INDEPENDENT members of Thurrock Council have launched an online platform seeking opinions of local residents on topics that will shape the future of the borough.

Five councillors are members of Non-Political Alliance of Independent Councillors (NPAIC) but they are all in the east of the borough, representing Stanford West, Homesteads, Stanford East & Corringham Town, Corringham & Fobbing and East Tilbury wards.

East Tilbury councillor Fraser Massey, who is deputy spokesperson for the group, says it is important that they are aware of issues across the other 16 wards and, while they are not seeking to tread on the toes of local ward councillors, NPAIC members who sit on a variety of committees feel it is important to be contactable and to be informed of opinions from a wider base.

Local news platform Your Thurrock has already reported on the launch of a newly-established Virtual Surgery hosted on Facebook, providing a direct line of communication.

NPAIC says this initiative aims to foster meaningful dialogue, allowing residents to discuss the issues that matter most to them.

Cllr Massey says the virtual forum offers a convenient platform for residents to voice concerns, ask questions, and engage in discussions. Councillors will read and respond to these inputs and bring them to relevant council committees, ensuring that community voices are heard and considered in decision-making processes.

He also says NPAIC are keen to help build a legacy for whatever route local government reorganisation takes over the next couple of years, with a county-wide mayoral election due next year and, following the planned dissolution of Thurrock Council, a new much-larger unitary authority to be set up, breaking Essex into three, four or possibly five seats of regional governance.

He says: "It is inevitable that we will see much bigger wards, fewer councillors representing Thurrock on a wider geographical platform and our fear is that Thurrock will not only get swamped and managed from afar, local opinion will be lost.

"We are already concerned about the toxicity of local governance which has crept back into Thurrock, we await any real policy guidance from Reform and perceive a real danger that Thurrock voices will be lost.

"The digital forum is the first stage of our what we hope will be a legacy, possibly the formation of larger non-political residents' groups - maybe three representing the east, centre and west of Thurrock.

"We already have some very active and well-informed local area forums, but other areas of the borough have no voice other than ones driven largely by political dogma.

"We are committed to helping build a local tier of resident representation about local issues, which will be able motivate and hopefully influence councillors, the new mayor and whatever is to come.

"We will be talking to the active members of the 15 already established local forums that unite through Thurrock Association of Forums (TAF), other similar groups across the country including areas like Frome where there is an effective non-political Town Council but, most of all, what should be the real driver is what local people want in terms of governance on their doorstep.

"When local government reorganisation comes to Thurrock there is a real danger that there will be no local tier that concentrates on local issues.

"There are options. Parish or town councils, forums, residents' associations or perhaps some bright idea that no-one has thought of yet.

"What is vitally important is that Thurrock doesn't lose its identity or voice by being swallowed up into something bigger and less accountable.

"We'd welcome local thoughts – please let us know yours via our virtual forum."

Top share thoughts outside the virtual forum or to learn more about NPAIC email via this link.