At a meeting of Thurrock Council’s Planning Committee on Thursday April 3 the plans, which were submitted by Telefonica O2 UK Limited, were unanimously rejected.

The plans were for a 12.5 meter high mast and equipment cabinet located within a highway verge in Lodge Lane know locally as The Spinney.

Residents living around The Spinney, an area of open space, have previously made their feelings clear by making placards and demonstrating.

They also handed Grays Thurrock councillor, Peter Harris, a petition signed by more than 200 people.

He said: “I was really pleased by the amount of people who took interest in this. It showed the level of feeling. People are not happy about these things and risks are unknown.

“It would have been totally out of place where they wanted to put it.”

Grays ward councillor, Yash Gupta, said: “I’m objecting to this application on the grounds of its proximity to local people. This land is used by mothers and their children.”

Although the committee were instructed by officers not to consider the unknown health implications of siting a mobile phone mast in the area when making their decision Committee member Councillor Barrie Lawrence, said: “Say we don’t know how safe these things are. There’s a risk and i’m yet to be convinced that these are safe.

“It’s far too big we don’t want it.”

Resident Nick Johnson, 40, of Lodge Lane, said: “We’re very pleased because it would have been a monstrosity stuck in the middle of a field on one of the borough’s nicer roads.

“Well done to the 260 who signed the petition and councillors Harris, Gupta and Hale.”

The mast was originally destined for the Treacle Mine roundabout, but planning permission was refused.

The 2009 5K Thurrock Fun Run and Walk, which starts at 12 noon, will start and finish at the Essex Wild Life Centre (Chafford Gorge), Drake Road, Chafford Hundred.

This year we will be raising money for the following charities: The Ryan Cassar Appeal, Parkinson’s Disease Society (Thurrock Branch), Royal National Lifeboat Institution (Thurrock Branch).

Registration for the event costs £5 and on the day entries are welcome at a cost of £7.

The run is open to all ages and abilities although anyone under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult and the course is wheelchair friendly.

Closing date for entries is Friday May 1.

For further information visit www.c100events.co.uk or email funrun@c100events.co.uk.

This will follow the Good Friday United Service at Thurrock Christian Fellowship at 10.30am the previous day.

The Market Chapel is a stall put together by the Grays Town Churches, working in unison to spread the good news of the Easter Story.

Members of the churches in and around the Grays town area will be giving away free goody bags full of Easter gifts and information.

The Market Chapel will be open from the same time all the other stalls open, at 8am, and close at 5pm.

This is immediately followed by an all-age event called “Fuel – A Burning Passion” at Grays Parish Church FROM 5 – 7pm.

On Easter Sunday morning there is an inter-church Sunrise Service at Grays Beach beginning 6am.

For more information visit www.transformationthurrock.com.

2. Thurrock Parkinson’s Support Group

3. Conservative Future: Interview with James Halden

4. Thurrock Courts Players: In Rehearsal

and if that doesn’t grab you: 900 other films from the archive. Sept 08 to April 09.

www.yourthurrock.com

local but global

Jess won by over 10 seconds, finishing in front of athletes from Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The schoolgirl from Canvey Island, coached by Thurrock’s Ken Smith, has had an outstanding cross-country season and also won Thurrock Harriers outstanding athlete of the year award.

She now looks to the track season where she aims to improve on her 1500m time and gain a place in the Essex Team for the English Schools.

In the Havering Open on Sunday Harriers fielded no less than ten athletes.

Of the junior athletes Nancy Le Beau showed a promising start to the season with 5 metres 11 in the long jump. Sister Natalie took the senior high jump in 1metre 57.

Under 17 Hannah McGowan-Jones returned to the track after being sidelined by illness last season.

Hannah mixed it with the senior athletes in the 600m and finished in 1minute 43, followed by senior athlete Nicola Page in 1 minute 48, the later also competed in the 300metres finishing in 43.8seconds.

Under 11 newcomer Lucy Goodfellow competed over 150 metres, recording 24.2 seconds.

Senior male athlete Michael Shortall competed in three events recording 40.6seconds in the 300metere hurdles, 9.7 seconds in the 80metre sprint and 18.3 in the 150 metre sprint, completing three events within three hours shows that Michael will be a great team member in the upcoming Southern Men’s fixtures this season.

Coach and athlete Terry Noonan ran in a high quality 600 metres race covering the distance in a fast 1 minute 34.

Of the young male athletes Steven Davies overcame sickness to clock 2 minutes 01 over 600m and Liam Appleyard lept 3 metres 99 in the long jump and recorded 21.6 seconds in the 150 metre event.

The council’s Road Safety team have secured £32,000 from the Department for Transport to fund cycle training for children over the coming year.

Nationally, it is part of a £140m package which aims to give up to half a million children the chance to take part in the National Cycle Training Standard scheme by 2012.

It is a step up from Cycle Proficiency, where the children ride with an instructor on the road.

Councillor Neil Rockliffe, Thurrock Council’s Cabinet member for Transport, said: “This training is promoted by Cycling England and carried out by skilled Road Safety Cycle Instructors.

“Learning to ride a bike properly is a life skill, literally — it can save your life.

“It allows children to learn essential road safety skills and gain greater awareness of the dangers on the road.

“It gives parents the reassurance to allow their children to undertake short journeys, especially cycling to school.”

The training is given to children in Year 6, before they move up to secondary school.

Dave Moore, who is a crew commander at Orsett Fire Station but also runs the DDM Chimney Sweep Limited, has been in business for little more than five years but has already become highly recognised in the industry.

Recently he was a guest speaker at the Institute of Chimney Sweeps where he gave talks on the Carbon Monoxide Consumer Awareness Alliance (COCAA), Basic Risk Assessment and P.P.E.(Personal Protective Equipment) for chimney sweeps.

Following these lectures he was asked to become an honorary member of the Institute.

Carbon monoxide is a highly poisonous gas that has no colour, taste or smell and can be produced by appliances that use gas, wood, oil or coal.

It can also be present in smoke from solid fuel or oil appliances and is potentially fatal and even low-levels of the poison can cause lasting damage to your health.

Dave, 49, of Francis Close, Horndon-on-the-Hill, said: “I promote carbon monoxide awareness and am trying to get all chimney sweeps to fit carbon monoxide alarms in houses.

“It’s a killer and most people just feel sleepy and don’t realise they are being poisoned. But, people are slowly getting the message.”

Dave got started as a chimney sweep after acquiring funds for training from the Fire Service and making contact with a master sweep called Andrew Taylor of A C Taylor, a Peterborough-based company, who agreed to train him.

He then set about gathering as much information and more training as possible and is now an APICS and a HETAS approved chimney sweep.

At the beginning of this year business was going so well DD Moore changed its company status from a sole trader to a limited company and is now registered as DDM Chimney Sweep Ltd.

He said: “I now cover an area from East London to the mouth of the Thames and as far north as Chelmsford and Maldon although I do have some clients further afield.”

Next year Dave plans to retire from the fire service and will concentrate solely on chimney sweeping.

To find out more visit www.chimney-sweep.co.uk.

Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which includes Orsett, are looking forward to a bright future Trust Chief Executive, Alan Whittle, said: “Gaining foundation status was testament to the dedication of our workforce, and their ambition to provide some of the best healthcare services in the country.

“During the next five years, we will continue working to provide even better care for our patients.”

Later this year the new Endoscopy Unit will be opened at Basildon University Hospital, and the new Renal Dialysis Unit will open its doors to patients at Orsett.

Foundation status means the hospitals have gained increased control over finances and affairs and become accountable to local people and work closely with them to meet their healthcare needs.

By electing Governors onto the Members’ Council, local people and staff have a say in how their hospitals are run.

Elected governor, Margaret Jones, added: “I think it’s a superb move by the government because we know the area and it gives us an opportunity to have input.”

It should have been plain sailing for the visitors who started the match so well and after a close fought twenty minutes Thurrock’s enterprising backs play gave Darryl Worster the chance to score just wide of the posts, and Aaron Burns added the conversion to lead 7-0.

Sudbury did strike straight back with a penalty using the breeze advantage to reduce the deficit. But on the stroke of half time, Thurrock created forceful forward play sucked in players and created an overlap for winger Nat Farrell to go over in the corner for a 12-3 half time lead.

No one expected what happened in the second half, as Sudbury turned the game on its head when they added two tries in the first 10 minutes of the half one of which was converted to take lead, considering Thurrock never looked in any trouble for the whole of the first half, but what response pressure from the re-start see Thurrock secure the ball and the back-row of Brad Rettigan, Ben Timson and James Flavin come into fore, and set up Earl Gorman to score in the corner to retake the lead. Although Burns missed the conversion he added a penalty a kick not made easy by a sudden deluge of rain and wind. But the match was far from over as Sudbury drew level with a try but the final pass was at least three yards forward, everyone see it apart from the important man in the middle so the match was now level with just 10 minutes to go.

Thurrock however camped inside the Sudbury 22 and stiff breeze made it difficult for the home side to clear their lines, but solid defence seemed it would earn them a point but Thurrock managed to get that all important score. This week Thurrock host Braintree in their penultimate league game it is also the final VP’s lunch for the last league home game of the season Team Darryl Worster, Nat Farrell, Ben Stanley, Earl Gorman, Sam Porter, Wayne Tredwell, Aaron Burns, Dave Stevens, Dan Carey, Billy Smith, Dan Bowden, Marc Chandler, Ben Timsom, James Flavin, Bradleigh Rettigan,Rep: Luke Crowhurst, Ben Madden, Elliott Keefe