Corporate Plan

Corporate Plan 2024-2029

The Corporate Plan 2024-2029 was published in July 2024.

Foreword – Chief Executive's Introduction

Realising Thurrock's full potential requires all of us to come together and play our full part – residents, businesses, voluntary, faith and community groups, public sector partners and the council. Collectively we will make a difference.

The loss of confidence in the council will have a long legacy. Building trust and confidence that the council will play its full role and collaborate effectively with all our partners and stakeholders is dependent on the council demonstrating it is different and better. Work continues with a clear focus to deliver our recovery, to move towards establishing ourselves on a financially sustainable footing and to be a credible organisation.

We are focusing on how we can best serve the people of Thurrock and work with our partners. This Corporate Plan sets out what we are doing, how we are doing it and what we aim to achieve as a result of our efforts over the coming years.

As a council we must reconcile how we balance our desire to create the conditions where the life chances of Thurrock's diverse communities are enhanced by sustainable and inclusive economic growth; where residents who need it are supported to reach their potential and to live in a clean and welcoming environment against a long and sustained period of financial constraints. Our position necessitates that the ambitions of the Corporate Plan are realistic; and that we draw on a strong evidence base of needs in making our future decisions.

This does not mean we stop innovating. As an organisation we must prove our ability to adapt, respond and lead whilst keeping a focus on our long-term ambitions for change. It will mean we all must be agents of change.

Innovating and taking different approaches, and being more collaborative with our partners, all our elected members and across our organisation. As an organisation, we must be collectively committed to doing this. We must ensure that our future direction and purpose is clear and can be sustained.

The Plan does not cover everything we do, and nor will it reflect the new challenges that we will no doubt face. But whilst circumstances change and new challenges and opportunities present themselves this plan provides the direction for our work. It will set out how we will deliver our priorities, how we will organise ourselves differently, and how we will work more locally and be more responsive to residents and service users.

We have already started this. Our Improvement and Recovery Plan, our new operating model, and our behaviours and values have all been developed in collaboration with our internal and external stakeholders. This is an approach we will continue to adopt and adapt, in order that we continue to remain connected with our residents and partners and all of our staff and members.

Through this plan we will be ambitious for Thurrock – transforming what we do and how we do it to ensure our people and communities can thrive. We will be a different and better borough.

Dr Dave Smith,
Managing Director Commissioner and Chief Executive

Cllr John Kent,
Leader of Thurrock Council

Corporate Plan pages

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