A GIANT housing estate could be built on a Canvey caravan park.

Jeff King, who runs Thorney Bay Park, has confirmed he intends to submit a planning application to develop part of his land.

Mr King would not say how many homes would be built, but it’s believed to be more than 800.

Thorney Bay Park covers an area the size of about 60 football pitches, and it is expected the homes will be built on fields at the eastern end of the site, near the car park.

More than 1,000 mobile homes are located at the park, but only about 60 acres of the 90-acre site could be developed, as the rest is within the safety perimeter of the neighbouring Calor Gas terminal.

Mr King said: “Yes, we are going to submit a planning application, but it will be several months before we are ready to go with it.

“Even if we do build the homes, some of the caravan park will still remain.”

Building at Thorney Bay Park could be made easier if plans for phase two of the Roscommon Way extension go ahead, which would provide a direct access route from Canvey Road to Thorney Bay Road.

Another potential sticking point is that Canvey is categorised as a zone three flood plain by the Environment Agency.

This means all new homes built on the island have to meet tough and expensive design standards.

However, developing the caravan park is considered the ideal solution by many, as nearby residents are fed up with the expansion of the park, which has grown significantly in recent years.

Stephen Cole, of Jasmine Close, lives next to the park and is chairman of the island’s Neighbourhood Watch. He said: “It would give us some idea of the number of people who are going to be there. At the moment no one has any idea about how big the park is going to get.

“I think people would be concerned about the traffic problems any new development would cause on Canvey.

“It’s a nightmare getting on and off the island at the moment.”