Unveiled - the £3.6m 'King of Essex'

The two-storey pub will be in a former Poundworld in Basildon town centre

Work on a new £3.6m town centre pub has been scheduled to start in late July.

Owned by Wetherspoon, The King of Essex, in East Walk, Basildon, is expected to be one of the biggest pubs in the company's chain.

Wetherspoon used to run a pub in Basildon called The Moon on the Square, but it closed in late 2022.

The company said it hoped The King of Essex, being built on two floors of a former Poundland, will create up to 70 jobs, and could be open by late November.

A Wetherspoon spokesman said: "The Wetherspoon pub in Basildon was very popular and the company is confident the new pub will prove just as popular, and be a great asset to the town."

This is how The King of Essex could look inside

Councillors have said they hope it will complement a £25m development in the town's East Square, which includes a new cinema and restaurants.

Plans have also been submitted to build new homes in the town centre, with blueprints agreed for 245 properties at the former Great Oaks Retail Park.

Additional reporting by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.