North of the central strip of Basildon, beneath the village of Little Burstead, lies the neighbourhood of Noak Bridge, Essex. Renowned as one of the most successful post-war housing estates throughout the entirety of Britain - Noak Bridge is a contemporary neighbourhood with a strong sense of identity and character. Owing to this, Noak Bridge is often one of the most sought after new developments in the whole of Basildon’s make up - with detached houses averaging at over £500,000!

Although Basildon has ancient history, Noak Bridge’s history can be traced squarely back to WWII. Following the historic passing of the 1946 New Towns Act - an act which changed the landscape of urban Britain throughout the twentieth century - one of the new towns designated for construction was Basildon. Basildon was chosen as a site of development in 1947, and by 1951, the first residents of the new town had moved into the southern strip of the town - in areas such as Vange and Pitsea. However Noak Bridge was first planned and designed in the 1970s, by Maurice Naunton and George Garrard. It was decided that Noak Bridge appropriate the character of a traditional English village, rather than emulate the numerous other mid-century housing estates which adopted modernist characters. The construction officially started in 1979, and by 1982 388 rented dwellings - including social housing and shelters, had been created! This phase of construction was helmed by the Basildon Development Corporation, but following the introduction of the 1980 Right to Buy Scheme - this was moved to private developers.

Noak Bridge possesses a very particular and unusual place in British new town history, being that it is one of the very few new town housing estates protected as a conservation area!

The conservation area, and indeed the very design of Noak Bridge, has meant that development in the area faces significant hurdles. The specific late 20th century character of Noak Bridge and its particular history is fiercely protected by residents, and even by the Basildon Borough Council itself. In December of 2023, private developer Croudace Homes submitted a planning application for the construction of over 400 new homes north of the A127 and adjacent to Noak Bridge. This planning application has yet to be dismissed or approved, but there has been significant public pushback on the project. However, throughout the breadth of Basildon’s locale, developments are under full swing - with even a major regeneration plan aimed at Basildon’s centre!