Basildon: Community hub to open in Eastgate Shopping Centre

A new community hub where the public can meet their local police officers and representatives from other public services and local charities opens in Basildon’s Eastgate Shopping Centre on Saturday 20 July.

The hub is located opposite the centre’s food court and will operate from Friday to Monday until the first weekend in September.

The aim of the hub is to provide a highly visible police presence in an area of high footfall to help build stronger relationships with residents and businesses, as well as being a place people can access information and advice from a variety of partners including the NHS and Basildon Council.

Other organisations who will have a presence in the hub include drug and alcohol charity Open Road, Essex Fire and Rescue, employability charity Signpost, and Active Essex.

There are also a series of fun activities planned for children including workshops and poetry writing from Creative Basildon and the Towngate Theatre teams, a colouring competition, and biscuit making and indoor archery thanks to the ATF.

The hub is the brainchild of Sergeant Liz Reschwamm and PC Alex Plakhtienko who were collaborating as part of their respective roles in Operation Grip hotspot policing and business crime.

Eastgate falls inside one of the 15 Grip hotspot zones in the county where officers carry out short, sharp patrols to act as a crime deterrent and engage with the community.

“We want to be visible and connect with the local community, particularly young people,” said Sgt Liz Reschwamm. “During the summer holidays, we expect the town centre to be busy and this can lead to an increase in incidents.

“The hub is in popular area of the centre, and we’d love local people to come in and say hello. The Eastgate team have been fantastic in providing the space and we’ve had a huge number of partners wanting to be part of the initiative. People will be able to find out more about services available locally that could benefit them.

“Even if you don’t have a particular issue you’d like to discuss, we have lots of useful information and fun events for children to enjoy.

“There is a really strong community spirit here. Even though we’ve not officially opened yet, we’ve have people knocking on the door telling us that this is exactly what the community needs. That’s brilliant to hear.

“We hope that by having a big presence in this area, we can reduce incidents and show people in Basildon that we’re working together with our partners to make their lives better.”

The official opening takes place at 10am on Saturday with guests including the High Sheriff of Essex, and Mayor of Basildon Cllr Allan Davies.

For updates about which organisations will be at the hub and when, please follow the Essex Police in Basildon Facebook page - @EPBasildon.

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