Since January Thurrock Council has filled 3,837 pot holes, emptied 10.5 million residential and trade waste bins, emptied over 50,000 street bins and cut over 1,185 acres of grass.

In a report presented at yesterday’s Full Council meeting Aaron Watkins, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Highways, outlined some of the successes achieved this year including street cleaning, road repairs and successful WW1 commemoration events.

He also spoke about plans for future investment which includes developing public transport and cycling infrastructure along with major road building schemes including widening the A13.

In 2018 Thurrock Council invested around £8 million in vehicles including new bin lorries, mechanical street sweepers and mowers and grounds maintenance equipment.

The council has also invested £939,000 in Clean it, Cut it, Fill it initiatives, £2.6 million in cycling infrastructure, £300,000 on white lining for highways and nearly a quarter-of-a-million pounds to improve signage throughout Thurrock.

The report also outlines a number of major schemes which will get underway soon including ambitious plans to improve traffic in Grays Town Centre, a major scheme to create east facing slip roads on the A13 near Lakeside, major investment in improvements at the Linford Household waste and Recycling Centre and work taking place with c2c to bring improvements to the borough’s rail services and stations including discussions with the Department for Transport on the introduction of contactless payment at all Thurrock stations.

Over the course of the year Thurrock Council has resurfaced and improved miles of road including South Road and Dunnings Lane in South Ockendon; Princess Margaret Road East Tilbury; Chadwell Road, Little Thurrock, Grays; Romford Road, Aveley and extensive repairs to sections of the Manorway, Stanford, while footway improvements have been carried out in South Stifford and Corringham.

Cllr Watkins said: “Over the last year major investment has taken place improving roads, parks, open spaces and keeping the borough clean and tidy and that is set to continue in 2019.

“As well as major investment in vital services we have poured money into maintaining and improving the borough’s roads including repairing nearly 4,000 pot holes and resurfacing miles of our roads.

“Clean it, cut it, fill it is still a priority for the Council and we will continue the investment and hard-work to build on the excellent results we have already seen.”