A TRIO of Thurrock councillors have weighed in with opposition to a plan to turn a shop in their ward into flats.

In February Thurrock Nub News reported on the application to make changes to the premises on Clarence Road in Grays, which has been a longstanding, family-run cycle shop that the owners say is no longer viable.

They wish to see it converted into two two bedroom self-contained flats on the ground floor.

However, Grays Riverside ward councillors say the plan is 'unsustainable] and will simply add to parking problems in an already congested area.

Cllrs Tony Fish, Martin Kerin and Jane Pothecary believe that any further development on Clarence Road that does not include additional parking should be rejected.

In a joint statement to Thurrock Nub News, they said: "The area is over developed already and parking causes real problems for local residents. The parking permit scheme has not solved this problem and there are far too few parking spaces in the area for use by existing residents.

"The situation is currently unsustainable and adding two more properties to the mix, with no additional parking, will create even more of an issue.

"In our experience, properties in this area of Grays often end up being leased in a multiple occupancy way with often a larger number of adults sharing the property than would be expected. Each flat has two bedrooms which is likely to mean four working adults per flat, each with a car or van.

"Adding eight more vehicles - plus visitors' cars - will create an incredibly dangerous parking situation."