Findings where this place differs most from its surroundings, with the evidence behind each one. A difference is not a verdict: it is a prompt to look closer.
Homesmedium confidence
Lower than similar council areas: Minor and other planning applications decided on time (Basildon figure)
Minor and other planning applications decided on time is 78.3% in Basildon (Year to Jun 2026), compared with 94.6% across five council areas with a similar profile (Bedford, Medway, Swale, Telford and Wrekin, Ipswich); 16.3 percentage points lower. It lies outside the range of all five (84.7% to 99.8%).
Basildon figure
78.3% Basildon figure94.6% five similar council areas: Bedford, Medway, Swale, Telford and Wrekin, Ipswich
How do we know this?
- Source
- Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (now Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government): Planning application statistics: live tables PS1 and PS2 (district matters) (Open Government Licence v3.0)
- Period
- Year to Jun 2026
- Geography
- Council area, compared with five similar council areas: Bedford, Medway, Swale, Telford and Wrekin, Ipswich
- Method
- Planning application decisions. Local planning authorities report to government every quarter how many applications for planning permission (district matters: housing, commercial and other development, excluding minerals and waste) they decided, how many they granted and refused, and how many were decided within the statutory time or an agreed extension. We add the four most recent complete quarters (July 2025 to June 2026) and compare with the four before. Percentage granted is granted divided by all decisions, which includes applications withdrawn only if reported as decided; it is a measure of the mix of applications a council receives, not of how fair or permissive it is, because many applications are refused for good reason or amended before decision. Speed is the share decided in time among decisions not covered by a planning performance agreement, shown separately for major developments (10 or more homes, or sites over 1 hectare) and for minor and other applications. Few major decisions are made each year in most authorities, so major-development figures rest on small numbers. National Park authorities and development corporations are separate planning authorities and are not included in the council totals. Wales (Welsh Government development management survey): major plus minor and householder applications over April 2025 to March 2026, summed from four quarterly returns; other consents, pre-application cases and non-material amendments are excluded. "Decided in time" covers all applications and consents decided within the statutory period or an agreed extension. Denbighshire did not supply data. Scotland (Scottish Government annual planning statistics): all applications decided in the financial year 2024/25 (the 2025/26 annual release is not yet out); the share approved is of all applications decided; "local developments decided within two months" and average weeks are for local developments without a processing agreement. Northern Ireland (Department for Infrastructure): applications received and decided by each council in 2025/26, and the share approved of those decided. Each nation counts and classifies applications differently, so the figures describe each nation's own system and should not be compared across borders.
- Limitations
- Planning performance agreements excluded.
- Coverage: England: local planning authorities (district matters), councils only here. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own sources.
- Covers the 12-month window Year to Jun 2026 only.
- This figure is for the Basildon council area, not for Basildon and Billericay itself.
- Similar areas are the five council areas closest on population size, share aged 65 and over, share aged under 16, share of neighbourhoods in the most deprived 20%, median house price (standardised); this is a convenience comparison, not a like-for-like guarantee.
Neighbourhoodsmedium confidence
Wide range between wards in Basildon and Billericay: Share of residents living in the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England (overall)
Share of residents living in the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England (overall) (2025) varies within Basildon and Billericay: from 0.0% in Billericay East to 72.6% in Pitsea South East, across 10 wards. The upper tenth of wards is 50.0 percentage points above the lower tenth.
Pitsea South East figure
72.6% Pitsea South East0% Billericay East
How do we know this?
- Source
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (LSOA 2021 ranks and deciles) (Open Government Licence v3.0)
- Period
- 2025
- Geography
- Ward, compared with lowest-value ward (Billericay East)
- Method
- Summarising deprivation for an area. The Indices of Deprivation rank every LSOA in England; decile 1 contains the most deprived 10 per cent of LSOAs nationally. Ranks and deciles are ordinal, so they are never averaged. An area is described by (1) how many of its LSOAs fall in each national decile, (2) how many of its residents live in LSOAs of each decile (mid-2024 population apportioned to output areas, see the area apportioning method), (3) the share of residents in the most deprived 10 and 20 per cent of LSOAs nationally, and (4) the median decile of residents. IoD is a relative measure of small areas, not of individuals: most people in a deprived LSOA are not deprived and many deprived people live elsewhere. England only. Where an area straddles the England-Wales border the figures cover the English part only and are not published unless 90 per cent of residents are covered.
- Limitations
- This figure is an estimate; see the methodology.
- Ward and neighbourhood boundaries differ in size; the range shows variation within the area, not a ranking of places.
Economymedium confidence
Increase between 2022 and 2025: Median weekly pay of full-time employees who live in the area (Basildon figure)
Median weekly pay of full-time employees who live in the area in Basildon council area went from £627 (2022) to £806 (2025): up 29% (not adjusted for inflation), compared with up 18.7% in England.
Basildon figure
£806 Basildon figure£627 same place, 2022
How do we know this?
- Source
- Office for National Statistics: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), via Nomis: tables 7 (place of work) and 8 (place of residence) (Open Government Licence v3.0)
- Period
- 2025
- Geography
- Council area, compared with same place, 2022
- Method
- Earnings from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. ASHE is a 1% sample of employee jobs from HMRC PAYE records, with a reference week in April. We hold the median gross pay of full-time employees, by place of residence (where the employee lives) and by place of work (where the job is), for the latest survey year and the years back to 2015. Median weekly pay is gross pay before tax for the pay period that includes the reference date; annual pay is gross annual pay for the year to April. Pay is in cash terms: it is not adjusted for inflation, so changes over time include price rises. Survey estimates have a margin of error that grows as areas get smaller; each value carries its coefficient of variation and values with a CV above 10% are marked low quality. Estimates ONS judges too unreliable (CV above about 40%) are not published and appear here as absent. Self-employed people are not covered. Residence-based figures describe people who live in the area wherever they work; workplace-based figures describe jobs located in the area wherever the employee lives. The two can differ a lot in commuter areas and city centres.
- Limitations
- Coefficient of variation 5.1%. Coefficient of variation 7.9%.
- This figure is for the Basildon council area, not for Basildon and Billericay itself.
- Prices are nominal and not adjusted for inflation or for changes in the mix of homes sold.
Educationhigh confidence
Higher than East of England: Pupils eligible for free school meals
Pupils eligible for free school meals is 24.8% in Basildon and Billericay (2025/26), compared with 19.8% in East of England (5.0 percentage points higher; n = 16,539).
24.8% here19.8% East of England
How do we know this?
- Source
- Department for Education (Get Information about Schools) via WhatSchool data: Establishment records, pupil numbers, FSM, SEN, absence; Ofsted outcomes (Open Government Licence v3.0 (DfE Get Information about Schools and Ofsted data, via WhatSchool))
- Period
- 2025/26
- Geography
- Constituency, compared with East of England
- Method
- Pupil-weighted school measures. FSM, SEN and absence percentages are school-level figures averaged with school roll (January 2026 census) as the weight; KS2 and KS4 measures are averaged with the number of eligible pupils (KS2) or the KS4 cohort as the weight. This equals the share of pupils in the area's schools, not of pupils living in the area. The England value uses the same method on the same files and is the comparator. Suppressed school values are skipped, so coverage differs by measure (the number of schools used is in the notes). Ofsted outcomes are the latest overall grade on record at 31 August 2026; schools inspected under the new report-card framework may carry no single grade.
- Limitations
- Share of pupils at schools in the area; pupil-weighted. From 31 schools. Schools are counted where they are located, not where pupils live.
Economymedium confidence
Increase between Year to 1 Nov 2025 and Year to 1 Nov 2026: Companies dissolved in the last 12 months
Companies dissolved in the last 12 months in Basildon and Billericay went from 1,175 (Year to 1 Nov 2025) to 1,384 (Year to 1 Nov 2026): up 17.8%, compared with down 3.2% in England.
1,384 here1,175 same place, Year to 1 Nov 2025
How do we know this?
- Source
- Companies House: Dissolved companies: advanced search API (one query per dissolution day since 2010), topped up from the live streaming feed; incorporations from the register snapshot of 2 Oct 2026 (to confirm (Companies House API terms; the register data is published under the Open Government Licence v3.0))
- Period
- Year to 1 Nov 2026
- Geography
- Constituency, compared with same place, Year to 1 Nov 2025
- Method
- Company dissolutions and net formation. Dissolutions are companies Companies House records as dissolved, counted on the dissolution date and located by the postcode of the registered office held at dissolution. That address is often an accountant, formation agent or liquidator, not where the company traded, so it says where a company was registered, not where a business closed. Every dissolution day since 1 January 2010 was fetched one day at a time and checked: the number of companies stored equals the number the register reports for that day. The latest window is the 365 days ending the latest complete day; the prior window is the 365 days before it; annual figures are complete calendar years. The route to dissolution (strike-off, end of liquidation, merger) is not recorded, so dissolutions are not split. Net formation = companies incorporated in the period (all that were ever registered in it, whether or not they have since been dissolved) minus companies dissolved in the period. The two groups are different companies and are located by different addresses, current for companies still on the register and last held for dissolved ones. Net formation compares registered offices, not jobs, trading or business closures.
- Limitations
- Registered offices are not operating locations; many companies are registered at an agent or accountant address.
- Registered-office events are not new local employers, closures or job changes.
- Registered office at dissolution.
Homesmedium confidence
Higher than similar council areas: Average monthly private rent (Basildon figure)
Average monthly private rent is £1,424 in Basildon (Aug 2026), compared with £1,075 across five council areas with a similar profile (Bedford, Medway, Swale, Telford and Wrekin, Ipswich); 32% higher. It lies outside the range of all five (£861 to £1,232).
Basildon figure
£1,424 Basildon figure£1,075 five similar council areas: Bedford, Medway, Swale, Telford and Wrekin, Ipswich
How do we know this?
- Source
- Office for National Statistics: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics (Open Government Licence v3.0)
- Period
- Aug 2026
- Geography
- Council area, compared with five similar council areas: Bedford, Medway, Swale, Telford and Wrekin, Ipswich
- Method
- Private rents (PIPR). The ONS Price Index of Private Rents measures the change in rents paid by private tenants, and publishes an average (mean) monthly rent per local authority from the same data. The figure is a mean, not a median, so a few very high rents pull it up, especially in London and where there are few lettings. It covers rents paid for homes let on the private market (not social rents) and reflects all tenancies in the stock, not only new lets, except in Scotland where the underlying data are mainly advertised new lets, which makes Scotland not directly comparable with England and Wales. Annual change is the change in the rental price index, not in the cash average. Rents are in cash terms, not adjusted for inflation. Averages by number of bedrooms are held for the latest month only.
- Limitations
- Mean, not median.
- This figure is for the Basildon council area, not for Basildon and Billericay itself.
- Similar areas are the five council areas closest on population size, share aged 65 and over, share aged under 16, share of neighbourhoods in the most deprived 20%, median house price (standardised); this is a convenience comparison, not a like-for-like guarantee.