The future of the Thameside complex in Grays is still in doubt - but the councillor responsible for the building says he promises to do all he can to keep it or all the services it provides going.

It was in November last year that it was revealed the council was looking at closing the Orsett Road complex - one of several options being considered in a wide-ranging Best Value review of the authority's cultural services department.

The review started in September 2000 and, although not yet complete, a report outlining the options was due to be put to today's (Thursday) meeting of the cabinet.

Coun Nigel Barron, cabinet member for cultural change and heritage, said: "I cannot make any promises, but it is my aim that all the services provided in the Thameside complex - that includes the theatre - should be maintained.

"Whether that will be within the Thameside, or somewhere else is one of the things we are looking at."

The three options being considered are:

Maintain the Thameside building and its services, and spend around £1m to bring the building up to scratch

Shut the Thameside and sell it, shifting all of its services - including the museum and theatre - elsewhere in the borough. This would probably involve building a brand new theatre

Outsource the services to private companies or form a trust

However, a scrutiny panel formed to see how effective outsourcing Thurrock's leisure services was - with the creation of Thurrock Community Leisure - found earlier this year that the move had not been "in the council's best interests".

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.