NOT many new shops have opened in Canvey town centre in recent years, but the latest addition to the island’s Knightswick Centre is no ordinary store.

There are no ringing tills and no products on the shelves. In fact, there aren’t any shelves in the Canvey Regeneration Shop, which opened its doors last week.

Run by the Castle Point Regeneration Partnership, made up of councils, Government agencies and charities, visitors to the shop are being asked to make suggestions for improvements to the town centre.

Their ideas will help form a blueprint for the area’s regeneration, which project leaders are determined to press on with despite the recession.

Pam Challis, Tory leader of Castle Point Council and chairman of the regeneration partnership, said: “We want to produce something really exciting, something that will encourage not only Canvey people to shop here, but people from other areas as well.

“We have to work within certain restrictions, but in the main we want something in which Canvey people have input.”

The masterplan will focus on the areas around the High Street, Furtherwick Road, the Knightswick Centre, Sainsbury’s, Furtherwick Park School, Canvey Lake and the new health centre in Long Road.

Shoppers can question the shop assistants, make their views known via a questionnaire, or leave anonymous suggestions on a noticeboard.

This gives residents a chance to see what others are thinking.

So far, it has proved popular with the 880 people who came through the shop’s doors in its first week.

Peter Green, 80, of Gennep Road South, has lived on Canvey all his life and was one of those sticking a note on the board.

He said: “I was requesting to limit further building until we get a better access road.

“I think the shop is a good idea. It gives people a chance to make suggestions – some are frivolous, some are sensible.”

More shops selling a wider variety of products is high on the agenda for many residents, while improvements to Canvey Lake, which sits on the edge of the town centre, and to the pavements were also a priority.

Ingrid Harvey, a regeneration support officer employed by Castle Point Council, is one of those manning the shop.

She said: “The people of Canvey are very passionate about Canvey and want to see it regenerated.

“A lot of people say they have lived here for 40 or 50 years and would like to go back to how things were then, when there was a thriving shopping community.”

Steve Rogers, Castle Point Council’s regeneration chief, says there has been a high level of interest from big-name stores.

Consultants, Building Design Partnership, who won a £109,000 contract to produce the masterplan in January, have been compiling background information about the transport system and the property market to get an idea of what is feasible.

They have also approached some major high street names to see if they would be interested in coming to the island.

Mr Rogers said: “A lot of businesses are saying it’s the size of the shops that’s an issue.

“But if this is the level of interest with Canvey town centre as it currently is, when we publish a masterplan it’s really going to seize the imagination of businesses.”

John Green, owner of opticians Body’s, which neighbours the shop, said the store had created a “bit of a buzz” in the Knightswick Centre.

He said: “You see quite a few people having a look in, so that can only be good for footfall.

“In the long term, things still don’t look great, so the council still needs to deliver on its regeneration plans or there will be even more empty stores.”

Any ideas put forward by the consultants in the coming weeks will be put on display for residents to comment on.

Once consultation on the masterplan has finished, the partnership will use it to display information about other schemes and projects in Castle Point. Until then, it seems it is case of watch this space.

The shop is open from 10am until 4pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and from 10am until 1pm on Saturdays.