And Finally

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

From the minutes of a Stanford-le-Hope Parish Council Meeting of April 1911 (Boy Racers)

“Mr. Stanford complained of the danger caused to pedestrians by the furious speed at which many of the motor cars drove through the village heedless of the warning boards. He thought that something should be done to ensure that the motorists should obey the warnings. It was stated in the course of the discussion that in some cases cars travelled at 30 to 40 miles per hour. It was decided to write to PC Dines asking him to endeavour to mitigate the trouble”

From 1912 (The National Minimum Wage)

“Mr. Pease enquired if it was true that men working on the Southend Road widening operations were paid three shillings per day from 7am until 5pm. What however was the proper rate? Mr.Wall replied that it should be six pence per hour and if what Mr.Pease had said was true it was scandalous. The following resolution was passed that members of the parish council hearing that the county council are offering rates of three shillings per day for work on the roads are of the opinion that this is not a living wage and should be increased”

From May 1931 (That level Crossing)

“Members of the Council again complained of the condition of the level crossing and it was decided to again petition the County Council.”

From July 1931 (That level crossing again)

“The chief engineer, Ministry of Transport, wrote with reference to a bridge over the railway level crossing, London Road, that the cost would be about £50,000, and in view of the fact that the newly

constructed by pass road enabled through traffic to avoid the crossing he felt unable to intervene in the matter.”

From 1971 (The car park we know and love) The Thurrock Gazette

A commuters’ association has been formed to fight for the 1500 people who use Stanford-le-Hope station every day.

It had its first meeting at the Methodist Church Hall on Wednesday night, when the knotty problem of all-day parking in the town was thrashed out.

The embryo association plotted the figures published in last week’s Gazette showing that the Sandpits car park was being seriously underused by shoppers, but commuters, displaced because of the newly installed barriers, were fighting for a limited number of places in Victoria Road.

At Wednesday’s meeting, travellers angrily attacked Thurrock Council’s timing of the Sandpits scheme to reserve the park for shoppers by operating barriers between 8.30am and 11pm. They wanted to know why it was done before a second park in Victoria Road was opened and before negotiations with British Railways to secure the old goods yard were completed. And they wanted to know who gave the order to impose four hour waiting restrictions as soon as commuters began to use Central Road; Wharf Road and Rectory Road when the Sandpits was taken from them. (article continues)