A THURROCK councillor has spoken of her fears that the authority may be abusing the legacy of a borough woman, who gifted land to the council to be used for the benefit of local children.

Chadwell St Mary's Cllr Sara Muldowney has raised questions about the sale of land off Cole Avenue in her ward, nodded through by the Conservative Cabinet last week.

In response to questions about the sale, regeneration portfolio holder Cllr Mark Coxshall gave an assurance that the land will continue to be used for farming but its new owners who had previously rented it from the council, not for housing development - a concern also raised by Cllr Muldowney.

She says: "I was very disappointed that the Conservative cabinet refused to consult with local residents about the sale of this land."

"There was a lot of talk in Cabinet on Wednesday about transparency and avoiding the appearance of back room deals going on, yet the Conservatives have rubber-stamped this decision with only a few days notice and no consultation with residents and local councillors.

"It didn't even make it onto the full council agenda for discussion by all 49 council members.

"The land opposite Cole Avenue is not an underused building or a site in a bad state of repair requiring costly maintenance. This is farming land which is creating an income for the council every year.

"Since the Cabinet meeting, local residents have raised concerns with me that this land may be the Flat Ironfield, which was gifted to Thurrock's children by Mrs Elsie Florence Grover.

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"Thurrock Council is shown as the trustee of this land on the Charity Commission website.

"I have asked the council for clarification of the land being sold and whether this is indeed Flat Ironsfield, as despite all their talk of transparency, the only details released about this sale have been a picture of a field and a postcode on Cole Avenue.

"It now looks like the council are not only selling off the silver, but may also be selling off the silver left in trust for Thurrock's children."

The link highlighted by Cllr Muldowney also shows that the council is 1,625 days late in submitting a report on its role and the Flat Ironfield Trust – and there are a number of other local sites of which the authority is the principal trustee, all of which have not has reports submitted on their status and financial position for more than 1,500 days! They include Stanford-le-Hope and South Ockendon Recreation grounds.