TILBURY'S Labour councillors have spoken of their disappointment at plans by Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation to regenerate their town.
The Corporation has recently published its masterplan for south east Thurrock but councillors Lynn Worrall, Bukky Okunde and Richard Bingley have written expressing their views, saying they feel let down.
In an open letter to the Corporation they said: "We write to you collectively in response to the publication of the South East Thurrock Master Plan, which impacts the wards that we are elected to represent in Tilbury.
"This plan has been years in the making but at this point we feel it is unimaginative and demands substantial improvements.
"Tilbury is one of the very most deprived areas in the Thames Gateway and East of England region. But it also has fabulous road and travel links and also rich and largely ignored heritage.
"We feel that Tilbury is a very promising base for regeneration and investment and are hugely concerned that this is a missed opportunity by the Development Corporation."
Particular areas of disappointment are:
no inclusion of a mooted new football and sports stadium beside the Gateway Campus
no serious consultation with the town’s traditionally largest employer the Port of Tilbury over working together to enhance Tilbury Marshes and Fort Road/ferry terminal area
local jobs and companies on Fort Road such as Hyundai facing compulsory relocation because houses are earmarked to be built on the land
no solution offered for tidying and regenerating Hume Avenue and Dock Road currently with a mixture of derelict plots and blighted landscape
The councillors went on to say: "We are concerned that the plan in the town centre, especially by the Civic Square are, lacks imagination. The closed leisure centre blights the centre of town and we urge for the Master Plan to make good its idea to put it to ‘community use’ "Nevertheless, we are encouraged by the vision to develop Tilbury Marshes into a more pleasant and accessible parkland.
"It has been neglected by authorities for too long. Presently in Thurrock, we are far behind national guidelines for leisure and open spaces and would welcome any moves to remedy this.
"We also support the improved public realm by the Gravesend-Tilbury ferry jetty, but remain concerned that the Master Plan does not at the moment clearly link the fabulous heritage of Tilbury Fort area and the town."
Thurrock Gazette
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