THURROCK Council’s dealing with the application by travellers for a large site to the back of Malvern Road, Little Thurrock, has been extremely poor to say the least.

Recently the behaviour of the travellers and the ‘heavy mob’ that they seem to have employed is simply not acceptable – it has left our neighbourhood in a state of fear and many neighbours are now afraid to voice their objections to the site.

Thurrock Council has failed to communicate the hundreds of objections already made, it has failed to communicate with residents (other than advising us most recently to introduce ourselves and make friends with the travellers) and seems to be taking the side of the travellers.

It sees nothing wrong with the travellers already digging up the side to make way for caravans, water pipes and electricity, despite it being green belt land.

We cannot begin to understand why Thurrock Council would even consider the application for a traveller site. These people have no local connections, we already have plenty of official traveller sites in the borough and anti-social behaviour has started in the area with neighbours threatened.

Malvern Road is a quiet and unsuitable no-through road, and there are no special circumstances to allow them to settle on protected green belt land.

Thurrock Council’s vision of “a place of opportunity, enterprise and excellence, where individuals, communities and businesses flourish” will not be upheld if the council grants permission to the travellers.

The residents desperately need indication from the council it is taking all this into consideration, not granting travellers permission to bed themselves in, before an application decision is made.

MR & MRS P DIBBLE Malvern Road, Little Thurrock.