THURROCK Council is sitting on £30million worth of land which could be developed for homes it has been claimed - and a local councillor says it need to sell the plots.

The first meeting of the council's delivery of private and housing stock task and finish group looked at a strategy to deliver adequate housing stock in the borough.

Councillors looked at the need to provide homes for both an ageing population and growing numbers of young people.

The group heard councils, which are increasingly drawn into commercial schemes to make up for ever-falling Government funding, are finding they may not always have the necessary skills to negotiate and deliver them.

Cllr Joy Redsel said: "Sometimes I don't think we are quick enough to help property developers coming in to the borough. There's property developers that want to come in to the area. We have lots of pieces of land.

"We have lots of pockets of land that we don't even know is there. We're perhaps not looking at it in the right way. We are not getting back to them quickly so they tend to move away because we are not quick enough for them."

She added: "As far as I know we have £30million worth of pieces of land out there waiting to be sold so why aren't we moving a bit quicker?

"Whatever troubles we are in, if they are still wanting to come here that's good to me."

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The group heard plans to transform the derelict Calcutta Club in Tilbury failed after "delays in decision making" caused the site owner to withdraw. It remains vacant and had been the subject of a number of fiure, the most recent whcu led to the building being demolished for safety reasons.

Chairman Cllr Lee Watson said: "I think we need to look at streamlining our processes in order that we fast track and we put mechanisms in place in order to get moving quickly.

"I also believe in negotiation skills very much, especially if you are going to go in with the private sector because they will take every single bean they can get out of us.

"Councils were never set up to be a company but we've got to move really quickly to be commercially minded otherwise we are going to be left behind."

The board heard some recent council-led schemes in South Ockendon had been a success, including the Culver Centre plans drawn help with the help of the community and the award-winning Heathlyn House development of 21 bungalows funded by Homes England.