Council accused of abandoning commitment to local plan that would protect region from predatory developers
By Nub News Reporter 20th Mar 2026
THURROCK'S Labour leadership has been accused of abandoning its commitment to unveil a new but much-delayed local plan.
The borough has been without a guideline document – which is a statutory requirement for councils with planning responsibility – for almost a decade. All local planning authorities must prepare a local plan that sets out a planning framework for their area.
It includes how much development should be permitted and how it should be distributed around the borough. By law, it must be used when deciding future planning applications.
Successive ruling administrations, including Conservatives, have been highly criticised for not having one in place – and have been accused of leaving the borough's green spaces open to predatory developers.
In May last year following a peer group inspection of the council's planning function, Labour's portfolio holder for good growth, Cllr Lee Watson, delivered an upbeat message, saying her group had put 'tangible measures in place to make real and visible improvements in planning'.
That included renewing a pledge to get a local plan in place and the council has invested cash and time in putting a team of consultants and planning experts together under the guidance of an all-party local plan steering committee.
However, despite public consultation and many meetings - including an extraordinary meeting of the council to discuss the local plan - little has been produced that could be described as 'tangible'. The last consultation with residents on a plan concluded more than two years ago but the outcome remains something of a mystery.
A report was scheduled to come before cabinet in the current civic year, but it has not appeared and the last meeting of the cabinet this week made no mention of it.
That has prompted the Thurrock Conservatives' deputy leader, Cllr Barry Johnson – who sits on the steering group – to slate his political rivals.
He says: "Thurrock Labour have broken yet another promise to residents by pulling the borough's long-awaited local plan at the last minute.
"For months, councillors and residents were repeatedly assured that the Local Plan was on track to be delivered and that the council were progressing on it.
"Instead, Labour have now withdrawn it entirely, avoiding the difficult decisions that responsible leadership requires - just as they prepare to face the electorate (despite their best efforts to cancel elections).
"Walking away from the Local Plan leaves Thurrock vulnerable to speculative developers trying their luck.
"Without a clear and adopted plan, developers will continue to rely on the lack of a Local plan as a strong reason for appeal, often successfully - as we have already seen. That could cost local taxpayers millions of pounds while providing no infrastructure to support developments and offering little protection for our precious green belt and open spaces.
"The alternatives being offered are no better. Reform may promise to simply say "no" to development, but that approach would fail in practice. In reality, it would only strengthen developers' cases on appeal and leave Thurrock with even less control over where homes are built.
"Only the Conservatives are prepared to take the responsible path forward. We recognise that the decisions required are not easy, but they are necessary to secure sensible development, protect our green spaces, and provide certainty for residents - and bringing in the right infrastructure to support themselves and protect residents.
"Thurrock deserves leadership that faces challenges head-on - not politicians who walk away from them."
On Wednesday, Thurrock Nub News asked the council and Cllr Watson to comment.
It took three days to produce this response from a council spokesperson this morning (Friday, 20 March): "The local plan is a hugely complex and important strategic document for the future of Thurrock and we are completing some further analysis to ensure it is as comprehensive as possible before we consult on it. The plan will come to Cabinet in June."
Other related stories:
Green light for consultation: https://thurrock.nub.news/news/local-news/councillors-give-green-light-for-local-plan-consultation-213936
What's on your doorstep: https://thurrock.nub.news/news/local-news/whats-going-to-be-on-your-doorstep-councillors-to-debate-proposed-plans-for-thurrocks-future-land-use-before-they-go-to-consultation-213595
Grays proposals: https://thurrock.nub.news/news/local-news/grays-in-focus-extracts-from-the-proposed-local-plan-213610
East and West Tilbury and Linford: https://thurrock.nub.news/news/local-news/east-tilbury-linford-and-west-tilbury-in-focus-extracts-from-the-proposed-local-plan-highlight-new-homes-a-rail-bridge-and-new-purpose-built-community-hub-213661
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