FURIOUS residents are launching a petition calling for Canvey Town Council to be “removed” after the island’s lake has “turned into a diseased puddle”.

The Friends of Canvey Lake group, who advocate for the “conservation and protection” of the lake, is asking for signatures on a petition calling for a vote of no confidence in the town council for its alleged failure to protect the lake.

They are also calling for a referendum to be held among residents to vote on the removal of the town council.

The motivation for the petition is the “declining” state of the lake, which according to the Friends chair, Alan Tibbitt, has left it “diseased” and with about three inches of water alongside problems with silt levels and drainage.

The lake previously in 2022 suffered issues with toxic algae which led to the death of fish and wildlife, with the group repeatedly pressuring the town council to act.

Mr Tibbitt said: “We are going to get a petition out for a referendum to get rid of the town council, they have just about ruined the lake.

“I don’t believe we will have much opposition; it is about trying to get an answer out of the councillors, it is a farce they represent us and make decisions.

“It has been a nightmare trying to get information out of them about the lake, it is a closed shop, and they have to do something.”

The preferred vision the Friends of Canvey Lake had for the lake was a division of it into two different lakes to help tackle issues with silt build-up causing ecological damage to the wildlife.

To avoid flooding, dredging, the removal of silt, has been the council’s favoured long-term solution.

However, Mr Tibbitt said: “We have not changed in that vision, we are quite clear that we can do what they call silt shifting, we don’t have to dredge the lake.

“We have two weeks to get this sorted, I would like to think it will be out there by next Saturday so we can present it to the council’s chief executive for debate.”

Independent leader of Canvey Town Council, Steve Sachs, said: “I have no comment, we will explain to them what we are doing.”