When we read this story on Thurrock Nub News, we were dumbstruck with disbelief: As summertime ends – and one year on – councillors call for council to act urgently to solve lighting issues. Yes, you read it right… The three ward councillors for the Grays Riverside ward, Martin Kerin, Jane Pothecary and Tony Fish, raised their concerns about failed lights on the Seabrooke Rise estate in Grays back in August 2020. It’s now November 2021, British Summer Time has ended, the days are getting shorter and the lighting issues on the estate have yet to be fully resolved.

This means there are areas of the Seabrooke Rise estate that are left in darkness. That’s a safety issue. It will lead to some people living on the estate understandably being afraid to leave their homes when it’s dark. This will be for the fear of crime. In some cases, it will also be the fear of tripping over a broken or uneven paving slab they couldn’t see properly in the dark. Effectively, they’re prisoners in their own homes during the hours of darkness. This is simply not acceptable.

One off reporting of broken lights here and there with piecemeal repairs are not an effective way of addressing the problem. Residents and the ward councillors have rightly called for Thurrock Council to carry out a full audit of the lighting on the estate and to then implement a comprehensive repair programme. It may sound like an expensive way of resolving the issue but a one off, comprehensive repair programme, will in the long run be the most efficient and cost effective way of dealing with the situation.

What really rankles is that the Seabrooke Rise estate is literally just round the corner from the swanky new extension to the Civic Offices that Thurrock Council are building. It’s a stark illustration of the skewed priorities of a council that an increasing number of frustrated residents see as dysfunctional. Ensuring street lighting works is one of the cre basics of what a council should be doing without any dramas. Thurrock Council really should be embarrassed by their failure to even get the basics done. GET IT SORTED!!