THURROCK Council is aiming to challeneg a statutory requirement to pay £140,000 towards the upkeep of Lee Valley Country Park in Hertfordshire.

This spend had been identified in the past as a cut but the council was forced to continue to pay.

At the authority's cross party spending review, it was agreed that Thurrock Council will support a campaign lobbying for parliamentary change to dispel the charge on councils who do not boarder the park.

Rob Gledhill, Tory leader of the council, explained the "absurdity" in making Thurrock residents pay for a park 35 miles away.

He said: “Due to a historic constitutional anomaly, Southend Council don’t have to pay the levy, but Thurrock does.

“Thurrock Council’s country parks yearly budget is £360k – this disproportionate chunk of money we’re legally obliged to send outside the borough amounts to 39% of that budget.”

He added: “We will be lobbying the Government and supporting James Berry’s campaign to amend the Lee Valley Regional Park Act 1966.”