Van drivers and motorists towing trailers will soon need permits to use the Linford Civic Amenities Centre after a motion was passed by Thurrock Council's Cabinet.

Councillor Aaron Watkins tabled a motion to the Cabinet requesting they support his recommendation of introducing a system whereby vans, vehicles towing trailers and pick-up trucks would need a permit to use the tip in Linford.

The proposal was brought forward after Councillor Watkins found the Linford tip was regularly exceeding capacity which in turn has been discouraging people from recycling their unwanted items there.

Councillor Watkins said during the meeting: "There was an independent report done in June and one of the findings was that there was a substantial amount of waste being disposed of on the site.

"We had people coming from far and wide outside the borough here to dispose of their waste when they're not supposed to be doing that.

"We will be playing an active role and we will be very tight on the vehicles coming into the site."

The report claims that the Linford tip has become a "soft target" for illegal waste disposal after Essex County Council removed van and trailer access to 12 of their tips countywide, including Pitsea and Rayleigh which are close to Linford.

The report also raised concerns about the commercial vehicles illegally disposing of waste in the Linford tip.

An independent report in June found that potential traders contributed to roughly a third of all site tonnage and at an estimated cost of £250,000 a year. For comparison, the calculated borough wide cost for the clearance of fly-tipping in Thurrock is estimated at half of that.

During the meeting, Leader of the Council, Rob Gledhill, spoke of his own experiences witnessing commercial vehicles using the site.

He said: "I went down their recently and it was quite shocking to see the number of trade vehicles from outside the area using the centre."

The motion was passed unanimously after it was presented to the Cabinet in a meeting last night.

Motorists requiring permits will need to be Thurrock residents and can have a permit of up to 12 months which will give them a maximum of 12 visits per year.

Motorists renting vehicles can apply for a seven day permit which can only be used once.

The report also asserts that Enforcement Officers will operate the site in the first three months of the permit system being in place for security purposes as reports of verbal abuse and threats of physical violence have been made to staff in the past who have attempted to prevent people from using the site.

The permit system is expected to begin early in 2018.