COULD Thurrock see 30,000 new homes in Thurrock?
On Wednesday night, a planning document called The Local Plan was discussed at Thurrock Council.
The portfolio holder for regeneration, cllr Mark Coxshall outlined the proposals.
However, the leader of Thurrock Labour has expressed his concerns at the level of house building.
Cllr John Kent said: "It has been revealed that Thurrock Conservatives have told the government they believe ‘Thurrock has the physical capacity to deliver 20 – 30,000 new homes by 2036’.
"Without reference to the vast majority of councillors and just 24 hours’ notice to me, Thurrock Tories have put forward this madcap scheme," said the borough’s Labour Leader, Cllr John Kent.
"Council leader Rob Gledhill also claimed he has the support of Thurrock UKIP chief, Graham Snell for the council’s submission to the Thames Estuary 2050 Growth Commission.
"Apparently Cllr Gledhill thinks he can speak for us all. Well, I didn’t put my name to it."
He added: "When the Conservatives took control of Thurrock Council back in May, they claimed they would be open and transparent; they said no decision would be taken without proper scrutiny.
"Now we see how they work in practice – telling government they think Thurrock can take up to 30,000 new homes in the next 20 years without any reference to local councillors at all.
"That’s the equivalent of six Chafford Hundreds. Thurrock Conservatives need to come clean and tell us where they think these new homes could go, what roads will be built – or tram systems it seems; where the schools will be, the GP practices and the other health facilities.
"Come on, Cllr Gledhill, tell us now!"
