THE evening of 15 June will offer residents on the Frost Estate in Corringham a last chance to ask questions about the proposal to launch a parish council there.
A public meeting is being held at the East Thurrock United FC Rookery Hill ground starting at 7pm.
Chaired by BBC Essex’s James Whale, the meeting will hear brief presentations from interested parties, answers to pre-asked questions and close with a general question-and-answer session.
The meeting was arranged after council leader, Cllr John Kent, proposed it at March’s council meeting where members were being asked to make a decision on whether or not a parish-style council should go ahead.
Cllr Kent said he was concerned the meeting had received questions from residents who appeared unsure of the full consequences and that he believed a final meeting offering face-to-face explanations would be helpful.
He said he believed there was “a sizable chunk of people on the Frost Estate who are not content with the proposal as it stands”.
The June meeting, scheduled to last approximately 90 minutes will involve a panel including representatives from the council’s highways, legal, finance, and electoral teams as well as from the Essex Association of Local Councils and the Frost Estate Residents Association.
The meeting is being recorded and minutes, questions and answers will be available for the Thurrock Council meeting in July where a final decision is expected to be taken.
If the council decides a parish council should be created, an election for the nine available places will be held at the same time as the local council elections scheduled for May 2016.
The newly elected members of the parish council would then have approximately a year to establish its running details, staffing and council tax precept before becoming an official body on 1 April, 2017.
