Basildon
- For the Berkshire villages, see Upper Basildon and Basildon, Berkshire. For the Berkshire country house, see Basildon Park.
| | |||
| Statistics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Population: | 120,000+ | ||
| Ordnance Survey | |||
| OS grid reference: | Maps for TQ735895 | ||
| Administration | |||
| District: | Basildon | ||
| County: | Essex | ||
| Region: | East of England | ||
| Nation: | England | ||
| Other | |||
| Ceremonial county: | Essex | ||
| Traditional county: | Essex | ||
| Post office and telephone | |||
| Post town: | BASILDON | ||
| Postcode: | - style="vertical-align: top;" | Dialling code: | 01268 |
| Politics | |||
| UK Parliament: | Basildon | ||
| European Parliament: | East of England | ||
The A127 bypasses the town to the north, and the A13 bypasses it to the south.
Basildon was created as a New town in 1949 from the merger of several smaller towns, and expanded to accommodate overspill population from London. Basildon railway station was opened in 1974 and the town is now part of the London commuter belt.
Basildon's main industries include chemicals, clothing, printing, and automotive engineering
There is a shopping center in the town center of Basildon. Which is called the Eastgate.
Basildon is considered to be a Barometer of public opinion and has returned General election results in line with the nation since the 1950s.
The Synthpop/rock band Depeche Mode originated from Basildon, and founding member Vince Clarke later left to form Erasure. Singer Alison Moyet is also from Basildon.