NEWS that a consultation is to be launched in the new year about the future of a Thurrock community space has been welcomed by ward councillors.

The Parker Road Green Space Consultation will take place in January and is the latest event in what has been a recent checkered history for the site - which has been at the centre of plans by Thurrock Council which included using part of it as a construction site base.

Local opposition included a petition to stop it.

Those plans have since been shelved when the council called a halt to its plan to build new homes to the rear of adjacent properties. While there is a pause in that plan, residents and ward councillors Martin Kerin, Jane Pothecary and Tony Fish have pledged to remain vigilant.

They have also been campaigning for the green space to be awarded a 'Green Space Designation'.

Now, following an announcement yesterday (15 December) Cllrs Kerin, Pothecary and Fish have welcomed the news that a consultation and engagement process is to begin in the new year.

In a joint statement, they said: "We are looking forward to the engagement and consultation process on Green Space Designation beginning in the new year. This park is a fantastic piece of green space nestled in the heart of very dense urban area. "The park is widely used by the community, and is treasured as a place of play, exercise and recreation. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that urban communities need their green spaces to be protected. "We look forward to engaging with our residents in the new year and working hard to give the Parker Road Recreational Park the status it deserves."