WORK has officially started on a retail park on Canvey, with developers now able to confirm it will open early next year.

Property developer NewRiver has started building the complex on brownfield land next to Morrisons supermarket in Northwick Road - a site which has sat vacant for around 20 years.

The shopping centre is set to create 150 jobs when it opens, excluding construction related employment.

Confirmed stores include Marks and Spencer Food Hall, B&M, Sports Direct, and Costa, which will also have a drive through and outdoor seating.

Town councillor Jay Blissett welcomed the move and believed it would not adversely impact on the town centre.

She said: “There is going to be different things to the town centre.

“All the independent shops in the town shouldn’t be affected.

“We don’t have any sports shops on the island so Sports Direct won’t affect anyone either.

“Infrastructure might be a problem if people are coming that way, but if they are going to Morrisons anyway I don’t think it will make a difference.

“I would like to think everywhere will flourish, but with online buying we are going to have to think differently and maybe make our town centres a place for entertainment and dining.”

The new development will create 62,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space, including five large units, as well as 256 free car parking spaces.

The developer, which already has projects in Oxford, Cardiff, Belfast and Burgess Hill, claims the new retail park will encourage footfall into the town centre.

Jamie Whitfield, director of NewRiver, said: “This is a significant step in an exciting and long-overdue development for the community. NewRiver’s plans to transform and re-activate this brownfield site into a new retail park will offer greater choice that will allow local people to shop locally in Canvey as well as attracting shoppers from other parts of Essex. We are bringing leading retail brands to Canvey and are in discussion with other leading occupiers.”