A PLAN to revive one of the most deprived villages in Europe was unveiled in Essex yesterday.According to a Government report, there are more than 150 homes in Jaywick which are condemned as uninhabitable.

A PLAN to revive one of the most deprived villages in Europe was unveiled in Essex yesterday.

According to a Government report, there are more than 150 homes in Jaywick which are condemned as uninhabitable.

Government minister Lord Rooker has announced he will be giving full backing to proposals to regenerate the area that has been rated as one on the poorest and most neglected in Essex.

In a letter to Harwich MP Ivan Henderson, the minister for regeneration and regional development said "positive initiatives" were beginning in the community.

The Labour peer said residents in Jaywick would soon benefit from a strategic partnership made up of Tendring District Council, Essex County Council and the East of England Development Agency.

According to the cross-partnership's Delivery Plan, some 800 properties need attention, "52 are currently vacant and 150 are considered unfit and the remainder are in need of minor repair".

It continued: "The aim is for Tendring council to take the lead in ensuring that those properties that are derelict/unfit are demolished.

"The council is proposing to use all available powers to bring all properties to the statutory fitness standard."

In the plan, the minister said the county council would "adopt" the village's streets - some of which lack even basic drainage facilities - by 2011 with the help of Government grants.

But Terry Allen, Tory leader of Tendring District Council, said: "It's plainly obvious that some of the houses in Jaywick are uninhabitable but we can't officially declare them so.

"The problem is that there's so much legislation surrounding what makes a property uninhabitable in this country that it's easier to build a dog kennel to legal standards than a house.

"It seems that if a building has four walls and a roof the it's considered fit to live in, but that surely cannot be the case.

"Jaywick is in a beautiful area next to the sea with golden sands. Market forces will eventually take over. It's a desirable area - wouldn't many people like to live there?

"I'm so pleased that the Government is finally wading in with hard cash support. It's what everybody needs in the area."

Mary Puddick, Jaywick Forum member, said: "We've had so many promises in the past, butI feel so excited this time.

"We seem to have the right backing and I think something will happen this time. Everyone is waiting to see."