A GRAYS councillor has backed the latest bid by his town's homeless football club to get a ground to call their own.

As reported on Thurrock Nub News earlier in the week, Grays Athletic are now a co-applicant in the latest eattempt to win planning permission on the training pitches and land adjacent to Thurrock football club in Aveley, which closed down several seasons ago,.

As part of the plan the ground on Ship Lane will be refurbished and used by Grays, who play in the Isthmian North Division, and its junior teams.

Cllr Martin Kerin, who represents the Grays Riverside ward, has urged the council's planning committee to give the Club the green light for a new home

Speaking to Nub News, he said: "After three previous attempts have failed, I hope the planning committee will see the changes made to this application and note the wide community benefits to the scheme. After almost 13 years of homelessness, Thurrock's second oldest football club will finally have a home to call to its own, and Thurrock's residents will have a new all-weather 3G pitch in Belhus operated as a community facility.

 "It is no secret how Grays Athletic have survived all this time without a home – it is due to the dedication and loyalty of their fans and the sheer hard work of their community-minded management board who have steered the Club to this point. It is without doubt that this combination will ensure that Ship Lane is revived as a stadium and will become an asset that Thurrock can be proud of again.

"The sure footing of their own stadium will ensure that The Blues can thrive until, one day, they return home to Grays."

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