A new billboard showcasing the vision of £1billion plans to regenerate Purfleet has been unveiled.

The hoarding, which is on London Road and sits beside the train station, has now been erected alongside a noticeboard for residents.

Proposals for the redevelopment were submitted in 2018 by Thurrock Council, who are working with Purfleet Centre Regeneration Limited (PCRL) - a joint venture between Urban Catalyst and Swan Housing Association - to deliver the scheme which will create a world class creative hub on the River Thames.

The hub is set to be surrounded by a new town centre with shops and restaurants, up to 2,850 new homes, an integrated medical centre, improved transport infrastructure, a new primary school and over 1,000,000 square feet of film and TV production studios.

Later phases will deliver a new higher/further education campus providing high calibre education, with a focus on health and the creative arts.

Work on phase 1A of the scheme, consisting of 61 new homes, a children’s play area, and an orchard walk, is due to commence later this year.

And the newest addition - which is hoped to illustrate plans to residents - was unveiled by Sir Tim Laurence, chairman of PCRL, Councillor Mark Coxshall, cabinet member for regeneration and planning, and John Rowles, chair of Purfleet-on-Thames Community Forum, at a socially distanced outdoor ceremony.

Purfleet-on-Thames Community Forum will manage the community noticeboard which has been installed alongside the hoarding to display key information on news and events for residents.

Sir Tim Laurence, chairman of PCRL, said: “The hoarding signifies Purfleet Centre Regeneration Limited’s commitment to delivering this project in partnership with the local community - hence the provision of a noticeboard for local residents as part of the design - in creating a vibrant place for people to live, work, learn, socialise and invest, which is in harmony with its natural surroundings.

"It shows the scale of our ambitious plans that will transform the town into a thriving riverside destination and world class creative hub while delivering much-needed new homes and infrastructure, making a real difference to people’s lives.

"I am pleased that work will begin on the first phase later this year demonstrating Purfleet Centre Regeneration Limited’s commitment to realising these plans and to repaying the trust that the local community has placed in us.”

John Rowles, Chair of The Purfleet Community Forum, added: “The Purfleet Community Forum has supported this project from the start.

"Together with Purfleet Centre Regeneration Limited, we are looking forward to how the scheme will make Purfleet-on-Thames a place where people will want to come and will want to stay to make it their home.

"A place that we are all proud of, a place to which we can point and say, that was our idea!”