THURROCK councillors will be told that the cabinet portfolio holder for Highways and Transport will have the final say on calls to scrap permit parking in Stanford-le-Hope.

A petition was submitted to the council in September last year, calling for the parking scheme introduced earlier in 2019 be scrapped - or the scheme amended.

At next week's meeting of the full council a report on the petition, submitted on residents' behalf by Cllr Gary Byrne, will say the petition has been reviewed by the service and 'the concerns raised have been carefully considered.'

The report goes on: "These schemes are kept under review following their implementation to ensure they are meeting the needs of local communities.

"In accordance with normal procedure following receipt of a petition against a Parking Permit Area, a Delegated Decision Report has been progressed for the Cabinet Member

for Highways and Transport (Cllr Ben Maney) to consider a number of recommendations for decision.

"Local residents and businesses will be kept informed and updated."

No details of what the recommendations are have been published, though recently the council announced its intention in March to change waiting restrictions on a number of streets around the town centre.

They include Wharf Road, Rectory Road, Central Road and Scratton Road.

Stanford West ward councillor Terry Piccolo said he and colleague Shane Hebb had been pressing for the changes. He says: "After working closely with the Transport Dept at Thurrock Council Shane Hebb and I have been able to obtain up to 40 additional parking spaces close to the shops, GP surgeries and Hardie Park, some up to three hours rather than just two."