This neighbourhood area is located in the Borough of Thurrock, Essex. It is immediately North of the River Thames and one can call this area Thurrock’s garden due to the amount of green spaces around it! Purfleet is home to Rainham Marshes nature reserve, which is on the Thames Estuary and protects 411 hectares of low-lying ancient marsh. The locale also has great transport links with the A12 that goes through this area taking one into East London.

Purfleet has had a long military history due to its location on the Thames Estuary which makes it a strategic site of military defence. In 1759 five Purfleet gunpowder magazines (a building to store gunpowder) were constructed. Each building could store 10,400 wooden barrels of gunpowder with a maximum capacity of 10,800 and were used heavily during the Napoleonic wars. The magazines were protected with an inner and outer wall, and soldiers protecting the site. Almost 200 years after their construction, the Ministry of Defence sold the land to Thurrock Council to make way for housing estates and to house Thurrock’s growing population. In 1994, with permission from Thurrock Council, local residents made one of the previous sites into the Purfleet Heritage & Military Centre which today houses a wide range of historical artefacts.

Rainham Marshes nature reserve has a wide variety of insects, mammals and over 250 birds. It’s diverse ecosystem has made it a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Unfortunately Purfleet’s Arena Essex Raceway track closed its doors recently, after 41 years of motor racing service to Essex.

In January 2020, Thurrock Council agreed to change the name of Purfleet to Purfleet-on-Thames. While they had previously received a petition with over 600 signatures from residents asking to have the name changed, followed by a consultation where 84% of participants agreed with the change as well, some Purfleet residents were upset with the proposal, seeing it as an attempt to raise house prices at the expense of the local community. The area has been listed as one of the six growth hubs by Thurrock Council for strategic economic growth policies. In 2021, works related to the first phase of £1bn Purfleet Town Centre Regeneration were initiated. This phase will deliver 61 homes and is due for completion in March 2023. These new homes form part of the wider regeneration of the town centre, which will transform Purfleet-on-Thames by creating up to 2,850 new homes alongside other vital social, business and education infrastructure. Up to 35% of the homes across the scheme will be affordable with over 50% of the initial phase available to purchase under the Government’s Shared Ownership scheme. The 2.36 hectare development has been designed to enhance the green links to Purfleet’s Conservation Area so that residents can enjoy the space, with the aim of creating a healthier, more active community.