The Shires Langdon Hills residents hold candlelit protest

Around 50 residents gathered on The Shires, Langdon Hills, on Thursday to hold their Shires Shine a Light protest to highlight what they have called Redrow’s failure to fix street lighting near their homes.

This comes after they first reported the failure of street lights on October 24 last year.

The developer has apologised to the residents of the six homes it directly affects, but Shires resident and protest organiser, Mark Wray, says it affects residents of all 80 homes living on the “enclosed development” who walk through the un-lit area.

He said: “Redrow have still given us no idea when these lights will be fixed, nor have they provided any explanation why it’s taken more than a year to act.

“It’s no way to treat customers who have put approximately £60 million in their pockets.”

One year on - Residents have been left without streetlight for a year (Image: Mark Wray)

Councillors for Orsett ward, Barry Johnson and David Day, both attended the vigil and labelled the treatment of residents “appalling.”

They said: 'We wanted to join residents of the Shires Estate in protest against Redrow at their appalling treatment from the company who do not seem to want to complete the estate to the finish promised in the original planning application.

Lights out - Councillors Barry Johnson (L) and David Day (R) attend vigil (Image: Mark Wray)

“While Thurrock Council are aware of the problems, and are speaking with Redrow, they too appear to be having trouble ensuring Redrow fulfil their obligations. As ward councillors we are very much with the residents and will continue to push Redrow for a completion."

Residents have told the Echo they have still yet to be contacted by the company and no action has been taken regarding the lights. However, Redrow says it is working closely with contractors to fix the issue as quickly as possible.

A spokesman for Redrow said: “We apologise to the residents of the six homes affected for the delay.

“We have conducted further inspections over the last week and are working closely with the managing agent and contractors to resolve this as soon as possible.”