THURROCK Council has conceded, just days after trumpeting about its most recent 'improvements' to rural roads, that it doesn't have a long term solution in place for the problem that causes the road surface to sink and crack.

Work that it completed just last year has already cracked and subsided and some parts are little better now than when the work was carried out.

Work was carried out on Cooper Shaw Road between Tilbury and East Tilbury in September last year but it is already in need of repair again.

It seems likely that the same will happen to more work recently carried out on another stretch of Cooper Shaw Road and Fort Road – which was trumpeted by the council earlier this month.

A drive along the roads this week by Thurrock Nub News found lengthy cracks in many places on the two conjoined roads, including parts which were clearly only recently resurfaced.

We asked the council what due diligence it carried out on repairs and how much had been spent on them. And sent pictures showing the state of the road.

A council spokesperson declined to answer our request to learn how much has been spent over the last two years on resurfacing and repairs on Cooper Shaw and Fort roads.

Download our Nub News App!

- It’s FREE and available now
- Breaking news notifications
- Your Town in Your Pocket

However, he did say: "The section of road shown in your photographs was not part of the recent resurfacing works. It is an area that received emergency repairs last year following longstanding issues affecting the road structure.

"These repairs were intended as a temporary improvement. However, underlying ground conditions and the high volume of heavy goods vehicles using the route mean that defects can reoccur.

"Cooper Shaw Road and Fort Road have experienced structural issues for several years. Thurrock Council is developing proposals for a more substantial, long-term solution, which we hope to deliver in 2027, subject to the necessary approvals."

The council has also come in for criticism over the standard of repair and resurfacing work on residential roads – which it has again been acclaiming as a successful part of its 'Civic Pride campaign.

Residents in Buxton Road, Grays, for example, were left angry after shoddy pothole filling, which engineers later came and repaired after complaints.