THE clock is ticking down to a vital Thurrock planning committee meeting that will be played online through video links.

The meeting, which starts at 6pm tomorrow (Monday, 8 June) would normally take place in the council's civic chamber and would have been sure to attract a large number of local residents who are angry about an application to build up to 160 homes on Thurrock Marshes.

Because of coronavirus the council has decided not to tray and arrange public meetings with safe distancing in place, but instead has opted for virtual meetings – the first two of which took place last week.

Tomorrow's meeting can be viewed live via the Council's online webcast channel here.

Councillors have already given the green light to the controversial plan for Thurrock Marshes but under council rules, when they go against officer recommendation the matter has to come back for a second debate to be rubber-stamped and councillors have to come up with justifiable reasons for the decision.

And it is a decision that is not justifiable according to ward councillor Allen Mayes who says: "I was absolutely appalled by the planning committee decision to go against the recommendation of planning officers for the application regarding the Little Thurrock Marshes.

"The land is green belt and has previously been refused in 2017 on the back of an independent inquiry which recommended it was rejected.

"The new application has not resolved the independent inquiry recommendations and I for one am glad officers have again made the recommendation to refuse. The residents of Thurrock Park, Little Thurrock and Grays are against housing development on this land and they must be listened to.

He added: "I urge the planning committee to do the right thing, follow the officer and legal advice and reject the planning application on June 8."

The push to not refuse planning permission in March was led by Cllr Gerard Rice who said: "We have to produce 32,000 homes and at this time the authority sits very much at the bottom of tables for housing delivery. Of those 32,000 around 8,000 will be out of brown fields and 24,000 from green fields.

"Whether we like it or not where we are is we have a total undersupply of housing to meet our industrial needs and when we are at the bottom of league tables for delivery that puts pressure on this authority.

"Tilbury 2 will generate between 4,000 and 5,000 new jobs and we are in a situation where we've got almost full employment, so we've got to drag people in from the outskirts of the borough and we need them to live as close as possible to the employer because if we don't we have a problem."

He convinced a majority of planning councillors to back that view, despite the fact that nearly 700 objections were received. Residents urged councillors to refuse planning permission, with 660 signing a petition against the development and a further 27 letters being written to the council.

Their concerns centre on increased traffic congestion, the strain on infrastructure and pollution.

Under the plans there will be 87 three-bed homes and 18 two-bed homes sold at market price, along with a further 56 'affordable' homes that will range from one-bed flats to four-bed houses.

The other item on Monday's meeting is another controversial approval for a development at Langdon Hills Golf and Country Club where approval was also given to a residential development for the over 50s despite opposition from officers.