YET again the council fail to support local home owners.

Neighbours have been left reeling after finding out that a residential dwelling in High View Avenue, Grays, is to change its use.

Thurrock Council recently approved a certificate of lawfulness for the residential dwelling to be turned into supported living for up to six people.

The property, number 52, is in the middle of three attached properties in the road, it's smack bang central of Theobald Avenue as you drive down into High View.

At no point were neighbours consulted. Frankly they feel let down by the owner yet again.

While supported living is a valuable and necessary form of housing, it can impact property values and the overall character of a neighborhood, so transparency and community engagement should have been considered.

For the last four years this property has previously been rented out. Neighbours had to endure abuse and intimidation from those living in the house, rubbish overloaded, prostitution, noisy gatherings, stolen vehicles and so much more.

Finally they were evicted, not for any crime but for not paying rent.

Then another group of males moved in, all seemed quiet, lots of coming and going and works being carried out inside, however as you may have seen in the press recently the house had been converted into a cannabis farm. This took months for the police to raid which is normal while they gather evidence, but it's another example of the owner of the property, Mrs Sunita Kaur, failing to engage with other home owners and neighbours for pure self.

She is fortunate enough to own two properties in Grays, this one and the one she lives in, which coincidentally is not in High View.

It's apparent she has exhausted her attempts to bring in revenue to pay the mortgage on this property because she failed to complete the necessary due diligence required to vet tenants, so is this new project simply to line her pockets to pay her mortgage? Or is she so caring, I think not.

Our forum of neighbours are now left with what can we expect next to happen, and fearful for the future of our road, sanity and future selling opportunities.