COUNCILLORS in a Grays ward where Thurrock Council hopes to build more than 50 new homes have been critical of the authority's ability to share and consult with residents.

On the day (Tuesday, 15 March) that the council held a little-heralded public consultation event about the plans to build on the Darnley Road car park near the town centre in Grays, Grays Riverside ward councillors have spoken of their frustration.

Developing the site was first mooted in early 2021 when the council announced 20 potential sites where new homes might be built. Nub News exclusively broke news of the council's plans. Several of those sites have since fallen by the wayside, but there has been little opposition or comment to date about Darnley Road which has been a relatively low profile development.

So much so that it was something of a surprise yesterday when the council launched an online consultation portal about its plans to build on the site and announced today's public consultation.

Nub News has since learned the council has sent out 450 leaflets to homes in the area about the meeting this afternoon but there has been little or no publicity via other media or announcements to the press.

The consultation today featured more than ten representatives of the council and the site consultants, most of whom spent the first couple of hours standing around with just a faint trickle of residents turning up – four in the first 45 minutes.

The consultation is open until 7pm this evening.

Grays councillors Martin Kerin, Jane Pothecary and Tony Fish have described the council's efforts to let people know about its plans as a 'failure of planning and consultation'.

A joint statement from the councillors today says: "An email inviting residents to attend a meeting at the Seabrooke Community House wasn't sent out until 4.07pm yesterday about a meeting happening at 3pm today - less than 24 hours. You couldn't make it up!

"Of equal concern is the total lack of detail as to how a new development would be mitigated in terms of parking, road use, school places, medical access and other essential local services.

"What we are seeing, yet again, is a press release, not a plan. We suppose that this is because announcing things is easy - it's actually delivering them that seems to the Tories' Achilles Heel. There are absolutely no details with regards to how parking, road use, school places, medical access and other essential services are going to be mitigated for.

"For a consultation to work, residents need time and the full information. Yet again, they are being offered press releases, not plans. It is time for the Thurrock Conservatives to properly explain to residents what the plans are, seek opinions and offer mitigation. Judging by their calamitous record so far, we're not holding our breath."