Canvey Area (inc Southend, Leigh on Sea, Benfleet, and Holehaven)

Canvey Island (area 18.45 km²; pop. 37,479) is a civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames estuary separated from the mainland of south Essex by a network of creeks. Lying below sea level it is prone to flooding at exceptional tides, but has nevertheless been inhabited since the Roman invasion of Britain. The island was mainly agricultural land until the 20th century when it became the fastest growing seaside resort in Britain between 1911-1951. The North Sea flood of 1953 devastated the island costing the lives of 58 islanders, and led to the temporary evacuation of the 13,000 residents. Canvey is consequently protected by modern sea defences comprising 15 miles (24 km) of concrete seawall. Canvey is also notable for its relationship to the petrochemical industry. The island was the site of the first delivery in the world of liquiefied natural gas by container ship, and later became the subject of an influential assessment on the risks to a population living within the vicinity of petrochemical shipping and storage facilities. Notable residents of the island have included Roland and Francis Prout; 20th century pioneers of catamaran design, the pub rock band Dr. Feelgood, and the Olympic decathlete Dean Macey.

Petrochemical industry

The southern area of the Canvey Island West ward at Hole Haven has predominantly existed as petrochemical site since the first construction of an oil terminal there in 1936. In 1959, as part of a pioneering Anglo-American project designed to asses the viability of transporting liquefied natural gas overseas, a gas terminal with two one thousand tonne capacity storage tanks was constructed at the site alongside the oil terminal. The gas terminal built by the British Gas Council was designed to store and distribute imported gas to the whole of Britain via the facilities at Thames Haven and the local refinery at Shellhaven in Coryton. The first delivery of 2020 tonnes arrived on 20 February 1959 from Lake Charles, Louisiana by a specially modified liberty ship Normarti renamed The Methane Pioneer. The success of seven further deliveries over the following 14 months established the international industry for transporting liquefied natural gas by sea, but the discovery of oil and gas in North sea limited further British development.
The disused storage tanks at the Occidental site in 1997.

Planning permission was granted in the following years for Occidental Petroleum and the Italian oil company, United Refineries Ltd to develop a site further west for the construction of an oil refinery, but a report in 1975 by the Health and safety executive concluded that the residents of the island faced an unacceptable risk, which led to the permission being revoked. The issue of risk was again highlighted in an attack by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in January 1979 on a storage tank at the island's Texaco oil terminal. A bomb was detonated at a tank containing aviation fuel, but failed to ignite with the fuel escaping into a safety moat. The Occidental site was abandoned in 1975 leaving a half-built oil refinery, storage tanks, and an unused mile long jetty which cost around £10 million of the approximate total of £60 million spent on the project. However, in the following years the disused and undisturbed site flourished as a haven for wildlife, and in 2003, the final storage tanks were removed in a clean-up operation, and the site was renamed as Canvey Wick and opened as a nature reserve.

Developments in the 20th century have produced a marked contrast between the environments in the east and west of the island. The eastern half of the island is allocated to residential areas, the main public amenities, and a small holiday camp and seafront, while the western half of the island is mainly farmland, marshes, and industrial areas. The marshes in the west include the 30 hectares known as West Canvey marshes acquired by the RSPB in 2007, and the Canvey Wick nature reserve. "Canvey Wick" is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) at the site of the abandoned and incomplete oil refinery. Because the foundations of the 100-hectare site were prepared in the 1970s by laying thousands of tonnes of silt dredged from the Thames; the abandoned and undisturbed area has flourished as a haven for around 1,300 species of wildlife, many of which are endangered or were thought to be extinct; including the shrill carder bee, the emerald damselfly and the weevil hunting wasp. It has been said that the site may exist with one of the highest levels of biodiversity in western Europe. Other areas of natural interest include the eight hectares of Canvey Lake Local Nature Reserve owned by Castle Point Borough Council. The lake existed as a means to facilitate the salt-making process during the Roman settlement of the island, and is also thought to have functioned as an oyster bed. At the eastern point of the island is the 36-acre Canvey Heights Country Park which was reclaimed from the Newlands landfill site that operated there between 1954-89. The park is the highest land elevation on the island and subsequently provides wide views across the creeks, marshes and along the Thames. The environment supports an array of wildfowl such as skylarks, dark-bellied brent geese, and grey plover.

Landmarks

The Lobster Smack Public House at the south west corner of the island is a grade II listed building dated to the 17th century. The pub was known to Charles Dickens who mentioned it in Great Expectations. Alongside the pub is a row of wooden Coast guard cottages that date from the late 19th century which are also of grade II listed status.

Landmarks from the era of Canvey's development as a seaside resort in the 20th century include the International style Labworth Café built 1932-33 and designed by Ove Arup. The building fell into a state of disrepair in the 1970s and 80s but was renovated in 1996 and now functions as both a beach bistro and restaurant.

Opened in 1979, the Heritage Centre along Canvey Road is housed in the former St. Katherine's Church, which was built in 1874. Originally timber-framed, the church was rendered over in the 1930's to give it its present appearance; it closed as a place of worship in 1962. It now contains an art and craft centre with a small folk museum.

Water sport

Water sports are also popular recreational pursuits. Canvey has two sailing clubs in The Island Yacht Club and the Chapman Sands Sailing Club, with Benfleet Yacht Club and slipway also situated on the island at Benfleet Creek in the north. A region between Thorney bay and Labworth beach is designated by the Port of London Authority as an approved windsurfing area.