Thurrock residents tell of life under a 'bankrupt' council

Resident Robert Groves says he will support any abolition of Thurrock Council

A year has passed since Thurrock Council admitted the full scale of its financial woes - a £469m deficit that remains one of largest ever recorded by a local authority. What has it been like for those living under what is, effectively, a bankrupt council?

It's a cold, sunny autumn morning at the tranquil Hardie Park in the Thurrock town of Stanford-le-Hope, and parents are happily chatting with one another as children play.

Mention Thurrock Council, however, and the mood shifts.

Nearly everybody you meet here has noticed changes since the council announced a shortfall three times larger than its annual budget.

Some might appear trivial, such as verge cutting or alterations to bin collections, while other changes can have huge consequences for those affected, such as special educational needs provision or axing an element of adult social care.

Thurrock Council, which covers an area of Essex just north of the Thames estuary, is merely one of an increasing number to have issued a notice under section 114 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 - effectively meaning the authority is bankrupt.

Earlier this week, Nottingham City Council found itself in that situation, following the likes of Birmingham City Council in September.

The BBC understands one in 10 county councils in England might soon be in the same boat.

Leonie Vince says the council has stopped paying for her sister to attend a day care centre

Stanford-le-Hope resident Leonie Vince says she is "disgusted" with Thurrock Council.

For years, her sister - who has "profound needs" - used a day care centre five or six days a week and had countless friends there.

But when their mother Gillian Flack - a foster carer for 39 years - died suddenly last September aged 67, Mrs Vince's sister had to go into residential care.

Thurrock Council told her it could no longer pay for her day care centre provision, she says.

"My poor sister has felt the cuts massively in the last year," says mother-of-five Mrs Vince. "They've pulled it all because of funding.

"She had her whole world turned upside down when our mum dropped down dead. Why should she suffer and lose out?"

She says her sister is now struggling with her wellbeing.

The council says its decision to pull Mrs Vince's sister's day care was because it was respite care for her late mother and nothing to do with the council's finances.

Because her sister was now in residential care, the council said "the offer of respite care can no longer be made".

Mrs Vince also accuses the council of trying to make subtle changes to education, health and care plans (EHCP) for children with special needs.

She has a son with autism and says when she looked over a draft EHCP for a fellow parent, she noticed how, unlike her son's plan, it stated the parent was responsible for the transport.

She says while her friend successfully challenged the addition, she knows of others who had not noticed they would be responsible for travel and had signed the documents.

Thurrock has has recently added a disclaimer warning parents they might be liable for school transport if they do not choose the nearest suitable school.

"They are trying to cut corners and take away transport," she says - a claim strongly rejected by the council.

Council leader Andrew Jefferies says: "The cost of providing home-to-school transport, and the number of children transported, has increased since 2021. Any suggestion that this service has been cut is entirely incorrect."

Irene Muma says she is considering leaving the area

Irene Muma, who has a three-year-old son, runs the Black Working Mothers Network in Thurrock.

She is now considering leaving the district and moving to Upminster, in Havering, because she feels there is no future for her and her young family in Thurrock.

"I am conflicted about it," the 33-year-old says, claiming that when she moved to the area five years ago there were promises of regeneration.

"When the council revealed what its financial position was it was really shocking and I've been asking, what future does my family have in Thurrock now?"

Ms Muma, who is an HR business partner, says she has noticed bin collections being missed and is aware of plans to charge for garden waste collections.

"I've been looking over the proposals - it looks like the people who will be paying the greatest price will be those on low incomes and the people using social care," she says.

"The council has made these mistakes and the residents are paying the price."

Linda Roberts, a volunteer at the Hardie Park Cafe, says reduced bus services have affected residents

Meanwhile, Linda Roberts, a volunteer at the Hardie Park Cafe, says: "They've cut the buses, which has impacted on a lot of people - especially senior citizens, because they've now got to walk quite a way to get the bus.

"When you go for a walk, you see the bins are overflowing, bushes overgrowing and verges not cut, which all makes walking quite hard."

The council has ended its £455,000 subsidy for three routes (11, 265 and 374), including one in Stanford-le-Hope.

Responding to Ms Roberts' concerns, Mr Jefferies says supporting some bus services is "simply no longer possible as it does not represent good value for money".

Robert Groves claims Thurrock Council's days are numbered

Robert Groves lives around the corner from Hardie Park - a facility that he helped found as a community project, before handing it over to a trust in 2020.

He claims Thurrock Council's days are numbered and believes it will eventually be abolished.

"I think that's where it is going," he says. "I would support that.

"We've only been a unitary since the 1990s and we haven't done a very good job."

He says the main changes he has seen include missed bin collections and reduced bus services.

"I know people who rely on services more than I do who have really felt the cuts, whether that's in transport services or education," he says. "There are cuts and there are going to be loads more on the way."

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Asked whether people had been getting the same level and quality of care as they were 18 months ago, Mr Jefferies says: "Yes."

He says any resident who disagrees should write to him and he will look into it.

"No statutory services are being cut," he says. "There may well be cases where we are reviewing services that have been provided - that's what this [savings programme] is all about.

"Yes, we've had problems with our environment services, but we've put them right."

He says the proposed changes - for example, moving to a fortnightly waste collection and charging residents for garden waste collections - are in line with other local authorities.

Proposals for £18m of savings have been drawn up and he has urged residents to get involved and let the council know what they think of them.