The regeneration of Wat Tyler Country Park has taken a major step forward today, following the agreement by Basildon Council’s cabinet to award the £2.2 million construction works contract to Forest Gate Construction, a company based on the Southfield industrial area. The award keeps both the money and work within the local economy.
Work will begin almost immediately to turn a former munitions factory into a heritage interpretation centre that forms the central focus of the major regeneration of Wat Tyler country park.
The centre, powered by renewable energy is due to be open by March 2009 and it is expected that visitor numbers to the centre will increase from an average of 200,000 a year to 350,000 a year within three years of its opening.
There are also plans to create an RSPB regional headquarters and return hundreds of acres of brownfield land back for public use. Funding for the project has come from EEDA, The Heritage Lottery Fund, and Veolia ES Cleanaway Pitsea Marshes Trust.
Councillor Stephen Horgan, cabinet member for regeneration and green issues says: “We are delighted that this fantastic project can now begin. Regeneration is so much more than redeveloping town centres and housing, and this project will rejuvenate and regenerate an already popular country park.
"Quality of life for our residents is key, and the new heritage centre and improvements to the open space will increase this. I am also pleased that a Basildon based company will carry out this work, ensuring that the benefits are kept within the local economy. We appreciate the efforts of all of our partners that have meant this project is now becoming a physical reality.”
Forest Gate Construction is a long-established main contractor with an outstanding track record in the public sector as well as an emerging commercial portfolio. Established in 1948, it combines a strong building heritage with extensive contracts experience to deliver the technical skills and management competence demanded by a project such as Wat Tyler.
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