Thurrock Council's cabinet has backed plans for an employee buyout of its window factory in Grays.

A year ago this month the council agreed to sell the factory after agreeing that its ten-year programme of replacing windows in council homes should be accelerated.

This left the factory with the prospect of no work after March 2004.

Coun Peter Maynard told last week's meeting of the cabinet that there had been little response to adverts attempting to sell the factory, on the Curzon Drive industrial estate, except for the proposed buy-out.

Suggestions that a not-for-profit company should be set up were knocked back. The present management and employees did not want to run the new company that way and there were no other serious bidders, the cabinet was told.

By turning down this proposal too little time would be left before March 2004 to find any other organisation to be seriously interested. "We can't invent people for this," said council leader Andy Smith.

The cabinet was told discussions with the management had come up with the present proposal - which had already been backed by the overview and scrutiny committee.

The new company will be called Thameside Windows Ltd and its shares will only be available to employees - who will have to sell them back to the company if they leave.

Coun Nigel Barron - who was in favour of a not-for-profit scheme - voted against approval.

The company will pay a lease of £484,000 per year to the council, out of which the authority will set up a fund of £400,000 to cater for any future redundancies.

A report on the buyout said: "This option provides the best fit of achieving the previous desire of realising the value of the assets and business of the factory and securing the longer-term employment of the workforce, thus supporting the local economy."

Published Monday January 14, 2002