Ambitious plans to set up a pleasure boat service between Canvey and London have been unveiled.

The boats, which would dock at the jetty at Hole Haven, could bring many more visitors to the island.

The service would also allow islanders to take a trip up the Thames to the capital, and could provide easy access to the Millennium Dome.

Proposals are set to be put forward by Canvey 2000, a group restoring the seafront, for the boats to travel between the island and London.

It follows plans by the Port of London Authority to close the Hole Haven harbour master's office in September.

Financial cutbacks were blamed for the decision, after the loss of a £2 million annual contribution from the Shell Haven refinery, closing at the end of the year.

Chairman of Canvey 2000, Dennis Williams, said the proposals were in very early stages, but he hoped to enter negotiations soon.

He said: "I have been looking at the old jetty for some time now and it would be lovely to get the boats up here.

"I will certainly be speaking to the owners of the jetty soon and the Environment Agency to float the idea.

"Hopefully we would be able to have the boats stop at the jetty throughout the summer, bringing lots of people to Canvey.

"I have been on these type of boats up the River Thames lots of times and often wondered why they couldn't stop here.

"If we did manage to get the boats to come here, it would increase the amount of traffic along the river and may even be a way of getting the harbour master back."

Andy Griffiths, London Transport's river service manager, welcomed the idea but said those behind the plan should make sure the jetty was suitable for leisure use.

He said a good idea would be to charter a boat from Canvey to raise interest. Discussions could then be opened with boat operators about a regular service.

Mr Griffiths said: "There is a lot of interest and investment on the Thames in the London area. There are a lot of things happening and different projects are being started or coming along but there is not a service from London to Canvey or Southend."

The latest plans by Canvey 2000 come shortly after the unveiling of a new water feature and scented garden on Eastern Esplanade.

Work has been carried out on the seafront since fundraising began almost two years ago.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.