News in Thurrock

SOUTH Essex College, which has a campus in the heart of Grays, has joined a national initiative to help its staff and students support and connect with the local community, particularly by supporting foodbanks.

The 'Good for ME Good for FE' campaign aims to generate £1m of social value via a programme of community action including volunteering, fundraising and charitable partnerships.

ONLINE donations for Thurrock Council's #GiveAGift 2021 campaign open today (Monday, 15 November).

Now in its sixth year, the Give a Gift campaign gives everyone the opportunity to donate a present to a local child in need for whom Christmas can be a difficult time of year.

TWO of the members groups organised by the Re-engage charity marked yesterday's Remembrance Sunday (14 November) with an afternoon gettogether at Headon Hall.

Tea party groups Thurrock 4 and Thurrock 7 met up and it just happened to be the 11th tea party we have held since starting up in September after Covid restrictions and we celebrated Remembrance Day.

THURROCK Council has been accused of exaggerating the cost of refurbishing the Thameside Complex, which houses the borough's theatre, because it wants to shut the building down.

The controversial plans of the council have sparked public anger and demonstrations, and councillors who are due to attend a meeting of the authority's corporate overview and scrutiny committee tomorrow (Tuesday, 16 November) expect to be lobbied by demonstrators and campaigners prior to presentation of a budget report.

THE work of a Thurrock project aimed at keeping children in school rather than excluding them for their behavior has been detailed to borough councillors.

Members of Thurrock Council's hidden and extreme harms prevention committee heard about the scheme and were told about a ten-year-old girl who took a knife into school.

THE first formal steps have been taken in the submission of a planning application that could see 1,000 new homes created in the heart of Grays in 20 storey blocks of flats.

Owners of Grays Shopping Centre, New River REIT (UK) Ltd have submitted an application to Thurrock Council asking if they will be required to submit an environmental impact assessment as part of the process.

THE next meeting of the Purfleet-on-Thames Community Forum will take place at the Backstage Centre on Tuesday, 30 November when among items will be a presentation by Lourdette Wilks about Thurrock's health and wellbeing strategy.

Karen Gibbs from Grays Police will be talking about 'Operation Bluebird' and there will be updates about forum events and the opportunity to raise questions with councillors.

A NEW transgender/non binary group and people of the LGBTQ+ community youth group for teens will be starting in Thurrock in the new year.

It will be a place where people can make friends, talk and just be themselves and there will be monthly meetings in a safe and friendly venue.

POLICE are appealing for witnesses following a collision involving a pedestrian and a bus in Grays late last night (Saturday, 12 November).

Officers were called to London Road, close to the junction with East Street, shortly after 11pm and a man in his 50s was taken to hospital with serious leg injuries.

TILBURY caretaker boss Luke Wilson added a second win to his record as the Dockers climbed to 11th place in the Isthmian North this afternoon (Saturday, 13 October) with a 3-0 win against bottom club Hullbridge Sports.

The hosts took the lead at Chadfields after 36 minutes when Roman Campbell continued his recent good run with a goal and on the stroke of half time Ola Ogunwamide made it 2-0.