Thurrock - UK
THURROCK is a borough with the total area of 165.7 km, located on the northern bank of the estuary of the Thames, in the county of Essex. The boundaries of the borough lie 35 km from the center of London. The borough has 143 thousand inhabitants and consists of 17 towns, the biggest of which is Grays with 40 thousand inhabitants - being the seat of local authorities, and Stanford/Corringham, South Ockendon and Tilbury.
One of the largest shopping centers in Europe - Lakeside, is in Thurrock. It was opened in 1990. On the area of 80 hectares, more than 300 stores, two cinema halls, over 30 restaurants and parking lots for 19,716 vehicles are located.
The borough has excellent transport connections - its area is intersected by the bypass of London, M25, and the national road, A13, going from London to Southend, in the vicinity there are two main sea ports - Tilbury and Purfleet, and a deep water port for container ships in Shell Haven. Thurrock is connected to Kent county by the longest cable-stayed bridge in Europe - Queen Elisabeth II Bridge.
The area of the borough is highly industrialized. Shipbuilding, chemical, building materials, woodworking and food industries as well as petroleum refineries are developed here. The BP refinery as well as a Procter & Gamble factory are located here.
In spite of such a high industrialization, 60% of the borough land lie in the so-called "Green Belt". On the large riverside area, landscape parks covered by protection were created.
The Cooperation Agreement was signed on 5 October 2004 in Płock. The Agreement will apply to broadly understood cooperation in the field of culture, science, education, sports, health care, economy and local activities. A particular emphasis will be put on the cooperation in the field of education, economy and the joint obtaining and using European funds.
The cooperation of Płock with Thurrock, its sister town, evolves in many aspects, from the cultural to the business ones. Since 2005, the representatives of Thurrock have been taking part in the "European Picnic", while the Płock inhabitants have had the opportunity to become familiar with this borough when visiting the exhibition of Richard Heeps, entitled "Thurrock – In A Different Light" as well as listening to the music of a rock band called "Highly Strung", whose members come from Thurrock. During the Polish-British business conferences, in which the representatives of British Chamber of Commerce, the tiwn towns and local companies took part, Płock welcomed also the business sector representatives from Thurrock. They presented the economic situation of the borough and its achievements in the economic development of the region.
The cooperation between schools also develops, involving both primary schools, junior high schools and high schools of Płock and Thurrock. An example of cooperation may be theatres such as the Integration Theatre of the Małachowianka "Antoniówka", which was invited to Thurrock.
