News

A rogue car dealer from East Tilbury has been handed a six-month suspended prison sentence following a prosecution brought by Thurrock Council's Trading Standards team.

Muhammad Bhatti, of Motors For You Ltd, a used car dealership based at Production House, Princess Margaret Road, East Tilbury, pleaded guilty to four offences relating to the sale of unsafe vehicles and six offences of false and misleading advertising.

Thurrock’s Draft Local Plan consultation has now been officially launched, giving everyone in the borough a chance to have their say on proposals for how development will take place in the borough until 2044.

The draft plan sets out where future homes, jobs, infrastructure and community facilities should be located over the next two decades, with only small numbers of new homes built in the first few years of the plan.

A small patch of underused land behind Chadwell Library has been transformed into a vibrant, community garden thanks to the dedication of local volunteers.

Over the past five years, green-fingered residents have created a flourishing garden that looks beautiful and produces a variety of fresh fruit, vegetables, and herbs for the local community to enjoy.

Our new Administration raised our Borough’s Coat of Arms outside the Civic Centre in late May 2026. Its Latin motto translates as: ‘By Thames, to the peoples of the world’.

Thurrock has always been a place that makes, moves and trades. But the scale of economic opportunity now coming towards our borough is potentially transformational.

The above ground construction work has begun on seven, truly affordable family homes in Chadwell St Mary. 

Cllr Rob Willoughby, Portfolio Holder for Adult Health and Housing Services, visited the building site on Vigerons Way to check on progress building these new council homes.

When Shirley began looking into fostering, she wasn't sure exactly what respite fostering meant.

What she did know was that she wanted a role where she could continue helping young people while still enjoying the freedom that retirement brings. Six years later, she hasn't looked back.

After becoming a respite foster carer with Thurrock Council, Shirley found a rewarding way to support children and young people while fitting fostering around her own life and commitments.

At its meeting on Wednesday 26 August, Thurrock Council's Cabinet approved the publication of the draft Thurrock Local Plan for public consultation and agreed the next steps to progress the regeneration of Purfleet-on-Thames.

Both decisions mark significant steps in shaping the borough's future growth for local residents.

When Ros retired from a long career in education, she knew she wasn't ready to slow down completely.

Having worked as an assistant headteacher in schools in London and Abu Dhabi, retirement initially felt like a welcome change of pace. But after a few months, she found herself looking for a new challenge.

"I was having a great time at first," she said. "But after a while I started thinking there must be more to life than this. I'd had a really intense career and I knew I wanted to do something meaningful."

More than 5,000 residents helped make this year’s Big Lunches a record-breaking success. 

The five events, in East Tilbury, South Ockendon, Chadwell St Mary, Corringham and Blackshots, saw thousands of residents coming together for afternoons of activities, entertainment, sport and community connection. 

These last two weeks, thousands of young people across Thurrock have received their exam results and are taking their next steps into further education, training or employment. I want to congratulate every student for their hard work, determination and resilience. I know this can be a worrying time, but it is also a time to reflect on the hard work that I am sure everyone has put in as students worked towards their exams.