THE rising cost of Stanford-le-Hope rail station is likely to be subject of intense debate at Thurrock Council's Planning, Transport, Regeneration Overview and Scrutiny Committee which meets the evening.

Councillors are being asked to go into secret session to discuss the latest report of the botched project – despite a revelation by Thurrock Nub News over the weekend which detailed the cost now at £30 million!

Opposition councillors say they want the figures to be discussed in public. And they also want a latest updated on the A13 widening project also to be discussed in the public domain., rather than behind closed doors. Looking ahead to the report on the Stanford rail station project, Labour Cllr Martin Kerin says: "I wish that what we have learned about this shambolic project is shocking, but it isn't! This follows a pattern of utter incompetence from Thurrock's Conservatives who are, quite simply, running our borough into the ground. "When I questioned Cllr Mark Coxshall directly about this, he guaranteed, publicly, and to my face, that the cost would not exceed £20m. We can see that his 'guarantee' is worth as much as his guarantees on every regeneration project he is involved with. Whether it's the A13 or the Civic Offices, every regeneration project he is involved with is mired in delay, overspending and secrecy. "It is clear for all to see why the Thurrock Tories want to hide the figures and deny the public and press of Thurrock the chance to see what is going on. It's shameful. The people of Thurrock deserve better than this." Thurrock Nub News will be attending the meeting and will report back this evening (Tuesday, 1 February).