CONCORD beach’s first shower will be installed after councillors overruled their own officers to push through the scheme.

The plans to build the £13,000 beach shower had been thrown out by Castle Point Council’s development control committee earlier this year, because of fears that soap would enter the sea and the water would leave sand and nearby footpaths wet.

This week, the committee voted to unanimously pass the proposal despite council officials recommending it was rejected – to the delight of the Friends of Concord Beach.

Colin Letchford, chairman of the group, said: “We’re delighted the council has seen sense and decided to pass this application, because it was a shock when it initially turned it down.

“We wanted to come back and argue the reasons why it should be approved and thankfully it has been.”

The group had wanted the shower to be installed for this summer season, but that idea was foiled when the authority rejected the plans first time round.

The shower is expected to be installed by next summer.

It will be turned on from 10am to 7pm from April to October.

Putting in the shower for holidaymakers is part of a raft of improvements to the Eastern Esplanade beach by the community group, including new benches and sprucing up the area with paint.

Tory Castle Point councillor Norman Ladzrie, vice chairman of the development control committee, said: “It seemed like the officers were just objecting for the sake of objecting.

“I understand the point about pollution, but when you’ve got cargo ships coming down the estuary spreading muck,aheadful of shampoo isn’t going to do much damage.”

The plans were passed with one condition – that the shower’s pipework, which will be installed over the seawall, is put in securely.