News | Thurrock Council

Business ideas bloom at Thurrock Soup event

24 July 2018

Thurrock Soup returned this month for its eighth event, which took place at Thurrock Adult Community College in Grays on Friday 20 July.
Four residents took to the stage to pitch their business ideas to members of the local community. Residents in the audience then voted for the business idea they wanted to see launched in the local community and receive the prize funding.

Get fit, feel better and meet new friends

23 July 2018

Two new programmes commissioned by Thurrock Council will help adults improve their health and fitness.
Shift the Timber is a 12-week physical activity programme for men, held on a Monday and Thursday evenings at Palmers College football pitch in Grays.
Nutrition Advice for Health is a free 12-week nutrition education course held at:
Belhus Village Hall, South Ockendon, on Wednesday mornings
The Beehive Centre, Grays, on Wednesday evenings
The programmes are available to adults who:

Buckles Lane, South Ockendon

22 July 2018

Cllr Coxshall, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, said: "The council continues to make good progress on this complex case and has recently served an injunction to prevent further unauthorised development taking place on parts of the wider Buckles Lane site.
"We have carried out a comprehensive review of the site to ascertain exactly who is occupying each plot. This work has included serving 45 Planning Contravention Notices on landowners.

Museum gets lottery funding for Attic project

20 July 2018

Thurrock Museum has been awarded £10,000 by the Heritage Lottery Fund to help it catalogue the treasure trove of local historical artefacts currently stored in their archives.
Thurrock's Attic will see the museum organising its collection of historical artefacts so that new items can be put on public display. The project will start later this summer and is expected to take a year.
It signals an exciting future for the museum as it continues to celebrate the history of the borough from its home in the Thameside Complex, Orsett Road, Grays.

Coalhouse Fort Park awarded Green Flag Award

17 July 2018

Coalhouse Fort Park has been awarded a prestigious Green Flag Award.
The park, which surrounds the 19th century Coalhouse Fort in East Tilbury, is ideal for quiet riverside walks and family days out.
It has been awarded the Green Flag Award every year since 2010, recognising it is beautifully maintained to high environmental standards and has excellent visitor facilities.

Glowing tributes paid to former Mayor of Thurrock

17 July 2018

Tributes have been paid to a former Thurrock mayor.
Diane Revell, who was a Thurrock Council councillor for Orsett for 17 years and mayor between 2007 and 2008, passed away on Saturday.
During her tenure as mayor, Mrs Revell launched the charity Thurrock Children's Music Trust and was an active and long-serving member of the health and wellbeing overview and scrutiny committee.
She is survived by husband Mike, who is also a former councillor, and their children and grandchildren.

Solicitors jailed thanks to Thurrock Council-led investigation

17 July 2018

A crooked solicitor and her partner have been jailed after being convicted of fraud and perverting the course of justice, thanks to Thurrock Council's national Counter Fraud and Investigation team.
Astrid Halberstadt-Twum – principal solicitor at the law firm Cleveland and Co Solicitors in Whitechapel, east London – and her husband Joseph Twum have been found guilty of conspiracy to defraud the Legal Aid Agency and of perverting the course of public justice. The pair were sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday 10 July.

Landlord fined £2,500 after failure to licence shared house

13 July 2018

A landlord has been fined £2,525 after failing to licence her property and providing inadequate living conditions for her tenants.
Adeola Makinde was found guilty of failing to licence her property in Norfolk Place, Chafford Hundred, as a house in multiple occupation (HMO) following a trial at Basildon Magistrate's Court on Monday (9 July).
The court heard that Thurrock Council had been requesting a HMO licence application from Makinde since 2014, but no application was made.

Thurrock Council performing on target

13 July 2018

This week's Cabinet meeting heard that Thurrock Council has achieved the majority of its targets for 2017/18 and has seen improvements over the previous year’s performance in many areas.
Highlights from the report include:

Mayor hosts reception for Queen's Award for Voluntary Services winners

13 July 2018

A special reception was held by Cllr Barbara Rice, Mayor of Thurrock, today to congratulate the three voluntary groups from Thurrock who have been honoured with the Queen's Award for Voluntary Services (QAVS) – the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.
The groups are: