TWO Thurrock councillors, including a member of its cabinet have criticised decision that have allowed a film crew on cast of around 150 people to descend on the borough for three days to film a new TV series.

Yesterday (Thursday, 21 January) Thurrock Nub News reported on the pending arrival of the team producing a new streaming channel TV series called Tailspin. It tells the story of five people, who wake up one morning to find themselves implicated in a ruthless kidnapping operation following the disappearance of the Iranian Defence Minister.

And of concerns from local people and councillors that the crew would pose a Covid-19 transmission risk risk to Thurrock, a borough already sitting close to the top of the national infection table.

The film crews, technicians, security guards, caterers, mini-bus-drivers and a whole echelon of support services duly arrived today and made the Civic Hall at Blackshots their base camp. The Civic Hall - which local councillors had suggested would be a perfect place for a local mass Covid-19 vaccination centre - was being used as a catering and meeting venue.

Filming today focused on the Affordable Carpets store at the Danelholes roundabout which became a film set. Traffic movements were disrupted and a nearby layby and parking facility were closed and security guards guided pedestrians off their intended path.

And despite assurances to the contrary from Thurrock Council yesterday, clear breaches of Covid-19 safeguarding was witnessed.

That was the fear of Blackshots ward councillors Ben Maney and Joy Redsell who contacted Thurrock Nub News prior to the crew's arrival. Cllr Redsell urged us to highlight the situation and highlight their pleas to the council not to sanction the filming – which had fallen on deaf ears at the Civic offices.

"This is not right," she said. "This filming is not essential and it is very risky. There can be no guarantees of safety for our residents and we see no reason why the council has permitted this. It should not be happening in a borough where Covid has already caused so much damage. But nobody appears to listen to us."

Yesterday a statement from the council said it had no authority over the use of Blackshots as a base for filming. It said: "Thurrock Council is not receiving any money from the filming or use of Impulse Leisure's facilities nor has it endorsed it."

However, Cllr Resell said,: "I don't know how that can be. It was proved last year that Thurrock Council still owns the car park. When Impulse wanted to charge for parking the council said no because it owns the land, so I don't understand how it can say it has no power today."

And the endorsement of the council does appear to have stretched, as the local highways agency, to permitting the film crew to block off part of the access from the A1013 and to close a lane on Woodview and laybys.

Thurrock Nub News editor Neil Speight visited the scene of the filming and the Blackshots car park and says: "While the majority of the crew and people involved were wearing masks and appeared to follow guidelines, others – including security guards who were in direct contact with members of the public were not. I produced a video and pictures for the council and contacted the council, asking why there was no enforcement by it and the police, or checking of what was happening. So far there has been no response."

Tailspin has been commissioned for one of the major streaming services and filming began last year when crews were on site for a number of days in November at local seaside resorts.