News in Thurrock

NEARLY 30 family-run and small independent businesses are taking part in the next stage of Thurrock Council's borough-wide Shop Safe Shop Local campaign ahead of Small Business Saturday and the festive period.

To inspire residents to shop locally and safely, the council has stepped up its Shop Safe Shop Local campaign and collaborated with more businesses across Thurrock in a festive photoshoot.

MYSTERY surrounds the fate of one of Thurrock Council's senior officers, who has reportedly been put on 'garden leave' and whose future with the council is believed to be a subject for consideration by a committee of leading councillors.

Council lawyer Ian Hunt, whose appointment to the council as Interim Assistant Director – Legal, and Monitoring Officer was announced in November 2019, has disappeared from the council radar in recent weeks.

A THURROCK man will be among a team aiming to set a new world record tomorrow (Saturday, 4 December).

Graham Twigg from Corringham is a member of a team of 15 trying to set a new static cycling record.

THURROCK Council has reminded drivers and residents of the latest major closure of the Orsett Cock roundabout, which starts tonight (Friday, 3 December) at 9pm. It will be fully closed through the whole weekend, until 5am on Monday 6 December.

In addition to the roundabout closure, all feeder roads will also be closed, including:

A LEADING Thurrock councillor has jumped on a planning decision last night (Thursday, 2 December) to blast the rival Labour group.

While the ruling Conservative group have frequently said they don't like 'dog whistle politics and name-calling ' housing portfolio holder Luke Spillman wasted little time last night in jumping on his soap box to beret Labour after a Conservative majority on the council's planning committee back a plan to demolish a large house which has special disabled facilities to build four smaller homes in its place – despite a local campaign to maintain the building and refurbish it because it is one of just a handful of large homes on the council's books.

YOUNGSTERS at a Grays school have been busy planting trees to help ensure a greener future.

The planting took place at Woodside Academy where the school's wild garden was enhanced with 24 new saplings. Other trees has previously been planted around school grounds.

Senior Thurrock Council officer goes off the radar and mystery srrounds what has happened to him .

Residents' concerns overruled as entry point to site is approved. Angst over Richmond Road in Grays continues.

DESPITE a welter of objections from residents and an impassioned plea from a ward councillor, a majority of Thurrock planning councillors rode roughshod over local opinion and gave approval for a new vehicle and pedestrian access on an already crowded Grays street.

At Thursday's (2 December) meeting of the borough council's planning committee, approval was granted to the council's own application to make changes to Richmond Road and create the new entry point to the Alf Lowne Scout Centre.

A NEW wall that rises seven feet high in some places and has hogged residents' attention in Stanford-le-Hope will have to be pulled down.

That's the unanimous verdict of Thurrock Council planning committee members who tonight (Thursday, 2 December) decided the wall around a home on Second Avenue would have to do – despite a welter of public comment supporting the build.