Council and democracy

The Leader began his statement by discussing the work of the Environmental Enforcement Officers, who had been given greater powers to tackle anti-social behaviour, as they had achieved accreditation under the Home Office’s Community Safety Accreditation Scheme. He stated that the Environmental Enforcement Officers could now seize alcohol from people under the age of 18, and issue fixed penalty notices to anyone causing harassment. He felt this would help the Council tackle anti-social behaviour and allow officers to take tougher action.

The Leader then moved onto to discuss a recent incident where officers seized a van and fined the owner £400 for dumping garden waste in Bulphan, and stated this penalty had been given again for a van dumping rubbish in Dennises Lane. He commented that fly-tipping cost the council money to clear and enforcement action sent a message that it was not acceptable in Thurrock. He added that the Council had recently prosecuted a man who had received noise nuisance complaints in Chadwell St Mary for keeping 20 dogs, and having failed to comply with the noise abatement notice, was taken to court and fined nearly £10,000.

The Leader then moved on to discuss the hard work of the Trading Standards Port team, as they had won the Product Safety Hero Award at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute Hero Awards. He stated that last year the team had intercepted 36% of dangerous goods entering the UK, which had saved the UK economy £14.4million. He added that the Trading Standards Port team had received £177,000 in funding from the National Trading Standards Board for 2019/20 and this would help them work to identify dangerous consumer products, and confiscating them before they entered the UK market.

Private Howarth’s memorial ceremony was the next item that the Leader discussed, and he stated that he felt honoured to attend the ceremony that paid tribute to the Private 101 years after he died from injuries he sustained after being a Prisoner of War during World War One. He explained that tributes were made at West Thurrock Cemetery for Private Howarth, as well as other fallen service men and women from World War One, and a plaque and memorial tree that had been dedicated to them was unveiled. He stated that this service was borne of a Full Council question from a local resident in July 2018, and the service had been well attended by Private Howarth’s relatives, local residents, Members, officers, and the Royal British Legion.

The Leader then updated the Cabinet on Clean It, Cut It, Fill It and stated that since April 2019: 649 potholes had been filled and all were within timeframe; 328 fly-tips had been cleared; 469 tonnes of waste had been cleared; and 99% of household waste bins had been emptied on the correct day. The Leader finished his statement by congratulating the Chief Executive as she had been appointed Honorary Fellow to the Thames Estuary Partnership for the contribution she had made to the sustainability of the River Thames.