Purfleet - wood

If you ever drive through Purfleet you could be forgiven for hardily noticing it in any meaningful way, there is little to tell you that you are arriving or leaving, few open spaces, in fact going through Purfleet can feel like driving though a single street flanked by modern box flats and a row of rather shabby houses; and that's about it.
In many ways Purfleet has that anonymous feel that so many British town can have, really just a bit of urban sprawl with no centre to stamp its mark on to justify it as a  significant town. But Purfleet is set to up its game, back in January of this year it was announced by Thurrock council and in a publication called the "Construction Enquirer" that a 1 billion pound project was signed off and ready to go live.
 
This was set to include:
 - A film/ television studio
 - 2500 new homes
 - A supermarket
 - A new primary school
 - Development of green spaces
 - A town square
 - Complete new railway station
 - Doing away with the level crossing (so no more agonising wait for trains to pass)
 
 
Since then very little has been announced - if you google the term "Purfleet development" the most recent article you get is indeed the same Thurrock council announcement from back in January. If you're a little cynical you could  be forgiven for thinking that some back-sliding has occurred here and that no such development will ever materialise.  We are relieved to point out that this development is merely at the planning permission stage, so in theory it could actually all be declined or binned if permission is refused but on the other hand its far more likely that this is an administrative hold-up and the cascade is pending.
What will it do for the area? Economists can debate the value that such investment when there is no significant additional businesses being brought into the mix will bring (1 supermarket and a film studio in no means to build an economy on) but at the very least a dank and sometimes morbid town could be opened up and at least look more appealing with the added advantage of having the odd film-star taking a lunch time walk by the river. That  alone might make more businesses cock an eye at Purfleet for consideration - But then nothing will happen until planning permission is granted anyway and that won't be until 2017 the earliest.