Basildon roadworks: closures now, free weekend parking

Basildon borough sits between two of the busiest A-roads in Essex, and neither of them belongs to the council you pay council tax to. The A127 and A13 are Essex County Council’s; the streets are largely Essex County Council’s too. Basildon Borough Council runs the car parks. That split is why finding out what is shut can be harder here than it should be, so this page pulls the current picture together in one place, and sets out the parking tariffs and the bus gates that catch people out all year round.

What is closed in the borough this month

These are the current temporary closures in Basildon borough, from the statutory notices published on the public notice portal:

The two 33-day jobs in Fryerns are the ones to plan around, because they are much longer than the rest and they are residential streets rather than through routes. Everything else on that list is a few days.

For anything newer than this, the live sources are Essex County Council’s future roadworks map, which shows planned closures and diversions for the next fortnight and beyond, and the public notice portal, where every statutory closure notice for Essex is published before the work starts.

The A127 and A13: two big schemes, neither of them started

Most journeys out of the borough use one of these two roads, and both have a major improvement scheme attached that has not begun.

Fairglen Interchange: £59.2m committed, no start date

The A127 meets the A130 and A1245 at the Fairglen Interchange, at the Wickford and Rayleigh end of the borough, and it is the worst pinch point on any journey east. The scheme to fix it would build a new Southend Link Road letting drivers reach the A127 and Southend without going round the Rayleigh Spur roundabout, widen the slip roads, signalise the roundabouts, add a southbound lane and put in a pedestrian and cycle bridge south of the roundabout.

The money is committed: £38 million from Essex County Council, £15 million from the Department for Transport announced in February 2025, and £6.2 million from the South East Local Enterprise Partnership, or £59.2 million in total. A preferred contractor has been selected. But Essex County Council says “a number of complex issues are taking longer to resolve than anticipated, impacting the start date for the works on site”, and publishes no start date at all (Essex Highways).

What it means for you: do not plan around Fairglen improving. The junction will behave in 2027 exactly as it does now, and the design it is eventually built to was drawn for traffic levels up to 2036.

A127 Transport Improvements: still waiting on the Department for Transport

The separate A127 Transport Improvements scheme would realign the carriageway at the Fortune of War junction and add an extra eastbound lane between the Halfway House and Dunton junctions, with walking, cycling and bus stop improvements along the corridor. Essex County Council submitted a Strategic Outline Case to the Department for Transport’s Major Road Network fund in June 2024 and is still awaiting a decision on whether it can move to the next stage (Essex Highways). Public consultation, an outline business case, a planning application and a full business case all come after that decision, so construction is years away.

A13 westbound: finished

The resurfacing on the A13 westbound between the Pitsea flyover and the Five Bells roundabout is done. It ran over 14 nights in May 2026 with 21:00 to 05:00 closures, and Essex Highways confirmed completion on 2 June 2026 (Essex Highways). If you avoided that stretch overnight in May, you can stop.

Parking: the borough’s split personality

Here is the thing that surprises people who move here. Basildon Borough Council does not run a single car park in Basildon town centre. Its pay and display car parks are all in Billericay and Wickford. Basildon’s own town centre car parks, including Westgate Shopping Centre and the Great Oaks multi-storey, are privately managed, so their prices are set by their operators rather than by the council (Basildon Borough Council).

These are the council’s tariffs, which are the ones the council can and does change:

Three practical points from the council’s own terms:

• Free weekend parking is new. From April 2026 the council introduced four hours of free parking at several sites on Saturdays and Sundays. Where a maximum stay applies there is no return within two hours.
• Every council car park is cashless and ticketless. You pay at the terminal or through the MiPermit app; there is no coin slot and no windscreen ticket, and meter feeding is not allowed.
• Blue badge holders park free for up to three hours in every council car park, with no return within two hours, displaying a valid badge and clock. Motorcycles are welcome in any marked bay. Vehicles over two tonnes are not allowed, except coaches at Lake Meadows and the Wickford pool car park.

Outside the charging hours listed above, all six car parks are free. Radford Crescent is the exception worth remembering, because the barrier means you cannot get in after 18:00.

Bus gates: four cameras in Basildon

Essex County Council enforces bus lanes and bus gates by camera at four locations inside Basildon: Ghyllgrove, Laindon Link, Long Riding and Southernhay. All four are in the new town’s road network rather than in Billericay or Wickford, and all four catch drivers who are following a satnav rather than the signs.

Essex Highways publishes the traffic regulation order and photographs of the approach from each direction for every location, which is worth looking at before you drive an unfamiliar route through Basildon, and is the first thing to check if a penalty charge notice arrives.

Getting around without driving

• Trains. Five stations, two lines, and a fare gap of over £1,100 a year between them. Our Basildon trains to London page has the times, fares and last trains from all five.
• Station parking. Radford Crescent in Billericay is the borough’s council-run station car park at £8.50 all day, free at weekends. Wickford Main, next to the railway line, is also £8.50 all day.
• Reporting a problem. Potholes, broken street lights and blocked drains on the highway are Essex County Council’s, not the borough council’s. Report them through Essex Highways.

Frequently asked questions

What roads are closed in Basildon now?

As of August 2026, Barrington Gardens and Bower Lane in Fryerns are both shut for 33 days from 3 August for parking bay installation, Anvil Way in Billericay for five days from 3 August and Kimberley Drive in Noak Bridge for four days from 7 August, both for Openreach duct laying, Doublet Mews in Billericay for four days from 17 August for patching, and Clayburn Circle in Barstable for seven days from 19 August for UK Power Networks. Newer closures appear first on the public notice portal.

When will the Fairglen Interchange work start?

There is no published start date. The full £59.2 million is committed and a preferred contractor has been selected, but Essex County Council says complex issues are still being resolved and has not set a date (Essex Highways).

Is parking free in Basildon at weekends?

In the council’s car parks in Billericay and Wickford, yes: from April 2026 they are free on Saturdays and Sundays, with a four-hour maximum stay at Billericay High Street, Wickford Ladygate and the Wickford pool car park. Basildon town centre car parks are privately run, so their weekend prices are set by their operators, not by the council.

How much is all-day parking in Billericay?

£8.50 at Radford Crescent, opposite Billericay station, Monday to Friday, with parking sessions only purchasable between 09:15 and 18:00 and no access after 18:00. It is free at weekends. Four hours costs £3.70.

Do I need coins for Basildon council car parks?

No. All six council car parks are cashless and ticketless. Pay at the terminal in the car park or through the MiPermit app.

Where are the bus gates in Basildon?

Essex County Council operates camera enforcement at Ghyllgrove, Laindon Link, Long Riding and Southernhay. Photographs of each approach and the traffic regulation order are published on Essex Highways’ page for each location, linked in the bus gates section above.

Related

• Basildon trains to London: times and fares from all five borough stations.
• Basildon planning news: the Local Plan the government has ordered out to consultation, and the infrastructure question attached to it.
• Things to do in Basildon, most of which have free parking.

Sources

• Essex County multiple temporary road closure notices, public notice portal for the current closures.
• Essex Highways: A127/A130 Fairglen Interchange for the funding, scheme content and delay.
• Essex Highways: A127 Transport Improvements for the Fortune of War and Halfway House to Dunton proposals.
• Essex Highways: A13 Basildon/Vange westbound road surface improvements for the May 2026 works and their completion.
• Basildon Borough Council: council managed car parks, pay and display parking for every tariff, the April 2026 weekend change and the terms.
• Basildon Borough Council: town centre car parks confirming that most Basildon town centre car parks are privately managed.
• Essex Highways bus lane and bus gate camera enforcement pages for Ghyllgrove, Laindon Link, Long Riding and Southernhay.
• Essex Highways future roadworks map for live and planned works.

Closures and dates change at short notice. Check the public notice portal and the Essex Highways roadworks map before you set off. Tariffs read from the council’s own page in August 2026.