THURROCK Council has created a mystery around its plans for land off Buckingham Hill Road near Stanford-le-Hope, which currently houses the brough's only household and recycling tip.

Last week Thurrock Nub News exclusively reported on plans by the council to sell or dispose of land which it owns.

Much of the land incorporates scout huts, village halls and other community buildings and the council is considering gifting that land to site occupiers as a way of cutting administrative costs which outweigh revenues generated by income from land rent.

But among the large number of properties put forward to be discussed by a meeting of the council's corporate overview and scrutiny committee on Tuesday (12 July) evening are a number of other brownfield sites – including the household waste and recycling site (HWRC) on Buckingham Hill Road.

A document to be presented to the committee is quite simple and clear. It identified the site, uses a picture of the entry to the tip and says: "The site is considered suitable for alternate uses. It is proposed that the council look at the viability of alternative uses and either use or dispose of as is appropriate."

The council had previously said it planned to refurbish and expand the tip site to make it a more practical asset for residents and in February 2020 it got the green light from its planning committee for the work. Accompanying that application were a number of maps and aerial photographs detailing the site and how it might be expanded northwards.

Since winning planning permission, the council appears to have done nothing to advance its plans – and if work hasn't started by February next year the planning permission will be rescinded.

Last week's Thurrock Nub News story.

Virtually the first mention of the site in two years came in the presentation before this week's committee and the presentation to councillors appears quite definite about the planned disposal of the site.

However today, in response to questions from Nub News posed last week, the council said: "There are no plans to release the existing HWRC site or change its current use as a civic amenity site. The land in question sits beside the site."

Nub News sought urgent clarification from the council about what appears to be misinformation put before councillors who are being asked to approve a possible sale of a piece of land clearly defined as the HWRC in the documents.

We pointed out all the detail in the planning application which has maps which appear to show the whole of the land owned by the council, most of which is made up by the existing tip.

The council's statement today lacked detail but perhaps indicates they plan to sell off the small parcel of scrubland to the north of the site – but that would mean its redevelopment and expansion of the tip could not happen as per the planning permission.

Nub News also flagged up those apparent contradictions to Cllr Mark Coxshall, the regeneration portfolio holder in whose name tomorrow's report to councillors will be put.

Neither the council nor Cllr Coxshall have responded to Nub News about the conundrum apparently being posed.

The documents put to councillors tomorrow night have all the hallmarks of the fiasco that was created when another plan was put forward to sell off or utilise pockets of land for housing development in both the social and private sector. That resulted in public meetings, red-faced apologies and a climbdown in many instances by the council when its officers' plans were proved to be unworkable and unwelcome.

It also harks back to another recent Nub News exclusive when we reported on a peer review of the council which damned it for coming up with too many ideas and schemes which it does not have the capacity to manage. "There simply isn't the capacity or resources to deliver!" reported an inspection panel that reviewed many of the council's recent project failures.

We will be reporting on the meeting tomorrow evening!