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Council set to launch newspaper

2:20pm Friday 16th October 2009


THURROCK Council is set to launch its own newspaper after getting the go-ahead from cabinet members last night.

A report on the council’s new communications strategy says the authority will use the fortnightly civic publication as a channel to “improve and defend its reputation”.

Deputy Leader of the Council Amanda Arnold welcomed the new communications strategy.

She said: “We are a big player in Thurrock, we haven’t been very good at singing our praises about what we do really well, so I really welcome this.”

The communications strategy has been developed in the wake of the Audit Commission’s direction of travel statement which scored the council as a two star authority which is not improving adequately.

Alongside its newspaper, the strategy would see the council producing a bi-monthly e-zine which will be published electronically and in print to celebrate the council’s successes and deliver its vision.

It will also produce a newsletter for schools on a monthly basis, again celebrating successes and sharing best practice, and exploit mobile and internet technology to get its messages across.

A previous council report on the civic newspaper estimated that it will cost £100,000 to produce each year, but opposition councillors have expressed concerns that this figure is unrealistic.

The report also talked of spending £115,000 each year to pay the salaries of an editor, a designer, and an advertising manager.


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Your Say YourThurrock

kbatts, Aveley says...
9:31pm Thu 15 Oct 09

I remember the banter when this story came up a couple of months ago. I find it somewhat amazing that money can be found for something that is really not needed. i have lived in Thurrock for 45 years and we have not had the need for this sort of publication before, so why now? I find it quite remarkable that money can be found and wasted when it suits, and that remark is aimed at all political parties not just those that are in office now. We will be reading soon about services that will be cut due to lack of funds and how the council has to be careful about what it spends. Time will tell, and if or when it falls, i hope that the morons that voted for this, pay with there jobs.

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knighs1, Earth says...
8:51am Fri 16 Oct 09

Will it be available in english as well?

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diggerdave, Chadwell says...
9:29am Fri 16 Oct 09

maybe we can be told when the roads are being dug up or closed for once in this paper or when the planning cases for digging them up are being heard so we know what is happening. fed up with being stuck on the London Road because someone is digging it up or being rerouted all around Essex as a slip road is shut for some unknown reason

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Mattster, Grays says...
10:09am Fri 16 Oct 09

Its hard to think of a bigger waste of money than this. You can imagine it now, every issue a different smiling face on the front cover (ethnic minority obviously) and inside loads of guff telling us how brillant Thurrock Council is and how well the new insane 3 bin waste scheme is going.

Thurrock has better things to spend money on.

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old man of grays, east tilbury says...
10:18am Fri 16 Oct 09

Told you all so, this Council does what it wants to do, not what the Council Tax Payer wants. If I was a millionaire I would put a Court Injuction in to stop these morons wasting our money just to blow their own trumpet.

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warren lakes, stanford le hope says...
7:20pm Fri 16 Oct 09

it looks like if there is any spare cash about, it'll be spent on them and not the suckers who voted them in.

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Tom.t, Tilbury says...
11:10pm Fri 16 Oct 09

Is this the only way the Tories in Thurrock can try to get to the voters before the next local elections, if so they have shot themselves in the feet and their biggest gamble will not pay off.

Jon Gaunt of the Sun New’s Paper says that Daventry Council have also produced a paper with 24 pages at a cost of £48,000, and it is only full bull***t and goes straight in his rubbish bin.

I suggest the resident of Thurrock need to remember the Thurrock Tory cabinet big clanger that has again wasted Thurrock’s money and vote them out at the next election

Disgusted.



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Tom.t, Tilbury says...
9:19am Sat 17 Oct 09

Is this not a case of not in my back yard? The conservative’s Councillors again appear to be looking after there own interest!

Is it true? That the Thurrock Conservative’s have made a decision to cut opening hours in Thurrock Libraries, this will surely result in possible job losses.

It does appear that the Chafford Hundred leader of the Thurrock Conservative Party and his Chafford Hundred Conservative friend (Portfolio Holder for transport) Cllr Neil Rockcliffe found the time and money to convince the Thurrock Conservative cabinet that the 7.5 Ton weight limit should be, and will be installed back onto the quite industrial Devonshire road, creating more hazards and congestion on busy overloaded London road South Stifford and West Thurrock.

Facts.
Devonshire road is industrial, it only has a disused chalk pit and few houses on one side and Fuel storage deport and disused chalk pit on the other side!

Facts.
The Thurrock conservative party are not getting their priorities right?
For example, there are lots of road signs in Thurrock that are misleading, incorrect, not in place, and in some cases information road signs giving out the wrong confusion information that result in accidents, yet the Thurrock (Chafford Hundred) Conservative councillor only see what they want to see, looking after their own patch!

Facts.
Thurrock’s Conservative Councillors also do not appear not to acknowledge that some road signs or markings do not appear in the official Highway Code, why is this?

Is this why Thurrock has been recently been labelled with some of the most dangerous roads in the country?

Tom.T

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OckendonPaul, ockendon says...
1:17pm Sat 17 Oct 09

This really is beyond belief. It's the sort of thing you'd expect from Labour and just goes to show that whichever of the main parties we voe for, we just get the same old crap.

Remember it was this same bunch of jokers who recently withdrew the councils pest control service to save £60,000

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joeconrad, says...
3:41pm Mon 19 Oct 09

Elsewhere it's been reported that the expected cost of this council newspaper is likely to be more like half a million pounds. At the same time it is cutting libary opening hours without consultation. Libary use increases during economic recessions as job seekers visit their libraries to use the internet and newspapers, print cvs and borrow books that may help them to qualify for new jobs. The plan to impose cuts in opening hours at all the libraries including the central library at Grays while spending tax payers’ money on promoting their own image shows contempt by councillors for the people they are supposed to represent. But they may also be "hoist by their own petard" if the opposition takes over and uses the publication for its own purposes.

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warren lakes, stanford le hope says...
8:33pm Mon 19 Oct 09

hold on a mo, I am told that just over £500k equates to 1 % council tax ?....christ that means our pockets in for a hiding next May and the way they're going through money we wont be able to afford a loaf of bread

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Eddie, aveley says...
8:41am Tue 20 Oct 09

well I must be the only person in thurrock that does not have a problem with this, it could be a good thing, why does everyone assume its gonna be conservative properganda, and even if it is, is that such a bad thing, god knows we've had enough labour propaganda over the years. the paper if its run right could generate its own income in advertising revenue which could boost the coffers, maybe it could be used to fight the TTGDC, if it has enough local interest stories like fighting the green belt development then that could be a good thing, why are we putting it down before its even been given a chance. as long as it has the right people at the helm, a good editor good advertising sales staff this could be a good thing, it does not have to be a tory paper, it just needs to be a paper to reflect the thoughts and needs of thurrock people for the good of thurrock people. I can't see that anyone in their right sense of mind would contenplate bringing out a propaganda paper. that would be political suicide and I dont think our council are into political suicide. Lets not condem this paper, lets support it and use it to help fight the TTGDC and the Government and lets use it to make thurrock strong, and lets use it to get our views heard. Give it a chance you might be surprised, all this doom and gloom is bloody depressing

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Tom.t, Tilbury says...
9:48pm Tue 20 Oct 09

Sorry Eddy I cannot agree with you.

Our good old faithful and reliable Thurrock Gazette media has been debating, Campaigning printing frustrated Thurrock residents complaints and problems in the Thurrock Gazette letters page for many years, from my experience councillors have never listened, so why should Thurrock residents need another expensive news’s paper when any spare money could be used for other important Thurrock services.

I am sure that the Thurrock Gazette would be only to willing to follow any success stories of progress that our local councillors make on behalf of us (Free of charge) however, I not many councillors progress reports come up in the Gazette! Or is it that our Thurrock councillors are not making any individual progress that would justify their yearly expenses!

In a nut shell, we are sick and tied of Thurrock Council telling us what they are going to do and then blame somebody else’s when it back fires in their faces.

Unless you go to the council web site, most Thurrock residents don’t know who their councillors are; they will be reminded prior to the local election weeks.

If the paper gets printed and a new party takes administration in Thurrock the Conservatives’ will be trying to close the paper that they are introducing.

Shame on Thurrock’s Conservative Party (Wasting Thurrock’s valuable resources)

Note:
I could always use the new paper to wrap my food waste up before placing our crumbs in the new bin.

Let’s debate road safety that Thurrock Councillor lack knowledge of regarding problems in Thurrock, the wasted money could have helped here.

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Tom.t, Tilbury says...
8:22am Wed 21 Oct 09

Thurrock Council has got to be joking;

I thought it was April fool’s day.

I have just been informed that the old blue recycle boxes’ that are now being replaced by the new blue recycle bin’s are NOT recyable!!

The Thurrock Conservative administration wants’ to give us a news’s paper telling us how good the conservative councillors are! I bet the blue box **** up would not have got a mention in the new Thurrock council’s propergander (one sided news paper)

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midnight.surfer, tilbury says...
10:40am Wed 21 Oct 09

Sorry but i think this is a bit of a waste of time, surley that's what the Thurrock
Gazette is for to inform us of what is going on.
We dont need to be told twice and as the Gazette comes out weekly so the news will be old news.
Funny how they can't find the money to extend certain budgets of there's (pva doors budget ran out of money)but can find it for other things.
Whatever this ends up costing you will see them cutting back next year on something we need but putting out council taxes up!!!

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JoeJohn, South Ockendon says...
3:33pm Wed 21 Oct 09

It is outrageous.

My partner works at the council and has just found out that their job is majorly at risk.

For all the negative comments about council workers on this site, I can put my hand on my heart and say that he is a dedicated loyal and hardworking person who has had his committment thrown back in his face.
He continues to work long hours and strive to do the best he can. He gave up a job lastyear to move to the council as he wnats to make a better life for his family and (hopefully) secure his future.

Two months ago, a "consultant" wa sbrought into his office, without warning apparently to review the councils strategy in their particular area (I cant say what it is as it would have implications for him).
This consultant is being paid £800 PER DAY and has decided that my partner and their colleagues (of which there are 10) are all "disposable" - even though they have proven themselves and are making a real difference in their work.

This consultant has now announced that they will be bringing in a "industry contact" they know to run the department and they in turn will "recruit the most effective people for the team" - in other words people THEY want or know.

I witness first hand my partner coming home and almost crying out of sheer frustrating at the unfairness of it all. He has never claimed benefits, has worked hard all his life (mid 40's now) and just wants to provide for his family and do his bit.

In his directorate there are currently 8 consultants, all being paid on average £800 - £1000 per day. It is quite frankly disgusting.

This council are the most biased, corrupt and underhand authority you will ever see.

I imagine my family and I will be in for a rough time over the next few months - as a lot of families are. Dont get me wrong, life has its ups and downs, but I do believe that fairness and hardwork should be rewarded, not just pushed aside for "jobs for the boys".

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Tom.t, Tilbury says...
9:18am Thu 22 Oct 09

I agree with Jojohn of south Ockendon regarding fairness.

I also believe that hard work should be recognised and rewarded, however some bosses only consider employee’s that jump when spoken to and agree with everything the boss says (Boot lickers) bosses like this, it helps them when promoting or considering staff reductions.

Are you a council worker? Are some Thurrock department Council bosses like this?

I think it’s not a case of not what you know but who you know, am I right?

Consider this serious outstanding road safety problem, why is the 30mph speed limit in force outside William Edwards School but the speed limit through the quite North Stifford village is set at 20mph, how was this scandalous incompetent road safety decision taken!

What councillor represents North Stifford?

Thurrock has recently been recognised for having some of the most dangerous roads in the Country, I wonder why!!

Concerned

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