THURROCK Council has scrapped a borough flower bed which was created as commemoration of the 2012 Olympic Games and the journey of the Olympic flame through the borough.

The council first announced its plans to scrap the commemorative bed at Blackshots, adjacent to the A1013 Stanford Road on the approach to Daneholes roundabout, in December last year.

It promised a consultation with residents about the move and promised that in its place two new trees would be planted.

There is now no mention of the consultation on the council's consultation web pages - nor of any outcome of the consultation, which the council's protocols say it should publish. Nor has the council issued any release obout the outcome of the consultation or its plans for the site.

Whatever the outcome of the consultation, and there was lots of support to keep the site as it was, council staff have now removed the bed and planted just one tree – despite saying in December: "We would like to remove this bed and replace with two trees.

The Olympic bed pictured last year after a clean-up.

"One to mark that the Olympic Flame passed by this spot on its way to the London Olympics 2012. The other to mark the Queen's platinum jubilee."

The bed was created in 2009 to symbolise Thurrock's commitment to the Olympics and was planned to be a lasting legacy and was officially opened on Make a Difference Day on 31 October 2009.

In the immediate aftermath of the games the council continued to maintain the small garden and replant when necessary but slowly allowed it to fall into a mass of overgrown bushes and weeds until, in 2018, local protests forced the council's hand and they restored it.

However, it is now on the compost heap of council history.