There are proposals to build 32,000 homes in Thurrock over the next 20 years. These were discussed at last week’s full council meeting. See here for the full report from the Thurrock Independent: Concerns over 32,000 new homes expressed at Full Council – http://www.thurrockindependent.com/2017/11/01/concerns-over-32000-new-homes-expressed-at-full-council/

Legitimate concerns about the necessary infrastructure required to support this new housing were raised by a number of councillors. There was also some discussion about who these homes were intended for, with some references being made to outward migration from London. Philip Gibbs, a local campaigner whose concern seems to be restricting the number of new homes being built in Thurrock had this to say: “We were assured that only 11 per cent of the houses would be for people coming into the borough, but for that to be true it would require a natural population growth of over 43 per cent over 20 years. To achieve that rate you need people to be having an average of five children per couple. Given the real figure of about two children per family the population would grow only about four per cent in 20 years. So even ignoring the people who leave, the truth is that at least 92 per cent of the new housing would be for incoming migration.”

We think it’s time for a little reminder about some of the major causes of outward migration from London, one being social cleansing by the London boroughs, many of them Labour controlled, who are in thrall to the developers. Here’s a leaflet we produced a while back to explain what the situation is…

Here’s pretty much everything we’ve ever written (or re-blogged) on the Stirrer about the housing crisis in London and the way it’s impact spreads right out into Essex and beyond:

Marching from tower to tower – https://southessexstirrer.wordpress.com/2017/08/14/marching-from-tower-to-tower/

Newham Council…it’s just got personal… – https://southessexstirrer.wordpress.com/2017/07/24/newham-council-its-just-got-personal/

Booted out of London – https://southessexstirrer.wordpress.com/2017/06/19/booted-out-of-london/

A housing reading list – https://southessexstirrer.wordpress.com/2017/06/12/a-housing-reading-list/

Clusterfuck! Labour’s Shameless Council Estate Rip-off (re-blog from ASH) – https://southessexstirrer.wordpress.com/2017/06/07/clusterfuck-labours-shameless-council-estate-rip-off/

10 Myths about London’s Housing Crisis (re-blog from ASH) – https://southessexstirrer.wordpress.com/2017/05/30/10-myths-about-londons-housing-crisis/

No More Fake News! This is reality (re-blog from Focus E15) – https://southessexstirrer.wordpress.com/2017/05/19/no-more-fake-news-this-is-reality/

A reminder of why we support housing struggles in London – https://southessexstirrer.wordpress.com/2017/04/13/a-reminder-of-why-we-support-housing-struggles-in-london/

Why I am a Focus E15 campaigner (re-blog from Focus E15) – https://southessexstirrer.wordpress.com/2017/03/25/why-i-am-a-focus-e15-campaigner/

The housing domino effect… – https://southessexstirrer.wordpress.com/2017/03/07/the-housing-domino-effect/

This is a pretty comprehensive reading list so please…take your time to read this and absorb what we have to say. We’ve said this more times than we care to remember and feell doomed to carry on repeating it until the message finally sinks in…

What happens in London with social cleansing has a direct impact on the housing situation out here along the estuary which gets exploited by the divide and rule merchants.

This is why we support housing struggles in the capital as residents battle against so called ‘regeneration’ schemes that amount to social cleansing.

We will challenge every attempt by the divide and rule merchants to exploit concerns about housing and twist them to suit their nefarious, reactionary agenda.