AS Thurrock prepares to enter full blown election mode - albeit one more likely to be played out on social media and by letter and leaflet rather than canvassing - a borough councillor says it is important voters in Thurrock know the truth about one of the key issues facing the borough.

John Allen will be fighting his own battle to keep his seat as an independent representing Tilbury St Chads but says a key issue across the borough is the ever-growing council house waiting list and he would like to see it as a hot topic on the hustings.

Cllr Allen says some of the statistics he has unearthed while researching the subject will shock many residents.

He says the number of council properties in the borough – 9,906, is a sad reflection of years of under investment.

In the late seventies the council of the day owned almost 25,000 homes in the borough but the right to buy scheme introduced in 1980 designed to help council and housing association tenants buy their home at a discount had decimated the local housing stock.

And continued sales are still chipping away at the available home numbers – while at the same time the waiting list climbs every year. In February 2020 there were 5,387 people on the waiting list – a figure lowered by changes in the system which knocked hundreds of people off the list because realistically they had no chance of ever getting a home.

Put them back in and the unofficial list of people seeking council housing in Thurrock approaches 9,000 says Cllr Allen.

Though the council is hopeful of adding around 100 homes to its stock through developments at Claudian Way, Chadwell St Mary, and Calcutta Road in Tilbury this year – that is barely balancing the numbers.

In the current financial year 14 council homes have been sold and the figures for previous years saw 57 homes 'lost' in 19/20, 55 in 18/19, 94 in 16/17 and 102 in 15/16. That's 437 homes no longer in the social housing sector in the borough.

Cllr Allen would like to see the council drop political barriers and work on a united front to find ways of bringing keys to more affordable homes to borough families.

The council has a government target of 32,000 new homes, but the period that is due to stretch over varies depending on who you are talking to and whether it includes what's already been built. The figure includes both the private and public sectors and Cllr Allen wants to see some more definitive targets for council housing.

He says: "When I asked director of place Andy Millard how many of these 32,000 homes will be affordable homes his initial response was 35 per cent, but then he slipped back to 30 per cent.

"Obviously affordable and social housing are two different things but it is important that we get as many council homes as we can. There needs to be decisive action.

"Whatever figure is right, that's more than 10,000 new houses. We need to ensure the schemes are in place to ensure as many of these are genuinely affordable for borough residents to rent, whether it is directly through the council or housing associations.

"Whoever is running the council needs to be held to account and they should say now what their plan is. We need to see an end to the dwindling amount of council housing stock while the housing waiting list is the only thing that seems to grow.

"I will be giving a strong message to the people of Tilbury St Chads that this is one of the most important issues at this election and I will be making sure it is high on the council's agenda going forward. I hope it's a message we see across the other 15 wards in the borough in the coming weeks as we move towards the election."