THE cost of saving Castle Point’s flood sirens could be much higher than expected.

South Benfleet councillor Alf Partridge, who is an electronics engineer, has warned the sirens are currently controlled through the national BBC longwave radio transmitter.

This will be permanently turned off in four years time, when old-fashioned analogue broadcasting is replaced with digital transmission.

Mr Partridge warned the cost of retaining Canvey’s nine flood sirens – and one in Benfleet – could be increased by thousands of pounds because they will need to be upgraded.

He said: “They won’t work anymore once the analogue system is cut off, unless we carry out the necessary changes.

“I can’t say how much it will cost at the moment, because we still have to work out the figures, but it will be fairly substantial.

“However, it will be worth it because the early warning these sirens provide is essential for an island like Canvey.”

He thinks the most cost-effective upgrade would be to link the sirens with copper wiring to the conventional telephone network, which would then be connected to the control centre at Canvey fire station, in Long Road.

Canvey councillor Ray Howard is leading the campaign to save the sirens, which Essex County Council had planned to replace the with text and radio alerts.

He said: “We’ve been made aware of this potential problem and it’s obviously something we need to look at.

“It’s important that we keep the sirens and I’m confident this will not pose a serious problem.”

Calor and Oikos, which both have fuel terminals on Canvey, previously agreed in principle to help cover the cost of running the borough’s sirens.

A spokesman for Oikos said: “We would definitely still be interested in pursuing this once the scope of the project has been worked out.”

A Calor spokesman added: “Calor is committed to working with Castle Point Council and other partners to find a solution to the issue of the flood sirens.

“We are awaiting further technical information and condition reports of the existing sirens and ancillary equipment. Once this has been established we will continue to assist in finding a solution to help safeguard the sirens.”

Essex Council has agreed in principle to let Castle Point Council take over the sirens.