Time Square is a small but distinctive part of Basildon's town-centre history, developing very differently from the main pedestrian shopping streets.
Time Square is a short cul-de-sac off the western end of Southernhay. It was created in the early 1960s and was originally known as Bluehouses. Contemporary local-history research connects the Bluehouses name with older local farm names in the Laindon and Pitsea area.
One of the earliest important users was Howard's Dairies, whose milk distribution operation arrived in 1962. The depot later passed through Unigate and Dairy Crest/Milk & More use. This made Time Square part of the practical service infrastructure of the New Town rather than simply another row of conventional shops.
The London Co-operative Society also had a milk distribution presence at Time Square, together with a funeral-directing operation. The funeral business later became associated with Co-op Funeralcare. These uses demonstrate the service-based character that distinguished Time Square from Town Square or East Walk.
Over time the area also became associated with leisure businesses. Local records list the Time Discoteque, QBall/Triangles Sports Bar and Katz Gentlemen's Club among uses associated with Time Square. Time House has additionally been used by businesses and organisations including a rail contractor and a Christian church.
Time Square never developed as one of Basildon's principal shopping streets. Its commercial history was shaped by depots, services, offices and leisure businesses, and occupants changed as companies merged, reorganised or moved away from town-centre distribution sites. The wider transformation of Southernhay and the growth of Eastgate also changed the setting around it.
The area survives as a comparatively tucked-away part of the southern town centre rather than a major retail destination. Because individual businesses can change, visitors should treat historic business lists as a record of former occupants rather than a guarantee of current trading names.
Time Square is worth including in a local-history walk because its story reveals the less glamorous but essential side of New Town planning: milk distribution, funeral services, offices and later leisure uses. It complements the much better-known retail history of Eastgate and Town Square.