastructure team provided planning advice on the development-wide drainage strategy. This included designing a detailed SuDS scheme which will ensure surface water discharge rates are reduced across the site. Sustainable infrastructure and transport options will provide a further environmental boost and play a vital role connecting the town centre with the rest of Basildon.
Meanwhile, our structures team has developed a flexible structural solution for Eastgate Quarter which optimises arrangements for each of the various use types, and they are also appraising the viability of foundation re-use to further reduce the development’s embodied carbon.
Client: Sovereign Centros
Architect: Leslie Jones Architecture
