Basildon will be “closed for business” in the evenings unless a £39million regeneration plan goes ahead, council bosses believe.

It is hoped proposals to revamp the town centre – which include moving Basildon Market and building a new campus for South Essex College – will go to public consultation later this year.

Cash for the scheme will come from the sale of the college’s current campus to developers, who want to build 725 homes off Dry Street.

Bala Mahendran, Basildon Council chief executive, said: “We are the second biggest population district in Essex, but if you go out at 6pm, the place is closed for business.

“We can either batten down the hatches and manage decline, or look to the future and seize opportunity.

“It is really about the renaissance of Basildon – standing still is not an option.”

Council leader Phil Turner said: “Basildon lies at the heart of an entrepreneurial and vibrant community, but the town has seen better days.

“We need to put a beating heart back into our town – but we cannot do this alone.”

Basildon Council has lost almost 40 per cent of its funding from central Government since 2010.

Mr Turner said: “To bring about big changes like transforming our town centres, we need to think and work very differently.

“This means working in smart partnerships with others.”

South Essex College chief executive Anthony McGarel believes the influx of students into the town centre will provide a significant trade boost.

The college has opened new campuses in Southend and Thurrock in the last decade.

Mr McGarel said: “In the high street, the legacy of our new campuses is significant.

“Stores such as H&M, in Southend, have increased floor space purely down to their key customers being students.

“We have also seen many new names come to Southend High Street and this trend helps the town centre continue to flourish.

In Thurrock, an independent report we commissioned, projects student spending power of more than £700,000 a year.”

The college will offer A-level courses for the first time at the new campus, which it hopes will be ready in 2018.