550 new homes, a hotel and a new Aldi will 'carry on to the benefit', Basildon's new council leader has said. However, plans for a new arena in the town could bite the dust.

The regeneration of Westgate Shopping Park in Basildon, will continue according to Cllr Andy Barnes.

The plans include around 550 homes, a hotel and new Aldi store. Cllr Barnes said: "I haven't looked into the detailed finance, because it's a very complicated project with a lot of moving parts. My initial thoughts are it will broadly carry on, because I think it is to the benefit of residents."

Cllr Barnes took leadership of the council following an agreement with Reform UK, after Nigel Farage's party took 11 seats at the local elections. Back in November, the council's planning committee agreed plans for a seven storey 95-bedroom hotel with a rooftop bar and a block of 97 one and two bedroom flats.

Cllr Barnes, who is a Billericay councillor, added: "When we were looking at purchasing the Westgate, which was a decision the Conservatives didn't go through with, we had similar ideas at the time. Given the council now owns it, it would seem silly to at least not be open to the possibility of that's the direction we're going."

There will be 79 one bedroom flats, and 18 two bedroom flats. The flats block ranges from three to nine stories in height and the plans include six disabled parking spaces, three for the hotel and three for the new flats. The flats will be for older people who have extra care needs.

However, the new council leader, is not as supportive of plans he has inherited for a 3,500 seat arena, which is proposed for the town centre. He says they "could be scrapped."

Plans tor the arena, costing £50 million, were drawn up by the previous Labour administration.

Cllr Barnes, said the plan would be put under review due to concerns that it would not be financially viable.

He added: "There is some concern as to whether it can actually be profitable because other councils that have done similar things ended up losing quite a lot of money.

"It does, on the face of it, seem to be quite a substantial investment, and potentially we could redirect that into other things. For example, like unlocking the regeneration in Laindon or in Wickford."

Cllr Barnes said that if there was a "valid business case" then he would continue with the plans. He added: "My initial thoughts are it is a huge investment that other authorities have tried, and it has not worked, and I would have to be convinced it would be different for Basildon in order to progress it. It could be scrapped. I think the money could potentially be better used on other things."

At a meeting in December, Jonathan Tazzard, assistant director of property, assets and development, told councillors the arena is partly inspired by similar venues in Swansea, Cardiff and Derby, which "aren't necessarily that successful".

The council is also set to carry out a major regeneration of Westgate Shopping Park in Basildon, including hundreds of homes, a hotel, and an Aldi store.