The Leader began his statement by discussing the Remembrance commemorations held across the borough on Sunday 11November. He mentioned that specialist cleaning had taken place and new planters installed on memorials in the area, and 834 poppies had been placed in cemeteries and memorials to commemorate every life lost from Thurrock. He went on to discuss the new railings that had been placed around the memorial in Grays, to stop it being a place of anti-social behaviour, and to restore it as a place of quiet reflection. He added that new signs would also be installed asking people to be respectful to the fallen soldiers. The Leader then detailed the £150,000 budget, and only £80,000 of this had been used, with the remainder of the money going into the maintenance of the memorials. He congratulated Thurrock Local Community Groups for their remembrance displays across the borough, in places such as Stifford, and discussed how the council were looking at areas where the displays could become permanent. He thanked the Director of Environment and Highways for all her hard work over the year to make the commemorations happen. He then described how officers had been working at 6am on Sunday morning clearing leaves and ensuring there was disabled access to the memorial at Turps Corner. He again thanked all staff and Member’s and felt they should be proud of all the hard work. He added he would be formally writing to officers to thank them again.

The Leader then moved on to discuss the new fibre optic broadband for 1,400 council tenants and commented that this produced the fastest internet speeds. He mentioned the council were working with the private company Hyperoptic to produce the gigabit internet connection, and stated that this agreement had been expanded to include 20 other council run areas. The Leader added that this would benefit both young families and older residents to improve connectivity, and proved that the council was investing in a ‘digital first’ approach so Thurrock was ready for the future.

The Leader then discussed the Lower Thames Crossing and the Highways England Consultation. He stated that the consultation was open until 20 December 2018, but that consultation documents were very detailed and felt Highways England were showing a lack of effort in making information accessible to people. He felt the consultation documents used highly complex language, and even the non-technical summary contained jargon and acronyms. He added that the easy-reading version was inaccessible as this was available on request, but that as Highways England had a 15 working days response time, residents would have to request these now. He added that the documents would only be translated for a very high fee, which again made them inaccessible. He commented that Highways England plans to build a large motorway through the borough, and that their story kept changing, for example what began as a ‘rest area’ in Tilbury had become a full service station. The Leader felt this was a terrible scheme which would negatively impact Thurrock and encouraged every resident to take part in consultation, and overcome any obstacles set by Highways England to respond. He stated consultation documents were available in the Tilbury and Grays hubs, as well as online.

The Leader moved on to discuss anti-social behaviour among council tenants and stated that one tenant had received a Closure Planning Order which restricted him from entering his house to prevent him from using it as a drug den. He stated this was the fourth property to receive a Closure Planning order, but 8 more were being legally chased, and 147 warning letters had been sent out. He commented that the council supported their tenants who did not want drugs, gangs and other anti-social behaviour in their area. The Leader then said that the council were investing in more initiatives such as increased CCTV and better front doors for residents, as well as helping the police tackle issues regarding motorbikes and quad-bikes. He stated that Essex police had now reduced anti-social behaviour on motorbikes and quad-bikes by 46%, which was one less worry for Thurrock residents. He finished by stating that the council were working with Essex Police to finalise a new Police Crime Prevention Strategy.

The Leader then congratulated Councillor Hebb on his win of the LGIU Finance and Transformation Award. He mentioned that finance had become innovative and the council had reduced the deficit whilst minimising the effect on local residents. He felt it was good to see Thurrock Councillors with such a strong national presence, as one third of Cabinet members had been nominated for an LGIU award, with every nomination being shortlisted and 2 winners.

The Leader finished his statement by giving the latest figures on the Clean It, Cut It, Fill It Scheme which were: 790 acres of grass cut; 164 tonnes of litter cleared; 908 fly-tips cleared; 2146 fines and penalty notices issued; 52 £400 fly-tipping notices issued; 90 community protection warnings issued; and 35 community protection notices issued. He added that a new education programme regarding fly-tipping would be rolled out in January. He finished by stating that 1783 potholes had been filled in across the borough, 99% of which had been within target time. He commented that the government had awarded an extra £848,000 to fill potholes in before the end of the financial year, which proved central government had confidence in the council to spend money wisely and effectively to fill potholes.

Councillor Hebb thanked the team, including Cabinet colleagues and Directors Board, particularly the Director of Finance and IT and the Director of Commercial Services. He stated he was happy to see services secured for the next four years and again thanked officers for their hard work. He also discussed the positive comments he had received from Stanford residents regarding commemorations on Remembrance Sunday, and thanked the Stanford War Memorial Group.