RESIDENTS and a councillor have spoken of their disappointment at the lack of action by Thurrock Council to combat anti-social behaviour by refugees housed by the Home Office on a new Thurrock housing development.

Thurrock Nub news has reported on residents' complaints and fears about Oak Grove in Chadwell St Mary and their case was taken up by ward councillor Gerard Rice – who went directly to the authority's chief executive and director of planning to demand action.

However, he has been rebuked for not going through 'proper channels' and told he should file a member's complaint and follow a bureaucratic process rather than deal directly with officers.

"I have been a councillor for 30 years, I think I know my way around what to do and what needs doing," said Cllr Rice, who added: "The situation in Oak Grove is bad and getting worse. Filling in forms and parking the issue in a file in the council offices is not going to get anything done."

And residents have been similarly rebuked for going direct to officers and the council's housing and environmental departments to demand action.

"If they are receiving high volumes of complaints about these houses and the people who live in them, maybe they should get it sorted out."

Complainant Derek Ager he says the council are simply employing 'delaying tactics' rather than doing something about the problem.

He has received acknowledgement from the council's strategic lead for information management that there have been a high number of complaints from residents about Oak Grove.

Mr Henley told him: "As you will be aware, in light of the latest coronavirus (COVID-19), the council is naturally prioritising its resources and services to ensure essential services are delivered.

"With this in mind we may not be able to respond to you within our standard time-frames.

"Due to the the high volume of communications received by the council on Oak Grove the following procedures have been put in place to manage your concerns.

"All communications in relation to Oak Grove should be sent to the single point of contact address [email protected]. You can, of course, copy in relevant councillors when doing so.

"This mailbox is managed by my team and we will link in with the relevant service area to ensure that any communications you send in are considered and responded to.

"Any emails/communications in relation to oak Grove sent to other council contacts will not be responded to by the council.

"The single point of contact arrangements will be reviewed on 14 July."

Mr Ager commented: "They seem to be pulling all the stops out as to do nothing about what is happening in Chadwell St Mary and specifically Oak Grove.

"If they are receiving high volumes of complaints about these houses and the people who live in them, maybe they should get it sorted out."

Read our exclusive story about the problem with refugees in Oak Grove here