COUNCILLORS have called for a new hospital with A&E facilities to be built in Thurrock to be included as a priority in the new local plan currently being drafted.

And they also want a target set that 35 per cent of new homes to be built in the borough over the next decade be social housing built by the council or housing associations to reduce the waiting list that currently stands in five figures!

The two subjects took up much of the debate at last night's (Monday, 7 September) meeting of the council's planning, transport and regeneration overview and scrutiny committee which included two presentations about the future of the borough.

The first, a report entitled 'Backing Thurrock: A five year strategy for economic recovery, resilience and a return to growth' was presented by Stephen Taylor, the council's strategic lead for economic development.

Mr Taylor said: "We were doing pretty well but Covid hit and it has had a huge impact on the economy of Thurrock."

The report said: "Thurrock's level of ambition and determination to drive growth that benefits local people remains as strong as ever, despite the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 crisis.

"The Council intends to build on strong foundations already established through the existing growth programme and develop a revised strategic approach that will bring further, considerable benefits to people and communities within Thurrock and the wider region."

The full report can be found here.

Councillors were keen to see some of the ambitions in the report realised – but stressed the reality had to be about delivering positive, sustainable change not just a report that talked about ideas.

Director of Place Andy Millard reflected on possible changes to the structure of local government – with Thurrock possibly being swallowed up in either a new North Thames 'super council controlled by an elected mayor or integrated into a new tiered Essex county Council – but said: "Whatever the wider landscape in terms of the possibility of local government reform, there will be key stakeholders in place we will be having to work with. This strategy can adapt whatever those circumstances and the wider position may be."

"At this moment of time, we wait to see what the government white paper on possible reform brings."

Meeting chairman Cllr John Allen was keen to stress Thurrock must determine its own future – and he was particularly keen not to come under the thrall of a wider Essex, saying: "We need to make sure Essex County Council does not have a serious negative impact on us in Thurrock."

Cllr Martin Kerin said: "This is a refreshed report, which is welcome, but there are a number of issues Thurrock needs. There are systemic issues within Thurrock, they were there before Covid."

And in particular he called on officers to ensure there were opportunities to cut the growing number of people being on benefits.

Mr Taylor said: "There are things we are doing to help the issue with claimant count, for example within Tilbury where we have accessed funding for a community led local development programme, helping people move towards the labour market.

"Through the programme as a whole there is an ambition to move people into the labour market, it's got another two or three years to run, it's been running a year and we want to see if we can use some of the money in the project to bid for more money.

"We also have the Thurrock Opportunities website, which draws down information on local jobs that are advertised on the web. It promotes jobs that are available for people in Thurrock and has information about training courses and other useful information. We need to develop it a bit more and promote it."

Cllr Kerin wanted to press home his point, asking: "How many jobs have been created in Thurrock" and got the response: "Not that many at the moment" from Mr Taylor, who added: "But we are at the beginning of the programme, it's getting people in a position where they are getting ready to apply for jobs.

"What the scheme can do is get people 'job ready' so when jobs arose they can apply for them."

Cllr Allen talked about the need to spend money in Thurrock to generate business in Thurrock.

He said: "The council is spending only 28 per cent of its budget on local resources." He called on the council to spend more of money with local businesses

Cllr David van Day, called for particular efforts in his ward in Aveley and for the council to concentrate on actually creating jobs rather than just training schemes. He said: "We want joined up thinking from the people who employ people to people who need the work. How much can we invest in Thurrock and promote it?

"That will make such a difference on people's lives.

"I notice that we have poor connectivity, we need to sort things out so we can communicate with each other so we can work together."

Cllr David Potter complemented council officers of drawing up an optimistic report that was well presented.

However, when councillors got onto the briefing about the local plan (Full report here – which has been several years in the planning already and is still not scheduled to be produced for probably two years, there was a division of opinion around both the proposal to press for a new hospital and for more council homes.

Cllr Allen made his position clear at the outset.

He said: "We have a proposal for 32,000 thousand homes over next two decades. This is going to increase our population, We stand on around 165,000 presently, this could increase our population by 90 to 100,000 which takes our population over a quarter of a million.

"We would be the third largest authority in the country without its own working accident and emergency hospital. It is huge growth we are talking about.

"We should not push aside health and well-being. Without it we have nothing. We need to be looking at doctors' surgeries and health hubs but most importantly if we are going to expand that much we need our own hospital."

Cllr Kerin wanted lots more clarity on what the 32,000 new homes the borough has to produce to meet government guidelines would be, saying: "What size they would be, where are they and what are the principles behind them. We need to so we can work away from saying 32,000 homes to what type of 32,000 homes.

"Why can we not produce more council homes? We are a landowner, we have the land available. Can we not be looking at producing council houses and shy away from 'affordable' houses from private developers which are 80 per cent of the commercial price but they are still only affordable, if you can afford them?

"Shouldn't we be looking at producing proper council housing and reducing the 8,000 people on the waiting list?"

Fellow Labour councillor Cllr Oliver Gerrish added: "I would particularly agree it feels there is an opportunity to do more than we are currently proposing.

"I see no reason why we couldn't recommend that the planning process taken forward includes planning for a new accident and emergency equipped local hospital. That would be an important statement of will from this committee.

"We have the evidence that we need more council houses so I don't think it's unreasonable that we target around 30 per cent of the new houses to be delivered should be council or housing association be 30 per cent. It seems a lot, but radical solutions are required. It would be an important statement from this committee.

"We talk about being bold and ambitions, let's be bold and ambitions for those people on the housing waiting list. If we are ambitious and put this out there we give a statement of intent that Thurrock is serious about solving its housing shortage."

Cllr Allen agreed and returned to the hospital, saying: "The health and well-being of this borough is critical. As I said, without it, we have nothing. Health is paramount. If we are going to boost the population by 100,000 people we seriously need to be looking at our own working A&E hospital.

"Our current MPS should be lobbying to get that provided."

Conservative Cllr David van Day believed the planning should be about infrastructure, not just housing. He said: "We need to get the infrastructure in place. When I was canvassing I knocked on one door and said we had plans to build 5,000 new homes and I got the door slammed in my face.

"We have to get the infrastructure in place."

And he urged caution about aiming for things like a hospital, saying: "We don't even have a scout hut in Aveley, never mind all those other things, we have to have the infrastructure."

Another Conservative, Cllr Alex Anderson was set against the proposed recommendations, saying: "It's premature at the moment to be calling for a new hospital and particular amounts of council housing."

Cllr David Potter, also a Tory, said he had not met a resident in the borough who did not want a Thurrock hospital – but the general concensus among the three Conservatives was that it was not opportune to put specific recommendations to officers to put in the local plan at this point.

Thurrock's own new bespoke hospital is not a new idea

THE idea of Thurrock having its own new hospital was a key part of the planning of the Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation which spent millions buying land, relocating businesses and clearing a site for it off Hogg Lane in Grays.

A survey of residents found overwhelming support for the proposal.

The plan was supported by the South West Essex Primary Care Trust but it failed to find favour with the government, nor the then controlling Basildon and Thurrock Hospital Trust and the idea appears to have been abandoned by Thurrock Council - which took control of the land when it reassumed responsibility for planning and regeneration when the Development Corporation was scrapped by the government in 2012.

The proposed site, which saw the relocation of the Royal Mail delivery and sorting centre and the Army Cadet base, still has not been put to any practical use.

And as recently as February 2018 a majority of Thurrock councillors voted for a new hospital.

A motion was passed in Council to set out a detailed case to the Health Secretary and the NHS to build a new hospital in Thurrock.

The motion was submitted by Cllr Graham Snell, then leader of the independent group, and presented in a council meeting on Wednesday, February 28.

Cllr Snell said: "What this motion is for, it's not to demand a new hospital, but to start a conversation to get a new hospital in Thurrock in the future."

A statement in the motion, outlining the reasons for its submission, reads: "Whilst we welcome the introduction of new Integrated Medical Centres in Thurrock, we call on the council to write to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, as well as NHS England, setting out a detailed case for a new hospital in Thurrock.

"Orsett Hospital is out of date and in the wrong place, a new hospital in Thurrock will give us a modern and effective health service, fit for the future needs of our borough."

The motion was voted for by all members of the Independent group and Labour, with the ruling Conservatives abstaining.

On the same agenda was a motion from Cllr Luke Spillman saying: "That Thurrock Council seeks as part of the nationally prescribed process of bringing forward our Local Plan as positively and quickly as possible and using all available legislation, to ensure that sufficient homes of the right type and tenure are delivered to meet the local needs of our communities. And that such an approach should also inform all new developments, especially Thurrock Regeneration Limited projects."

The motion was passed unanimously! More than two years the same ideas and 'good intentions' are still being debated - what appears missing is real action.