Canvey residents 'better fighting government' to block 4,000 homes

On Wednesday, Castle Point Council will either approve its near 5,000 home plan, or commit to government intervention, with inspectors taking control of the local plan.

Canvey independent councillor Peter May has admitted the island may have more chance of protecting itself if central government did intervene.

But this could have a drastic effect on the rest of Castle Point, including Benfleet and Hadleigh, as more sites would need to be found on the mainland.

The plan would see 1,399 homes built on Canvey across nine sites, and 2,823 for the rest of Castle Point across 20 sites.

Mr May said: “It is a very awkward one really. I have been listening to my residents, and I have been listening to the presentations to the council, but I am not sure how I will vote yet.

“There are lots of issues with Canvey. We have a large flood plain, we have the hazardous area sites, and our infrastructure is struggling at the moment.

“The government has stated that major development should not happen near these hazardous area sites, we all know the issues with building on flood plains, and we cannot take all these homes with our current infrastructure. These points have all been made to full council, but it doesn’t seem to have been listened to.

“It is a sad fact, but I do almost think we would have more chance arguing our case with the government team, than we have with our own council.”

Leader of Castle Point Council, Norman Smith, councillor for the Boyce ward, warned that intervention does not “bear thinking about”, as he was convinced government inspectors would squeeze as many homes as possible into every site – as well as using as much green belt as possible.

Castle Point Council was issued an urgent warning last November, but failed to complete a plan or provide exceptional reasons not to. The council failed to do so, and intervention is likely to happen if the plan is not approved on Wednesday.