COUNCILLORS expressed their disappointment at a lack of information about the cost of the proposed underpass development to link Grays rail station with the High Street.

At last night's (Tuesday, 6 July) meeting of Thurrock Council's planning, transport, regeneration overview and scrutiny committee members were presented with two reports about progress on the scheme, which is currently estimated to cost around £37 million.

But how the council came up with that figure – and the lack of detail and fear that the whole scheme could spiral well beyond that, prompted councillors to express their concerns.

Labour councillors Lee Watson and Martin Kerin both weighed in with concerns about the lack of detail in the reports put before them and Tory Cllr Graham Snell was equally worried and disappointed with the lack of information on which he was being asked to make important recommendations.

All three pressed the council's strategic lead for regeneration, Rebecca Ellsmore, for more information.

She told members: "We haven't presented a full budget breakdown. It's an interesting challenge back to us at what point do we come to you and give you this information. They will only be estimates for some time yet.

"It will get more and more concrete as we get through the process.

"Our aim is that every time we come back to you there will be more certainty and less risk but that's not where we are yet in the project's life cycle. It's difficult to put a figure on costs."

Cllr Snell said: "I am afraid I am going to bang on about the costs. You have got £37 million as a total figure but you say you have built in contingency, so what is the actual spades in the ground figure?

"We keep hearing again and again, 'we don't the costs of this, we don't know the cost of that and we don't know the cost of the other. What is the cost?"

Ms Ellsmore responded by saying: "The spades in the ground figure has element to it. There is the Network Rail element where they are delivering the underpass and the steps and ramps and that's broadly about £8 million.

"We've then got about £7 million of land assembly but there's other cost elements that form part of the scheme.

"There's the public realm either side, there's the finishings of the underpass itself because we have contained control of that. We have to relocate Crown Road closer to the tracks so there's a cost element in there.

"We also need to relocate Station Approach so we have go the space to get people down to the underpass level so there's a cost element in that.

"There's a cost for physical delivery, there's fees and there's a cost for risk and contingency."

Quizzed about contingency and what appears to be a plan to avoid the embarrassment of the massive overruns in projected costs of the A13 widening and Stanford Rail Station, she added a confirmation, saying: "There is a big element of contingency, that's because of the A13 and Stanford rail station experience.

"It's clear that's not a position we want to get ourselves in again. So the way to avoid that, where we are at the moment is to make sure that contingency is there."

Cllr Snell said: "It is still a little bit woolly. We are going to be asked to delegate a decision to the director of resources and place but we can't we really do need to see these figures.

"We get they are not the final figures, but my fear is I think it's going to be a lot more expensive that £37 million.

"Are we going to make a decision based on this information? I am not happy to do that."

The members voted to note the reports put before them but have asked for regular and more detailed reports in the future as the project – which is also due to be debated by the council's ruling Conservative cabinet tonight (Wednesday, 7 July) – progresses

Cllr Kerin did refer to the debate in cabinet – which is likely to be held, in part, in private.

He said: "For any item, I would expect to have as much information as possible. As a councilor it's my job to look at it and come in prepped with questions. Considering the magnitude of this project we should have more questions but we can't because we don't have the information.

"What information are we being denied?

"I don't see anything in here that's confidential and not available to the public and press so what is happening tomorrow that we are not being told."

Cllr Watson was concerned that with just 24 hours between the two meetings, not enough time was being given to the committee to do its job and report back to cabinet. She said to Cllr Alex Anderson, the committee chair: "You haven't got time to go back and report to cabinet tomorrow night but we need to have a voice in cabinet."

Another Conservative, Cllr Tom Kelly agreed that the timescale was difficult and that the overview and scrutiny committee needed to have better and more regular briefings, saying: "This project needs to come back more often, at least once every six months" and he called for interim notes on any project updates.