THE long-awaited third road off Canvey is one step closer following successful talks with a senior Government minister.

The Department for Transport has promised to help Castle Point Council look into funding options for the huge project.

The commitment came after Tory Castle Point MP Rebecca Harris led a delegation of councillors to London to present their plans to Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin.

The meeting was organised after the highways department at Essex County Council dropped its opposition to the third road proposals.

The new road would be from the western edge of the island up to Coryton, in Thurrock.

Speaking after the meeting, Mrs Harris said: “It was a very encouraging meeting.

“The Transport Secretary made it clear he thought we put forward a very strong economic case very well and advised us on how to push it forward with a formal feasibility study.

“There are hundreds of competing infrastructure projects across the country, but now we have put it to the Secretary of State, ours is definitely on the table.

“The improvements to transport infrastructure and the economic benefits a third road would bring would massively benefit Castle Point and every single resident of Canvey.”

Campaigns to build a third route off Canvey have been going on for a generation as part of a bid to reduce congestion and alleviate the pressure on the only two roads linking the island to the mainland – Canvey Way and Ferry Road, Benfleet.

Castle Point Council leader Pam Challis, long-serving Tory councillor RayHoward and Dave Blackwell, leader of Canvey Island Independent Party, joined Mrs Harris at the meeting.

Mr Howard said: “We have been fighting for a third road for so long now and things are looking positive. We feel the road will be part of an enterprise and will create a lot of jobs.

“We want people from Canvey to be able to get to their jobs easily.

“At the moment, it takes people a lot of time and extra money to get to their place of work.

“If funding can be found, the next stage of the project will be a feasibility report, which is an in-depth analysis of the proposals.”

Mr Blackwell added: “It was a very interesting meeting, and the Secretary of State listened to all of our arguments. My only concern is the Government doesn’t have any money to put forward, so we will have to find a lot of the funding ourselves.”