Thurrock’s economy has revived in buoyancy in recent years after declining in the late 1970s and early 1980s with the closure of the traditional manufacturing industries. This growth has been stimulated by the opening of the M25 in 1984 which brought huge warehousing and logistics opportunities, as well as making possible the creation of Lakeside as a regional shopping centre. The development and investment in Tilbury Port has also promoted a more sustainable economy but it is still based on lower-skilled jobs.

The oil industry has been highly important to Thurrock with major refineries at Shell Haven and storage depots marking the landscape. However, Shell Haven closed in 1999 and may soon be (controversially) redeveloped as a major multi-modal container port.

1999 survery of 2000 local companies (by number of employees):
19% manufacturing
13% retail distribution
26.6% transport and communications
10.5% financial and business services

Top ‘employment growth’ sectors (by number of employees) are retail, hotels/restaurants, business services and education.

Top ‘declining’ sectors (also by number of employees) are fuel refining, transport, textiles and clothing, transport equipment and gas/electricity/water.

Thurrock’s economy hinges on proximity to the river and the motorway network. RPG9A stated that Thurrock’s primary focus should be as a base for distribution and logistics due to its excellent road transportation links and the development of Shell Haven that will bring more intensive use of the river. However, the economic opportunities need to be balanced against the quality of the public realm, notably access to the riverfront and its qualities as an important natural environment.

River-based activities
Port of Tilbury
Oil storage and refineries
Marine dredged aggregates
Landfill (waste transported by barge from London)
Manufacturing (materials arriving by sea)
Cruise Terminal and leisure activities

Motorway-based activities
Warehousing, logistics, transport and communication
Lakeside shopping centre (regional shopping destination)
Hotels
Manufacturing (paper board, margarine, soap)
Minerals extraction (clay, sand and gravel)

Many sub-sectors depend on the Port of Tilbury which has specialist wharves for grain and forest products including a recently opened, dedicated Finnish Terminal. The landing of marine-dredged aggregates has also become an important sector nationally and a commitment has been made to protect wharves for this use.
Lakeside Shopping Centre is one the largest retail centres in Europe with over 300 shops, food outlets and a multiplex cinema under one roof.

Shell Haven’s redevelopment as an international container port and business park will make it one of the biggest deep-sea ports in the world, and result in the creation of over 10,000 jobs. The future of Tilbury Port in the long term is therefore uncertain.

Low skills, especially in technology, mean companies do not relocate to Thurrock at present. One of the regeneration aims is to increase the number of white-collar office jobs to ensure office workers who choose to live in Thurrock do not all commute out of London.