THE FIRST residents move in to a new type of housing next week (26 June), geared towards helping older people remain independent for as long as possible. Elizabeth Gardens in Long Lane, Grays, has 18 one-bedroom and 47 two-bedroom apartments. It has a restaurant, hair and beauty salon, laundry, activity room and landscaped gardens, and all the flats are designed to enable people to maintain their independence well into old age.
ALL of 818 years ago on 11 June Henry de Grey, a Norman knight, acquired the Parish of Thurrock from King Richard the Lion Heart. On Tuesday this year Thurrock Council marked the first step in the creation of a town named Grays with a Thurrock Heritage Plaque.
THURROCK Council’s Leader has congratulated senior officers and post office officials for finding a temporary solution keeping the service in Grays. Cllr John Kent said: “The council and the Post Office have been working closely together to try and secure its long-term future in Grays.
When Thurrock Council launched its six-month CCTV vehicle trial, local schools were invited to come up with a name as the car’s main aim is to try and bring an end to dangerous and thoughtless parking outside schools.The winner was eight-year-old Jodie Fullerton, from Grays a pupil at St Thomas of Canterbury primary in Ward Avenue.
A FUND raising afternoon was held at Piggs Corner sheltered housing and extra care complex in Grays on 21 March in aid of The MacMillan Nurses.
A big joint effort from residents and staff enabled them to raise £510 from a table top sale at the complex with refreshments and a raffle. The sale was attended by members of the public as well as some relatives of the residents.
ngage Volunteer Centre THURROCK are holding a free drop in Volunteer Recruitment Fayre to assist local residents in finding volunteering opportunities in Thurrock. The event is being held Thursday 23rd May, between 5pm – 8pm at the Beehive, West Street, Grays, Essex. (Please note: entrance to the building will be via the car park at [...]
ST Mary’s church in Dock Road, Little Thurrock is delighted to be playing host to the Thurrock Gospel Choir once again. This time they will be bringing their familiar audio-visual worship music celebration ‘On a hill too far away’ on Saturday 11th May at 7.30 in the church.
THE Rotary Club of Thurrock Gateway are holding another Open Evening/Interest Meeting at The Park Inn, North Stifford RM16 5UE on Monday 20th May 2013 at 7 pm. The ‘newest’ Rotary Club in the Thurrock Area are looking for more new members to join this young and vibrant Rotary Club.
LOCAL people are being asked to join in the celebrations of Blackshots Library’s 60th birthday in May. The Blackshots Lane library is celebrating its diamond anniversary in the week of 13 to 18 May and Thurrock Council’s library service has issued an invitation to local people to pop along and join them.
THE THURROCK Sea Cadets spent the weekend in the foyer of Decathlon in Lakeside as they raised funds for a new mini-bus.The cadets set up a rowing machine in the foyer and set the controls for 27 miles, the distance between Dover and Calais.
THE next step in creating a new “vision” for Grays is being taken over the coming few weeks. After nearly 1,500 people took part in a Thurrock Council consultation looking at the future of the town, a series of workshops are to be held in April and May to develop the work already done.
ST MARY the Virgin in Dock Road Little Thurrock is seeing some changes. Throughout the history of the church the 1170 church has been adapted to meet the needs of the times. It has been extended at both ends first in the 14th century and then by the Victorians. The south doorway has been filled in and pews have been installed and then changed.
Come to the meeting on Monday 29th April 2013, 7pm to 9pm (tea and coffee from 6.30pm) at the Beehive. There is £1million to spend on projects to improve the area.
THURROCK Council is planning to reopen Grays Beach on Good Friday (29 March). Speaking after Wednesday evening’s meeting of Thurrock Council, Cllr John Kent said: “The café has been restored after last November’s blaze.
LITTLE Thurrock Community Forum will be holding a General Meeting tonight (26th March) at St Mary’s Church Hall. 7.20 for 7.30 start. The theme of the meeting is preparation for the New Forum Year beginning April 2013 and reviewing funding opportunities given the difficult economic situation.
THURROCK Choral Society will be holding its Spring Concert on Saturday 23rd March 2013 at Grays Parish Church at 7pm, when the programme will include works by the eminent British composers, Edward Elgar and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor – and of course sung in the English language!
IT WAS launched just four years ago but now a cafe employing disabled people may be forced to close because it has lost its funding. Cafe4U in the Thameside complex was opened in October 2008. It was given £100,000 funds from the PCT as start up cash but it has struggled from the very start.
St Mary’s Dock Road, Little Thurrock are doing some special things for the Mother’s Day weekend, 9th and 10th March and they would love you to come. On Saturday 9th there is a coffee morning 10.00-12.00 in St Mary’s Hall. There will be cakes, books and cards as well as a selection of Fairtrade goods to mark Fairtrade Fortnight. On Sunday there will be a special service to celebrate Mother’s Day at 9.30 in St Mary’s Church. Everyone is very welcome at these events.
A MEETING between Thurrock Council Leader, Cllr John Kent, and the Post Office (on Wednesday, 20 February) has worked out a scheme to keep Post Office services available in Grays following the closure of WH Smiths in the town.
PEOPLE living, working and shopping in Grays are to be asked to have their say about the town’s future. Over the coming weeks a number of surveys and workshops are to be held to help define where the council should target its support. These will involve face-to-face interviews at Grays railway station from 22 February to 4 March; telephone interviews in the five council wards in and around Grays plus the two Chafford Hundred wards, again from 22 February and until 8 March.
A GRAYS main road is to be closed next week – for up to eight weeks – following the collapse of land outside a house last month. A hole opened up in the garden of a home in Blackshots Lane and a process of ground investigation – to determine the ground conditions – combined with ground stabilisation will be carried out by contractors working for the insurance company of the affected property.
GRAYS Central Community Forum has been in existence now for a number of years and has, over that time, been able to help with local projects and to give support and financial assistance to a number local clubs and organisations within our community.
TWENTY-EIGHT people in Grays still have a black and white TV licence, more than any other town in Essex. They join another 13,202 who are also enjoying watching TV in monochrome. A black and white licence costs £49; a colour licence is £145.50.
BIG Local, a £200m investment, was launched by the Big Lottery Fund in July 2010 to support 150 small urban and rural communities to come together to make their areas even better places to live. It was announced today by the Big Lottery Fund that Grays Riverside is one of the areas, to benefit from at least £1m to spend over the next 10 years and make a massive and lasting positive difference to their communities.
