MORE than 200 people crammed into the hall at East Thurrock United’s Rookery Hill ground in Corringham on Monday (15 June) evening to discuss the future of the nearby Frost Estate.
Thurrock Council has received a petition asking for the creation of a parish council covering the area and following two consultations, was due to make a decision in March.
However a series of questions put to councillors at that meeting suggested at least some local people were unhappy with the process, or did not know appropriate detail.
Council Leader, Cllr John Kent, suggested a final public meeting to clear up matters, and that was held on Monday.
Afterwards, Cllr Kent said: “It seems from the consultations and tonight’s meeting there is no doubt the main issue is the area’s roads.
“They are privately owned and many are in disrepair. Creating a small local council is one way of possibly dealing with that – but without a guarantee – and there are other possible methods as well.
“Yet the question Thurrock Council has to decide next month is totally different. It has to consider whether the creation of a small council will bring the local community together overall.
“On the evidence of this meeting I’m not sure it does – but I am also open to argument on this. I am not convinced one way or the other and that’s why I suggested a round table discussion with key Frost Estate representatives and local ward councillors to see if we can find a consensus.”
Monday’s meeting was chaired by BBC Essex’s James Whale, leading a 90-minute long question and answer session, and also heard from council experts on roads, elections, the legal position, and finance.
Alan Rayner, chair of the Frost Estate Residents’ Association, and Joy Derby and Cllr John Gili-Ross of the Essex Association of Local Councils gave presentations and Thurrock Council’s interim chief executive David Bull also explained the need to find a compromise which satisfied those who wanted a new parish council and those who did not.
The matter will be put to the council again at its July meeting where members will be asked to decide whether a parish council will “help people create cohesive and economically vibrant local communities”, having regard to the need to secure community governance in the area “reflects the identities and interests of the community”, is effective and convenient, and considering “any other arrangements” that could be in place.
