News | Thurrock Council

Statement from Council Leader in response to BBC Panorama programme

1 August 2023

Full statement from Council Leader Andrew Jefferies in response to the BBC Panorama programme about Thurrock Council broadcast yesterday (31 July 2023).
Cllr Andrew Jefferies, Leader of Thurrock Council, said: "As a council we recognise that things went very wrong and our focus is on taking the necessary action to put that right.

ASELA appoints Thurrock Council Leader as Chair

28 July 2023

Cllr Andrew Jefferies, Leader of Thurrock Council, will take on the role of Chair for The Association of South Essex Local Authorities (ASELA) following agreement at a meeting of the ASELA Joint Committee on Thursday 27 July 2023.
ASELA consists of:

Thurrock Council will not allow Ultra Low Emission Zone signs in the borough

28 July 2023

Thurrock Council has told Transport for London (TfL) it will not allow any signs for the extended London Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) to be put up by TfL in the borough.
ULEZ is being extended to Havering and means that vehicles that do not meet the emissions standard will be charged £12.50 a day each time they drive into the zone.

Leader and shadow councillor join food waste collection crews

27 July 2023

Cllr Andrew Jefferies, Leader of Thurrock Council, and opposition shadow portfolio holder Cllr Valerie Morris-Cook joined crews as they collected food waste bins on Monday 24 July to see for themselves how the pilot scheme is going.
Around 6,000 homes in Thurrock are currently taking part in the scheme. They have been issued with food waste caddies and locking food waste bins. Food waste is then collected separately to be recycled.

Thurrock Council remembers Srebrenica

10 July 2023

Thurrock Council is commemorating the anniversary of the tragic events of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, which saw more than 8,000 people killed and countless acts of barbarity committed against women, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes to escape what the United Nations had called this worst atrocity on European soil since the Second World War.

Celebrating Windrush Day in Thurrock

19 June 2023

Communities are invited to come together at events across Thurrock to celebrate the upcoming 75th anniversary of the Empire Windrush's arrival in the UK.
The sixth annual National Windrush Day is marked on 22 June and dedicated to recognising the contribution of the Windrush Generation and their descendants. This year, communities can also acknowledge the historic 75th anniversary of the Empire Windrush docking at Tilbury with passengers from the Caribbean on 22 June 1948.

Statement on publication of Best Value Inspection report

15 June 2023

Thurrock Council's new leader has responded to the findings of the Best Value Inspection report which has been published by the government today (Thursday 15 June 2023).
The report has been released following an independent investigation into the council's financial failure, which resulted in government intervention in September 2022.
The council has accepted the description in the report of an historic culture of poor leadership and a lack of transparency, which ultimately contributed to poor financial decisions.

Waste review to get services back on track

15 June 2023

Work will take place to review how the borough's bins are collected and a new interim service will see general waste collected weekly and alternate fortnightly collections of recycling and garden waste take place.
The review will look at all aspects of household waste collections to create to create a sustainable and reliable service which meets residents' needs and can be delivered consistently on budget.
Cllr Andrew Jefferies, Leader of Thurrock Council and Cabinet Member for Environment, said: "It is clear that bin collections cannot carry on as it has been

Proposals for household waste collections

8 June 2023

Plans to improve the borough's household waste collections, including proposals for an interim solution for the collection of garden waste will go to Cabinet for a decision on Wednesday 14 June.
Cllr Andrew Jefferies, Leader of Thurrock Council and Cabinet Member for Environment, said: "I am determined that the work will take place to create a long-term solution and ensure that a regular and reliable service is provided to residents while we do that.

New Mayor and Leader

25 May 2023

Cllr Sue Little has been inaugurated as the Mayor of Thurrock and Cllr Andrew Jefferies voted in as new Leader of council at Annual Council on Wednesday 24 May.
Cllr Qaisar Abbas has been named as the deputy Mayor for the 2023/24 municipal year.
Cllr Little said: "It is a tremendous honour to become the Mayor of Thurrock and I am looking forward to an exciting year ahead. I will be working hard to visit as many charities and local groups as possible and highlighting all the excellent work being carried out by the borough's residents.