A FORMER oil refinery site is aiming to complete a remarkable turnaround...by being crowned the nation’s best nature reserve.

Canvey Wick in Northwick Road, on Canvey, is in the running to scoop the Nature Reserve of the Year category in the BBC Countryfile Magazine Awards for 2017, just three years after it opened to the public as a Site of Specific Scientific Interest.

It is owned by national land management charity the Land Trust, managed in partnership with the RSPB and Buglife. and has been featured in an array of wildlife programmes.

Nominated by renowned naturalist and BBC Radio 4 presenter Brett Westwood, the 239-acre site has been hailed “as an outstanding example of the value of brownfield sites.”

In order for it to win first prize, it will go head-to-head with four rivals from across Britain in an online vote, open to the public.

Dave Blackwell is a regular visitor to the Wick and says it is a magnet for rare bugs and wildlife.

Mr Blackwell, a borough and county councillor, says he hopes south Essex can help it complete a remarkable turnaround.

He said: “It’s a remarkable site, and the wonderful thing is, nobody knows all of this is on their doorstep. “To win the award would be a major turnaround and thoroughly deserved due to all the hard work that has gone on.”

The site was originally grazing marsh and was then partially developed in the 1960s as an oil refinery.

Despite never being used, it was decommissioned in 1973 and left a varied site, with marshy floods, ditches, ponds, bramble patches, gravels, sandy banks and bare concrete.

Voting for the awards is open until Tuesday, February 28.

To cast a vote, or for more information, visit countryfile.com/awards