Blackshots

{{Short description|Housing estate and ward in Thurrock, Essex, England}} {{Use British English|date=May 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox UK place | country = England | official_name = Blackshots | coordinates = {{coord|51.49296|0.34578|display=inline,title}} | os_grid_reference = TQ629797 | unitary_england = Thurrock | lieutenancy_england = Essex | region = East of England | constituency_westminster = Thurrock | post_town = GRAYS | postcode_district = RM16 | postcode_area = RM | dial_code = 01375 | population = 7,081 | population_ref = (2021 census) | area_total_sq_mi = | static_image_name = Aerial view of Little Thurrock Blackshots.jpg | static_image_caption = Aerial view of Blackshots in 2025 | london_distance_mi = 22.6 | london_direction = W | type = Housing estate and ward }}'''Little Thurrock Blackshots''', more commonly known as just '''Blackshots''', is a housing estate and ward in the Little Thurrock area of Grays in Thurrock, Essex, England. It is located in the north-east of the town, five minutes away from Grays Town Centre. It had a population of 7,081 in the 2021 census.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2021 |title=Little Thurrock Blackshots |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/eastofengland/wards/thurrock/E05002237__little_thurrock_blackshot/ |access-date=8 May 2025 |publisher=Office of National Statistics |via=City Population}}</ref>

Historically, Blackshots was a farm. The land at the farm was marked for development by Thurrock Urban District Council in 1928 and acquired by the council in 1938. The construction of the housing estate took place between the 1930s and 1960s. Since the early 2020s, Thurrock Council has planned to redevelop the estate after local residents raised safety concerns about outdated tower block developments which are no longer fit for purpose.

== History == The name ''Blackshots'' was first recorded in the court rolls of the manor of Little Thurrock in 1472 as ''Blakeshote''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Reaney |first=P. H. |url=https://archive.org/details/placenamesofesse0000rean/page/166 |title=The Place-Names of Essex |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1935 |series=English Place-Name Society |volume=XII |page=166 |access-date=8 May 2025}}</ref> Historically, the land now occupied by the Blackshots housing estate was home to Blackshots farm.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=14 October 1938 |title=Little Thurrock Dispute: A Private Street Works Objection |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/786550973 |access-date=8 May 2025 |work=Essex Chronicle}}</ref> Archaeological evidence suggests that a stream once ran through the area during the Late Iron Age.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tripp |first=Christopher John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RLETEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA106 |title=Thurrock's Deeper Past: A Confluence of Time |publisher=Archaeopress Publishing |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-78969-112-2 |page=106 |language=en |access-date=8 May 2025}}</ref>

In 1928, the land at Blackshots farm was identified for development by Thurrock Urban District Council.<ref name=":0" /> In 1932, the council acquired the land to build a public playing field and leisure centre.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |date=10 October 1964 |title=Recreation centre opened at Thurrock |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lZtVAAAAYAAJ |access-date=8 May 2025 |work=The Surveyor and Municipal Engineer}}</ref> In 1938, the council approved proposals to build a housing estate on the site with 20 houses and bungalows, a maternity centre and a branch library.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 February 1938 |title=Current and Proposed Building Work |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_building-uk_1938-02-11_154_4958/page/324 |access-date=8 May 2025 |work=The Builder}}</ref><ref name=":18">{{Cite news |date=25 March 1938 |title=Current and Proposed Building Work |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_building-uk_1938-03-25_154_4964/page/620 |access-date=8 May 2025 |work=The Builder}}</ref> It also set aside 60 acres of green space and designated it as a King George's playing field.<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":16">{{Cite news |date=28 June 2018 |title=New plaque unveiled at popular playing field |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/1080526742 |access-date=10 May 2025 |work=Thurrock Gazette}}</ref>

Construction took place sporadically over the next three decades.<ref name=":1" /> Blackshots Library was completed and opened in 1953.<ref name=":15">{{Cite news |date=1 May 2013 |title=Sixty years of library serving community |url=https://www.thurrockgazette.co.uk/news/10391781.sixty-years-of-library-serving-community/ |access-date=8 May 2025 |work=Thurrock Gazette}}</ref> King George's Field was integrated into a council scheme to develop sporting facilities on the field and build an interconnected leisure centre. This scheme was completed in 1964 with the opening of Blackshots Leisure Centre and included a civic hall, rugby and football pitches, a public swimming pool and a small stadium and pavilion. It cost the council an estimated £556,000, with additional voluntary contributions made by local residents.<ref name=":1" />

The rest of the estate was built in the 1960s. From 1966, Thurrock Council built the new Blackshots Park tower block development, which provided 168 new homes.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Blackshots Park, Grays |url=https://www.towerblock.eca.ed.ac.uk/development/blackshots-park-grays |access-date=8 May 2025 |website=Tower Block UK}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=1 March 2024 |title=Thurrock Council: Blackshots Estate Renewal - Strategic Outline Business Case |url=https://democracy.thurrock.gov.uk/documents/s42832/Appendix%201%20-%20Blackshots%20Business%20Case%20-%20Public%20Version.pdf |access-date=8 May 2025 |publisher=Thurrock Council}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite news |date=15 November 2022 |title=Grays: Blackshots residents back demolition of tower blocks |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-63633263 |access-date=8 May 2025 |work=BBC News}}</ref> In other parts of the estate, new dwellings were built.<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 September 1962 |title=House, land for sale |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/802055424 |access-date=8 May 2025 |work=Saffron Waldon Weekly News}}</ref> Most of these dwellings are two storey semi-detached or terraced housing. Since the 1980s, a very high proportion of these homes have been bought by their occupants under the Right to Buy scheme.<ref name=":2" />

In 2019, Blackshots Pavilion was demolished with plans to replace it with a new sports centre.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 February 2019 |title=Works starts to demolish old Blackshots Pavilion in Grays |url=https://www.thurrockgazette.co.uk/news/17423560.works-starts-demolish-old-blackshots-pavilion-grays/ |access-date=8 May 2025 |work=Thurrock Gazette}}</ref> In the early 2020s, Thurrock Council moved to redevelop other parts of the estate after campaigners raised safety concerns about the tower blocks at Blackshots Park, which were deteriorating with common outbreaks of damp and mould and could not be refurbished because of their age.<ref name=":19">{{Cite news |last=Speight |first=Neil |date=8 December 2020 |title=Should council call time on borough's high rise flats as dangers to residents mount and children live in damp and distress |url=https://thurrock.nub.news/news/local-news/should-council-call-time-on-borough39s-high-rise-flats-as-dangers-to-residents-mount-and-children-live-in-damp-and-distress |access-date=8 May 2025 |work=Thurrock Nub News}}</ref><ref name=":20">{{Cite news |last=Speight |first=Neil |date=4 November 2021 |title=Is time about to be called on Blackshots' 'monstrosity' flats? Councillors welcome new consultation by authority and say it's time for them to be demolished |url=https://thurrock.nub.news/news/local-news/is-time-about-to-be-called-on-blackshots39-39monstrosity39-flats-councillors-welcome-new-consultation-by-authority-and-say-it39s-time-for-them-to-be-demolished |access-date=8 May 2025 |work=Thurrock Nub News}}</ref><ref name=":21">{{Cite news |last=Sexton |first=Christine |date=20 October 2021 |title=Have your say on whether Grays high rise flats should be demolished |url=https://www.thurrockgazette.co.uk/news/19658668.say-whether-grays-high-rise-flats-demolished/ |access-date=8 May 2025 |work=Thurrock Gazette}}</ref> After a public consultation with local residents in 2021 and 2022, the council confirmed it would demolish the Blackshots Park tower blocks and redevelop the Blackshots estate, subject to further consultation.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sexton |first=Christine |date=15 November 2022 |title=Grays tower blocks set to be demolished |url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23124857.grays-tower-blocks-set-demolished/ |access-date=22 May 2025 |work=The Echo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=9 December 2022 |title=Thurrock Council agrees to £200k to kickstart Blackshots redevelopment |url=https://www.yourthurrock.com/2022/12/09/thurrock-council-agrees-to-200k-to-kickstart-blackshots-redevelopment/ |access-date=8 May 2025 |work=Your Thurrock}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=22 February 2025 |title=Thurrock Council say Blackshots project is moving forwards through consultation |url=https://www.yourthurrock.com/2025/02/22/thurrock-council-say-blackshots-project-is-moving-forwards-through-consultation/ |access-date=8 May 2025 |work=Your Thurrock}}</ref> Residents have been moved out of the tower blocks since 2023.<ref name=":8">{{Cite news |last=Sexton |first=Christine |date=30 November 2023 |title=Blackshots estate tenants moved out of tower blocks |url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23960115.blackshots-estate-tenants-moved-tower-blocks/ |access-date=8 May 2025 |work=The Echo}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite news |last=Sexton |first=Christine |date=12 April 2024 |title=Staff on site to help move residents on Thurrock estate |url=https://www.yellowad.co.uk/staff-move-on-site-to-help-move-residents-on-thurrock-estate/ |access-date=8 May 2025 |work=Yellow Advertiser}}</ref>

== Geography == Blackshots is a housing estate in the Little Thurrock area of Grays, a town in the borough of Thurrock in Essex, England.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Blackshots Park |url=https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/blackshots-park/overview |access-date=9 May 2025 |website=Thurrock Council}}</ref> It is one of several distinct areas which collectively make up the town, including the West Thurrock and Lakeside areas, Chafford Hundred, South Stifford, Grays Town Centre, Stifford Clays and the rest of Little Thurrock.<ref name=":28">{{Cite web |date=December 2023 |title=Creating Successful Places: Thurrock Local Plan – Initial Proposals Document |url=https://democracy.thurrock.gov.uk/documents/s41533/Appendix%20A%20-%20Thurrock%20Local%20Plan%20Initial%20Proposals%20document.pdf |access-date=13 May 2025 |website=Thurrock Council |pages=21–22}}</ref> It is located in the north-east of the town and in the north of Little Thurrock, five minutes away from Grays Town Centre.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":13">{{Cite web |title=Sports and leisure |url=https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/sports-and-leisure/leisure-centres |access-date=9 May 2025 |website=Thurrock Council}}</ref> It is part of the Grays Urban Area, which had a recorded population of 99,462 at the 2021 census.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2021 |title=Grays Urban Area |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/cities/ua/?cityid=7171 |access-date=13 May 2025 |publisher=Office of National Statistics |via=City Population}}</ref>

The eastern border of Blackshots runs along the A1089 road, where it borders Chadwell St Mary and Orsett Heath. The southern border runs along Lodge Lane, Wood View Road and the B149 road, where it borders the rest of Little Thurrock and central Grays. The estate borders Stifford Clays near Long Lane, Blackshots Lane and Victoria Avenue to the west and Orsett near Fairfield Lane and Long Lane to the north.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":22" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Thurrock |url=https://www.lgbce.org.uk/all-reviews/thurrock |access-date=13 May 2025 |website=Local Government Boundary Commission for England}}</ref>

== Facilities ==

=== Blackshots Park === thumb|Bevan House (left) and Morrison House (right) in 2015. Keir Hardie House can be seen between the two blocks in the background. Dominating the estate is the Blackshots Park tower block development, which is also known as Blackshots Towers.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=17 March 2023 |title=Plans to demolish tower blocks confirmed by council |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg3297qeqn9o |access-date=9 May 2025 |work=BBC News}}</ref> Located on the northern boundary of King George's Field, Blackshots Park includes three tower blocks split between two sites, one in the north of the estate and one in the south of the estate. The northern site is home to Keir Hardie House on Milford Road while the southern site is home to Bevan House off Laird Avenue and Morrison House on Jesmond Road, which sit beside each other.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Blackshots Estate redevelopment |url=https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/blackshots-estate-redevelopment/if-you-live-outside-towers |access-date=9 May 2025 |website=Thurrock Council}}</ref>

Blackshots Park was built in the 1960s from 1966.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Speight |first=Neil |date=8 December 2022 |title=£200,000 set aside for further consultation on tower block demolition plan as lead councillor says it's his mission to topple them |url=https://thurrock.nub.news/news/local-news/ps200000-set-aside-for-further-consultation-on-tower-block-demolition-plan-as-lead-councillor-says-its-his-mission-to-topple-them-162172 |access-date=9 May 2025 |work=Thurrock Nub News}}</ref> The construction of the development cost around £2 million in 1966 and was contracted by Thurrock Urban District Council to the construction firm Selleck Nicholls Williams.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hawkes |first=C. S. H. |date=23 April 1966 |title=Thurrock U.D.C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BKFVAAAAYAAJ |access-date=28 May 2025 |work=The Surveyor and Municipal Engineer |pages=193–194 |quote=Blackshots Park Estate with houses and 12-storey flats at a cost of some £2,000,000.}}</ref><ref name=":4" /> The three tower blocks are 12-storeys tall with 56 dwellings each, providing for a total of 168 dwellings.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":7" /> They were named after three influential Labour Party politicians from the 20th century, Keir Hardie, Aneurin Bevan and Herbert Morrison.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shapiro |first=Hyman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2optQgAACAAJ |title=Keir Hardie and the Labour Party |date=1971 |publisher=Longman |isbn=978-0-582-20464-5 |language=en}}</ref>

While most houses in the wider Blackshots estate are owned by their occupants under the Right to Buy scheme, the majority of the dwellings in the Blackshots Park development have been rented to tenants by Thurrock Council.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":2" /> Many of the flats in the tower blocks were sold off to their occupants under the scheme in the 1990s, but were then bought back by the council at their original ask price after banks and building societies refused to grant mortgages to the occupants, who were also unexpectedly forced to contribute to the general building works and maintenance of the blocks, including cladding work, roof work and the installation of new lifts, which they struggled to afford.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 March 2000 |title=Thurrock: Council to buy back unwanted flats |url=https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/5515564.thurrock-council-to-buy-back-unwanted-flats/ |access-date=23 May 2025 |work=Daily Gazette and Essex County Standard}}</ref> Thurrock Council later discovered that the cladding had been inadequately installed, which it said caused a risk of "serious injury or death" to residents, and ordered works on the blocks to replace the cladding in 2009.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 August 2009 |title=Work to be carried out on inadequately fixed cladding on high rise flats in Grays |url=https://www.thurrockgazette.co.uk/news/4532290.work-to-be-carried-out-on-inadequately-fixed-cladding-on-high-rise-flats-in-grays/ |access-date=23 May 2025 |work=Thurrock Gazette}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=6 August 2009 |title=Unsafe flats caused 'death' risk |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/essex/8187965.stm |access-date=23 May 2025 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

Further safety concerns emerged after the Grenfell Tower fire of 2017.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 September 2024 |title=Thurrock issues reassuring message after publication of Grenfell report |url=https://thurrock.nub.news/news/local-news/thurrock-issues-reassuring-message-after-publication-of-grenfell-report-239193 |access-date=23 May 2025 |work=Thurrock Nub News}}</ref> Thurrock Council moved to renovate the three tower blocks in 2020, stating that their external cladding failed to meet fire safety regulations and were "showing signs of failure and considered to be beyond economic repair".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Speight |first=Neil |date=8 June 2020 |title=Blackshots tower blocks that fall short of cladding regulations are set to be subject of major renovation project |url=https://thurrock.nub.news/news/local-news/blackshots-tower-blocks-that-fall-short-of-cladding-regulations-are-set-to-be-subject-of-major-renovation-project |access-date=23 May 2025 |work=Thurrock Nub News}}</ref><ref name=":19" /> In the same year, local newspaper ''Thurrock Nub News'' investigated the three tower blocks and found that the buildings were deteriorating with poor living conditions for local residents, with constant outbreaks of damp and mould and other issues such as water leakages and high humidity in the flats making it impossible to live in some rooms.<ref name=":19" /> Local residents and campaigners called for the tower blocks to be demolished with their residents rehoused, and in 2021 Thurrock Council opened a consultation with their occupants asking them for their views on the future of the blocks, including if they should be renovated and refurbished or if they should be demolished with residents rehoused.<ref name=":20" /><ref name=":21" />

The consultation was completed in 2022, with 71% of the residents who took part expressing their preference for the demolition of the tower blocks.<ref name=":7" /> A Thurrock Council report also stated that the buildings were outdated and no longer fit for purpose, and that they also attracted the most complaints from local residents about damp and mould of all the tower blocks in Thurrock.<ref name=":23">{{Cite web |year=2022 |title=Thurrock Council Housing Strategy 2022-2027 |url=https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/sites/default/files/assets/documents/housing-strategy-2022-2027-v01.pdf |access-date=23 May 2025 |website=Thurrock Council |page=59}}</ref> It determined that, even if they were refurbished, the three blocks would still not be fit for purpose because of their age and the poor conditions of the buildings. The council therefore decided to redevelop the Blackshots Park development and the wider Blackshots estate, with the tower blocks to be demolished and replaced by new low-rise<ref name=":14" /> or mid-rise<ref name=":24">{{Cite news |date=23 May 2025 |title=New Blackshot redevelopment proposals could mean no new buildings on any part of King George Playing fields |url=https://www.yourthurrock.com/2025/05/23/new-blackshot-redevelopment-proposals-could-mean-no-new-buildings-on-any-part-of-king-george-playing-fields/ |access-date=26 May 2025 |work=Your Thurrock}}</ref> social housing.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":23" /><ref name=":2" />

Most tenants of Blackshots Park have been rehoused by Thurrock Council since 2023 ahead of the planned demolition and redevelopment of the area, though some residents still remain.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":9" />

=== King George's Field === left|thumb|A view across King George's Field in 2012 looking west. Blackshots Leisure Centre can be seen in the distance. King George's Field was designated on 7 December 1938 as one of several King George's public playing fields in the United Kingdom dedicated to the memory of King George V.<ref name=":16" /><ref name=":17" /> The field is managed, protected and maintained by Fields in Trust.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":17">{{Cite web |date=November 2023 |title=Thurrock Local Green Spaces Study |url=https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/sites/default/files/assets/documents/local-green-space-study-v01.pdf |access-date=9 May 2025 |website=Thurrock Council}}</ref> At 60 acres, it is the largest open green space in Grays.<ref name=":10">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5jg5AQAAIAAJ |title=The Municipal Year Book and Public Services Directory |date=1970 |publisher=Municipal Publications Limited |page=1,370 |language=en |access-date=9 May 2025}}</ref><ref name=":11">{{Cite web |year=2010 |title=King George's Field |url=http://www.ingrays.com/gallery/king-georges-field-102 |access-date=9 May 2025 |website=InGrays.com}}</ref> It is designated green belt land.<ref name=":14">{{Cite news |date=31 January 2025 |title=Thurrock Council accepts petition on Blackshots playing field |url=https://www.yourthurrock.com/2025/01/31/thurrock-council-accepts-petition-on-blackshots-playing-field/ |access-date=9 May 2025 |work=Your Thurrock}}</ref>

King George's Field was developed alongside the construction of Blackshots Leisure Centre from the 1930s to 1960s and has seen extensive development as an open recreational green space.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":10" /> The field includes several sporting and games facilities, including a seven-lane running track, multiple rugby and football pitches, a basketball court, a skatepark, bowling greens, a small stadium and a playground.<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":11" /> The field is also used by several local sports clubs, including Thurrock Rugby Football Club which helps to maintain the pitches.<ref name=":11" /><ref name=":12">{{Cite news |last=Speight |first=Neil |date=4 June 2021 |title=Plans revealed for long-awaited new borough secondary school |url=https://thurrock.nub.news/news/local-news/plans-revealed-for-long-awaited-new-borough-secondary-school |access-date=9 May 2025 |work=Thurrock Nub News}}</ref> Orsett Heath Academy is also situated on the field.<ref name=":12" />

In 2024, Thurrock Council announced plans to construct 258 new homes on the northern part of the field to replace the Blackshots Park tower blocks once they were demolished, as part of its planned redevelopment of Blackshots.<ref name=":25">{{Cite news |date=23 May 2025 |title=New development plans unveiled for Blackshots offer reprieve for playing fields |url=https://thurrock.nub.news/news/local-news/new-development-plans-unveiled-for-blackshots-offer-reprieve-for-playing-fields-260973 |access-date=26 May 2025 |work=Thurrock Nub News}}</ref><ref name=":14" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=8 March 2024 |title=Thurrock Council pledges to deliver two major housing schemes alone |url=https://www.yourthurrock.com/2024/03/08/thurrock-council-pledges-to-deliver-two-major-housing-schemes-alone/ |access-date=9 May 2025 |work=Your Thurrock}}</ref> These plans attracted significant local backlash, with local campaigners calling for the green belt to be protected and arguing that the playing field was a valuable resource for the local community.<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 January 2025 |title=Campaigners make their point again and call for public to lobby councillors in fight against development of playing fields land |url=https://thurrock.nub.news/news/local-news/campaigners-make-their-point-again-and-call-for-public-to-lobby-councillors-in-fight-against-development-of-playing-fields-land-249665 |access-date=26 May 2025 |work=Thurrock Nub News}}</ref><ref name=":25" /> Former Thurrock mayor and Blackshots councillor Joy Redsell organised a petition against the plans in 2024, which was signed by 2,300 local residents and debated at a session of the council in 2025.<ref name=":14" /><ref name=":25" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Sexton |first=Christine |date=4 November 2024 |title=Thurrock former mayor petition against green belt building |url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/24698928.thurrock-former-mayor-petition-green-belt-building/ |access-date=26 May 2025 |work=The Echo}}</ref> The council responded by abandoning the plans and collaborating on the redevelopment with local stakeholders, with a new proposal to build the homes on the site of a nearby farm now considered.<ref name=":24" /><ref name=":25" />

=== Blackshots Leisure Centre === thumb|Blackshots Leisure Centre in 2009. Blackshots Leisure Centre was built between the 1930s and 1960s. It was officially completed and opened on 19 September 1964.<ref name=":1" /> The leisure centre is a civic and recreation centre. Built at a cost of £502,000, it includes a 33-metre public swimming pool, civic hall, gym, health suite, sauna, café and several exercise studios.<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":13" /> The annual Thurrock Beer Festival is held at the civic hall.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ellis |first=Alex |date=2 June 2009 |title=Annual beer festival kicks off at Civic Hall |url=https://www.thurrockgazette.co.uk/news/4414405.annual-beer-festival-kicks-off-at-civic-hall/ |access-date=28 May 2025 |work=Thurrock Gazette}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=5 June 2013 |title=Sun shines on the Thurrock Beer Festival |url=https://www.yourthurrock.com/2013/06/05/sun-shines-on-the-thurrock-beer-festival/ |access-date=28 May 2025 |work=Your Thurrock}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=28 May 2024 |title=Beer festival is back at the Civic Hall |url=https://thurrock.nub.news/news/local-news/beer-festival-is-back-at-the-civic-hall-230864 |access-date=28 May 2025 |work=Thurrock Nub News}}</ref>

Since 2000, Thurrock Council has outsourced the management of the leisure centre to Impulse Leisure, a local charitable trust.<ref>{{Cite news |date=23 October 2010 |title=Impulse Leisure under "serious threat" of closure |url=https://www.yourthurrock.com/2010/10/23/impulse-leisure-under-serious-threat-of-closure/ |access-date=9 May 2025 |work=Your Thurrock}}</ref> In 2005, Impulse Leisure won a £30,000 grant from Sport England to expand the gym's facilities to make it more inclusive for disabled people.<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 July 2005 |title=Impulse Leisure to relaunch Blackshots as IFI facility |url=https://www.sportsmanagement.co.uk/Sports-news/latest/Impulse-Leisure-to-relaunch-Blackshots-as-IFI-facility/11536 |access-date=9 May 2025 |work=Sports Management}}</ref> In 2024, Impulse Leisure co-founded the Swimming Teacher's Academy with the Institute of Swimming which offers lessons at Blackshots Leisure Centre.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lloyd |first=Sarah |date=14 June 2024 |title=Making a splash: Institute of Swimming working with Impulse Leisure to increase swim teachers in Essex |url=https://thurrock.nub.news/news/local-news/institute-of-swimming-works-with-impulse-leisure-to-increase-swim-teachers-in-essex-232415 |access-date=9 May 2025 |work=Thurrock Nub News}}</ref>

=== Blackshots Library === Blackshots Library was approved for construction in 1938 and formally opened on 16 May 1953 with Thurrock MP Hugh Delargy and council chairman A. Jones in attendance.<ref name=":18" /><ref name=":15" />

== Politics and governance == Blackshots is in the parliamentary constituency of Thurrock.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Thurrock: Seat Details |url=https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/seatdetails.py?seat=Thurrock |access-date=9 May 2025 |website=Electoral Calculus}}</ref> The local member of Parliament (MP) is Jen Craft of the Labour Party, who was first elected at the 2024 general election.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 July 2024 |title=Labour take Thurrock – but it's too close to call in South Basildon and East Thurrock and a recount will follow |url=https://thurrock.nub.news/news/local-news/labour-take-thurrock-but-its-too-close-to-call-in-south-basildon-and-east-thurrock-and-a-recount-will-follow-234229 |access-date=9 May 2025 |work=Thurrock Nub News}}</ref> The local authority is Thurrock Council which has held unitary authority status since 1998. As such, the council is responsible for all local government services in the area.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Borough and council history: From Turroc to modern Thurrock |url=https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/borough-and-council-history/from-turroc-to-modern-thurrock |access-date=9 May 2025 |website=Thurrock Council}}</ref> The Blackshots area also falls under the jurisdiction of Essex Police and the Essex County Fire and Rescue Service which are overseen by the elected Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Essex Police, Fire and Crime Panel |url=https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/essex-police-fire-and-crime-panel/overview |access-date=9 May 2025 |website=Thurrock Council}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=What does the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner do for Essex? |url=https://www.essex.pfcc.police.uk/what-is-a-pfcc-and-what-do-they-do/ |access-date=9 May 2025 |website=Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex}}</ref> Since 2016, the police, fire and crime commissioner has been Roger Hirst of the Conservative Party.<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 May 2021 |title=Election 2021: Conservative Roger Hirst is new Essex PFCC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-57032791 |access-date=9 May 2025 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

For the purposes of local elections to Thurrock Council, Blackshots forms a single electoral ward which elects two councillors who serve for a term of four years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wards and polling stations |url=https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/wards-and-polling-stations/wards |access-date=8 May 2025 |website=Thurrock Council}}</ref> Until 1997, the estate was united with the rest of Little Thurrock in the Little Thurrock ward, which elected three councillors. In 1997, Blackshots was split off to form its own ward to account for population growth in the borough of Thurrock.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |date=December 1996 |title=Final recommendations on the future electoral arrangements for Thurrock in Essex |url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20230308202531mp_/https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/lgbce/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/6041/der-thurrock-final-recs-dec1996.pdf |access-date=8 May 2025 |website=Local Government Commission for England}}</ref><ref>{{Cite law|type=Order|date=21 February 1997|legislature=Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions|title=The Borough of Thurrock (Electoral Changes) Order 1997|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1997/775/made|access-date=8 May 2025}}</ref> The ward has had its current boundaries since 2004.<ref name=":22">{{Cite web |date=December 2001 |title=Final recommendations on the future electoral arrangements for Thurrock |url=https://www.lgbce.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-05/thurrock_report.pdf |access-date=9 May 2025 |website=Local Government Boundary Commission}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Borough of Thurrock (Electoral Changes) Order 2002 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/2234/body/made |access-date=9 May 2025 |website=UK Government}}</ref>

Historically, the Blackshots area was more supportive of the Labour Party.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gray |first=Adam |url=https://agrayarea.info/publications/2024guide.pdf |title=Guide to the 2024 council elections |pages=101 |access-date=9 May 2025}}</ref> The area started to shift away from Labour at the turn of the 21st century, with Conservative candidates winning the ward in the 1999 and 2000 Thurrock Council elections while Labour still won the ward in the 1997 and 2001 council elections.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Little Thurrock Blackshots Ward (Pre–2004) |url=http://www.thurrock.gov.uk/democracy/content.php?page=wrd10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608223355/http://www.thurrock.gov.uk/democracy/content.php?page=wrd10 |archive-date=8 June 2011 |website=Thurrock Council}}</ref> From the 2004 council election, the ward was won by the Conservatives at every election before shifting back to Labour in the 2024 council election.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Little Thurrock Blackshots Ward — Thurrock |url=https://www.andrewteale.me.uk/leap/ward/1510/ |access-date=9 May 2025 |website=Local Elections Archive Project}}</ref> During this period, one of the councillors for the ward was Joy Redsell, the Conservative mayor of Thurrock, who lost her seat to the Labour Party in 2024.<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 May 2024 |title=Labour hold commanding majority on Thurrock Council as Tories lose ten seats – check out our comprehensive report with video and pictures from the overnight count |url=https://thurrock.nub.news/news/local-news/labour-hold-commanding-majority-on-thurrock-council-as-tories-lose-ten-seats-228586 |access-date=9 May 2025 |work=Thurrock Nub News}}</ref>

==References== {{NoteFoot}} {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{commons category}} *[https://consult.thurrock.gov.uk/hub-page/Blackshots Blackshots redevelopment website] *[https://www.towerblock.eca.ed.ac.uk/development/blackshots-park-grays Tower Block UK entry]

{{Thurrock places}} {{Authority control}}

Category:Thurrock Category:Populated places in Essex