Basildon's relatively short history as a town begins in 1948, as a consequence of the New Towns Act of 1946, which sought to remove people from London housing that fell below the standards of the Housing Act. At the time, Basildon was a small village - the name Basildon is of Saxon origins and means Beorhtel's Hill. This reflects its age - as Berlesduna it was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086.

The new town development plan resulted in it being combined with the towns of Lindon, Pitsea and Vange to form a new town. Substantial amounts of new housing were built and today Basildon is a well-established, mature town that's grown to be one of the largest in the region, with a population of over 100,000.

Basildon's diverse mixture of people has helped to make it a reliable indicator of political sentiment in the UK as a whole - since 1974, the MP for Basildon has always been of the same political party as the government.

Basildon offers a mixture of residential, retail and commercial locations - and given its size, it's not surprising that the town's residents and businesses have a steady demand for van rental. Van hire in Basildon is readily available from local companies, who offer a competitive range of van types for hire:

• Medium / short wheelbase vans - e.g. Ford Transit, Vauxhall Vivaro, Renault Trafic, Volkswagen Transporter
• Small vans - e.g. Vauxhall Combo, Ford Transit Connect, VW Caddy
• Large / long wheelbase vans - e.g. Mercedes Sprinter XLWB, Ford Transit LWB, Renault Master, LDV Maxus
• Luton vans & box vans (3.5 tonne / 3.5t).