COUNCIL letters to Thurrock residents would be "more sympathetic" if they were produced  by robots rather than humans, a councillor has claimed.

Michael Fletcher, Labour councillor for Little Thurrock Blackshots, slammed the tone of the council's communications with residents saying it made them feel "unvalued".

Cllr Fletcher spoke out at a corporate scrutiny meeting where the outline of a new communications strategy was discussed.

Louise Neilan, assistant director, communications and engagement, told councillors the council's image had been badly dented by the financial crisis in recent years and it needed to get back to where it was and aim to be more like other local authorities.

She said: "We need a clear strategy that sets out how we are going to talk to and listen with residents, particularly given the problems Thurrock has had in recent years and the need to rebuild trust.

"We know where we are with residents. We know what a difficult time it's been and for staff too and we see engagement as a part of moving forward with that."

The council came under fire in April after a letter was sent to a 56-year-old woman who was due to be evicted in May, telling her she would be "able to cope" with being homeless.

Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Fletcher said: "Unfortunately one great piece of news can be undone by a bunch of letters going out which make residents feel unvalued, accused.

"There is a job to be done in taking a look at our standard communications and in many cases ripping them up and starting again. I don't think there are many cases where artificial intelligence (AI) could actually improve communications but it probably could there because the AI would probably be more sympathetic.

"Look at the tone of how this council expresses itself day to day. I think you'll find it's so far away from what you want to present something needs to be done."

In response and referring to the April letter, Ms Neilan said: "I agree. It's something I've been passionate about. In the first couple of weeks we had a really unfortunate letter that went out to a resident and all hell broke lose from there so we know the power of the word and we know how it makes people feel.

"We rewrote that template immediately and changed the tone."

Cllr Ben Maney, chairman of the committee, said: "The perception of residents has always been poor, so getting back to where we were isn't good enough for me.

"One of the reasons Thurrock had such a bad reputation is because the council has always seemed very remote from people.

"Trying to talk to people, trying to get a satisfactory response, has for many residents, been like trying to get blood out of a stone."