Laindon Shopping Centre: Opening & Early Years
Part 1 of the history of Laindon Shopping Centre, covering its construction, opening, first traders, supermarkets, banks and early facilities.
The Laindon Shopping Centre was one of the most important developments in the history of modern Laindon. Built as part of the post-war development of Basildon New Town, it was intended to provide a purpose-built shopping centre for the growing population of Laindon and the surrounding neighbourhoods. Construction began in September 1967, and the first shops started opening towards the end of 1969. The completed development contained around 44 shop units of different sizes and represented a major investment in the area, costing approximately £1 million at the time.
The centre was designed to replace the traditional collection of shops that had previously lined Laindon High Road. Rather than having dozens of small businesses scattered along a busy road, the new development brought many shops together into one planned shopping area. A service road and unloading area were constructed below the elevated shopping level, while the centre also provided parking and pedestrian areas. The development was intended to give Laindon a modern shopping environment suited to the rapidly growing New Town population.
The First Shops
Many of the first businesses to move into the new centre were already-established Laindon businesses. This meant that the centre initially retained some of the character of the old High Road while giving those traders modern premises. Among the earliest businesses were Stanwood Radio, T.E. Collings, Peachey's, A.G. Butler & Son, Lloyds Bank, Midland Bank and Keith's newsagent. The first shops began opening in late 1969 and early 1970.
The development also included a three-storey office building called Clock House. It contained approximately 18,000 square feet of office accommodation and became one of the most recognisable features of the centre because of its clock and large bell. A new Essex County Library was also incorporated into the development, while The Joker, a split-level public house operated by Truman's, opened around the end of 1970.
The Original Supermarkets
Supermarkets were an important part of the centre from the beginning. Unit 33-35 eventually became one of the main supermarket spaces and went through a remarkable sequence of different names. It began with Merit, followed by Budgen, then Cannon, Shoppers Paradise and later Kwik Save. The changing names reflect the way supermarket retailing changed during the centre's lifetime. The unit eventually became vacant before being used by the Hamelin Trust.
Another important supermarket space was units 43-45. This began as Kibby's before becoming International Stores. It was later rebranded as Gateway, then Somerfield and finally Co-operative. This means that one section of the centre passed through several generations of supermarket branding without necessarily changing its fundamental role as one of Laindon's main food-shopping locations.
Lloyds Bank and the Financial Businesses
Banking was another important part of the original centre. Lloyds Bank occupied units 1-2 and later became Lloyds TSB before eventually being replaced by other community and business uses. NatWest operated from units 14-15 before the premises eventually became vacant. Barclays Bank operated from unit 53 until 2000, after which the building remained vacant before being demolished in 2008.
The presence of several banks shows how different shopping centres were in the 1970s and 1980s. Banking was a regular part of high-street life, with customers visiting branches to withdraw money, pay bills, deposit wages and speak to staff. The later disappearance of the banks reflected the wider decline in branch-based banking and the changing way people managed their money.