After a bit of Looking around, i came up with this Mike quite interesting reading!
Cheers
The Flood of 1953 | Peoples' Stories | CanveyIsland.org
In the efforts to restore confidence there were certain objectives; one was to persuade Woolworths to build a store on the Island, another to persuade Barclays to build a main bank rather than the sub-office and also to persuade Building Societies that it was safe to lend money for property purchase. After a two-year standstill period during which time most properties were restored, and the sea walls made good and heightened by three feet and in parts strengthened and the area generally cleaned up, Canvey Island again “took off”. Woolworth’s brought in a “mobile shop”, a pantechnicon suitably fitted, to test the market on three days each week. This was a success and they built the store – the vehicle was later used at Basildon until the shopping centre there was built.