A DECISION on whether a housing estate in Corringham is to have its own parish council is due tonight (March 25).

Members of the Frost Estate Neighbourhood Council have been pleading with Thurrock Council to allow them to become a “community council”, enabling them to speed up the process of roads on the estate being fixed.

The estate - which is made up of 11 roads - is in a unique position where all home owners have responsible for the part of the road on which their property is located.

A recent consultation on the proposals showed 70 percent of residents are in favour of the estate, with 540 of 715 registered voters taking part in the consultation.

If Thurrock Council give the green light for the proposal, it would be the first community council of its kind in the borough. The FENC would then have to elect nine members to sit on the council.

Thurrock Council estimate a precept of roughly £54 in extra council tax per year for the cost of running a parish council, but some residents think that number could easily double.

Joe Ravenhill has lived on the estate for 45 years and is against the proposals.

Mr Ravenhill, of Chamerlain Avenue, said: “Most of the committee members live on the cross road section of Central and Giffords Cross Avenue, and they want the whole estate to pay for their part of the road.

“On my road we’ve all put our hands in our pockets and paid for our road to be sorted – why can’t they? I know some people who have said point blank they won’t pay the extra charge – why should they?”

Janet Deeney, secretary of the residents group, is aware of the concerns from some residents and says a plan is in place for those who have already paid for their road to be repaired not to pay as much as others.

She said: “We want to bring these roads back up to the standard they once were. Then once the council is up and running we can look at getting other aspects of the estate sorted such as things like bins and notice boards.”

To find out the council’s final decision, visit our website tonight for a live blog of the full Thurrock Council meeting.