West Thurrock is an interesting part of Essex, the area is based in the Borough of Thurrock. Located on the North of the River Thames, this riverside neighbourhood is home to a wide variety of commercial, cultural and ecological amenities. Although still residential, unlike inner city London, West Thurrock is less densely populated subsequently meaning there are more open green spaces. Despite being generally more suburban, Thurrock still benefits from its own cinema, library and a host of independent and multinational chain shops and restaurants.

Records of West Thurrock’s St. Clement’s Church shows that it dates back to 1070. The Anglican Church was given a Grade I listing in 1960. West Thurrock has also been home to a variety of industrial factories such as the West Thurrock coal power station, which opened in 1957 and was fully decommissioned in 1993, shortly after the UK’s electrical supply was privatised. West Thurrock is also home to British consumer products conglomerate Procter and Gamble. Thurrock was formed in 1936 into the Thurrock Urban District.

The outside of St. Clements Church was used in British 1994 rom-com ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’. The Queen Elizabeth II bridge (Dartford Bridge) is the most recent bridge to be opened that goes downstream across the Thames to Central London since Tower Bridge in 1894. Car drivers often complain about the Dartford crossing traffic conditions, as it is the busiest bridge in the United Kingdom.

Some residents are concerned at Procter and Gamble’s biomass renewable energy plant they are constructing. Car drivers often complain about the Dartford crossing traffic conditions, as it is the busiest bridge in the United Kingdom.

Procter and Gamble submitted plans in the mid-2010s for the development of a large-scale biomass renewable energy plant in West Thurrock. Thurrock Council initially rejected the proposal, agreeing with locals that it presented possible public health risks, but P&G submitted an appeal to the Secretary of State, which was successful. Over 400 residents objected to the wood-burning waste plant next to the Procter and Gamble factory on Wouldham Road in a long and bitter fight. Despite the fact that they won their appeal though, the plant has not yet been developed.

In 2020, plans were announced for the construction of The Thames Park Secondary School on land adjacent to Palmer’s College in Chadwell Road, Grays. It is expected to create 900 new school places for children aged between 11 and 16. Also concerning education, in early 2022 the green light was given for the development of another school, the new Orsett Heath Academy, on land around Thurrock Rugby Club in Grays. The new eight-form secondary school will provide places for 1,200 children from Year 7 to Year 11. The South West Community Trust, which is leading the development, hopes the new main school will be open for the 2023/24 intake.