Thurrock Labour lead on calls for detailed scrutiny of Thurrock Local Plan
THURROCK Labour have used their control of a council scrutiny committee to call for the formation of a Task Force dedicated to properly and fully scrutinising the development of a Local Plan for Thurrock. The Task Force has now been officially recommended by an extraordinary Meeting of the Planning, Transport and Regeneration Committee, chaired by Labour councillor Martin Kerin.
The recommendation was agreed cross-party by the committee members.
Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Martin Kerin said: “The Local Plan process is one of the biggest things to happen in Thurrock for a generation. It will shape our borough decades into the future, deciding where and how additional development is enabled.
“This process is so important that It cannot be allowed to be delivered behind closed doors. There must be full involvement, challenge and scrutiny from Thurrock’s councillors and our residents. We have to make sure the Local Plan is used to solve problems in our borough and does not just contribute to new ones.”
He concluded, “This Task Force will be a vital step forward in how elected members scrutinise the Local Plan for the betterment of the people of Thurrock. We have to get this plan right, and history will judge us if we fail.”
The infrastructure will need a complete rebuild of sewers and drainage Thurrock wide, these are already under immense pressure from the current overload, which will need new sewerage works to care for the waste. The road system will need upgrading to take the extra traffic coming into the area, residents cars, public transport ect, then schools, nurseries, medical centres and local shops, then we need recreation areas, all these and many more services need putting in place or planned into the new builds.
Cost I feel outweighs the value of 32,000 new homes, so come where is the money coming from to rebuild our Thurrock infrastructure.