CAR parking signage and payment units have now been removed from a car park in the centre of Grays, which has been sold by Thurrock Council for more than £1.2 million.

The car park off Crown Road and Darley Road is now in private ownership. No details of what the new owners plan to do with it have been given publicly.

In 2023 the council applied to itself for planning permission to use the land for social housing. The scheme would have produced 53 self-contained social housing flats, with a mix of one and two bed units but despite spending many thousands of pounds on the project and using up countless hours of officer time, the proposal was never followed through.

One of the ways the council planned to develop the site.

Instead, in the wake of the authority's self-inflicted billion pound cash crisis, it was decided to include the land in the many assets the council has now sold off.

A council spokesperson said: "The freehold sale of Crown Road and Darnley Road car parks, Grays, completed on 24 April 2026.

"The disposal forms part of the Council's wider Asset Disposal Programme, supporting the Council's Improvement and Recovery Plan, and generated a capital receipt of £1.226 million.

"The sites benefit from a resolution to grant planning permission for residential-led development, subject to completion of a section 106 agreement. This planning position was reflected in the marketing particulars.

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"The future use of the site is now a matter for the new owner and, where applicable, subject to the normal statutory processes.

"The car parks are no longer operated by the Council."