A council leader has publicly pledged to act after a weekly newspaper’s investigation into inconsistent parking charges revealed no action had been taken despite promises made months ago.

Thurrock Council published a statement last week following a campaign by the Thurrock Independent after the paper identified a number of errors and costly delays in the implementation of new parking charges.

Despite promises of action at the time, a follow-up story by the paper revealed that authority employees were parking for free close to the Civic Offices in Grays, while shoppers and other office workers had to pay increased charges.

Following the latest story, council leader Rob Gledhill has now issued a public statement saying the authority will act on the issues raised, admitting a review had taken “longer than it was originally anticipated”.

He added: “This comprehensive review follows inconsistent parking charges being brought to the council’s attention by the Thurrock Independent.

“Despite assuring the Thurrock Independent that a full response would be provided to them on conclusion of the review, a story has been published without waiting for the full and accurate facts.

“I hope this now makes the position clear and shows that the council has taken the matter seriously.”

Managing editor Neil Speight told HTFP: “Despite many decades of monitoring local government it’s still surprising when you come across what seem unbelievable cock-ups and I wonder what would happen if the media were not there to act as a watchdog.

“People keep telling me local newspapers and local journalism is dead on its feet and not relevant. I may be a dinosaur but I am a happy one today knowing that we are sticking up for public accountability and making a difference.

“Thurrock Council has wriggled and squirmed on this one but they knew they were on the hook and in the end we landed the story.”