CASH-strapped Thurrock Council raised more than a one and a half million pounds from the latest sale of some of assets.

Among items sold via online bidding through online auctioneers Clive Emson yesterday (Thursday, 28 July) were the site of the former Riverside Youth centre and sports court in Tilbury which sold for £526,000 and the former Chadwell St Mary clinic.

Other sales included land at Tank Hill Road, Purfleet-on-Thames, and a commercial property in the heart of Grays.

The former Tilbury youth centre

The Tilbury Riverside youth centre had been considered as the site of the planned new youth zone in Tilbury, but it – along with a number of other sites in the town and immediate area - were rejected in favour of building on the open space known as the Anchorfield, a move that has been much-opposed by local residents and Tilbury councillors.

The site of the centre and sports court is described as a potential redevelopment opportunity and sold for £526,000 – substantially above the guide price of £375,000.

The Chadwell site opposite shops and next toi existing homes.

The land at Chadwell, on the corner of River View and Ruskin Road, also outstripped its initial valuation, fetching £476,000 against a guide price of £225,000.

And the site of the former CBS furnishings shop on Cromwell Road also brought a bigger-than-expected windfall, reaching £467,500 after being estimated at £300,000.

Town and country assets were sold off.

The vacant parcel of land at Purfleet, was sold much nearer its valuation of £250,000, netting £262,000.

The council has not given specific details of what it will do with the revenue coming in but it has massive shortfalls in its operational budgets, though it is limited by how it can plug that gap and there are limitations about selling off assets as a 'one-stop' solution to a financial management problem, though these were eased during the pandemic and other pressures on public spending.