A tremendous potential within Canvey  

Julian Ware-Lane, Labour's Parliamentary Candidate for Castle Point, paid a visit to the Canvey Island Town Council's new offices. Julian was accompanied by Joe Cooke and Tony Wright, both champions for Fairtrade. 

Julie Abel, Town Clerk, was their host.  Julie said "these are exciting times for Canvey Island. The economic viability of Canvey promises a tremendous future. We should be able to really make things happen here." 

"Amongst the projects we are taking on are the renovation of the memorial gardens at the seafront, improvements to the town centre, and the skateboard park at waterside Farm". 

Julian Ware-Lane is an advocate for decentralisation of power: "town councils bring democracy a lot closer to the people. This council should be able to make a real difference. There is scope for negotiation of the utilisation of powers within Castle Point." 

Julian added "Canvey's distinct personality lends itself very comfortably to having a town council. This is really a unique place with unique issues." 

Julian has campaigned for the tidying up of the seafront memorial gardens: "I look forward to seeing the completed work – this is a much neglected area that should be a real asset to the island." 

Tony Wright said: "this was a useful visit and I was pleased to note that Fairtrade status for Canvey is under consideration."  

"I was most impressed with the High Street facility and most grateful to Julie for her hospitality and obvious expertise" added Joe Cooke. 

Julie Abel commissioned the refurbishment of the town council offices and oversaw its implementation. The offices opened in April of this year, although Julie has been in post since January.  

Julie is not just the Town Clerk, she also is the responsible financial officer; Canvey Island Town Council has an annual budget of £266,000. The population of Canvey makes it one of the biggest town councils in the country. The six wards on the island elect eleven councillors.