Thurrock Council

Thurrock Council is the local authority for the borough of Thurrock in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. Since 1 April 1998 it has operated as a unitary authority — a district council that also performs county council functions, providing the full range of local government services across its area. The council is based in Grays. In 2022 the council faced a severe financial crisis: debt arising from failed commercial investments, including hundreds of millions of pounds committed to the solar power market (among others in Toucan Energy), led to a government intervention in September 2022 and the transfer of financial control to Essex County Council. On 19 December 2022 the council issued a Section 114 notice — the local authority equivalent of declaring bankruptcy — barring new expenditure.