Pride in Place is a government programme that offers up to £20 million to chosen towns across the UK to spend over the next 10 years. The programme aims to bring communities together by putting local people in control of the future of their towns. The money can be used to make everyday changes that will improve lives and boost local areas for now and the future.
Canvey Island was selected for the programme in spring 2024.
The Neighbourhood Board
A Neighbourhood Board was created, bringing together the local MP, councils, businesses and community organisations to produce a clear vision for the local area. The board includes representatives from:
- Thames Estuary Growth Board (Interim Chair)
- The MP for Castle Point
- Canvey Island Town Council
- Castle Point Borough Council
- Essex County Council
- Essex Police
- Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner’s Office
- South Essex Schools Sport Partnerships
- Church of England
- Haredi Jewish Community
- Yellow Door, Canvey Island Youth Project
- Castle Point Association of Voluntary Services (CAVS)
- NHS South East Essex Alliance
- Estuary Festival CIC
- Local business figures (Monico Leisure Ltd, Inner London Developments (Roscommon) Ltd & PJT Restaurants Ltd)
Your hopes for the future of Canvey
This autumn the Board have been listening to people across Canvey, including children and young people, about what changes you would like to see and what your hopes are for the future of the island. Local people were invited to create postcards “from the future”, imagining the results of the £20 million for Canvey. 817 postcards were completed. The most common themes were:
- Access and transport
- Canvey Town Centre
- Health and wellbeing
- Youth and community infrastructure
- Sports facilities
- Digital connectivity
- Your people projects
- Green spaces
- Seafront and heritage
- Education, skills and employment
- Housing projects
What’s next
The Board listened to your hopes for Canvey and used that information to create a Regeneration Plan. The plan explains to Government how the £20 million will be spent over the next 10 years and focuses on 10 key project areas based on your priorities.
This plan was submitted in late November 2025 and we should expect a response from Government in 2026 . The first round of money is expected to be released in April 2026 and will used to start delivering projects.
Keep up-to-date
We want to keep hearing from you and will be running more engagement events in Canvey in 2026. Find out about upcoming events and programme updates by following us on social media.
If you have any questions or want more information, please email CanveyP4N@castlepoint.gov.uk.