Thurrock Council evict anti-social residents (and have a warning for hundreds of others)

TROUBLESOME council tenants are being warned that ongoing anti-social behaviour could cost them their home.

This year alone Thurrock Council has sent warning letters to hundreds of its tenants, taken legal action against eight households and evicted three because of issues around anti-social behaviour and gang-related activity.

Cllr Rob Gledhill, Leader of Thurrock Council, said: “The vast majority of our tenants are considerate neighbours who take good care of their property and just want to enjoy their homes in peace.

“Unfortunately anti-social behaviour by a few can blight the lives of many of those living near them and masks the true nature of a range of crimes such as vandalism, intimidation and drug dealing.

“We have set aside extra funding to support our housing team and enable them to take action to evict people from their council homes when we know illegal or anti-social activity takes place.

“Thurrock Council has written to hundreds of tenants who were causing problems and taken the ultimate sanction of evicting three households from their council properties since the start of the year.

“This not only removes the troublemakers whose thoughtless actions can blight their neighbours’ lives but also enables us to provide much-needed homes to those on our housing list.

“We take the issue of anti-social and criminal behaviour seriously and will make sure that all action is taken to stamp this behaviour out and support our residents.”

The council is also funding a number of initiatives to tackle anti-social behaviour including improved CCTV coverage across the borough, improving security doors and providing funding for equipment to help Essex police track down and take appropriate action against those that cause motorbike and quad bike nuisance across Thurrock. Essex Police has also received funding from the council to work on initiatives to help tackle gang related issues.