MORE than £140,000 would have to be spent bringing a former controversial bar back into use, councillors were told.

The bill to refurbish the dilapidated and dangerous 1066 bar at the Paddocks, on Canvey, would top £143,000, according to a survey carried out by Castle Point Council.

The bar was closed in 2002 , shortly after it came under council control following numerous complaints about antisocial behaviour and underage drinking.

Large parts of the floor would need replacing as it is completely rotten and the bar is in a general state of disrepair.

In September Canvey Island Independent Party councillor Peter May, who represents central ward, put forward a motion asking howmuch it would cost to put it back into use.

At Castle Point’s cabinet meeting, John Anderson, another Independent Party member, said: “£143,000 is ridiculous I think that is too high and the question remains why was it let go into this disrepair.

“All these years have gone by and it has been left as a council asset to go into disrepair.”

Councillor Neville Watson questioned why the council had carried out the survey when it had no money for the repairs, garnering an angry response from the Conservatives that his party had requested it.

It was originally thought the bar would be sorted as part of the redevelopment of the Paddocks, which was supposed to have been completed this year.

TomSkipp, councillor responsible for the environment and leisure, said: “I think the 1066 bar had not been used for a varying number of reasons. Basically there wasn’t any interest from outside bodies and it has fallen into disrepair.”

Conservative Jeffrey Stanley, raised the concern it can only be accessed from the back of the Paddocks. He added: “It was much complained about and the police reported it to be a place of underage drinking.

“There was an awful lot of antisocial behaviour and all the people living in the houses nearby complained, quite rightly, that bad things were going on there and it shut for those reasons.

“There isn’t a great deal we can do with that particular area which is not part of the comprehensive solution for the Paddocks as a whole.”