RESIDENTS living next to a controversial construction site say they are going into yet another weekend fearing it will be spoiled by workers continuing to breach building control orders.

The site of the the Sergo Logistics Park in Purfleet has been a point of contention since its creation was first mooted in a planning application.

They objected but concerns about the impact of the negative impact on their lives were not enough to sway planning councillors, who gave approval.

Thurrock Council handed over land to allow access to the site - itself a controversial issue that the authority has remained tight-lipped about. Ownership of the site, a triangle of land adjacent to the A13 and A1306, also remains something of a mystery.

Planning permission was granted despite no provenance about ownership - and some local people believe the land was owned by the council (or the now defunct Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation) but the council has denied it owns anything other than land at the side of the highway.

Thurrock Nub News has been attempting to find out what value the council put on the land and if it was sold, but the authority has declined to respond to our detailed questions.

In September, after several stories by Nub News including publishing footage of night time working, the council finally said it would take action against the construction company Winvic.

Residents hoped that would bring a stop to late night and weekend working - but it has not done so.

Thurrock Nub News has since forwarded more evidence of breaches of planning control rules but the council says it can do no more - despite the fact it is empowered to stop work by either a stop notice or an injunction.

That has prompted local ward councilor David Van Day to demand answers.

He has now spoken of his frustration at the council's refusal to do more and called for a change of policy.

He first asked for an update on the situation and was told by the council's strategic lead for development services, Jonathan Keen, that the council was acting.

Mr Keen told him: "The council served a Breach of Condition Notice (BCN) upon Segro on 17 July 2020 because of incidents of out of hours working.

"In light the recent evidence provided by local residents we have instructed the Council's legal team to prepare a prosecution case against Segro for flouting the terms of the notice.

"We will keep you updated as soon as papers are served and we have a timetable for the court case.

"Please be assured that we take all reports of unauthorised activity very seriously and we will continue to work with local residents to ensure that their amenity is protected through the enforcement of planning conditions."

That has done little to placate Cllr van Day, the former pop star with ten top ten hits to his name as one half of the late 1970s and 1980s duo Dollar, who says the council is not acting with the force and vigour local residents deserve.

He told Thurrock Nubs News: "I am grateful that council officers are planning a legal action for breach of the building control notice but that is a long-winded legal process that is likely to take some time and I suspect will not help the residents whose lives have been so badly affected.

"The only way to act immediately to make a difference is to fire a proper shot across the face of these contractors by applying for a stop order or an injunction. Once they know they have to comply or they will be immediately shut down, they will do so.

"So why is the council taking the weakest course of action (other than ignoring this completely which it previously did for months) and not making a real difference to the lives of the residents it is supposed to be representing by bringing a halt to this illegal activity now?"

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