The overwhelming majority of council tenants are happy living in Castle Point, a new study has revealed.

More than 75 per cent of Canvey residents are content with living on the island, compared with just four per cent who are not.

The figures were revealed in the results of a postal survey of all 1,774 tenants in the borough.

In all, 436 forms were returned, accounting for just under one quarter of all council tenants.

One of the biggest complaints highlighted in the study was parking, which was raised by almost 60 per cent of respondents in the Thundersley area.

Around 35.6 per cent of residents in Canvey, 32.6 per cent in Benfleet and 27.6 per cent in Hadleigh also spoke of the problem.

According to the study, 53 per cent of tenants in Benfleet and 49.5 per cent on Canvey felt safe in the area. There also appears to be a good community spirit.

On Canvey, more than 50 per cent said the community spirit was either good or very good and only 10.9 per cent said it was bad or very bad.

Double-glazing topped the residents' wish-list in the study with around 57.4 per cent calling for new windows. Other priorities named included traffic calming; improving transport/bus services; a borough-wide clean-up and residents' parking permits.

A spokesman for the Tenant Management Training Services, which carried out the survey in August, said he was pleased with the results.

He added: "Although the turn-out was not particularly high, we were reasonably pleased with the return, particularly as the survey was detailed and thorough. We were pleased that returns were not dominated from one area in the borough.

"It must be pointed out that the findings are based on the views of the 436 tenants who returned their surveys and are not necessarily a true reflection of all tenants."

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