This year's local elections are just around the corner.

Elections will take place on May 3 where candidates from various parties will be battling it out for a seat on Castle Point Council.

Your nearest polling station will be on your polling card - if you haven't received one this may be because you haven't registered to vote.

Here is a list of candidates standing in Castle Point:

Echo:

Labour

Castle Point Labour will fight to protect our community from the Tory Government ideology which caused havoc in our precious NHS, police, fire, ambulance, schools and other public services.

Labour will campaign for funding and organisation policies to rescue these vital services. 

Labour councillors will fight to protect our greenbelt, basing annual housing builds on a sustainable vision for our borough. 

Labour will fight for replacing houses lost through right to buy and increasing rented properties and other social housing to help our youngsters onto the housing ladder. Labour will scrap the bedroom tax.

Foot-dragging over the Hadleigh and Canvey Town Centre projects and the replacement Local Plan is a major target.

We believe in supporting our local shopping centres with a rational car parking policy.

Our roads and footpaths are a major safety risk. Flooding issues have not been fully resolved and should be top priority.

There should be no building without the required infrastructure, flood and other safety clearances, particularly on Canvey. Our fight for a third island access road will continue.

We will fight for public safety through restoration of street lighting and increased police resources for effective responses to crime and fear of crime. 

Canvey Island Independent Party

Our candidates are all local residents who are very community minded and want to do their best for Canvey. The more residents we talk to the more residents say they are fed up with being ruled by mainland Tories.

This year there is a big increase in your council tax. 

Castle Point Tories put it up even though they have £6 million in reserves. Essex County Council Tories also put it up. Under this council we are paying more and getting less.

They have spent nearly a million pounds of your money on a failed local plan and now they have put another £500,000 by to have another go.

They have wasted hundreds of thousands of pounds on town centre regeneration plans which never came about. 

How can we trust these local Tory councillors with our future when all they seem to do is approve more and more houses and flats on Canvey bringing the island to a standstill. Even the Paddocks Community Hall is not safe.

This over development of Canvey cannot go on. The mainland Tories see Canvey as the place to develop to save their own mainland green belt. 

Independent Ron Hurrell

Though I left UKIP because of local issues, I am still sympathetic to many of their policies. 

I am in favour of grammar schools, I want to see bobbies on the beat, and I want to see the armed forces fully appreciated by the government. 

Development in Castle Point should be stopped, we are overly full and gridlocked.

The cabinet system at local level is inadequate and is not conducive to transparency. 

The present system of governance needs revision – I don’t like the way the county council has split local councillors on responsibilities. 

Party politics has led to suspicion, resentment, and recrimination, which have no place in a team and I wish Castle Point could be free of them. 

Castle Point is a great place to live and I think the council should work to limit further damage.

Conservatives

You can trust us to look after your interests at a local and national level.

Conservative-led Castle Point Council is one of the top performers in the country. 

We provide good, reliable services and good value for money. We are proud to be judged on our record. 

We will drive the economy forward with lower taxes, relief for small business and capping benefits.

You can trust Conservatives with the economy and your money. We have responded to austerity and saved money without reducing local services. 
Castle Point voted for Brexit by one of the highest margins in the country. We must now support the Government.

A Conservative vote is a vote for low tax, excellent local services, protected community facilities and smart solutions to local problems. 

We have good local government skills that other political parties don’t.

Vote for experience and expertise. 

Ukip

Local elections are about local issues but there are also an opportunity to vote on national issues.

Our Ukip candidates will stand on local issues but they also give voters a chance to vote on some of the big issues that Ukip stands for, including a complete exit from the European Union, an end to mass uncontrolled immigration and an economy that works for everyone.

Economy and enterprise - reduce tax and business costs to stimulate the local economy. 

Public health and social care - put local communities at the heart of healthy care. 

Transport and roads - improve road maintenance as a priority. 

Environment, planning and housing - reduce the pressure on housing by ending open door immigration. 

Local people and veterans first - Ukip wants local people and veterans prioritised for social housing and locally affordable homes. 

Education - improve access to quality local education and create more grammar schools and technical skills colleges, encouraging vocational education courses and apprenticeships to help people.