St Hilary Retail Park is one of Basildon's newest shopping developments. It stands off Miles Gray Road and Crompton Close at Pipps Hill, directly opposite the older Pipps Hill Retail Park. Although the retail park itself is recent, the site has a much longer industrial history and was used for manufacturing for around sixty years before being redeveloped.
Before the shops were built, the site was occupied by Gilbarco, later known as Gilbarco Veeder-Root. The company had occupied the Pipps Hill site from 1962 and became part of the large industrial area that developed around Miles Gray Road as Basildon New Town expanded.
Gilbarco Veeder-Root is associated with equipment used by petrol stations and the fuel industry, including fuel dispensers and related forecourt technology. Its premises therefore belonged to the industrial rather than retail character of Pipps Hill. The company eventually relocated to Burnt Mills Road in Basildon, leaving the large Crompton Close site available for redevelopment.
Plans to change the former industrial site were considered over a number of years. An application in 2016 proposed demolishing the existing buildings and constructing retail and employment units, but that version was refused. A later hybrid planning application submitted in 2017 was granted and included retail units, employment space and proposals connected with new college buildings.
Further planning permission in 2019 allowed a self-storage building, retail and food units and an employment unit. Demolition of the old industrial building was also approved. The redevelopment made use of a large brownfield site while retaining employment uses alongside the new shops and services.
Construction gathered pace during the early 2020s. The completed scheme transformed the former industrial premises into a development of around 120,000 square feet, with a mixture of single and multi-level commercial units. An additional distribution building of around 55,000 square feet was developed on an adjoining part of the site.
The first businesses began appearing as the development was completed. Contemporary reports announced Lidl, Greggs, Tile Mountain and a self-storage business among the confirmed occupiers. The park provided approximately 157 parking spaces and added another modern retail destination alongside Pipps Hill Retail Park. The completed St Hilary scheme was reported as opening in 2023.
Lidl
Lidl is the main food supermarket and one of the anchor businesses at St Hilary. It sells groceries, fresh food, bakery products, household essentials and the chain's changing range of non-food products. When the development was being built, the new Lidl was expected to create around 40 jobs.
Tile Mountain
Tile Mountain operates a large showroom at St Hilary. It sells wall and floor tiles as well as laminate flooring, luxury vinyl tile and outdoor garden slabs. The Basildon showroom was developed as a combined Tile Mountain and Bathroom Mountain destination, giving customers displays and ideas for home renovation projects.
Greggs
Greggs occupies Unit 3. The bakery sells its familiar range of pastries, sausage rolls, sandwiches, baguettes, cakes, snacks and hot and cold drinks. It was one of the early businesses confirmed for the new park and opened as the development was being occupied.
Starbucks
Starbucks occupies Unit 4 and provides a café use alongside the larger retail units. It sells coffee, tea and other drinks together with cakes, sandwiches and snacks. Council records continue to identify the unit as Starbucks Coffee in 2026.
Shurgard Self Storage
The large multi-level self-storage building provides rentable storage rooms for households and businesses. The premises were originally associated with Lok'nStore during the development of the park and council records still contain the earlier Lok'nStore name. The site now trades as Shurgard Self Storage.
Magnet
Unit 6 was fitted out as a Magnet showroom and trade facility. Magnet specialises in fitted kitchens, including cabinets, worktops, storage, kitchen planning and related products for household and trade customers.
St Hilary differs slightly from older out-of-town shopping parks because its planning combined several uses. Alongside the supermarket, showroom, bakery and café are self-storage and employment or distribution space. This reflects the changing nature of the Pipps Hill area, where retail, warehousing, industry and services now sit close together.
The development also complements the much older Pipps Hill Retail Park across Miles Gray Road. Together the two sites form a large shopping area on the northern side of Basildon, while the surrounding streets continue to support industrial estates, warehouses and other employers.
Today St Hilary is a relatively new part of Basildon's retail landscape. The site that spent decades as the Gilbarco industrial premises has been completely transformed, but it has not lost its connection with employment. Shops, food outlets, storage and commercial space now occupy land that was once dominated by a single large industrial operation.
The change from Gilbarco to St Hilary Retail Park is a good example of how Basildon's employment areas have evolved. The original New Town attracted large manufacturing companies; later decades brought distribution, warehousing, supermarkets, trade showrooms and service businesses. St Hilary therefore represents both the industrial past of Pipps Hill and its more retail-focused present.
Businesses can change over time. The present-day occupiers on this page were checked against current business, council and company information in September 2026.