DEVELOPERS seeking to build new homes on Canvey are being forced to think again because of growing fears about flooding.

The Environment Agency is resolutely pursuing its policy of recommending refusal of plans to build new homes on the island because Canvey is below sea level and therefore on a flood plain.

Castle Point Council is taking those recommendations to heart and rejecting applications for new homes, leaving some developers in limbo.

One man affected by the decision is Daniel Baker, whose application to rebuild his three-bedroom bungalow, in High Street, Canvey, was thrown out because of flooding concerns.

Mr Baker, 27, said: "It's a nightmare and I know a lot of other people are having the same problem.

"I had to demolish my home because I found out it was full of asbestos, but now I'm stuck with a pile of rubble.

"It's not like I even want to put up something new, I just want to replace like with like."

Property developer Peter Lunn, 48, secured outline planning permission, in January last year, to demolish a bungalow in Stelie Avenue, Canvey, and build three houses in its place.

He secured full planning permission soon after to build one of the houses and work on that is almost complete.

But the application he lodged in March last year for full planning permission to build the two other houses, has still not even been considered by Castle Point Council.

He said: "I got outline permission before all the worries started about building on flood plains.

"Now everything's ground to a halt and I don't know what to do next."

The council has pledged to continue upholding the Environment Agency's recommendations until the results of a Government-initiated inquiry into flood plains publishes its findings.

The Government appointed Sir Michael Pitt to carry out the study, following catastrophic floods in Hull after heavy rainfall in June and July last year. It is likely the final report expected, this summer, will recommend tighter restrictions.

Ray Howard, Castle Point and Essex county councillor, said local authorities were reluctant to ignore the Environment Agency's advice, while they are waiting for the results of the Pitt Report.

Mr Howard has received many letters from people struggling to build on Canvey.

He said: "It's a big problem that needs to be looked at. We can't have a blanket ban for building here.

"I believe Canvey is unique, as it has the best flood walls and flood water drainage system in the country.

"The flood plain rules should be relaxed for us."

Last week localised flooding on the island, caused by heavy rainfall, affected hundreds of residents on the island.

But Mr Howard is convinced it is well protected against severe flooding from the Thames Estuary.

A total of £34 million was spent rebuilding Canvey's sea walls in the 1970s and 1980s.

A further £6 million was spent last year on 14 giant pumps, spread around the island to force water back into the sea if the walls are ever breached.

Mr Howard said: "The reason Canvey is always considered high-risk is because of the 1953 flood.

"But back then the only sea defences were soil walls, built by the original Dutch settlers."

The 1953 Canvey flood claimed the lives of 58 people. Despite Mr Howard's insistence that Canvey is well protected, the Environment Agency refused to budge from its policy of objecting to all new homes on flood plains.

Spokeswoman Rita Penman insisted the Environment Agency could not relax its planning guidelines for Canvey, even for special cases such as Mr Baker's.

She said: "Although Canvey is well defended, the current understanding across the country is that if there are other areas not on the flood plains, they should be developed first.

"This is in the interests of everyone's safety. We are therefore unable to recommend approval for any new developments on Canvey at the present time."

Even if the Government report clears the way for new homes on flood plains, insurers are warning hundreds of thousands of homes built in high-risk areas may not qualify for insurance.

Nick Starling, the Association of British Insurers' director of general insurance and health, said: "Poor planning decisions will lead to more homes becoming unsaleable, uninsurable and uninhabitable"