Council planning to spend £1.4m to revamp old Essex shopping centre

An Essex council is spending more than £1million on revamping a shopping centre, with the leader hoping to bring in new businesses and boost footfall in the town centre.

Castle Point Council will spend the cash on a new ceiling, new lighting, new doors, new furniture, new paving, and community events at the Knightswick Shopping Centre on Canvey Island. The council purchased by the centre in 2019 and had planned a £1.5 million revamp, but this was halted due to the Covid pandemic.

Dave Blackwell, Canvey Independent leader of Castle Point Council, said: “We’ve awarded a construct to a firm for the works, and I’ve told them a timeline for the project. I hope it will be done by early next year. I’ve met with the contractors, and I am hoping work will start after Christmas.

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"It’s going to be much brighter and the changes will be good for footfall and bringing in more people for the shops, I am determined to turn the shopping centre into a vibrant place where people want to be and spend time. We’ve got a new management team for it. This money was in the maintenance budget and wasn’t previously spent or used. It built up over around 10 years, and when I came into power in the administration, the first thing I looked into was our council assets.

"This will be massive for the traders and businesses in the centre; if you visit it and walk through, it looks dull and tired. It will be a massive revamp and will make people want to visit it rather than just walking through. We will have new events every so often which will be good for the town and businesses there.

"We’ve got a few empty shops too but I think after this businesses will fill them quickly, businesses want to see where they are investing and this will show businesses we are regenerating and revamping the town. It will lift this end of the town and will create a much better experience for shoppers and visitors.”